Businesses follow national trends

Local businesses severely impacted by novel coronavirus

Following national trends, Lorain County businesses are finding that the novel coronavirus pandemic is negatively affecting their business.

Results from a survey conducted by LorainCounty.com find that almost 80 percent of businesses that responded have experienced a loss in revenue the past four months, with nearly half of businesses reported to have laid employees off and partially shut down.

Ed Skimin, co-founder of Avon Lake software company Emerge Inc. and LorainCounty. com, said the survey received 285 valid responses from business owners and has collaborated with local cities and organizations to get an accurate collection of statistics.

“We knew that there was a big impact from COVID-19, but we wanted a clearer picture of what it was locally,” Skimin said. “We wanted to make sure people knew what the local impact was, not just the national statistics.”

“We knew that there was a big impact from COVID-19, but we wanted a clearer picture of what it was locally. We wanted to make sure people knew what the local impact was, not just the national statistics.”

— Ed Skimin, co-founder of Avon Lake software company Emerge Inc. and LorainCounty.com

National vs. local

For businesses in the United States, the struggle to stay afloat largely is universal.

A report released in the beginning of April by the United States Chamber of Commerce stated that one in four businesses has shut down temporarily due to COVID-19, with eight out of 10 business concerned about the pandemic’s impact.

More than half of those business owners find the country’s economy as poor.

A little more than 50 percent of businesses reported in April that their operations could continue only for six more months before permanently shutting doors.

About half of small businesses reported it would take six months to a year to return to normal operations.

As for Lorain County, numbers are relatively similar.

Almost 30 percent of Lorain County businesses have experienced a full shutdown, with a little over half experiencing a 50 percent loss in revenue.

And 14 percent have lost all revenue, according to the survey.

As for recovery time, about 40 percent of local businesses say it will take between six months and a year to recover, with 3 percent saying they will never recover.

Local businesses also find that larger operators in their given industries have an advantage over smaller businesses than before the pandemic. Some 28 percent agree on the advantage, with 30 percent agreeing and 33 percent reporting neutral.

While 60 percent of local businesses are at least somewhat optimistic about the future of their operations, about 40 percent of businesses are confident in both the county and country’s economies.

Building a survey

Skimin said the process for putting the survey together took the work of many local governments and organizations.

He said he worked with cities of Avon, Avon Lake, Lorain and Elyria, as well as a handful of other organizations like the COVID-19 Response Fund, Lorain County Community College Business Growth Services, Oberlin Business Partnership and United Way of Greater Lorain County.

The results of the survey were sent to multiple cities, commissioners and chamber of commerce members, who will decide how to best support businesses out of the difficult financial times they are enduring.

As for developing openended questions for the survey, Skimin said LorainCounty.com took after national surveys and statistics.

“We started by reviewing what questions are being asked on national surveys,” he said.

Affected industries

One of those questions that was modeled from a larger scale was what industries were impacted most by the pandemic.

In Lorain County, that would be the hospitality, tourism and entertainment industry, with 91 percent of revenue lost in the past four months.

Restaurants and bars lost 75 percent, professional services for individuals 66 percent and retail lost 61 percent.

The results show that 67 percent have lost either less than $100,000 or between $100,000 and $249,999.

Also, 70 percent of Lorain County businesses also have lost an employee, and over 40 percent losing between 100 and 499 workers, according to the survey.