Daisy Jones-Brown runs Born Beautiful LLC out of her Caledonia home, and she earns much of her income from the business by selling attire, accessories, all-natural and organic products at festivals and shows.
She even bought $4,000 worth of inventory to debut a new product line, the Patience Collection — featuring traditional Ghanaian wear and bolga market baskets popular in the African country — for this year’s Market Street Festival in Columbus, originally set for May 1-2.
Then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was pushed to Sept. 11-12, and Jones-Brown never got to launch her product on a huge local stage. Other opportunities for her to sell products were canceled or postponed too, and Jones-Brown’s revenue streams have mostly dried up.
“It’s been really slow,” she said.
With social media admittedly not her strong suit, Jones-Brown tried to ramp up her activity on her company’s website, thinking to herself, “You’ve got to learn how to do business this way.”
Then she came across a new opportunity that could not only help her business survive the pandemic but could also help Jones-Brown keep doing what she does best.
The Back to Business Mississippi Grant Program, which Gov. Tate Reeves officially established May 20, aims to help businesses in the state with 50 or fewer full-time employees recover from the financial impact of COVID-19.
Mississippi Development Authority is administering the program. Eligible business owners will be able to apply through an online portal, but the application window is not yet open.
Jones-Brown said she signed up to receive an email notification about when the portal will open.
“OK, well, this might be a good opportunity,” she thought to herself upon finding out about the program.
The program makes $240 million in funding available, with $40 million allocated for minority-owned businesses. Business owners who received money from the Payroll Protection Program or received the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance will not be considered during the first 21 days.
Small business owners with eligible expenses — including mortgage interest, rent, payroll and utilities — can apply for up to $25,000 from the program to cover their costs. Lost profits aren’t an eligible expense, the program’s website stipulates, but Jones-Brown still hopes to receive enough money to bolster her social media presence by targeting posts to individuals and creating ads on Facebook and Instagram. She even hopes to temporarily hire someone to run the social media outlets if she can.
A ‘great’ option for small business
Robbie Coblentz, who owns Broadcast Media Group in Starkville, closed his business to walk-in traffic for roughly six weeks during Reeves’ statewide stay at home order. The customers who usually come in to have old VHS tapes, film or 8-millimeter video transferred onto DVDs or converted into digital files were consequently absent, costing Coblentz a large portion of his income.
“We had no way to walk in,” he said. “That part of our business dropped to zero.”
It’s why he applied for the Back to Business grant, though he said he isn’t sure how much his business will be able to receive. Coblentz said he got a $2,000 direct payment from the Department of Revenue on Wednesday, since Broadcast Media Group was one of the businesses mandated to close by statewide order, but that doesn’t preclude him from receiving up to $25,000 via the grant to help cover costs for his four full-time and three part-time employees.
Coblentz, who has his financial information ready to submit when the application portal opens, spoke favorably about the new program.
“I think this is a great way for the Mississippi Development Authority to connect with existing small businesses in the state,” he said. “So many times, those of us who have existing businesses get a little frustrated as local chambers of commerce or organizations like the MDA put together tax abatements and benefit packages to lure large industry to the state. Sometimes, those of us in small business feel like we get a little left out.”
Coblentz referred to small business as the “backbone” of Mississippi, saying he is glad to see the MDA convey a message of, “Hey, we’re trying to help you out in a practical way, and we acknowledge that small business is important to us and important to the state.”
‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’
Glenn Miller, owner of Miller Marine and Outdoor Center in Columbus, said he had mixed emotions about applying for the grant, worried about the financial implications down the line.
“It’s got to be paid back somewhere,” he said. “When you have that free money, you’re just kicking the can down the road. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
Miller has kept his business on Seventh Avenue South open during the pandemic to ensure his regular customers don’t jump ship.
“Customers that I can’t get to, they’re going to go somewhere else,” he said. “They’re going to get their boat fixed somewhere.”
Miller, who received the $2,000 direct payment last week, said deciding whether to apply for the grant is a “hard call,” but knowing the money could benefit others down the line is a point in its favor.
“I’m not going to put it under my mattress,” he said. “It goes into circulation, so it does do some good. If I apply for anything, that money’s going to come in, and it’s going to be used for something that generates income for somebody else.”
Lauren Rhea, who owns Premier Martial Arts on US-45 in Columbus, said he will apply for the grant but only expects to receive $2,500 at most. Rhea, who said he wasn’t financially impacted much by the pandemic, temporarily turned to Zoom instruction for the four classes he teaches.
“Granted, you can’t teach martial arts very well through Zoom, but it kept things very fresh in their mind,” Rhea said.
He said the grant will make up for the $300 to $350 he spent on video equipment and internet upgrades to make the transition a smooth one.
“It specifically addresses the major way I was impacted,” Rhea said. “I think it meets the intent of the government of helping offset the cost of what we had to go through.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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