If you’re like me, you want to know everything there is to know about the CARES Act Stimulus Package. As Chief Inspiration Officer I want to give a shout-out to all small business owners, their suppliers, their customers, and especially to their team members. As business owners and leaders, we know when we need to demonstrate that extra surge of greatness to see us through. This Covid-19 pandemic is challenging us to show our greatness. Here is one of my favorite quotes: “It’s not just your head that’s in the game, your heart and your guts are in there too.” Our guts tell us we will see it through, our heart says we want to see it through, and our head looks for ways that will enable us to see it through. My blog, today, is for everyone’s head. As you read it you will learn what the CARES Act Stimulus Package offers to you and all small business owners.

CARES Act March 27, 2020

Congress took action, and the president signed it into law. The CARES Act is a stimulus package aimed directly at us. Its primary role is to enable us to see it through. In all, it brings nearly $2.2 Trillion to the table including:

• Nearly $350 Billion in loans that will be partially forgivable provided your small business satisfies some obvious, practical conditions.
• Another $500 Billion to support certain lines of business that have been badly hit by the economic gut punch. The CARES Act includes payments that go directly to businesses, so they can keep paying their team members, plus grants, tax breaks, and subsidized loans for certain hard-hit industries.

Paycheck Protection Loans

If you own a business employing fewer than 500 people (or a multi-site hospitality business with fewer than 500 per site covered by NAICS Code 72) then you can apply for a loan so you can keep your payroll running. Keep your team together, keep them performing, and the loan will see you through to the end of June. In some cases, the loan will not need to be repaid. The loan must go for payroll and healthcare costs, business rent or mortgage payments, utility costs, and other current and necessary business outgoings. There are conditions because some costs are covered in earlier legislation such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA.) The loans are available through the Small Business Administration (SBA.) Follow this link for a detailed breakdown of SBA’s resources. Everything is being managed by one of the 68 local offices, so go here to locate your nearest office. Approved banks, savings and loans, and other institutions handle the loan apps, so speak with your local manager to get the details. The loan is 100% guaranteed by the federal government until the end of the year, not guaranteed personally by you. You must apply by Tuesday June 30.

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Payroll Tax Break

We are all suffering cash flow problems, so to help, you can now delay paying some of the Social Security taxes, and you can make that up in the next two years (pay back half each year.)

Employee Retention Tax Credit

This tax credit for employers who do not make use of the Paycheck Protection Loan Scheme, provides a refundable tax credit of up to 50% of wages paid to approved team members from March 13 to December 31. Your business qualifies if the pandemic has resulted in your gross receipts falling by a minimum of 50%. So, if your business has come to a standstill, you can use this credit to keep your team together until you ride out the storm.

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So Where Are We?

The CARES Act is for you to get your head in “Action Mode.” When it comes to business, we know that truth lies in the bank account. Well, now a lot of it may now lie in forgivable loans, grants, and tax breaks. Your heart wants to conquer this challenge, so being able to keep your team on-side means you can focus on four things:

1. Meeting everyone’s’ needs. Many of them may benefit from this law, so if their business is running, they need your products and services. Your suppliers need your business, so keep the orders to them flowing, even if at a lower volume. Employees, contractors, and their families all over America still need to eat, so with the CARE Act’s help going to the hospitality businesses they can keep serving food, so they need those take-out orders coming in.
2. Using everyone’s time and energy – when not doing what they used to do a few weeks ago – to share ideas on how you can all keep going and to think of new things you can do to replace any lost business.
3. Caring for employees and family members. This link gives you strategies and guidance for dealing with employee illness, their family members, workplace cleanliness, and customer protection.
4. Working with the SBA’s trained experts to help you put a plan in place to keep meeting your business challenges.

Final Comment

Company leaders, like you and me, need to do whatever we can. I hope you found this blog article supportive, useful, practical, and inspirational. Please text me on (843) 483 1555 to give me some feedback on how you will use these ideas, and the results you achieve. If you prefer, please email me on eric@heyimeric.com or just keep logging in to HeyI’mEric.com to follow my blogs as we all get to the other side. And remember: Head, Heart, and Guts! (contact us – the original link has been replaced with heyimeric.com)