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Ohio businesses need help

As members of Congress putter and bicker over another round of stimulus for Americans, a report out of Ohio last week should give them some sense of urgency. According to an Alignable A1 Revenue Poll, 51 percent of Ohio’s small businesses said revenue expectations will fail to meet their needs by the end of March.

Without more help, even the easing of restrictions may be too little, too late for those who say they are at risk of having to close their businesses this spring. The problem, however, includes a change of habits that may not go away when we return to “normal.”

“The reasons range from customers still being afraid to visit Main Street shops coupled with a significant rise in online shopping. Beyond a decrease in customers from pre-COVID levels, 51 percent of businesses tell us they have half the revenue or less coming in compared to the time prior to the COVID-era, according to Alignable’s February Road To Recovery Report,” the report said.

If online shopping with the big guys is part of the problem, financial help may need to be accompanied by tools and training to help small businesses jump into the cyber world to better serve their customers.

Much about the way we live our lives will be changed forever as we leave the pre-COVID world behind. Though some money does still need to be thrown at the problem, we are doing small businesses a disservice if we don’t also help them adapt to those changes.

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