47% of SMBs Optimistic About Biden Administration PPP Changes

While those statistics show healthy optimism, even more small businesses could apply once additional details of Biden’s plan are revealed.

In fact, another 32% of those surveyed said they might apply once they know more, which would mean as many as 66% of SMBs could vie for these funds.

“President Biden’s new plans appear to resonate with many small business owners, who once feared the federal government was leaving them behind. And that’s very encouraging to see,” said Alignable’s Co-Founder & CEO Eric Groves. “However, the renewed interest in the PPP, increased demand for relief, and speed of deployment of COVID vaccines might require extending the March 31st deadline, and perhaps, allocating more federal funds to keep a greater number of struggling businesses afloat.”

And keeping some businesses going could require less money than many would assume. In previous Alignable polls, we learned that most small business owners don’t need one or two million dollars each to keep the lights on.

In fact, on average, they said they only require around $30,000. That means government funds focused on the smallest businesses and solopreneurs could be used to help many more of them to get through the next several months if the money is distributed correctly.

Lingering PPP Problems To Remedy

While many Alignable PPP Pulse Poll participants expressed greater hope that the new PPP changes would help their recovery, others have deep-seated doubts about the overall program:

• 22% said they still don’t want a loan they might have to pay back, given their precarious financial situation
• 17% said they feel the PPP still won’t help them
• 14% said maybe they’d consider it, but it’s too soon to tell what these changes will really entail.

And there are other issues that small business owners would like Biden’s administration to resolve, which include:

• Distrust over loan forgiveness — How does it really work? And can a small business owner count on it? 
• The stipulation that applicants must show losses of at least 25% in one quarter 
• The sometime-challenging and lengthy approval process at banks or through the SBA, which requires more transparency
• Overall confusion regarding who qualifies, who doesn’t, and where to find more information.

So, as the Biden Administration is considering more changes to the 2021 PPP, addressing these issues would go a long way toward helping the businesses that need funding the most to apply.

SMBs Require Funding More Now Than Ever

Meanwhile, the need for these funds continues to grow more severe with each month in 2021. Three economic indicators for small businesses show that many have entered new financial danger zones. Here are just a few examples based on this week’s poll:

• 79% of all small business owners now report suffering from the ongoing negative effects of the COVID Era – up 11% from February.
• 49% say they can’t pay their full March rent on time. In just two months, this figure has gone up by 16%, marking a new record for the past year. 
• 41% of small businesses report having one month or less of cash reserves remaining: 20% are already out of cash. This is an increase of 8% over the past month and represents the worst cash crunch SMBs have seen since the COVID Era began.

Hopefully, Biden will unveil the rest of his changes to the 2021 PPP shortly and more small businesses will apply for relief.

Simultaneously, if the federal government could expedite vaccine distribution, then the need for future funding would slowly diminish.  In fact, 46% of those polled in this week’s survey said they need widespread distribution of the vaccine by May in order to help their businesses rebound by the end of 2021.