BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Business owners who have been impacted by the recent storms now have more economic assistance available. The Small Business Administration, as well as regional organizations like the Small Business Development Center in Bakersfield, are offering help getting low-interest loans for business owners who need help covering disaster-related costs.
According to Kelly Bearden, the director of the Small Business Development Center at California State University Bakersfield, there are two different disaster declarations in California, and the timing is important for business owners.
"We basically had two separate periods of time for the disaster of the storms. One of them had a December/January focus and the other one has a March focus, and they are separate incidents, and oftentimes they affect different businesses in different ways," said Bearden.
The recent Presidential Declaration of Disaster identifies Kern County as a primary aid county, according to Small Business Administration Public Information Officer Mary Bradfield.
"Disasters that have been previously declared come under a different declaration number for the SBA application, and they have set deadlines, so if you were in a Presidential declaration as a primary county, then you get physical applications as well as just the EIDL [Economic Injury Disaster Loan]," said Bradfield.
This means loans are available to those who have suffered property damage as well as those who have suffered business losses related to the disaster, referred to as "economic injury."
"So if their sales have declined, say a major customer, for example, has not been able to do work with them, or if flooding and roads and other things, or it impeded trucks leaving their facility or whatever, it's going to have a negative impact on that business," explained Bearden.
Keeping records is an important part of proving your business was economically impacted by the storms, according to Bearden.
"Also, the financial records aspect is very important if they work toward actually getting the economic injury portion of that, so if they’re looking to recapture some of the losses from their business, it's very important to have good records," said Bearden.
Loans from the SBA are also available to homeowners and renters.
"Our job is to help make loans, so we are going to do everything we can to make that affordable," said Bradfield.
The Small Business Development Center offers free consultations and can help people apply for these loans.
"If people are not sure on how to fill out a particular application, if it's an SBA disaster loan application, then do call us up and we can have a consultant meet with you, sit down, and we can go through your particular situation," said Bearden.
For more information on the SBA and SBDC low-interest loan programs or to apply online, you can visit the Small Business Administration's website or you can visit the Small Business Development Center's website.
