Business owners who are counting their losses from the storm are seeking government help to get back on their feet. NJ Today Senior Correspondent Desirée Taylor spoke with Michael Van Wagner, Executive Director of the New Jersey Business Action Center to discusses the services available for businesses.
Van Wagner says the needs businesses face vary from those that sustained structural damage to those who lost income as a result of prolonged power outages.
“There are a number of programs that are out there to help provide that assistance and certainly we know the federal government through the Small Business Administration (SBA) has a disaster loan program specifically targeted to small businesses,” he said.
WATCH VIDEO:
But many small business owners say they are in need of grants, not loans which they have to pay back with interest. However, Van Wagner says federal loans offer a flexibility that is not found in traditional lending circles, citing the length of the loan, grace periods and extension.
“They’ll go up to 30 [years] and they also have a grace period of at least six months and sometimes on a case by case basis and that can be extended,” said Van Wagner. “The other thing that the SBA is able to be more flexible with is collateral. Ultimately if a small business owner doesn’t have collateral that does not preclude somebody from having access to an SBA loan.”
In addition to the federal program, Van Wagner says New Jersey provides its own assistance through the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to help businesses who have insurance with a line of credit of up to $500,000 to cover the time in between the claim and the claim payment.
“The Main Street Program is designed to provide cash flow needs in between the insurance recovery.”
For storm-affected businesses who may have questions about what their options are, Van Wagner suggests contacting his organization.
“You can call our Business Action Center here in Trenton and that’s 1-866-534-7789 and we can hear from the individual business owner what their specific business needs are help direct them to where we think is the best financial vehicle if that’s what they need might be.”
The losses are still being tallied and it take time for the state to assess the true economic impact of Hurricane Sandy, says Van Wagner.
“It’s anecdotal at this point but we’ve heard estimates and this would be regionally $30-50 billion. it’ll be a long while before we have a real sense here in New Jersey as to what that cost will be. i think the simple answer is this is a storm that affected probably every business in the state whether you suffered physical damage or not you were without power and many were without for two weeks.”