Small businesses in Massachusetts have suffered serious damage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey has found, with just one in three reporting they are fully open. Financial results for the first half of the year show the scale of the challenge, with 64% of small businesses reporting drops in gross revenue of 25% or more for the first half of 2020. Nearly half (46%) of small businesses say they have laid off or furloughed employees, including 77% of restaurants. Businesses owned by women and people of color have been hit particularly hard and report greater financial losses. 

That’s according to a new survey of small businesses released by The MassINC Polling Group. The survey was sponsored and distributed by a large group of business and community organizations across Massachusetts. The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission worked closely with our local partners to distribute the small business survey particularly with the Small Business Coalition, spearheaded by the Lawrence Partnership and Amplify Latinx. 1,868 small businesses in Massachusetts participated in the survey.

The results of the survey have been revealing and instructive in how we should move forward with our recovery efforts. Some of the key takeaways that MVPC feels are especially important for the Merrimack Valley are:

• Business size makes a major difference. The smallest businesses in Massachusetts are hurting the most, and have the most difficult road to recovery. This could exacerbate inequalities during recovery, since women and minority owned businesses are often smaller. 
• Looking ahead, the assistance businesses need most is just cash: loans, grants, new sources of revenue.
• The smallest businesses face additional challenges in recovery. Many are individuals in business. Some have no formal banking or insurance relationships for their business. 

These analyses are particularly important for the Merrimack Valley because they speak directly to several issues which are prioritized in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). One of which is to focus on growing small businesses and connecting them to resources.

Small businesses are more resilient to changes in the economy, meaning they respond quicker and rebound faster to large economy changes. Small businesses make our local economy stronger because of the industry diversity they represent. Many small businesses in many different industries are a more resilient mix then a few large employers in a few industries. Small businesses (especially micro businesses) tend to be owned and operated by local minorities and women. For all of these reasons and more its paramount that we focus our resources on protecting and growing small businesses in our region.

It’s clear, from the Mass. Small Business Recovery Survey, that the economic fallout from the COVID-19 Pandemic is impacting small businesses the most. Our recovery efforts need to prioritize small businesses, particularly micro businesses, or we risk losing them entirely. Click here for a Power Point Presentation of the survey’s results.