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Community leaders offer assistance to small business owners, inform of potential scams

Tue, 04/07/2020 - 9:17 am

The Breckenridge Economic Development Corporation and Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a Facebook live event to provide insight on the SBA loan and grant programs.

The event occurred at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 1 and featured Virgil Moore, the CEO and Executive Director of the Breckenridge Economic Development (EDC), Carrie Holson, the Executive Director of the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce and Stephens County Judge Michael Roach.

“With the limit being 500 employees, the Economic Injury Disaster loan and Paycheck Protection program(PPP) programs, gives eligibility to all Breckenridge businesses,” Moore said. “Businesses can also get up to $10,000 in advance funds and will not need to repay under any circumstance.”

These programs are linked to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress and signed into law on Friday, March 27 by President Donald J. Trump.

“It’s an estimated $2 trillion package and gives $10 billion to the ideal loans and $350 billion for the paycheck protection loan,” Moore said. “You apply for theses loan directly from the SBA government website, and there are no loan, guarantee or prepayment fees.”

According to the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the new bill offers relief to the small businesses and restaurants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program works in connection with the SBA’s existing 7(a) loan program and will make forgivable loans of up to ten million dollars available to qualifying small businesses.

“The main thing is a business can’t be afraid to ask for help,” Holson said. “The Chamber of Commerce, the EDC, the county and the city have so many people who are willing to help and if you have a need just express what those needs are.”

Breckenridge EDC is also informing small-business owners to avoid scams during the pandemic.

According to an email from the EDC, scammers are using the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) name to con small businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 crisis through phone calls, emails, text messages and letters.

Please note:
• There is no cost to apply for a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan and SBA will never ask you to provide a credit card.
• Do not release any private information (social security number, date of birth, etc.) or banking information in response to an unsolicited caller, letter, email, or text.
• Emails from SBA or other legitimate government agencies will always end in .gov.
• An SBA logo on an email or webpage does not guarantee the information is accurate or from the SBA.
• Check for spelling and grammatical errors in an email and be wary of clicking on any links or attachments.

For help with applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, call 800-659-2955 or email diastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Individuals can also use a text telephone (TTY) by calling 1-800-877-8339.