Here & Now

WEDC Secretary Shares Steps to Protect Small Businesses

Frederica Freyberg:

The gradual reopening of the Wisconsin economy is based on several key tracking factors in the COVID-19 pandemic. As the governor has said, it’s more than just flipping a switch. The new normal isn’t anything like we’ve seen before. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will offer advice and guidance to business owners on how to prepare with safety in mind. Secretary and CEO of the WEDC, Missy Hughes, joined us earlier from Viroqua. And, Secretary Hughes, thanks very much for doing so.

Missy Hughes:

Good morning.

Frederica Freyberg:

So you described this week the impacts of COVID-19 on Wisconsin businesses as incredibly devastating and now we see results of the survey out of UW-Oshkosh released this week that showed 35% of businesses polled in Wisconsin say they will be forced to close in the coming months, and that’s just from the impact so far. What is your reaction to that survey?

Missy Hughes:

You know, that survey is part of the data collection that we’re doing to understand the impact. We kind of have three levels for that. One is we’re looking at big data. So we’re looking at what are the consumer transactions that are happening around the state and trying to understand where are we seeing things steady as she goes and real drops off in activity. We’re also using our network of economic developers all around the state to tell us anecdotally what they’re seeing. So the survey is really in line with what we were anticipating and seeing, and it is devastating to just see the drop in economic activity and know that that’s really hitting small businesses in particular.

Frederica Freyberg:

How have federal funds coming into Wisconsin helped small businesses?

Missy Hughes:

So we’ve actually done well in the application process and the approval process for the small business administration loans. We have about $8 billion worth of federal funding headed our way to 43,000 businesses. So that’s about $190,000 per business. As we see the next tranche of federal dollars coming through, we hope to continue the application and approval process. Our small businesses have done well because they have good relationships with their community banks and their credit unions. They’ve been all working extra hard to get those applications in and I anticipate we’ll keep seeing that come through.

Frederica Freyberg:

Is it possibly enough, though? What kind of help would you like to see at the state level in terms of grant programs?

Missy Hughes:

Yeah. I think more is going to be needed across the board. And what we are looking at is an opportunity to target grant funding specifically to help businesses in that moment when they’re reopening their doors. So if we had an ability to give a $2500 grant to a business, they could use that to buy their perishable supplies, maybe to help float payroll for a few days, do some marketing to let people know that they’re open. I’m just looking for that little bit of grease that will help that economic engine restart. But I think it’s definitely — we’re looking under the mattress, we’re looking wherever we can to try and find resources to help the businesses of Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

This greasing the engine to get the economy started again is something that you’re calling “Wisconsin Ready” and what does that entail?

Missy Hughes:

So there’s three parts to “Wisconsin Ready.” One is we talked about the data and getting our information about the impact and what’s happening. And then being there with the businesses to stand open, to reopen their doors. So if you’re a small restaurant or a small retail business, you need to think about what is your consumer expecting when they come in your doors. You know, when will I be cleaning? What do I do in a dressing room at a retail store to make sure that my customers are comfortable? So we are reaching out to businesses to get their thoughts on what are they thinking about, because the businesses are being very proactive about this. Then we’re collecting that information so we can keep sharing it out throughout Wisconsin. The next piece is we talked about helping businesses find resources, whether it’s federal or state level. And then the third part is getting the word out that we’re all doing this together. We all need to be thinking about social distancing together. If you’re a customer walking into a cafe or retail store, you need to be conscious of that employee, think about their safety, think about other folks in the store. That’s how we’re really going to get this economy rolling again is if we’re all being conscious of what we need to do in order to protect ourselves. And then we won’t find ourselves in a place where we’re stepping back. We can keep moving forward.

Frederica Freyberg:

Ahead of that, though, for the businesses that remained open as essential, we have been seeing clusters of cases in places like Green Bay and elsewhere with COVID-19 spreading through plant floors. I’ve read reports of some employees, not necessarily in these plants, but others, saying that they are working elbow to elbow on the line, some of them saying they don’t have protective equipment. So what is WEDC doing about those kinds of conditions right now?

Missy Hughes:

Well, we’ve found ourselves in that conversation a bit because as we were navigating the essential versus nonessential conversation with businesses, we received calls from employees concerned that their business isn’t really essential but they have to go to work or they’re concerned about the workplace conditions. And what we’ve really done is work with employees as best we can, understanding these are tough conversations, to say, “Can you talk to your employer? Can you let them know that you’re concerned about the safety here? You’re concerned about how this is — the workflow on the floor.” And I think employees have been really working with employers to do that. I’ve seen employers shifting their protocols, making sure that they’re doing what they can to have employees safe. A lot of employees are being very flexible and allowing folks to — if you’re not comfortable being there because you have someone at home who’s compromised, employers are being very flexible there, too. So it’s a work in progress as these things kind of develop.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Secretary Missy Hughes, thanks very much for joining us and good luck.

Missy Hughes:

Thank you so much.