How the Biden Administration will impact your SMB

Thursday, February 4, 2021
Posted by Robert Beagle

Over the past year, we have watched as small businesses worldwide are forced to close their doors with many employees left without work. Other companies that haven't closed are struggling, citing restrictions and lost revenue among the coronavirus lockdown as the cause.

62.8 percent of Americans agree that 2020 was the worst year of their lives.

But as we look ahead to 2021, we hope for a much better year. Many are optimistic, yet small and medium businesses are still worried about what kind of change the Biden administration could bring to the economy.

An outcry for normalcy

However, statistics from a survey of 1,000 Americans who own or are employed by an SMB show more worry than optimism.

Nearly all Americans can agree on one thing: almost 90 percent (89.9) of polled Americans believe the Biden presidency will impact their lives.

An outcry for normalcy comes from 47 percent of those surveyed, while 46 percent want to see the unemployment rate drop.

But for nearly a third of Americans, the census is things will go downhill. 31.5 percent of the survey group think things will get worse, and 31.2 percent fear higher taxes.

With 54.7 percent of Americans reporting they were optimistic enough to make a New Year's resolution for 2021, let's discuss some predictions for the coming year.


SMBs need to stay flexible

On an optimistic note, one expert (LJ Suzuki, CFOShare) claims the health crisis may create opportunities for start-ups, citing companies like Uber, Airbnb, and FedEx, which were all started in the middle of large depressions or recessions.

However, that same expert talked about how Biden's election could mean tax increases for some businesses, and there is no telling right now how this will impact various SMBs.

Small businesses need a reminder to stay flexible, as we don't know what this year has in store for us, much like we were pre-coronavirus.


Aid received by SMBs in 2020

Among the 2020 lockdown, more than 7.1 million American businesses received some form of aid from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Among this financial aid, 5.2 million small businesses received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan during the aid program's first and second portions. Additionally, 1.8 million businesses received debt relief from the SBA, and more than 42,300 firms received a loan via the SBA's flagship 7(a) loan program in the year 2020.

In 2020, the SBA backed more than $547 billion in small business loans -- with much more likely in 2021.

Key to Success

After a long year, many Americans are claiming PTSD adjacent effects from the lockdown and other events that transpired in 2020.

61.1 percent of Americans call for a cure for COVID-19; many believe this could be the key to the success of small businesses around the world.

Under the Biden administration, plenty of people are excited about the opportunity this could create for a returned emphasis on the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), an insurance exchange built to help small businesses compare health plans and enroll in coverage.

Americans and SMB owners worldwide are just hoping to return to some normalcy among the Biden administration -- and I think we can all agree.