During the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis, FSBDC at FIU triples its average caseload and also helps launch 116 new businesses Over the past 18 months the Florida SBDC at FIU Business has helped more than 3,000 local businesses in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties survive the COVID-19 pandemic and continue on the path […]
Disaster Preparedness
COVID relief: EIDL loans can now be up to $2 million. Here’s the lowdown
The Small Business Administration has raised the cap on COVID-19 related loans from $500,000 to $2 million, to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency is set to begin approving loans with the higher caps Oct. 8. EIDL applications will close Dec. 31, 2021, unless the program’s […]
You’re invited to join this conversation about small business lending and navigating a crisis
In Miami, a coalition of funders, leaders and local Community Development Financial Institutions came together to ensure that as many of our small businesses as possible would survive the pandemic. The RISE Miami-Dade Fund (RISE), which the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners seeded with CARES Act funding, distributed $20 million to […]
COVID relief grant program for micro-businesses extended, expanded
A Coral Gables-based bank and local nonprofit have renewed their micro-grant program supporting micro-businesses. Amerant Bank recently announced it’d be continuing the initiative it began with Branches, a community empowerment org, amid the pandemic last year. The partnership’s micro-grant program sought to provide funds to mom-and-pop operations who were hit hard by […]
COVID relief: Deadline for Shuttered Venue Operations Grant (SVOG) is Aug. 20
Here is an Aug. 11, 2021 press release with information about the Shuttered Venue Operations Grant program offered by the SBA. The deadline looms: Aug. 20. Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration is announcing a call to all eligible Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) applicants seeking economic aid for live entertainment small […]
Survey: Almost all Florida small businesses negatively impacted by pandemic, but outlook lifts
The Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, the Florida Chamber Foundation, CareerSource Florida, and the University of West Florida Haas Center today released new data from the second phase of a research study to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the state’s small businesses as the pandemic and subsequent economic impacts surpassed the one-year mark. […]
Your small business is at risk of a cyberattack, too. Put a prevention plan in place
Think your business is too small to be target of the cyber bad guys? Think again. It seems like we are always hearing reports of cyberattacks and breaches. This week, it’s Kaseya, a cybersecurity services provider to companies of all sizes, from SMBs to large companies, and its clients that […]
In wake of Surfside tragedy, disaster loans available to impacted businesses
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced that financial assistance is now available to small businesses and nonprofits in declared disaster areas after the tragic collapse of the oceanfront condo building in Surfside.. The funds are available through the U.S. Small Business Administration in the form of low-interest Business Physical […]
HERE WE GO AGAIN: WITH A HURRICANE SWIRLING OUT THERE, IS YOUR BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN UP TO DATE?
This post was written last year and has been updated. While we hope South Florida will be spared from the worst of Hurricane Elsa now headed toward Florida, it’s time to dust off your business and personal hurricane plan. It is also a good reminder about the importance of disaster […]
COVID relief: Targeted EIDL Advance grant program now open to all eligible businesses
The Small Business Administration wants all eligible small businesses to apply for its Economic Injury Disaster Loans and its Targeted EIDL Advance grant program — and it is trying to get the word out. In recent months, the SBA had been inviting small businesses who had previously been shortchanged by […]