GREENSBORO, N.C. — UPDATE: Due to overwhelming interest, the City of Greensboro’s Office of Equity and Inclusion is offering a second free, online webinar from 10-11 a.m. Friday, May 1 focused on funding relief options for small businesses. Registration is required by Thursday, April 30.
It's been weeks since Greensboro businesses have seen any real foot traffic.
The streets of downtown are bare, besides the few cars on the road, joggers, and those picking up food like a slice from Cheesecakes by Alex.
“We’re used to having large crowds on the weekend but because of the stay-at-home order it's been different, to say the least," said Cheesecakes by Alex manager Stephanie Friel.
Friel said they’ve cut down on their product and put plans to expand on hold.
She’s determined to live up to the 'Greensboro Strong' motto.
The city of Greensboro is working to make sure small businesses like Cheesecakes by Alex come out on top when they reopen.
Maria Hicks-Few with the city's equity and inclusion office said they're offering a virtual workshop Thursday to connect small businesses with resources.
“As a part of this workshop SCORES will talk about how to do a true business assessment to see where they are now, pre-COVID, during COVID, and looking to see what you can do post-COVID,” Hicks-Few said. “ And also talk about some of the funding that’s out there.”
They'll also give guidance on how to spend the money they get from the Paycheck Protection Program.
“Now that this next pile of money has come, we’ll show them how to go about applying and using that money to the best of their ability,” Hicks-Few said.
“We are so connected with each other -- this will greatly help all of us,” Friel said. “It’s not just the businesses -- it’s the community. It’ll help us get back to our normal stance."
Thursday’s seminar is full but it's just the first in a series.
Online registration will open Wednesday, April 29 for a second seminar on Friday.
Next week, the city will host a seminar specifically for businesses owned by women and minorities.
Call the city's Equity and Inclusion office at 336-373-2674 for more information about the workshops.