Joseph Whipkey, Staff Writer
The effects of the COVID-19 virus continue to seriously leave its mark on the country. 97 percent of America is currently under stay-at-home orders. On April 8, America recorded the highest death toll in one day via the virus, causing unemployment across the country continues to skyrocket.
Unemployment claims in every state have set records in consecutive weeks in multiple states across the country. Over 10 million claims were filed at the end of march with 6.6 million being filed in the final week of March setting a record for most in a week ever.
With everyone ordered to stay at home and only businesses deemed essential allowed open, small business sales are plummeting.
A study by Forbes noted that many owners worry about the future of their company as very small numbers of customers if any can provide companies income with the safety regulations in place.
Shelly Ruff from Simply Made Kreations located inside the Westmoreland Mall commented on her experience. The store itself is made up of many vendors who rent out space inside the store to sell their own homemade goods.
The coronavirus has completely cut off the income of Ruff’s company. This drought of sales affects more than just her, however.
“I lose my sales plus the rent…For the vendors no one is making any money,” Ruff explained. Simply Made Kreations is a store made for vendors to display their products and homemade goods in an ideal location. Holding a spot in the mall means many people will see these products, which brings many vendors trying to rent out space to sell their own goods.
Ruff explained, “I make the same amount of money every month from my vendors,” which makes up the majority of her income.
As of right now, none of Ruff’s vendors have pulled out of the store. Ruff is not charging the vendors for the downtime brought on by the virus which should help her maintain vendors.
Ruff revealed some of the different struggles other small businesses may have to deal with under different estate policies.
Her location in the mall has a policy that states in exchange for her spot in the mall, she pays the mall back a percentage of her profits. Most other stores have to pay a monthly rental fee every few months for their space in the mall.
As a result, since Ruff is not making any money she doesn’t have to pay the mall much if anything at all for her store’s location.
Ruff went on to say that it doesn’t affect her as much as some other small business owners, where their company is their only source of income. For many people, the lack of customers may make it difficult to keep their company running and filing for bankruptcy.
Once this virus shutdown is taken care of, it is highly encouraged to go and support your local small businesses.