Category Archives: Small Business
Negotiation, Not Eviction, Is the Best Solution to Disputes Between Commercial Tenants and Their Landlords During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Washington DC area is doing a lot better than most places in the United States at this stage in the COVID-19 pandemic, but even here, every small business owner’s plans are in disarray. Paying rent on a store or other commercial property that is only open at limited capacity, if at all, is… Read More »
When Your Business Model Adapts to the Changing Times, but Your Landlord Doesn’t
Customers and business owners are eager to participate in the economy in whatever ways they can. Washingtonians enthusiastically buy food from the curbside versions of their favorite restaurants during their breaks from working at home. Adapting to the economic climate of the COVID-19 pandemic is essential to the survival of small businesses, and entrepreneurs… Read More »
Should You Return Your Paycheck Protection Program Loan Money?
The Paycheck Protection Program, a provision of the CARES Act designed to grant relief to small businesses, has turned out to be anything but pennies from heaven. No one was surprised that the first round of funding disappeared so quickly, since the restrictions on commercial activities were so severe that virtually every small business… Read More »
The Paycheck Protection Program: Not Just for Payroll Anymore?
To say the least, the Paycheck Protection Program, a provision of the CARES Act designed specifically to help small business owners keep workers employed, did not grant small business owners’ every wish or solve all their problems. The fact that the loan money enables business owners to keep paying their employees has protected many… Read More »
Good Enough Quick Fixes to Keep Your Business Financially Solvent Until Next Month
The DC area has yet to see the downward trend in new COVID-19 cases that the governments of Maryland and DC need to see before they can lift the stay-at-home orders, but the live updates from the Washington Post make it clear that reopening the DMV region is on everyone’s minds. LaQuandra Nesbitt of… Read More »
You Might Be Eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program, but Be Sure to Read the Fine Print
The news updates about the COVID-19 pandemic focus more and more on reopening, but right now most small business owners in the Washington DC area are waiting anxiously to see what happens next. Deciding when to reopen is a difficult task, indeed, unless you have superhuman ability to predict the future. Almost any course… Read More »
If You Were Lucky Enough to Get a PPP Loan, You Could Be in for an Unpleasant Surprise at Tax Time
The Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 contains many sources of emergency funding for individuals and small businesses to help them survive the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As with almost any source of funding for businesses, the money you can access through the CARES Act does not… Read More »
The Future of Small Stores in Big Malls Hangs in the Balance
All small business owners are worried about the future these days, but the ones whose fate is closely tied to that of large corporations have a special set of worries all their own. With retail businesses first closed down to reduce loss of life and health in the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners hoped that… Read More »
Dispute Between Co-Owners of Consignment Shop Ends Up in Civil and Criminal Courts
Even among people who are generally cynical about capitalism, consignment shops are associated with innocence and good intentions. Their frequent customers are elegant grandmothers and frugal fashionistas. Consignment shops are where you go to get designer clothes without the commercialism. In a consignment shop, one would not expect to find the sort of ugliness… Read More »
The Owners of Two Businesses Signed a Partnership Agreement, but Then One of Them Started Treating the Other Like a Tenant
Things get complicated when small businesses get big. One of the most memorable episodes of Reading Rainbow featured the book Little Nino’s Pizzeria, about a family that owns a small neighborhood restaurant. An investor approaches Nino and convinces him to open a bigger restaurant, but while customers enjoy Big Nino’s as much as its… Read More »
