Small businesses were hit hard by the pandemic, and the Paycheck Protection Program was key to keeping many afloat, business leaders say.
Of all government aid programs that aimed to help businesses survive the pandemic, the PPP’s forgivable loans were – by far – the best, said Brian Calley, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan.
“It was a lifeline for many, many businesses,” Calley said. “While no program is perfect … they invented a brand new program in the middle of the worst part of the pandemic and deployed resources that made an enormous difference.”
Now, as the program winds to a close, leaders are reflecting on its impact.
The federally funded PPP started just weeks after the pandemic hit and had a second round of funding in 2021. Michigan businesses took advantage.
Nationwide, businesses received nearly 12 million PPP loans adding up to almost $800 billion. Michigan businesses accounted for about 300,000 loans for more than $24 billion, per federal data.
In an SBAM survey of 617 Michigan small businesses, 91% received PPP money. No other form of government aid was used by more than 31% of respondents.
While other programs limited how many businesses would get money or offered smaller amounts of dough, the PPP was so successful because it was widely available and offered big money – up to $10 million in the first round and $2 million in the second round.
“For small businesses, I don’t think anything came close to the (PPP),” Calley said.
Only 21 Michigan businesses got the maximum amount of $10 million.
The list includes Taco Bell franchise owner Sundance Inc., media publisher Crain Communications and TSFR (Team Schostak Family Restaurants) Apple Venture – which owns dozens of Applebee’s restaurants in Michigan.
A vast majority of the loans were less than $150,000, but most of the money given was through loans $150,000 and higher. Here’s the Michigan breakdown:
- Loans $150,000 and less: 272,247 loans totaling $7.9 billion
- Loans $150,000 and greater: 29,845 loans totaling $16.4 billion
Here are all of the Michigan businesses that received loans of $150,000 or higher, sorted by who received the most. (Can’t see the chart? Click here.)
In the first round, only businesses with 500 or fewer employees could get money. The second round was limited to businesses with 300 employees or fewer. In most cases, a business could get a loan 2.5 times the size of its average monthly payroll.
Most of the money had to be spent on payroll and other eligible expenses for the loan to be forgiven – and the employer had to keep up employee pay. Most businesses got most or all of the loan forgiven, although Calley said some treated the money like a standard loan, spending the money on other needs with plans of paying it back.
PPP stopped accepting applications at the end of May, although not all businesses have received the money they’ve been approved for, yet, Calley said.
In less-impacted industries – like construction and manufacturing – the money may have wiped away all pandemic-related losses, Calley said. For others – like in the hospitality industry – it only covered a portion of the losses.
But either way, Michigan’s post-pandemic rebound looks much rosier because of the program, Calley said. About 72% of business owners are optimistic about their long-term survival, while 14% are pessimistic about making it, per the June SBAM survey.
“Without it, it would have been catastrophic,” Calley said.
Here’s the list of businesses that received PPP loans of $150,000 or less. (It could take a minute to load since there are more than 270,000 entries. Can’t see the chart? Click here.)
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Michigan got $24 billion in PPP money – here’s who got the most - MLive.com
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