What I Now Know to be True: Reflections on being a CARES Act Advisor

On March 27th, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), was signed into law and overnight changed the way Federal Government embraced small business enterprise in America.  The Cares Act legislation, and more specifically the Paycheck Payment Protection (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), was a realization that without supporting the small business sector there was a real risk of the economy slipping into a deep recession and even depression.

Small business accounted for just under 42 percent of the gross national product 2019 and in March of 2020, there was a fear that this production output was in real jeopardy.   On the flip side, there were owners of small business that had seen their economic outlooks turned upside down out of no fault of their own.   This intersection of national and individual economic peril is where we found ourselves as an advisory partner.

Our market prominence is rooted in building resilient business models through long-range financial operating system strategies.  Now in the blink of an eye, our focus had to shift to one of how to address very short-term strategies needed for survival, while not abandoning the long-range planning goals we hold true.   The need to provide immediate guidance and support to the small business community-at-large was clear to us as a company early on in the crisis.

The decision to provide upfront guidance at no charge to as many small businesses as we possibly could become our internal rallying cry and shaped our efforts to give back. 

We had talents and we would offer up those talents up in a variety of ways to help.   

It was that simple.

I became the team’s CARES Act expert and began work with small businesses (whether they were clients or not) to help navigate the PPP and EIDL loan landscapes.   In the days, weeks and months that followed I began to encounter over and over again the true spirit of the Nation’s entrepreneurial community.  My unique collaborations with over 100 business owners, to secure funding required to support job retention, was one of the single most rewarding experiences of my professional career.   

I experienced firsthand the true measure of success for any business is the unyielding optimism of its leaders in the face of adversity.  It is an experience I will carry with me always.

Thank you, small business owners, everywhere.

Respectfully,

Robert LaMothe

CARES Act SpecialistMACKEY