As PPP loan program ends, Tampa Bay small businesses' haul nears $10 billion

[RegularJam]

An early business casualty of the coronavirus pandemic was one that hit Jill Whelan, owner of A Special Touch — Cakes by Carolynn in St. Petersburg, particularly hard: The wedding industry.

“The whole cake industry,” she said. “Birthdays, everything.”

Whelan’s business got two relief loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, one for $20,377 last year, and another for $20,000 in January. She used them to pay bills and salaries for her staff of three.

“We closed down for a month,” she said. “But those PPP loans are the things that saved us. Because if I didn’t have that, we would have had to shut our doors.”

Tampa Bay Times

[mountain grammy]

1. I have 3 friends who still have their businesses

Thanks to PPP loans. $10,000 to $20,000. Just enough to keep them above water.