Welcome to the BRA COVID-19 Resource Guide. Below you will find resources for the benefit of all board specialty retailers (BRA Retail Members and non-members alike) during this challenging period. The Board Retailers Association is actively aggregating resources to assist you in navigating these uncharted waters. We update this page with additional resources regularly. If you are interested in contributing relevant information or helpful resources that will benefit other board specialty retailers, please email our Executive Director at doug@boardretailers.org
Relevant and trustworthy online resources providing facts related to transmission of Covid-19 (Corona Virus) and strategies to battle the spread #spreadthestokenotthevirus
Center for Disease Control (CDC) – Official Website
Flatten The Curve – Everything you and your customers need to know to battle COVID-19 is on this website
World Health Organization – Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak
Relevant educational webinars (on-demand)
> Crystal Media – 3 Tips To Get Started With Social Selling Today and Staying Top-of-Mind and Connected to Customers During a Pandemic
> Management One – 1) “The Retailer’s Guide to the Economic Stimulus Package & Financial Options to Address COVID-19” – The CARES Act is a complex mix of government aid and bank loans each with their own timelines and requirements. The parameters and regulations for these loans is changing hourly! 2) With rent being one of the highest monthly expenses for brick and mortar retail businesses, it’s a good idea to approach the subject of temporarily altering the structure of your agreement – The Art of Landlord Negotiation to Ease the Highest Monthly Expense In Retail 3) Retailer Roundtable on Recovery 4) How To Right Size Your Business For Recovery 5) Internal Store Processes That Are Working 6) Purchasing Strategy Reimagined 6) 2021 PPP, ERC and Beyond
> Outdoor Industry – Economic Impact of Coronavirus and What Happens Next and SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Information for Small Businesses and Understanding What Is In The Economic Stimulus Package plus COVID-19 WEBINAR: FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT (FFCRA): WHAT ARE YOUR OBLIGATIONS FOR PAID AND UNPAID LEAVE? as well as Thriving In Chaotic Times: The Neuroscience Behind Our Distress and Insurance Coverage For Outdoor Retailers AND Manufacturing Companies and Conversation With Buck Rowlee Sales Rep (NC) plus Real Estate Rights And Strategies For Business Owners and Small Business Support To Boost Economic Recovery plus INGENUITY & REDISCOVERY: THE CONSUMER RESPONSE TO COVID-19 and Transitioning Retail Experiences To Keep Shoppers Safe and How Specialty Retailers Are Reopening, Repositioning and Reinventing After Pandemic
> Outdoor Retailer Weekly Chat – Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor – This webinar will goes over how to bring your crew back from furlough, how to make your customers feel safe again and how to manage the overall optics of your store.
> Outside Looks Retail – Retail-Vendor Relationships (During A Pandemic)
> Procopio’s Labor & Employee Team – Answers to the Questions Employers should be asking regarding COVID-19 plus how business insurance can help cover losses related to Covid-19
> Retail Dive – Open For Business: A 360 Look At The People, Processes and Data Of Reopening Retail In 2020 and Navigating the New Landscape of Contactless Operations plus Keeping Up with COVID-19 Signage to Improve the Customer Experience
> Retail Smart Guys – Reopening Your Store – The Things That You Are Not Thinking About (Getting Through The Covid-19 Nightmare) plus access to the Retail Recovery Playbook
> Retail Toolkit Webinar Series – Campfire Series – tackles the challenges facing every store owner, with practical, actionable advice from industry leaders, expert consultants, and independent specialty retailers like you
> Retail Wire Webinars – The New Real Time Reality Of Inventory and Empowering Retail Workers (Technology Advancements And Handheld Devices
> Stand Up 4 Retail and Retail X Webinar Series (brought to you by the good people behind Surf Expo and Outdoor Retailer) –
1) 5 Realities Retailers Can Do Now To Help Protect Their Businesses Later 2) 5 Virtual Strategies Brick & Mortar Stores Can Easily Implement Now 3) How Brick & Mortar Stores Can Quickly Implement Other Selling Strategies Into Their Operations Amidst COVID-19 4) Best Practices For Curbside Pick Ups, Local Deliveries, Shipping and More Amidst Covid 19 5) Opening Your Virtual Doors: How To Start Selling Online During Covid 19 6) Safeguard Your Amazon Business: How To Keep People From Stealing Your Sales (Brand Protection) 7) How To Increase Your Webstore Traffic 8) How To Grow Your Amazon Business For Massive Success In A Post-Pandemic World 9) Covid 19 Communications: How To Keep Your Customers Engaged 10) 10 Action Steps To Rebuilding Your Retail Business 11) Re-Imagining the Digital Shopping Experience with Immersive 3D and AR Product Media 12) Retail Innovation in the #NovelEconomy 13) The Big (Digital) Picture: Connecting Channels and Bridging the Customer Experience 14) Brick-and-Mortar in the U.S. Post-COVID-19
> Total Retail Webinars – Covid-19: Driving Permanent Change For Brands And Retailers and Critical Factors to Grow Retail Revenue in a Disruptive Economy plus Covid 19’s Impact On Retail: Best Practices For Personalization and Essential Factors To Consider As Customers Return To Store
> Twilio – The New Normal of Retail: Digital
> Wise Marketer Group – Navigating the Crosswinds: Managing a Loyalty Program in Uncertain Times
Financial Resources and Government Updates
Tap into financial assistance, tax relief and other options
Small Business Relief from the Federal Government
Accounting Institute – Breakdown of Coronavirus Tax Breaks For U.S. Citizens
Chamber of Commerce.org – Coronavirus-Small-Business-Guide
Facebook Small Business Grants: Facebook Boost Grant Program
Federal COVID-19 Relief Bills Overview – Update on government efforts to support individuals and businesses.
FinIMPACT – Best 8 Financial Tools To Combat Covid 19 and Small Business Grant Opportunities
Free Legal Assistance – 30+ Law Firms Sign Up for New Program to Provide Pro Bono Assistance to Help Small Businesses Survive Economic Impact of COVID-19
Institute for Local Self Reliance – Lobbying Efforts on Behalf of Small Business
IRS Coronavirus Tax Relief – Tax Filing Update from the IRS and Extension On Tax Filing Deadline And Economic Impact Payments
LendEDU Opportunities – How Small Businesses Can Get Help During Coronavirus Outbreak
Management One – Covid 19 Relief Package – U.S. Congress Passes Bill (plus link to downloadable retail tools and Additional EIDL Options-Does your business qualify?
SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) – This comparison chart is very helpful plus link to informative Forbes Article: PPP Loans Part 2—What Small Businesses Need To Know as well as New PPP guidance issued by SBA, Treasury from Journal of Accountancy published January 7, 2021
State by State Tax Relief – The American Institute for Certified Public Accountants has created a guide for state tax filing guidance for the coronavirus pandemic
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a mandatory employee rights poster that should be posted or be distributed to employees electronically (email or online portal). Also be sure to visit their Questions and Answers page
U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Small Business Loan Guide and Checklist and Small Business Resources – The coronavirus is causing financial difficulties for businesses across the U.S. Here are five resources that can help you navigate this difficult situation – plus Small Business Reopen Guide and State By State Business Reopening Guidance
U.S. Small Business Administration – Funding options – The SBA will work directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and non-profits that have been severely impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. According to the SBA, small business owners in all U.S. states and territories are currently eligible for a low interest loan due to the coronavirus.
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options
Contact your local SBA Office – https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/find/
State Level Small Business Relief
California — Sales tax relief, $500 million in grants, and an additional $12.5 million added to the California Rebuilding Fund. Learn more. In addition, the cities of Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco, as well as one Los Angeles-based organization, are offering loans, grants and donations designed to help small businesses.
For new Small Business Relief Grant applicants in Round 2, please mark these dates and times on your calendar:
- Round 2 opens on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at 8:00 am PST
- Round 2 closes on Monday, February 8, 2021 at 6:00 pm PST
- Notification about selection: February 11 – 18, 2021
To help you with the application process, Lendistry has prepared short videos that walk you through each step. To watch these videos, click here.
The Program and Application Guide details the entire application process, step-by-step, and provides tips on how to improve your application experience. It also includes screenshots of the application and Portal to help you familiarize yourself with the process. To view the Program and Application Guide, click here
To apply for a grant, you will need to do so through a partner. You can find a partner by language or by county at www.CAReliefGrant.com. Please apply once and through one partner only.
Colorado — The state of Colorado and the city of Denver have both created programs to help small businesses. The Colorado COVID Relief Fund’s purpose is to raise and allocate funds for community-based organizations including small businesses, with general operating grants of up to $25,000. The Denver Business Assistance Programs provide up to a $7,500 in cash grants.
Florida — The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, which has aided businesses since 1992, offers small businesses who have been hurt by COVID-19 with “short-term, interest-free working capital loans are intended to bridge the gap between the time a major catastrophe hits and when a business has secured longer-term recovery resources.”
New Mexico — The governor signed House Bill 1, which provides for (in addition to other individual provisions) $100 million in grants for small businesses in New Mexico. The grant program will be administered by the New Mexico Finance Authority.
New York — New York City created the NYC Small Business Continuity Loan Fund to help small businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis. The fund targets businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have had sales drop 25% or more, and offers them zero-interest loans up to $75,000.
Washington — Seattle small businesses are receiving aid from both Amazon and the city government of Seattle. Amazon created the Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund, which is designed to help businesses with fewer than 50 employees or less than $7 million in annual revenue. Seattle’s Small Business Stabilization Fund is designed to help low- and moderate-income business owners and offers grants up to $10,000.
If your state is not listed above, please email our Executive Director and he will respond with links to small business relief programs in your state.
If you are not completely familiar with the Covid 19 related restrictions in your State, you can click on State by State Retail Restrictions to learn more (updated March 30, 2021)
You can email doug@boardretailers.org if you would like us to send you the customizable form letter template as well as some links to relevant articles that will support your position, which you can send along to your Landlord with the letter.
If you are not yet a BRA Regular (no cost) or Distinguished Retail Member, please complete the super simple join form Shortly after it is received, we will email you the template and links as well as the link to access the BRA Office Depot Preferential Pricing Program.
Additional applicable retail related articles and resourceful websites via the following links:
Please note that the articles that are bolded have been added or updated in the past 10 days
- Action Watch – Core Retailer Survey On Ability To Survive Crisis plus Action Watch Shares Results From Recent Retailer Survey With Vipe Desai of PropagandaHQ.net and Pandemic Causes Massive Influx of New Surfers & Skaters
- Ad Age – Covid 19 Will Change Consumerism Forever
- Business Insider – People Are Boycotting Costco For Requiring Shoppers To Wear Masks In Stores — And It Reveals The Frightening Misconceptions That Still Exist About The Pandemic
- Bloomberg – Retailers Plan To Stop Paying Rent To Offset Virus
- Business Wire – New Study: Majority Of Americans Believe Stores Should Reopen By End of May, 2020 and Shoppers Are Ready To Buy Apparel But Don’t Feel Safe Trying It On As Stores Reopen
- CNBC – National Retail Federation CEO On Impact Of Coronavirus On Retailers and Retailers Are Begging For The Governments Help – But Treasury Might Not Listen plus Zuckerberg Announces Facebook Shops Ecommerce For Business
- CNN – Biden administration changes PPP rules to help reach the smallest businesses (New)
- Commerce Hub – Research: COVID-19 Shopping & Delivery Trends (downloadable report)
- Crystal Media – YOUR STORE MIGHT BE CLOSED, BUT YOUR BUSINESS ISN’T (Must Read!) plus DON’T OVERTHINK SOCIAL SELLING and SHARING THE SOCIAL MEDIA LOVE
- Economic Innovation Group – How To Rescue Main Street From Coronavirus Before It’s Too Late and Understanding The Paycheck Protection Program
- Forbes – List of Coronavirus Covid 19 Small Business Relief Programs plus US Chamber of Commerce Foundation Announces Fund To Help Small Businesses Dealing With Covid 19 and Is COVID-19 Causing More Socially Responsible Consumer Behavior?
- Global Wave Ventures – My Doors Are Closed……Now What??
- Harbaugh & Associates – Keep Calm and Carry On
- Harvard Business Review – The Pandemic Is Rewriting The Rules Of Retail
- Independent Retailer – State Regulations For In-Store Shopping
- Industry Resource – A panel of Industry Experts answering questions with a library of related Podcasts, Insights, Events, Videos, News, and more
- Institute for Local Self Reliance – What Small Businesses Can Do
- Lighthouse Insurance Group – What Can You Do If You Lose Your Health Insurance During This Crisis
- Lightspeed – Covid 19 Communication Plan
- Management One – Retail Recovery Playbook (Absolute Must Read!) plus PPP Round 2 – The-5-Best-Uses-Of-Funds-For-Retailers and Downloadable Tools (be sure to take advantage of these)
- Marketing Dive – The Tricky Business Of Retail Marketing In A Pandemic and Country Time Offers Stimulus Checks To Closed Lemonade Stands
- Monument Advocacy – Section by Section Analysis of CARES ACT
- MR Magazine – An Optimistic Editorial For Post Covid 19
- Mulligan Financial – The Ultimate Financial Guide for Overcoming Covid 19
- National Retail Federation – Covid 19 Retailer Resources plus NRF’s Operation Open Doors Checklist (Must Read!) and Corona Retail Restrictions By State (updated daily) and NRF Calls On Retailers To Set Nationwide Mask Policy and Retailers Back Small Business Comeback Act
- New York Times – Some European Nations Ease Pandemic Rules, But Move Warily and Is Six Feet Apart Enough Distancing? and now you can view Which States Are Reopening And Which Are Still Shut Down
- PR Newswire – NRF and RILA Reveil Blueprint For Shopping Safe plus Celerant Technology Offers Free Application to Help Retailers Reopen and Operate Online with Curbside Pickup
- PropagandHQ.net – Action Watch Shares Results From Recent Retailer Survey With Vipe Desai of PropagandaHQ.net and Expert Panel Provides Guidance for Beach Access During COVID-19 plus The Future of Retail in a Post COVID World with Arnaud Frade
- Retail Dive – Tracking retail’s response to the coronavirus – An updated list at which retailers are closing stores or reducing hours across North America plus is it a bad move to keep your doors open? – Why isn’t this store closed? and To Pay Or Not To Pay: Retailers Are Making Tough Decisions On Rent And Other Bills as well as What Retail Could Look Like After Stores Reopen and Why Storefronts Are Boarded Up During Covid 19 and Simon Plans Mall Reopenings With Traffic Limits, Shorter Hours and NRF, RILA create ‘Blueprint’ to reopen stores plus As States Grapple With Reopening Retail Industry Thinks It Has A Blue Print (Must Read!) plus After Covid 19, Is Curbside Delivery Here To Stay? and Facebook Debuts Shops E-commerce Initiative For Small Business and Target To Sell Products Through Instagram Checkout as well as Shopify Unveils New Pay Installment Money Management Features and Will Covid 19 Push Contactless Payments Into The Mainstream? and Tactics To Increase Consumer Spend And Shift Excess Stock (downloadable e-book) and How To Run A Store In A Pandemic plus Real-Time Recovery Steps Retailers Can Take as the U.S. Reopens for Business (downloadable playbook) and COVID-19 Boosts Contactless Payment Adoption: NRF as well as What A Vaccine Could Mean For Retail
- Retail Systems Research (RSR) – Sneak Peek: How Retailers Are Responding To COVID-19 With Location Intelligence
- Retail Toolkit – https://www.retailtoolkit.com/working-together
- Retail Wire – Which Retailers are Less Vulnerable to the Coronavirus and Whatever Comes Next? and Cancelled Orders and Furloughed Employees Are Part of Today’s Retail Reality plus Should Retailers Skip Rent? as well as When Should Non-Essential Retail Stores Reopen? and How Should Stores Reopen? and Do Retailers Need Pandemic Insurance Now? plus Consumers Providing A Pessimistic View of Coming Months and Has Covid 19 Made The Shop Local Message More Real For Consumers? and Should Face Masks Be Mandatory For Shoppers? as well as Is Curbside Pickup Just Getting Started? and What Should Retailers Do About Social Distancing Renegades? plus How Should Retailers Manage Touch But Not Buy? and How Can Brands Support Shuttered Independent Retailers and Retailers Focus On Making Safe Spaces For Customers And Associates as well as How Much Pent Up Shopping Demand Is There? and Anti-Mask Shoppers Find Themselves Publicly Shamed plus Do Americans want retailers to keep their social distance after COVID-19 is gone? and Has the pandemic changed shopping behaviors forever? and CVS and Target Join List of Retailers Requiring Masks in Stores as well as How Can Retailers Cope with Anxiety about the Future? and Study Finds US Consumer Behavior Will Change for Good Due to COVID-19 Pandemic and Why Does It Take A Crisis For Retailers To Get Innovative? plus What Does The Pandemic Mean For Mobile Pay? and Should Retailers Continue To Require Associates and Customers To Wear Masks Safety Culture – How Retailers Can Encourage Safe Purchasing After Covid 19 (Free E-Book Download)
- Shop Eat Surf – Some Landlords Offering Rent Relief to Retailers as well as Brands Find Varied Ways to Help Coronavirus Fight and Applications and Guidelines Released for Coronavirus Small Business Loans and Small Business Lending Program Off To A Bumpy Start plus WRV Previews What Store Reopenings May Look Like and Action Watch Surveys Core Retailers On Ability To Survive Crisis plus Core Retailers More Optimistic About Surviving Crisis and Billabong Launches Boardshort Program To Help Core Retailers and Bright Spots Emerge At Core Retail and Core Retailers Much More Optimistic After Big Rebound and Vans President On Leadership Lessons Learned During The Pandemic as well as NRF Calls On Retailers To Set Nationwide Mask Policy
- Snowsports Industries America (SIA) – CHANNEL MASTERY + SIA WEEKLY CONSUMER BEHAVIOR PULSE and SUPPORT THE RESTART ACT: PROTECT OUR INDUSTRY. CALL YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE TODAY
- SNEWS – How to Save Your Local Gear Shop and No End In Sight
- Surfer – Why are Surfers Getting Shot at by Police in Costa Rica? and Coastal Breeze Can Carry Covid 19 More Than 6 Feet Away Says Virus Expert plus Covid 19 Is Spurring A New Kind Of Localism
- The Retail Doctor – 30 Tips On How to Deal With Anxiety About Your Store’s Future and 5 Ways Retailers Can Embrace The New Consumer Mentality During Covid-19 plus The Impact of Store Appearance During Covid-19
- The Weekly (Outdoor Retailer) – The Prescription For Retail Recovery
- Total Retail – Covid-19 Begins to Impact Retailers E-Commerce Operations and Retailers Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic plus How Retailers Can Shift Digital Marketing in Response to the Coronavirus and 20 Pieces Of Advice For Marketing During Coronavirus and Pivoting Your Email Strategy Amid Covid 19? and This Decade Will Mark A Brick And Mortar Revival and 4 Delivery Trends Retailers Need To Consider During Covid 19 plus How To Make Free Shipping Possible (Part 9 including links to parts 1-8) and Steps Retailers Can Take to Optimize Physical Store Performance in a Post-COVID World as well as Retailers Are Rethinking Their Operations to Add Resiliency and “A Retailer’s Guide to Managing Their Business During a Crisis” (Must Read!) & Steps Retailers Can Take to Optimize Physical Store Performance in a Post-COVID World (Must Read!) and Covid 19 Resources – Business Strategies, Wellness Tips and Personal Finance plus Brick And Mortar Rethink: 5 Areas To Reconsider and 10 Reasons That Retail Will Never Be The Same Post Covid 19 (Part 2) as well as Crowdfunding Can Help Retailers If PPP Can’t and Customer Loyalty In A Fragmented Retail Market and Facebook And Instagram Launch Shops For Business and What Will Shopping Look Like In A Post Pandemic World plus 4 Important Steps To Reopening Retail and How To Evolve In-Store Marketing Amid A Pandemic and Will Online Shopping Appointments Replace Face To Face Shopping? and What’s Next: Post-COVID Strategy for Retailers as well as Sucharita Kodali on COVID-19’s Impact on the Retail Industry and Core Retailers Much More Optimistic After Big Rebound plus How the COVID-19 Coin Shortage is Affecting Retailers and Embrace the Unknown and an Accelerated Future and Using Agile Principles to Re-Open and Recover Your Retail Business and Retailers Turning to Gift Cards as Promotional Tools as well as New Processes For A New Normal (Downloadable Research Report) and The Untapped Opportunity That COVID-19 Created for Store Associates plus How Retailers can Encourage Safe Purchasing with COVID-19 (Downloadable Report)
- Transworld Skateboarding – The Skate Industry Speaks on the Coronavirus
- USA Today – ‘Wearing a mask is not about fear’: Retailer group urges governors to require everyone to wear a mask and Face mask requirements: Can stores make you wear a mask? Do kids have to wear masks?
- US Chamber of Commerce – Minimizing Business Losses During Corona Virus plus A State-By-State Guide To Coronavirus Financial Assistance and Small Business Reopen Guide
- Vogue – The Rise Of Squad Shopping Online With Friends plus The Tech Behind Social Distance Selling?
- Washington Post – How The Pandemic Is Changing Shopping
- Wall Street Journal – How Coronavirus Changed the Retail Landscape and How to get a COVID-19 vaccine: a state-by-state guide
- YOTPO.com – Helpful SMS Marketing Guide
PLEASE NOTE: That although the informational resources and strategies contained in this resource guide were derived from what were deemed as reliable and credible sources, the views and opinions of those sources are not necessarily in line with those of the Board Retailers Association, its Board of Directors, its Chairman or its Executive Director. In addition, we are not legal, tax or financial advisors and highly recommend consulting your lawyer, accountant or financial consulting professional before making significant financial related decisions.
From time to time, BRA will be sending out updates that we consider important to our board specialty retail community. To stay informed and receive special benefits related to Board Retailers Association including the Office Depot Preferential Pricing Program, be sure that you opt in to our email distribution list by joining as a Regular (no cost) or Distinguished Retail Member via this super simple join form.
You can also follow Board Retailers Association on social media via Facebook and Instagram.
Do not hesitate to call, text or email our Executive Director (see contact info below) with any questions or if you need anything that this guide does not cover.
