VIEWPOINT: Tips & Resources for Small Businesses on Road to Recovery

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Small-business owners in Central New York and across the country are slowly but surely regaining their footing after a uniquely challenging year. According to new research from Bank of America’s 2021 Small Business Owner’s Report, economic confidence and revenue expectations have bounced back significantly since last fall. We found that 60 percent of small businesses nationwide […]

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Small-business owners in Central New York and across the country are slowly but surely regaining their footing after a uniquely challenging year.

According to new research from Bank of America’s 2021 Small Business Owner’s Report, economic confidence and revenue expectations have bounced back significantly since last fall. We found that 60 percent of small businesses nationwide expect their revenue to increase over the next 12 months, and nearly 80 percent attribute this to the increasing availability of covid vaccines.

While these signs of progress are encouraging, we know that the journey to full recovery can be a long one. Below, I’m sharing some key insights from the Small Business Owner Report (https://about.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/about/report-center/sbor/2021/2021-sbor-secured.pdf). I also provide tips to navigate the path forward as the economy safely reopens.

Hiring new talent

Last year, unemployment rose sharply during the pandemic, forcing businesses to reevaluate their budgets and make tough decisions around talent. According to the New York State Department of Labor, hiring is increasing across the board with private-sector jobs up 15.8 percent in the Syracuse metro area and 14.9 percent in Utica–Rome in April 2021 compared to April 2020. Despite this increase, there remains a large pool of talent from which to hire new employees. Given that one-in-five business owners plan to hire this year, it’s important to ensure your business is attractive for top talent.

• Create an application that is easy to navigate. Create an application process that is quick and easy, but still screens for the experience level you’re seeking. Make your application mobile-friendly, too.

• Get everyone to recruit. Tapping into your current employee base can be one of the most powerful and cost-efficient strategies to find and recruit talent. Your current employees have familiarity with your company culture and the necessary skillset to thrive at your organization. Consider offering bonuses to staff who successfully refer new employees.

Reevaluate short and long-term goals

Business owners in Central New York took advantage of many resources and programs throughout the last year to navigate the pandemic, leaning on friends and family and seeking professional guidance. Nationally, 25 percent of small businesses applied for a business loan or line of credit over the past year; however, only 16 percent say they will seek financing in 2021. To continue this positive momentum throughout 2021, consider these strategies:

• Prioritize your business plan. Sit down with your small-business banker to take stock of your business’ current situation and business plan. Your small-business banker can help you set realistic goals as your business’ recovery continues.

• Explore available resources to meet your goals. Bankers want to ensure that small-business owners have access to the tools and resources needed to secure funding. Bankers can also help connect business owners who may not qualify for traditional bank financing to their networks of alternative funding sources, including Community Development Financial Institutions and local or national grant and loan programs. Consider the following questions: What new goals require additional financing? Are you looking to boost your headcount? Do you anticipate any structural or technological enhancements in the coming year?

Operational shifts

Business owners adapted their business for the health and safety of their employees over the past year. As the economy reopens, 62 percent anticipate that the operational changes they made in response to the coronavirus will continue beyond the pandemic – specifically enhancing sanitation practices and building a digital sales strategy. As digital proliferation continues, we expect to see more helpful tools come out for business owners.

• Consider a digital transition. Businesses across the country have adjusted aspects of their operations, changing primary revenue streams and shifting to online sales. As we continue to adjust, consider digital banking to limit in-person interactions and greater client convenience.

• Proceed with purpose. If you are a part of the 53 percent of business owners who indicated they are committed to advocating for social change through their business, be sure to set clear and attainable goals. Consumers are sharp and will be able to tell the difference between platitudes and substance.

Overall, we’re seeing encouraging progress for the small-business community in Central New York, and we’re looking forward to helping business owners thrive the rest of 2021 and beyond.

Lynn Coates is a vice president and small-business banker at Bank of America.

Red Jug Pub opens Binghamton location, its fourth

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Regional News, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Red Jug Pub recently formally opened its new pub in Binghamton — its fourth location, all in upstate New York. The Red Jug Pub held a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce on Aug. 6 at its new bar at 17 Main St. in Binghamton. The Red Jug

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ANCA program uses grant to help small firms recover from pandemic

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Health Care, New York News, Nonprofits, Regional News, Small Business, Subscriber Only

SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — North Country small businesses can sign up for free technical services through the Adirondack North Country Association’s (ANCA) Center for Pandemic Response (CPR). CPR is a new program designed to help businesses “build resilience in the wake of the COVID-19 economic crisis,” ANCA contends. ANCA is an independent, nonprofit corporation that

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SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — North Country small businesses can sign up for free technical services through the Adirondack North Country Association’s (ANCA) Center for Pandemic Response (CPR).

CPR is a new program designed to help businesses “build resilience in the wake of the COVID-19 economic crisis,” ANCA contends.

ANCA is an independent, nonprofit corporation that works to promote economic development across a 14-county region of Northern New York, with a focus on entrepreneurship, local agriculture, and clean energy.

In ANCA’s July 30 announcement, the organization said small businesses in its 14-county service area may complete an inquiry form at www.adirondack.org/ANCA-CPR to begin the enrollment process.

ANCA CPR staff and partner organizations — including the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, Adirondack Economic Development Corporation, CITEC and Cooperative Development Institute — will work closely with participating businesses to develop strategic plans, access new markets, expand e-commerce functionality, reduce supply-chain inefficiencies, decrease energy costs, and create succession plans.

The ANCA CPR program is funded through a combined grant of nearly $1.27 million that it was awarded in May. The funding is from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and Mastercard. This includes a $1 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant and $250,000 from the Mastercard Impact Fund, which is administered by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

“The ANCA CPR program provides an incredible opportunity for North Country businesses that are regrouping and rebuilding from the COVID-19 crisis,” Elizabeth Cooper, executive director of ANCA, said. “A solid, well-informed strategic plan can make all the difference for a company’s stability. Yet it is often one of the things that gets put on the back burner while owners are occupied with the day-to-day affairs of their businesses. We are eager to help local businesses become stronger and more resilient by supporting them through this important planning process.”

Once businesses enroll, ANCA CPR program navigators will connect them with individualized technical services and expert knowledge through working-group discussions, webinars, and one-on-one consultations. The ANCA CPR team will work with participating businesses, at no cost, to develop strategic plans that focus on topics that include reducing fixed and variable costs, developing online sales and e-commerce functionality, reducing overhead and energy costs, and applying for business-funding assistance.

The topic areas also include mitigating supply-chain inefficiencies through shared sourcing, shipping, and/or aggregation facilities; creating a succession plan; developing employees to take on leadership roles; and building belonging for diverse staff and visitors.

ANCA CPR program navigators began conducting interviews with businesses on a rolling basis, starting in mid-August. Depending on needs that are identified through the enrollment process, businesses will take part in customized programs ranging from three to six months in duration, ANCA said.

New Berlin firehouse and Chobani Community Center formally open in New Berlin

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Regional News, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

NEW BERLIN, N.Y. — The new firehouse in the village of New Berlin and adjacent Chobani Community Center recently formally opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. This project was first announced in 2019 and was supported by a mix of corporate donations from local employers as well as support from New York State, collectively providing nearly

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VIEWPOINT: IRS Updates American Rescue Plan Act Guidance

Business Mentors, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only

On July 29, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated its Tax Credits for Paid Leave Under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 guidance. As a reminder, private-sector employers with fewer than 500 employees could voluntarily elect to extend ARPA benefits to their employees through Sept. 30, and in exchange, receive a federal tax credit. Under

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Under the ARPA, employees may take up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) and up to 12 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave (EFML) for qualifying COVID-19-related reasons. Both types of leave can be taken for the same set of reasons, which are as follows: (1) the employee is under a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 or has been advised by a health-care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; (2) the employee has COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis, is seeking or awaiting the results of a diagnostic test for, or a medical diagnosis of COVID–19 and the employee has been exposed to COVID–19 or the employee’s employer has requested the test or diagnosis; (3) the employee is obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine, or recovering from conditions related to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine; (4) the employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19, or has been advised by a health-care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; (5) the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or child-care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions; or (6) the employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the secretary of Health and Human Services.

The updated guidance contains, for the first time, an expansion of reason (6), and finds that a “substantially similar condition” includes when the “employee is accompanying an individual to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine or caring for an individual who is recovering from conditions related to obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine.” The guidance further defines “individual” for purposes of (6) to mean “an immediate family member, someone who regularly resides in the employee’s home, or a similar person with whom the employee has a relationship that creates an expectation that the employee would care for the person.” Moreover, for this purpose, “individual” does not include persons with whom the employee has no personal relationship.

Under the current guidance, employers who have elected to extend the ARPA must allow their employees to take either EPSL or EFMLA to accompany another individual to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine, or to care for an individual recovering from vaccine side effects. This is a significant expansion of eligibility for leave, and employers to whom this applies should ensure that they are now allowing qualifying employees to use leave for these additional reasons. If employers have distributed EPSL or EFMLA policies, those should similarly be updated.

Theresa E. Rusnak is an associate attorney in the Rochester office of Syracuse–based Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC. This viewpoint article is drawn from an Aug. 9 post on the firm’s New York Labor and Employment Law Report blog. Contact Rusnak at trusnak@bsk.com

OPINION: It’s a big mistake not to continue with Cuomo’s impeachment

Opinion, Subscriber Only

The [Aug. 13] decision to drop the impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a massive disservice to the goals of transparency and accountability. Gov. Cuomo offered his resignation on Aug. 10, amid multiple scandals and with several ongoing investigations looking into misconduct in his office. The announcement came exactly one week after Attorney General Letitia James

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The [Aug. 13] decision to drop the impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a massive disservice to the goals of transparency and accountability.

Gov. Cuomo offered his resignation on Aug. 10, amid multiple scandals and with several ongoing investigations looking into misconduct in his office. The announcement came exactly one week after Attorney General Letitia James released the findings of her investigation into sexual-harassment claims against the governor, and one day after the Assembly Judiciary Committee set an expedited timetable to conclude its impeachment investigation.

For months, the governor insisted that he had done nothing wrong and had no intention of leaving office voluntarily. But with pressure mounting and support crumbling, he recalibrated and finally realized the obvious — there was no path forward. The governor did the right thing by stepping aside.

[Following that], the Assembly Judiciary Committee tasked with the impeachment investigation [should have done] the right thing by completing its work.

The Assembly impeachment investigation had been ongoing for five months, collecting evidence across several fronts. In addition to the now-confirmed sexual-harassment claims, Gov. Cuomo is facing questions regarding his administration’s failed nursing-home policy and subsequent cover-up, the improper use of state resources related to his $5.1 million book deal, preferential treatment for friends and family to get COVID tests, and questions surrounding the structural integrity of the new Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.

A job resignation does not equate to accountability. The hours of work, the mountain of evidence, and the information discovered by the impeachment inquiry should not simply be swept under the rug.

Moving forward with the impeachment would have brought a necessary conclusion to an important endeavor and ensured Andrew Cuomo would never be permitted to hold statewide office. Instead, mountains of evidence and months of work will now be hidden from the public by this disappointing, tone-deaf decision.

The New York Legislature had a chance to deliver accountability and justice to the victims of Andrew Cuomo’s failed administration. This announcement is a slap in the face to the people this body was elected to represent.

William (Will) A. Barclay, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact Barclay at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us.

Editor’s note: This article combines an opinion column Barclay submitted on Aug. 13 — before Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced the same day that the Assembly will suspend its impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo after his resignation takes effect on Aug. 25 — with a statement he issued following Heastie’s announcement. Heastie then subsequently announced that the Assembly planned to still release its final report on the Cuomo investigation.

CEO FOCUS: As Governor, Hochul Will Unite & Lead

Opinion, Subscriber Only

State’s new leader has strong regional knowledge After an unprecedented year of challenges, our state and region are poised for a needed and significant resurgence. Distractions mean lost time, and lost time means lost opportunity. The important work of this state must continue now, without disruption, under new leadership so that we can focus on a

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State’s new leader has strong regional knowledge

After an unprecedented year of challenges, our state and region are poised for a needed and significant resurgence. Distractions mean lost time, and lost time means lost opportunity. The important work of this state must continue now, without disruption, under new leadership so that we can focus on a stronger future. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is the right person to lead our state in this moment and brings a deep and personal understanding of upstate New York’s unique challenges and opportunities.

As a graduate of Syracuse University, she has lived in this community and shares a connection to those who call Central New York home. As the lieutenant governor, she has spent a significant amount of time here talking with business and community leaders, seeking to learn firsthand about how state government can support their efforts. Through the regional economic-development council process, she has crisscrossed our region, visiting projects and engaging with the people leading programs to see the impact of the state’s investment, and learning what more could be done to further accelerate progress.

Hochul was among the first state leaders to tour downtown Syracuse last summer to talk with small-business owners and learn about their challenges as the local economy reopened. She spent time with these individuals, showing not only that she cared, but also that she understood the issues they faced. Her boots-on-the-ground approach to governing enabled Hochul to recognize there was a more strategic and bigger role the state needed to play in driving resources and solutions.

It’s an approach we saw earlier this spring, when she spent time at The Tech Garden meeting teams of entrepreneurs and engaging with them to learn about the exciting innovation and small business activities that are driving new opportunities in the region. Hochul talked about the state’s investments in programs like GENIUS NY, which are attracting and growing new industries and technologies, right here in Syracuse. She walked away with a better understanding of the importance of targeting investments and continuing to support innovation to create jobs and a stronger economy.

For the first time in a century, our region will have a governor that is an upstate resident. As lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul has spent time in our region’s small and midsized communities meeting people where they are and discovering what they need to thrive and prosper. I believe her experience, knowledge, and vision will unite us at this critical time. I wish her the best and look forward to continuing our partnership with her as she assumes this new role.

Robert M. Simpson is president and CEO of CenterState CEO, the primary economic-development organization for Central New York. This article is drawn and edited from the “CEO Focus” email newsletter that the organization sent to members on Aug. 12.

BRITTANY APPS

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

BRITTANY APPS has joined Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC as audit manager in its audit and accounting department. Apps comes to Dermody, Burke & Brown from the Syracuse accounting firm of Evans & Bennett, LLP, where she was an accountant for more than 12 years, according to her LinkedIn profile. She brings experience in

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MATTHEW FANTACONE

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

MATTHEW FANTACONE has been promoted to tax manager at Fust Charles Chambers LLP, a certified public accounting firm in Syracuse. He joined the firm in June 2015 and continues to service its manufacturing, distribution, health care, not-for-profit, and other closely held business clients. Fantacone received his bachelor’s degree and MBA in accounting from Le Moyne

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KeyBank

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

STEPHANIE LEONARD has joined KeyBank’s commercial banking team in Central New York as VP of commercial banking. She returns to KeyBank after five years of working as a relationship manager at Solvay Bank. In her community activities, Leonard serves as secretary on the board of directors of the Prevention Network and the Greater Syracuse Business

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