Small businesses optimistic about reopening by May 1

A national study of U.S. small businesses revealed that 80% say they are likely to reopen by May 1 despite lingering concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. 

Conducted April 3-5 by software and technology firm Thryv Inc. and America's Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), the study was the third in an ongoing series aimed at tracking the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on small businesses in the United States. 

The study also found an increasing shift in those applying for a Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan; 44% of businesses said they will apply for a loan and 25% said they have already applied, up from 33% and 5% in a week-earlier study.  The latest wave of the study further found that 84% of small businesses continue to feel "extremely concerned" about the current business environment in light of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the researchers. For example, fewer companies said they are confident they will recover completely a year from now, and more businesses said they are unlikely to survive long-term.

"Wave 3 of the study found that only 25% said they were likely to recover completely one year from now, a decrease from the 36% that indicated they expect a full recovery [earlier]," the researchers wrote. "Additionally, there was an increase in those who do not think their company will survive. Wave 3 found 10% of businesses do not think they will survive, increasing from 3% in wave 2."

Older businesses were most likely to say they risk long-term survival. Just 6% of companies that have operated for less than 30 years said they won't survive the current crisis; 16% of those that have been in business for more than 30 years felt the same.