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About damn time, we have been finally approved for the increased EIDL funds, but still not the full amount. What is going on with the SBA? Why have they continued to screw over small businesses for the past 598 days, and what can be done about it? All this and more in today's video.

So much has happened in the past almost two years; let me give you a very quick overview, so we are all on the same page.

On March 27, 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act, which provided an up-to $2million dollar emergency loan for small businesses in need and a $10k advance grant to help those businesses cover some expenses until the complete loan application was processed.

We all know what a complete cluster that turned into. Some of it was the SBA’s fault, some of it was Congress’s fault, and some were scumbag scammers taking advantage of the situation. You put this all together, and countless millions of legitimate small businesses were left out in the cold.

Initially, we were one of the first businesses to apply for EIDL and were approved for the loan. Not the full $2million as per the law, but a reduced amount due to the SBA’s unilateral decision to cap loans at $150k.

This money was a help, but it was a drop in the hat of what small businesses really needed if we were to survive the next almost two years of government incompetence and overreach during the pandemic.

On April 6 of this year, the SBA finally increased the cap from $150k to $500k. Not the full $2m, but better than nothing.

We applied to increase our loan to the new cap of $500k. Initially, we were approved and to await the loan documents to sign. We waited, and waited, and waited, and yup waited some more. After almost a month, we were “denied,” saying they could not verify information from the IRS.

We continued to fight this, and I have shared this in previous videos, so I will not bore you all with the details.

During this time, on Sept 8, the SBA decided to remove their arbitrary caps altogether, and businesses could now apply for the full $2m.

Finally, after months of arguing, bringing our Senators onboard, sending certified letters from our CPA, and many phone calls, we are now finally “re-approved” and have signed the loan documents.

But we were only approved under the $500k cap because that was when we submitted our appeal. I asked how to increase it to the full $2m, and I found out I could reject this loan and refile. Or wait for this loan increase to complete, money to be funded, and then submit a new increase request.

The stupid thing is, if they would have approved the loan initially the SBA would have saved themselves the work of processing numerous applications and loan increase requests from my company. Now, instead, they have 2x or 3x the workload their staff must process. Multiple this across the hundreds of thousands of businesses in the same situation as mine, and you quickly see how and why the SBA is so slow in processing these loans.

Sounds like typical government mismanagement at work here.

Neither option was particularly good. If I refused this loan increase to $500k, there is no guarantee I would get the $2m, but if I take the $500k, I add another few weeks of processing before I request the increase.

I decided the smartest option was to accept the reduced amount now, then immediately file for an increase as soon as the loan is funded. Fingers crossed, we can get the increase submitted, approved, and funded before Dec 31, but honestly, I think there is a better chance of Taylor Swift walking into this studio right now and begging me to go out with her. While anything is possible, neither the SBA following through or T-Swizle falling in love with me have a very high likelihood of actually happening.

Now, we wait. We have yet to be funded and hope no more hiccups happen with the SBA, so we actually receive our $500 increase funding.

Now over to the issue of Congress pulling EIDL funding.

Jason

So very true, and I’ve been saying this for years and even wrote about it in my book. The DC Swamp, from both parties, has been bought and paid for by large multi-billion-dollar corporations for decades. Small businesses are never their focus in DC; we are just the red-headed step-child they parade out in front of the cameras to show how compassionate they are, then they quickly chain us back up in their dungeons.

I would love to see us drain the swamp from both parties in 2022. We have already seen this in the Virginia elections, where the people stood up against corrupt party politics.

Until then, the only thing we can do is stop buying cheap plastic crap from China and, instead, purchase goods and services from local small businesses located in the United States. Last Friday, I put out a video on holiday gift ideas from American-owned companies. Check it out.

Don’t forget to check out www.OpenFor.Business and register your business today. As you know, this is my small business awareness campaign, along with Aubrey Janik, Jamel Gibbs, Minority Mindset, Investment Joy, Rod Squad, Kenny Keller, Kristen Ottea, and Mark Moss; we will fly around the country in a helicopter landing at select small businesses nationwide. Do you want me to land the helicopter at your office or feature you on the program? Go to the website and register your business now. These spots are very limited

I am so excited to announce the support from AutoCorner, Namecheap, BestBuy, ZipRecruiter, Dun & Bradstreet, Constant Contact, and Unbanked. Without their support, this nationwide small business helicopter tour would not be possible!