Maria Bailey isn’t one to overreact if things don’t go according to plan. “I’m good in a crisis,” said Bailey, owner of a Henderson-based small web development, social media and marketing company called Success City Online. “I fall apart later.”
But the coronavirus pandemic is a crisis of unparalleled magnitude. On March 17, Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered all Nevada casinos and nonessential businesses closed for 30 days. “None of us have been through something like this before,” Bailey said.
“It’s day-to-day with everyone,” she continued. “My choice is to remain positive and push through this every day. We’re going to get through it. There is hope.”
Bailey said she’s lucky her employees can work from home. “We already had what I called ‘pajama day,’ where they could work from home. Now, that’s basically every day,” she said.
While Bailey said she hasn’t lost any clients yet, she knows internet advertising will not be top of mind for most of those clients for a while.
Still, Bailey, who doubles as president of the Water Street District Business Association, said she’s keeping a positive attitude.
“I think we were as well-positioned for this as well as we could have been,” she said. “I know there are other businesses not in that same position, but this community is going to rally and pull through this together.”
Mary Beth Sewald, president and CEO of the Vegas Chamber, said some members are applying for federal economic disaster loans through the Small Business Administration. They can also get funds under the Paycheck Protection Program, part of the $2 trillion stimulus package passed by congressional lawmakers, which will distribute $350 billion to small businesses of 500 or fewer employees to fund payroll costs. Under the program, loans can be partially forgiven if companies keep their employees and pay them at least 75% of their prior-year compensation.
Emergency aid for the casino industry had not been passed at press time, however. And when a Las Vegas tourism industry that has an economic impact of nearly $58 billion annually comes to a halt, there’s a chain reaction that hits small businesses, too, she said.
“We will come out of this,” Sewald said. But right now, “it’s difficult. I talked to owners of a local coffee company, and they can’t get access to their finances because people aren’t working at the accounting firm they use,” she said.
At Freed’s Bakery in Henderson, business has slowed, though people are still picking up curbside orders and getting local deliveries.
“We’re following the regulations and guidelines,” said Max Freed, a third-generation owner of the shop. “We’re all in this situation together, which maybe makes it more bearable. This is unprecedented and weird. Everyone, globally, is in the same boat.”
Since the 1950s, Freed’s has been specializing in desserts, but the global pandemic has changed even that. Freed said the bakery has shifted to making more bread.
“It’s something that’s more practical, and people can freeze fresh bread and use it at a later time,” Freed said. “We just wanted to look at what we could do to fit this scenario better.”
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.