As more residents are being vaccinated and restrictions are being scaled back, small businesses remain in survival mode after COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and ever-changing regulations dealt them crippling blows.

The Maryland Daily Record recently hosted a webinar on “Positioning Your Business in a Post-COVID Economy” with panelists Carim Khouzami, BGE’s CEO; Cailey Locklair, Maryland Retailers Association, Maryland Chain Drug Store Association, Maryland Food Industry Council and Tri State Jewelers Association president; Jayson T. Williams, Mayson-Dixon Companies’ CEO and Robert Wells, Miles & Stockbridge Principal.

Moderator Sloane Brown asked each panelist to discuss the most significant impact of the pandemic with their organization and/or clients.

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Locklair’s organizations represent many retail clients that are being faced with having to achieve rapid revenue growth while simultaneously having to pay off debt.

“On the recovery side, I think, although the hope is that the federal, state and local PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) money would have helped wipe at least some of their debt clean, the fact truly remains that many businesses still have a long way to dig themselves out of and to go,” she said. “That zero multi-month revenue stream was a significant problem and that is why they are having to dig themselves out. Even now what we are seeing is sales have never returned to normal for many of our members so that is a major challenge.”

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