As Janet Smith, owner of Triangle Fitness in Siler City, North Carolina, said goodbye to her employees on March 23 and closed the 24/7 gym she has owned for the last five years, she found herself thinking, “What can I do?”

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Others find themselves asking the same question, as Smith is just one of over 890,000 small business owners in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Alongside her and others are 1.6 million small business employees, who represent over 44% of North Carolina’s private workforce.

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Smith was forced to close the gym following Executive Order No. 120, which ordered all entertainment facilities without retail or dining components, including indoors exercise facilities, salons and parlors close by March 25. Smith’s gym was deemed “nonessential” by Executive Order No. 121 days later on March 27. 

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Despite the orders, some businesses remain open. Smith said two furniture stores next to her gym are fully operational, leaving her angry and confused as to why. 

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“I’m shutting down and I’m looking at them as people are going in and out buying mattresses and chairs and I’m like, ‘What the heck?” Smith said. “I’m dead in the water, but somebody can walk in there and buy a chair.” 

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Nationally, the impact of small businesses is more apparent; they account for 99.9% of all U.S. businesses and employed over 58 million people in 2018, according to the SBA. Yet, their success means more to the owners and employees whose livelihoods depend on them, livelihoods being threatened by the COVID-19 virus. 

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In North Carolina alone, a sweep of executive orders in response to coronavirus have forced small businesses to close, quickly transforming the lives of their owners and employees. 

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Executive Order No. 118 closed restaurants and bars for dine-in service across the state, but Ben Lor, a part-time sushi chef at Tokyo Diner in Hickory, North Carolina, said the restaurant was forced to close because it was hard to keep up with takeout orders. The restaurant does not have a drive-thru, he said.

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“It messed with our rent payments a little,” Lor said. “It’s been hard to help with trying to figure out how to pay employees and how we were going to handle bills.” His concern is shared by others. 

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51% of small business owners nationwide say their business will only be able to continue to operate for another zero to 3 months, according to a survey of over 1,500 small businesses by The Goldman Sachs Group. 

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Smith said with the amount of income she expects to lose from closing, she will be forced to put personal funds into her business account to cover bills for the next few months, or until the order remains in place.

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“I see how other businesses are not going to be able to open back up,” Smith said. “But, what do you have to do? Go with it and do the best you can.” 

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Cheryl Lor, owner of Lush Nails and Spa in Hickory, North Carolina, said she too has money that must go toward paying rent and utilities for her business, not personal expenses. 

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“When you’re raising a family, you need money, Cheryl said. “It’s going to impact the whole bill.”

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There is also concern over widespread unemployment, figures for which are still not clear.  

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The national economy was originally forecasted to lose roughly 3 million jobs by June, according to experts at the Economic Policy Institute. Yet, over 3.2 million unemployment claims were filed the week ending on March 21, setting a new record for the number of claims filed in one day, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. 

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Recent estimates say the country should expect to lose 14 million jobs by summer; the original figure was a severe underestimation, admits the EPI. 

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 In North Carolina, the projected job loss is over 430,000 jobs, or 11.2% of private sector employment, according to the EPI. Across the country, values range from 9.5% in Washington D.C. to 14.2% in Nevada.

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These numbers have many small business owners and employees worried. 

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Amy Morrison, a dental hygienist at Mountain View Family Dentistry in Hickory, North Carolina, said her job does not yet require her file for unemployment. 

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“I am concerned, however, that if the office remains closed for too long, that this may change,” Morrison said. “I miss going to work and doing my job.”

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Mindy Howard, a hairstylist at a salon in Cedar Point, North Carolina said she will not have an income until she returns to work, and her self-employed status means she is not eligible for unemployment benefits.  Luckily, Howard will have fewer business expenses.

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“Our salon owner told us that until we opened back up, we didn’t have to pay for booth rent,” Howard said. “So, thankfully, I’m not having to pay out of pocket while I’m not there.”

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Work is being done to address concerns, the recent passing of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or CARES Act, expanded unemployment insurance to include self-employed owners and workers. It also allocates $350 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, meant to help small businesses cover payroll and expenses through June 30.

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However, in addition to business concerns, many local business owners and employees worry about the impact of the virus on their families’ health.

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Ben, who works as a police officer during the week, said although he has not been heavily affected by coronavirus, is scared for the health of his wife, who is three months pregnant. He is also concerned for his 3-year-old son, and mother, who is 62. 

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“I keep our house fairly clean and have gotten stricter on restrictions on letting my family out, especially during these lockdowns,” Ben said.

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Smith said she is practicing her own social distancing efforts. She decided to stop visiting her children and will only leave the house for groceries. 

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“When the older generation started being affected the most, my husband and I looked at each other, and went, ‘Holy crap, what do we do?” Smith said. “We have to take care of ourselves and if that means isolating ourselves at home, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

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