ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida economic leaders are advocating for small businesses by offering a free program to connect them to the resources best suited to aid their recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s more important now than ever that we’re doing everything we can to assist our small businesses, our mom and pops," said Rachael Kobb. “The businesses we’ve talked to are doing everything they can to make sure their business can stay afloat, and we’ve found they really care about their employees.”

Kobb, the Orlando Economic Partnership's Senior Director Advocacy and Public Policy, was pulled in to become an Ambassador for their Business Recovery Assistance and Collaborative Engagement program, dubbed BRACE program.

She educates her team and businesses who need support on which government programs are available; she also ensures they have the right resources and paperwork to successfully apply through their respective lenders.

“They just need help with how to follow up with where they applied or see what other options are out there," she said. “We’ve found that a lot of our local businesses just really want to talk to a person that can help walk them through this all.”

Here’s how the program works:

  1. Business owners fill out their BRACE form by going to BRACEOrlando.org 
  2. Once a form is completed and submitted, a Partnership “ambassador” will contact the business utilizing basic information provided by the business in the form
  3. Ambassadors will walk businesses through the variety of options available and connect the business with the appropriate agency

The Partnership has also discovered that many small businesses need help navigating the complex system, as they received nearly 400 inquiries from businesses within the seven-county region since they launched on Friday.

The help they seek includes accessing a piece of the recently-approved $320 billion in Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, funds.

Kobb explained that $310 billion have been set aside for loans, with $10 billion allocated for the Small Business Administration to administer the funds.

“It’s been incredibly rewarding to help these businesses not only help themselves, but help their team members, employees," she said.

Six weeks ago, Julie Casey thought it was over for her restaurant, The Outpost Neighborhood Kitchen,​ in College Park, as they too moved to a carry-out only model. It was only enough business to sustain doing carry-out during limited hours, Thursday through Saturday, forcing the owner and chef to make a difficult decision: lay off all 14 staff members.

But, after reaching out to the Partnership and working with her lender, she was notified Tuesday that the $37,000 in PPP funds she had applied for weeks ago were set to hit her bank account.

The money will allow Casey get through the next several weeks, pay rent and utilities and even hire back a few staff members. She and her husband will also get paid for the first time since the coronavirus-prompted restrictions went into place.

But, she knows the money won't last long and comes with greater concern that is yet to be addressed.

“I feel like a little bit is lifted off my shoulders now, but it’s not enough money to sustain over a long period of time. The piece of the puzzle that the government missed is that in order for me to bring employees back, I have to buy product. I’m dipping into my own savings just to bring people back to work.”

Nevertheless, Casey said that she's grateful for the help that BRACE provided, calling Partnership ambassadors like Kobb "cheerleaders" for her cause.

“Now I feel like we can actually get through it and I didn’t feel that way six weeks ago," she said. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel might be longer than we’d like it to be, but there is help out here."