The 2 month wait is over! Today, the SBA announced that it is reopening it's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance and loan portal to all eligible businesses and non-profits. This is fantastic for the millions of small businesses who've been waiting. Here are the details:
The EIDL Advance and EIDL Loan Timeline, In Short
We have been covering the EIDL program for the past 3 months on our blog and YouTube channel. Here is the short summarized version of what you should know:
- The Economic Injury and Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) was around pre-Covid and is administered by the US Small Business Administration (SBA)
- This program provides long-term, low-interest loans to businesses and non-profits.
- On March 29th, the SBA opened up the streamlined SBA EIDL application portal. After around 4 million applications, they closed the portal on April 15. Then around the beginning of May they opened it back up for Agricultural Businesses only. Today, June 15, they have reopened the portal to all small businesses.
How Many People Have Received Their EIDL Loans?
According to our free EIDL loan tracker, which has helped around 100,000 small businesses track their EIDL Advances and loans, around 35% of Skip's users have received their EIDL Advance and around 25% have received their EIDL loan.
For people who haven't received their loans or advances, in many cases they received denial letters from the SBA. Typically denial letters are due to either unsatisfactory credit history or unable to verify business information. Here is our video on the SBA EIDL denial letters.
Can I get an EIDL grant if I am an Independent Contractor?
Yes! Gig workers and independent contractors can apply for a $1000 grant from EIDL. Independent Contractors—which includes anyone who has 1099 income, whether it's through rideshare, freelancing, Airbnb or any other gig work—can and should apply for the EIDL advance! If you are self employed,you will be eligible for $1,000 because the EIDL offers a $1000 grant per employee.
Here is a quick video to learn about applying to the EIDL as an independent contractor specifically:
Is the SBA EIDL Loan Right for My Small Business?
That's a question for you an your accountant, most likely. But we can share our take on the loan: For small businesses or non-profits who want low-interest long-term loans, this is a great loan option. What we have heard is that most people apply to give themselves the option of taking the funding. The financing terms are over 30 years. However, many businesses are also having to make critical decisions about the future of their business, in our new reality — so your future cash flow and business viability should certainly be considered when making any loan or financial decision.
What Other Help Can My Small Business Get?
We have committed to helping small business market and advertise among consumers who pledge to support COVID-19 business recovery. This is through our SupportCovidRecovery.com, which we have not announced widely yet. You can create a free business listing on Skip here, and check the COVID-19 update option.