The Woes of Winter

Is your business suffering from the winter blues?

Has the unusual winter weather given you and your business a case of the blues? You’re not alone. While we expect giant storms on the east coast and in the mid-western states who knew literally every state would at some point be affected with the polar vortex.

Severe winter weather has been slowing down business in many parts of the country and it promises to continue. Employees cannot make it into work, delivery of goods and supplies has been slowed and customers are staying home and out of stores, restaurants and recreational venues. Sales may be down and productivity may be quite slow.

Despite the wintery woes, business goes on. Data collected Feb. 7-9 by Public Policy Polling on behalf of The Small Business Majority found nearly half of small businesses all across the country have been impacted by extreme weather, and 90 percent of those businesses say they’ve experienced a significant financial impact because of it. Nearly four in ten small business owners reported they’ve experienced damages between $5,000 and $25,000. Also, one in five small business owners had to lay off workers because of extreme weather, and 44 percent had to close their businesses for up to a week, with some closing for as long as 14 to 30 days, the poll shows.

Is the end in sight? Better check with Punxsutawney Phil seems his prediction of six more weeks of winter was right on the money!