ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. — The owner of a small business in Royal Palm Beach waited six weeks for some positive news about a federal small business loan.
“I just broke down and cried,” said Kimberly Leland, the owner of Print It Plus.
She says her local Bank of America branch told her the application she submitted in early April was finally moving forward.
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“I’ve got to do something for my employees. My employees need to eat. I know unemployment is virtually non-existent,” Leland said.
Once it’s finally approved, she said the money will go toward paying her nine employees for the next eight weeks.
“There were log jams at every juncture,” said Bill Herlee of the National Federation of Independent Business.
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Herlee said now that big corporations are withdrawing from the small business program, and delays are easing, 61 percent of businesses they’ve surveyed have received money from the program.
The loans are forgivable, Herlee said, as long as 75 percent of the money is used for payroll and 25 percent for businesses expenses.
As for those businesses still waiting on a loan, Herlee said try other banks.
“If you haven't heard anything yet, they may want to think of sending in additional applications with a different financial institution," said Herlee.