By George O’Brien

If one were to take a walk down Main Street — and I just did — it would be tempting to say that, if Springfield had any luck at all, it would be bad.

Yes, the pandemic is hitting every country, every state, every city and town, hard. As in very hard. But in Springfield, it seems worse, because things were — and I hope I don’t have to keep using the past tense — so much better. And the outlook was certainly bright and quite intriguing.

Now?

Now, we’re left to hope that, when this state gradually turns the economy back on again, the city can maybe pick up where it left off. That might be the best we can hope for at this point, but let’s stay optimistic.

After a quick walk around, it’s hard not to lament all that’s been lost, even though it’s clear that a shutdown was absolutely necessary to flatten the curve and put the region’s healthcare system in a position to do battle with this pandemic.

And it’s momentum that we’ve lost most of all.

Let’s start at MGM Springfield. It’s eerily quiet there, almost as if things are frozen in time. The doors that were never supposed to be locked are now locked. And who can say when they will open again? Likewise, who can say what business will be like when the doors do open again?

Casino floors are — in the best of times — crowded places with people sitting around blackjack tables, positioned just a few feet from each other at the rows of slot machines, jammed into the food court, and generally milling about, taking it all in. On a busy Friday or Saturday night, it’s difficult to find elbow room. When are people going to want to be in such a place again — especially the older population that makes up such a large part of this casino’s clientele? Indeed, the casino’s best customers are those most at risk.

But that’s just the casino floor. Perhaps the bigger contribution the casino has made has been to vibrancy in the downtown, the nightlife, through events in its ballrooms and shows at the MassMutual Center, Symphony Hall, and other venues. Who can say when there will be another concert, another convention, or even a fundraising dinner for a local nonprofit agency?

People are optimistically eyeing late summer or perhaps the fall as a time when we can return to something approaching ‘normal.’ But how realistic are those projections?

Walk around Springfield, and most of the signs of progress, the indicators that this was a city on the rise, are now as silent as the casino.

There’s the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, which was bringing families from every corner of the country to Springfield. It is now closed. So too is the Basketball Hall of Fame, which has undergone extensive renovations and was looking forward to a huge year as it inducts one of its most prestigious classes of honorees this fall.

The YMCA of Greater Springfield, which recently moved into Tower Square amid considerable fanfare as it started an intriguing chapter in its life, has seen both its fitness center and daycare center, its two largest revenue producers, shut down within just a month or two of opening.

At Union Station, the rail service that was starting to pick up steam has suffered a tremendous setback. People are now reluctant to get on trains, and even if they weren’t reluctant, there are really no places the train can take them — most workplaces are shut down, and so is every cultural attraction in New York.

Meanwhile, the restaurants that were such a big part of the city’s rebirth are now quiet, except for takeout, and many of the new businesses that had moved onto Bridge Street and other locations are locked down with their employees working from home — if they’re still working.

The lockdown, or shutdown, or whatever one wants to call it, isn’t even a month old yet. But it seems like an eternity. And for Springfield, it could not have come at a worse time — not that there’s ever a good time for a pandemic.

The pieces were starting to fall into the place, and the outlook was generally quite positive.

And now?

We have to hope that momentum is all we’ve lost, and that we haven’t lost too much of that precious commodity.

George O’Brien is the editor of BusinessWest; [email protected]

By George O’Brien

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

That was one of the many — as in many — poignant thoughts left with the audience as Randy Pausch, the 45-year-old professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon, who had been recently informed that his pancreatic cancer was terminal, delivered what became known, famously, as the “Last Lecture.”

I was thinking of that quote — and some of the others — as a I contemplated what this pandemic has wrought — not only for business owners and managers, but for everyone. Indeed, it was Pausch who said, “time is all you have, and you may find one day that you have less than you think.” Tragically, so many have had such a day because of this crisis.

But it is that remark about experience that has been on my mind lately.

None of us wanted any of this, and we’re getting plenty of experience, which we have to hope will make us all stronger one of these days.

These thoughts about experience are especially relevant to the entrepreneurs out there — all of them, but especially the younger ones, the ones this region has devoted so much time and energy to nurturing in recent years.

Indeed, there has been what amounts to a movement, a strong movement at that, in Western Mass. to encourage entrepreneurship and mentor those who aspire to work for themselves. We see it in the programs administered by Valley Venture Mentors, EforAll Holyoke, and other organizations, and in the work of the Grinspoon Foundation and the massive gathering its hosts each spring to recognize entrepreneurs at each of the region’s many colleges and universities.

Almost every one of the entrepreneurs, whether they’re developing an app or baking cupcakes, brewing beer or planning to put a food truck on the road, has a business plan. And it’s quite safe to say that not one of those business plans has a page with contingencies for a global pandemic.

It’s just not something you can remotely plan for. And for many of these entrepreneurs, it will provide the sternest of tests.

The pandemic has brought life, and almost all forms of commerce, to a halt. For those already in business, the crisis will certainly set them back in some way. It might force some of them to close their doors.

As for those still in the aspirational stages, this will likely put some dreams on hold — or perhaps inspire some different dreams.

What we all have to hope in this region is that these young entrepreneurs, whether their venture survives this crisis or not, never stop dreaming — because those dreams form the basis of the economy in this region in the decades to come.

As they contemplate the present and the future, and gain all this experience from not getting what they wanted, these young entrepreneurs may want to remember some other remarks from Pausch’s last lecture.

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt,” he noted, referring to his own situation and his response to it, but also life in general, “just how we play the hand.”

He also said this: “it’s not how hard you hit; it’s how hard you get hit … and keep moving forward.”

Everyone’s getting hit extremely hard right now, and they have to dig deep and find some way to keep moving forward.

“And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.”

George O’Brien is the editor of BusinessWest.

A Time to Collaborate

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of virtual roundtable discussions with area business leaders concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on virtually every aspect of life and business. For this installment, we talked with five area bank presidents — Steve Lowell at Monson Savings Bank, Chuck Leach at Lee Bank, Tom Senecal at PeoplesBank, Jeff Sullivan at New Valley Bank & Trust, and Michael Tucker at Greenfield Cooperative Bank — about how this crisis is impacting this important sector and in what ways the region’s banks will be assisting those businesses impacted by the pandemic.

By George O’Brien

Steve Lowell called it a “fireside chat.”

That’s how he chose to describe his efforts to reach out to customers during this time of crisis and communicate a number of key points.

“With my wife holding my phone in front of me and me speaking onto the camera … we put it on our YouTube channel and sent out an e-mail blast with a link to it for our customers to get an update,” said Lowell, president and CEO of Monson Savings Bank, adding that, like the creator of the original fireside chat, Franklin Roosevelt, he used his to talk with people directly and work to calm fears at a time when many are afraid. “We wanted to assure our customers that we’re here, we’re operating, and we intend to remain here and continue operating.”

The need for a fireside chat and the method of delivering it show just how different these times are for banks and their customers, commercial and consumer alike. Most of those in both categories are in some form of distress, and they’re looking to their bank, especially if it’s a smaller community bank, for help.

And the banks are providing it, in the form of everything from deferments on mortgage payments and commercial loans to interest-only payment options if customers prefer that option, to refinancing large numbers of mortgages to enable consumers to take advantage of lower interest rates.

And, for commercial customers, these banks will be the conduits for federal assistance to be provided to distressed businesses as part of a $2.2 trillion relief package. A key part of that package is the so-called Payroll Protection Program, which includes $350 in forgivable loans for companies that keep everyone employed.

The system went live, if that’s the right term, on Friday, April 3, and in a manner of minutes, area banks were being overwhelmed by business owners desperate to apply.

“We had more than 300 calls Friday morning,” said Michael Tucker, president and CEO of Greenfield Cooperative Bank. “We sent an e-mail blast out to all our commercial customers at 11 in the morning saying, ‘hey, guys, you’re tying up the phone lines!’ And that was actually well-received — the calls slowed down a little.”

Tom Senecal, president and CEO of Holyoke-based PeoplesBank, reported a similar response at his institution.

“On Friday morning, we put up a link on our website and an e-mail blast to all our commercial customers, and in the first hour we had 1,300 clicks on our link for that application,” he said. “There’s an enormous amount of demand, curiosity, and need for this process.”

Indeed, there is, and as a lead player in funneling these funds, banks that were already challenged in many ways will have exponentially more work and stress — this at a time when all of them have many staffers working remotely and taking in new responsibilities.

Meaning their role will change and become broader in scope.

“In many ways, it’s analogous to what some of the manufacturers are doing now: a company that was making clothing for a baseball team a few months ago is now making masks and gowns,” said Jeff Sullivan, president and CEO of Springfield-based New Valley Bank & Trust. “We’re going to go through a version of that and have to retool and pivot and think about the new SBA loans that are part of the relief package as different than how we usually do business.”

 Meanwhile, the banks are coping with a new reality when it comes to how buainess is done in the wake of the pandemic. Most have closed their lobbies or reduced hours to a large degree, with business conducted by appointment only. This means more customers are using online banking and automated tellers, technology that is new to many, and that brings its own set of challenges — and opportunities. Meanwhile, employers are working remotely and finding new ways to work as well.

“On Friday morning, we put up a link on our website and an e-mail blast to all our commercial customers, and in the first hour we had 1,300 clicks on our link for that application. There’s an enormous amount of demand, curiosity, and need for this process.”

“For some who didn’t bank digitally, they’re beginning to be forced to use it, and at our institution, for the most part, we’re getting extremely positive feedback on this,” said Senecal. “Surprisingly, many people who were afraid to use it are liking it now, and I do think this will change the behavior of people in the future to adapt to it more quickly.”

Chuck Leach, president and CEO of Lee Bank, agreed that both customers and employers are adapting to new ways of doing things.

“We’re getting everybody — customers, clients, and employees — more on board with a different way of working through electronic channels,” he told BusinessWest. “As for employees, we were thinking more about working from home before this; we were having conversations already, and we knew we could do it technology-wise, but this just triggered an acceleration of that, which has been healthy for us.”

Overall, these are different and somewhat complex times for banks in that they and their customers are relying more heavily on technology to do business. And yet, it’s a time when many customers need a close banking relationship perhaps more than they ever have.

“Whether it’s in traditional retail or banking, there’s been this drumbeat of ‘everything’s going digital,’” Leach said. “But what this crisis has also illuminated is the need for human contact, albeit by phone or e-mail. When you’re trying to go back and forth with a bank on deferment or interest-only — when you’re solving problems — you still want to talk with someone. Those are not transactional exercises.”

What banks won’t be focusing on this year, said Senecal and others, is earnings. That’s because the bottom line clearly will not be as attractive as it has been in recent years — not with interest rates down to zero, residential customers refinancing their mortgages to take advantage of these lower rates, and other revenue streams being heavily impacted by the pandemic (more on that later).

Lending a Hand

The size and scope of the pandemic’s impact on the local business community was already abundantly clear before those phone calls and e-mails regarding the Payroll Protection Program started coming in that Friday morning. But within just a few hours, area bankers had some fresh perspective.

Indeed, desperate for some relief from their cash-flow headaches and concerned that the well would run dry, even with $350 billion dollars in it, owners of businesses of all shapes and sizes were frantic to initiate the process of staking a claim to some of the relief money.

“They were advised to call their local banker, and … they did,” said Senecal, adding that the banks, often working with a third party to assist with the workload, constitute the front end of this process — taking the applications and, eventually, cutting checks to the companies whose loans are approved.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which does the approving, constitutes the back end, and right now, that back end is backlogged.

“I heard on a conference call recently that the SBA typically does roughly $3 billion a year in SBA loans,” said Senecal. “Now, they’re trying to do $350 billion in a week. They are not equipped for the volume that we’re all giving them, or trying to give them.”

Senecal and others said the sheer volume of applications has caused the system to crash temporarily on occasion as banks and the third-party companies many are working with flood the SBA with loan applications.

Lowell said his bank, which is processing the applications itself instead of using a third party, started submitting applications first thing on April 4 (a Saturday), and by noon, it had received word that a number of them had been approved — maybe $20 million worth of loans.

But that’s merely the first, or second, step in the lengthy process of getting money into the hands of business owners, he went on. “No loans have been closed, and they can’t be closed until the SBA comes up with the promissory note that they want us to use. Until they do that — and they say it could be any day — nothing can close.”

 Such closures may begin this week, but that would be a best-case scenario, said those we spoke with, adding that, thus far, loan requests are coming in all sizes and from businesses in every sector.

“The SBA typically does roughly $3 billion a year in SBA loans. Now, they’re trying to do $350 billion in a week. They are not equipped for the volume that we’re all giving them, or trying to give them.”

The good news, amid all this talk of backlogs and computer crashes, is that it is highly unlikely that the money will run out. And if it should run out, there will likely be additional stages to the overall stimulus package.

“There’s $350 billion to disperse,” said Senecal. “I heard that, as of yesterday [April 6], $38 billion had been approved. That’s roughly 11% of the entire amount. For people to start thinking, ‘they’re going to run out of money’ — that’s not going to happen. It’s just a very slow process.”

A New Normal

As noted earlier, while banks are still conducting business, it is certainly not business as usual. Most all establishments have either closed their lobbies or established ‘by-appointment-only’ policies, in efforts to safeguard both customers and employees.

Drive-through windows are open, as are ATMs, and institutions with ITMs (interactive teller machines) report a dramatic increase in usage — out of necessity. Overall, those we spoke with reported a few bumps and a slowing of the pace of activity as customers began using new technology, but, overall, a relatively smooth transition, if it can be called that.

“It’s been surprisingly smooth,” Lowell said. “And I say surprisingly because I wasn’t sure how customers would respond. But they have been great. We’ve had people getting documents notarized, opening accounts, and more right through the drive-up. And while it was very busy initially, it has slowed down; we extended hours originally because we didn’t know what to expect, but we’re thinking of reducing things and going back to our normal hours to give our staff a break.”

Returning to the subject of digital banking, Senecal, speaking for all the others at the ‘table,’ said his bank has been gently pushing its customers to embrace new technology like ITMs. The pandemic has provided a great assist in these efforts, and most customers are enjoying the ride, if you will.

“Whenever a customer has done it, you get this reaction like, ‘oh, my God, this is unbelievably easy,’” he said of ITM use. “Like all of us, you need to be pushed toward new technology — it can be intimidating — and the more we push or force people, and they understand the environment we’re in, they’re learning that it’s not so bad.”

But the pandemic has also brought some staffing challenges, said many on the panel, noting that, as they try to keep employees safe, they are limiting the number of people working at one time. And there are other constraints as well.

“We have people in some critical positions who are in the National Guard,” Senecal said. “So we’ve had to readjust some of some our staffing. But otherwise, we have not diminished our services at all; we’re doing everything through the drive-up.”

Michael Tucker, president and CEO of Greenfield Cooperative Bank, said one of his branches actually had to be closed for a short period because the spouse of one of his workers, a first responder, had come in contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus.

“We had split our staff into Team A and Team B at each location,” he explained, noting that the employee in question is on Team A. After deep cleaning and sanitizing the office, it reopened with Team B, with Team A on self-quarantine.

Such developments could not have been imagined even three weeks ago, but they are now part of a new norm for banks.

As for the types of business conducted, the bank presidents we spoke with said that, by and large, people understand that their money is safe, and there has been an inflow when it comes to deposits, rather than anything approach a rush to withdraw money. Meanwhile, commercial activity has slowed tremendously, as might be expected. But on the residential-mortgage side, business has been booming.

‘Crazy’ was the word used by most all them.

Meanwhile, another word uttered over and over by those around this virtual roundtable was ‘outreach.’ Indeed, while taking calls from commercial clients with questions and issues, area banks have been making them as well.

“We’ve been doing a ton of customer outreach, particularly in the hospitality area, and there is a large concentration of those types of businesses in Berkshire County,” Leach said. “We’ve done a lot of proactive outreach with that sector, and there has been a significant number of loan modifications, including more than 80 interest-only and three full deferments on the commercial side.”

All methods of communication have been used, from snail mail — although not much of that anymore — to e-mail, to that fireside chat Lowell gave with the assist from his wife.

“We’ve been trying to be creative as to how we get the word out,” Lowell said. “I recently recorded several commercials that are going to be on radio stations, as well as a brief TV spot using my phone; we’re trying to be creative and take advantage of technology.”

Tucker agreed, noting that his bank has used videos on its Facebook page and other vehicles for communicating a simple but direct message: “we’re here, and we’re going to try to help.”

Earnings Statements

While the banks will play a large role in helping businesses stay afloat during this crisis, they will have to be mindful of their own bottom lines as well. Those we spoke with are projecting that this will be a very challenging year in that regard for all those reasons mentioned above.

“Margins were shrinking before this,” Tucker said. “And now, with no interest coming in for a while, that’s going to put even more pressure on banks. The good news is that the banks here are well-capitalized and have the ability to weather this, but 2020 will be a very difficult year at the end of the year when you see the numbers.”

The banks we spoke with are all mutual banks, meaning there are no stockholders. And their presidents said their respective boards understand the unusual circumstances as well as the need for these institutions to step up and help the community get to the other side of the pandemic.

“None of us are focused on earning this year; we’re doing everything to make sure our communities get through this and economically come out of this in a great position.”

“Most of us, if not all of us, are sitting on a good amount of liquidity, so we’re in a position to take these steps, suffer through a few months of losses, and still fund things that need to be funded,” Lowell said. “And on the regulatory front, everything that we’ve heard from the FDIC, federal examiners, and others is that they are encouraging us to keep this economy running and help people — and they won’t hold it against us, as long as we do it within reason and do it within the confines of safety and soundness and don’t take on excessive risk.

“I think we’re going to be prudent, and the last thing we want is to see any of our customers not get through this,” he went on. “We’re going to be looking to our existing customers first, and then, if we can help other people, we’ll try to do that, whether it’s through the SBA or direct lending, or some of the other programs.”

Sullivan agreed, saying this will be a unique opportunity for the banking community to collaborate, as perhaps never before, and work collectively to steer the economy out of extremely dangerous whitewater.

“I don’t see this as competition or anyone trying to be opportunistic about this,” he told BusinessWest. “The size and scope of this problem is huge, and part of what we want to message to the community is that the industry is collaborating to get through it.”

Senecal agreed. “The focus is to get through this year and be there in support of the community,” he said. “As mutual banks, we’re here for the community, and all of us have enough capital to sustain a really bad year. None of us are focused on earning this year; we’re doing everything to make sure our communities get through this and economically come out of this in a great position.”

Lowell might have summed up the situation, and the sentiments of everyone at the ‘table,’ by saying in conclusion: “it will be an interesting year; I don’t anticipate any of us are going to make a lot of money, but we’re all in good shape at the start of this, and I see us all coming through it the end while helping people stay in business.”

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

I called Evan Plotkin for a story I was doing on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the commercial real-estate sector.

It’s one of many stories I and others here have been working on as this crisis unfolds, and I had many questions for him involving everything from how property owners can assist tenants hard hit by the virus to what may happen to the office market after all this is over.

And Plotkin, president of NAI Plotkin, a family-owned business that manages a number of properties across the region, was — as he seemingly always is — more than willing to discuss such matters.

But first, he wanted to talk about his mother, Judy.

A resident of a local nursing home, she was displaying symptoms of COVID-19 and had been taken to the hospital. And he was naturally quite concerned. He answered all my questions, but the tone of his voice made it clear that his mind was elsewhere — and where it should have been.

Less than 48 hours later, he posted a message on Facebook that his mother had passed away, providing more tragic evidence of something all of us already knew: this virus wasn’t somewhere else anymore. It’s here. And it’s killing people.

For months, it had been somewhere else. First, it was in China and a place none of us had ever heard of before called Wuhan. Then it was in South Korea, Italy, and Spain. And when it came to this country, it was still somewhere else. It was in Washington State and California, New York and New Jersey.

Not anymore. Now, it’s here.

This became all too apparent during a week we won’t forget, although we’re certain to see more like it.

This was the week we (and everyone else in this country) learned of the tragedy at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke. Many heroes of a number of different wars have contracted the virus, and more than a dozen have died, some with strong ties to this area. The sorrow being expressed across the region — almost everyone knows someone in that home or knows someone who has a father or grandfather there — is tinged with controversy surrounding reports of missteps in the handling of the virus and an unwillingness to take the matter as seriously as was necessary.

During that same week, Colleen Loveless, president and CEO of Revitalize Springfield, posted a note on Facebook that her father had died in a Hartford Hospital soon after testing positive for COVID-19.

“This virus is devasting and cruel,” she wrote as she explained that she and other family members could not be with her father as the end came. “His healthcare professionals are heroes! Do your part to help all of us — STAY HOME!”

Loveless, as you might know, was honored by BusinessWest with its Difference Makers Award in 2014. And in the ‘gee, it really is a small world’ department, Evan Plotkin received that same honor a few years later.

It is a small world, and this virus is making it even smaller — in every way we can imagine.

It used to be somewhere else, this virus, this invisible menace. But not anymore. It’s right here, right now.

Plotkin, the Difference Maker, honored for all he has done to help revitalize Springfield and restore the vibrancy he remembered from his youth, wanted to talk about how his mother was a difference maker in her own right.

“She was a career volunteer for Baystate Medical going back to the late 1960s,” he wrote in an e-mail the day before she died. “She served as chair of the board of trustees, the first woman to hold that position. My entire life growing up, I thought my mother was an employee of Baystate; it wasn’t until later on that I realized that she did this as a volunteer.”

Judy died in the hospital she served for so many years on April 3.

And, tragically, she won’t be the last.

In case there was any doubt at all, the virus isn’t ‘somewhere else’ anymore. And it’s time to heed Colleen Loveless’s advice.

George O’Brien is the editor of BusinessWest; [email protected]

By George O’Brien

By most accounts, this region is still in the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the experts are saying it will several months before things will return to something approaching ‘normal.’

But while we have a long way to go, it’s certainly not too early to begin speculating about what ‘normal’ will be, whenever we get there. And it’s fair to say that ‘normal’ won’t look like it does now. In fact, it could look much different because of what we’re all experiencing — and what we’re all learning — during these unprecedented times.

Some questions come to mind even as we’re only about a week into the state’s shutdown of non-essential businesses. In no particular order:

• Will men ever wear ties again?

• Will anyone ever print out a document again?

• Will anyone ever go into a bank branch again?

• Will anyone visit a car dealership again?

• Will companies ever again lease out all the space they’re leasing out now?

• Will we still need college campuses?

• Will we ever need to meet anyone in person again?

The answer to all these questions is ‘yes.’ But the more accurate answer, when we examine things closely, is probably ‘yes, but certainly not as much.’

OK, maybe guys will go back to wearing ties as much as they used to, but … then again, maybe not. Probably not. A good number of them had decided they no longer needed to long before this crisis, and now, this club, if that’s what you want to call it, is certain to get bigger. Maybe much bigger.

As for the rest of those questions, life with COVID-19 has certainly changed how we do things, and maybe for the rest of time, not just until we get that signal that it’s safe to go back in the water, whenever that might be.

Let’s start with paper. Most offices were at least trying to use less paper, but many weren’t exactly fully committed to the task. Now, as offices are relying on other forms of communication, and in many cases, they can’t hit the ‘print’ button, many are learning that it’s OK not to have a print copy of everything. And when the smaller bill comes in from the office-supply company, it’s a good bet that things won’t go back to the way they were.

As for leasing office space, some companies will go back to the same footprint. But it’s safe to say many will find that having employees work at home when they can isn’t just for snowstorms and pandemics. Not everyone wants to work at home, certainly, but if the spouse and the children are not at home at the same time as you are when you’re working — unlike now — it begins to look more doable and more attractive.

Yes, there are limitations, and some people have already found that working at home is like being retired in that you lose track of the day and date. Meanwhile, it can be lonely, and many are finding they need to be around others and just hear the sound of a human voice. But now that some are doing it, they find they can do it.

Bank branches? Some young people can boast that they’ve never been in one. And now, many who are not so young are joining those ranks. People who were intimidated by new banking technology found themselves without a choice — and many have now found themselves saying ‘that wasn’t so bad’ or even ‘that’s pretty cool.’ And, by that way, the same goes for office technology as well.

As for meeting people face to face, this will probably stage some kind of comeback. Skype, Zoom, and all those other platforms are fine, but there’s nothing like sitting across the desk or the coffee-shop table from someone. Although … many people are starting to think those aforementioned options are almost as effective, and they save time, gas, and money. They’ve been around for a while, but now that people have a need to use them, they are.

This doesn’t mean auto dealers, bankers, college presidents, and insurance agents won’t ever meet as a group or an association again. But technology is now showing us that there are other ways to meet collectively.

As noted, we’re still in the beginning stages of this crisis, but we’re already learning things. We’re learning that the technology we were afraid to use for some reason is nothing to be afraid of. We’re also learning new and different ways to do things, and it’s likely we’ll keep doing them that way when this crisis is over.

That’s why things on the other side will certainly look much different.

George O’Brien is the editor of BusinessWest.

Participants Say It’s Anything but Business as Usual

By George O’Brien

If you call the Employers Assoc. of the Northeast these days, the person at the other end of the line will likely ask you if you want the agency’s hotline.

Almost everyone does.

“We’re getting inundated — we’re getting more calls in a day than we would get in a week or two,” said Meredith Wise, EANE’s executive director, who told BusinessWest the calls vary in nature, but the vast majority of them have to do with workforce issues — whether to lay off people in the wake of this virus or furlough them (we’ll explain the difference in a minute), and how to somehow keep them if they are laid off. But there are other matters as well, especially the many evolving layers of support on the state and federal levels.

“People don’t know what to do, and they’re looking for help — they’re looking for answers, because there’s so much uncertainty, and the picture seems to change every day and even every hour,” said Wise, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic is challenging businesses of all sizes as they have probably never been challenged before.

Wise was one of several area business leaders who took part in a roundtable on this virus and the many ways it is impacting the business community — a different kind of roundtable, to be sure. Indeed, there was no actual table, round or otherwise; this was all done via a conference call and some subsequent follow-up interviews as the scene changed. (Editor’s Note: that scene continues to change, and this story will be updated as needed at businesswest.com.)

Through these discussions, we learned what should seem obvious — that, at this time, it isn’t ‘business as usual’ for anyone, and for many, there is no business at all. But we also learned that, in some cases, there is something approaching business as usual, as legal transactions and real-estate deals, both commercial and residential, move forward. Meanwhile, the marketing expert we spoke with had a simple message for businesses of all kinds — “don’t stop communicating.”

Here are the highlights from this COVID-19-style roundtable:

At the EANE

Wise told BusinessWest that, understandably, employers are on edge as they see revenue sources dry up and cash flow interrupted. A good number of calls to the hotline concern what to do with employees — lay them off, furlough them, or try somehow to keep them on, especially if the stimulus package currently being debated includes provisions that provide small businesses access to private bank loans equal to several months of expenses (payroll, rent, utilities, etc.) that would be covered by the federal government if they stayed open, maintained their workforce, and paid their bills.

“People are at wit’s end — do they lay off everyone, do they furlough people, do they shut down this operation, do they keep with that operation?” she told BusinessWest, adding that ‘lay off’ and ‘furlough’ are technical terms with specific definitions, and they are not the same thing.

“With a furlough, you’re still considered an employee — people are not going to get paid, but they’re still on the payroll, and they’re still eligible for benefits — all that stays in place,” she explained. “If you lay people off, they’re no longer an employee. They may get a call-back date, but in essence the business is parting company with that employee.”

And, with a layoff, a company has to pay all accrued paid time off and give the employee a check for that amount on their last day.

Wise said some manufacturers, concerned that business will dry up for a longer term, are laying off people (especially recent hires), while others, especially those with sizable investments in the people they’ve hired, are taking the furlough route with the hope that business will soon pick up or help from a stimulus package of some form will arrive.

“But people just don’t know when this is going to end — will it be by April 1, April 14, or are we going to the end of April or into May?” she said. “I’ve heard people say this could go on for three months and that they can’t keep their workforce going for three months.”

Meanwhile, with regard to the governor’s order to close non-essential businesses, Wise said it will certainly be unpopular with small-business owners not on the ‘essential’ list, but it might help bring a form of normalcy and routine that will replace the daily uncertainty that was annoying, to say the least.

“Let’s just do it and get it over with,” she said as the order was coming down. “This constant drip, drip, drip of changes every day is driving everyone crazy, and it doesn’t let you focus on anything.”

Developments of Note

Jeff Sullivan noted that it’s not business as usual for the region’s banks, and it won’t be for quite some time. But there will be a good deal of business, especially if, as expected, banks play a key role in funneling federal stimulus money to small businesses in the form of what will amount to bridge loans.

In the meantime, banks are keeping busy enough — with everything from customers who want some cash in their pockets during these uncertain times (and that’s many people) to businesses seeking lines of credit, or larger lines, to get through the crisis, to homeowners looking to take advantage of the recent drop in interest rates to refinance. And, again, that’s many people.

“It’s a little strange here … we had a large backlog of loans that were closing during the month of March, so we’ve tried to stay somewhat business as usual with those,” said Sullivan, president and CEO of Springfield-based New Valley Bank & Trust. “Most of those are happening, and part of the reason we want to get through that is because the nature of the loan requests we’re going to get are going to change dramatically, from the normal buy, sell, refinance-my-building kind of stuff to building up piles of working capital to get through the downturn.

“I think I’ve heard more of the ‘we need to do whatever we can to keep the doors open’ type of conversations from people,” he went on. “But we’re also hearing about people wanting to refinance their free and clear property so they’ll have a lot of cash because they think there will be some opportunities down the road — there’s a little of that going on, too.”

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of refinancing on the residential side of the equation as homeowners look to capitalize on those interest rates, he said, adding that there is also commercial activity and a limited amount of business expansion happening.

Things should change dramatically with the stimulus package and its likely provision for forgivable loans that will, as he put it, essentially put everyone on unemployment for three months.

“People are on pins and needles waiting to see what happens,” he said as the bill was still being hammered out. “If something doesn’t happen, there will be another wave of layoffs.”

Case in Point

Scott Foster, an attorney with Springfield-based Bulkley Richardson, said his firm’s phones might not be as busy as EANE’s, but they are ringing constantly. And many of those who are calling are looking for the same kinds of answers.

“I’m as busy as ever — the phones are ringing off the hook; people are working and getting things done while they still can,” he said just prior to the governor’s order to shut down non-essential businesses. “It’s mostly about contingency planning, looking at federal aid that’s already passed or is coming down the pike and how it’s going to help them, or staffing decisions — whether to furlough people, lay them off, or keep them on the payroll.

“All these questions are coming, and there’s a lot of uncertainty, a lot of unknowns,” he went on. “But this is business — people have to make decisions; you don’t get to not make decisions, or the decision gets made for you. So we’re very active.”

Foster said that deals — everything from real-estate acquisitions to business transactions — are still taking place, albeit at a slower pace in some cases.

“I have some real deals … they’re not closing tomorrow, but they’re still going,” he explained. “I haven’t had anyone pull the plug on any deal I’m working on; next week might be a different story, but right now, they’re all charging forth.”

As for the general tone of those in the business community, while many are understandably anxious, there’s also discernable optimism, he said, especially regarding some provisions of the stimulus bill being debated — ones that would essentially ‘mothball’ businesses until the crisis is over, with funds provided by the government to pay people and pay other expenses as well.

“Big sections of the economy are going to go on pause,” he explained. “And if the federal aid is sufficient and businesses reopen in a few months and the economy restarts … there’s a lot of optimism I’m hearing from business owners about what things are going to look like on the other side of this. It might be misplaced optimism, but it’s there.”

Overall, he said most business owners are “keeping their heads on,” as he put it, and not panicking.

“And the main reason they’re not panicking is because everyone is going through this,” he said. “It’s not one business or one sector, it’s hitting everyone, and you’re seeing some people growing — Amazon’s hiring, Walmart is hiring, Domino’s is hiring, online delivery services are hiring … there are some positive things happening.”

‘Cover’ Story

Dave Griffin has been in the insurance business for decades now and has certainly seen almost everything in the course of his career. But the COVID-19 pandemic has been different — in all kinds of ways.

That assessment refers to everything from the volume of the phone calls to the very difficult nature of the conversations with the people on the other end of the line.

“It’s been a tough few weeks, obviously,” said Griffin, vice president of Holyoke-based Dowd Insurance. “I’ve been doing this for 11 years here, and you develop a strong relationship with your clients. There have been a lot of hard conversations here this week with people just trying to do whatever they can to keep their business open. They have a real passion for what they do, and it’s heartbreaking to hear that they have to lay off employees and talk about the business like it might not be around.”

While talk of stimulus packages continues, business owners, especially those hit immediately by the crisis — restaurants, hotels, clubs, banquet facilities, and retail establishments — have been dealing with the moment, said Griffin, and most come forward with the obvious question: ‘does my business-interruption policy cover this deadly virus?’

And the answer he has had to give, unfortunately, is ‘no,’ and, as noted, he’s given it to a large number of people.

There is hope that this answer may change, just as it did after 9/11 — terrorist attacks were not covered in most all business-interruption policies, but that law was changed — but for now, the answer remains ‘no.’

If there is any good news for most insurance customers, it is that their payments are generally based on annual sales volume, and as those numbers go down as the pandemic continues, so do those payments. Meanwhile, many insurance carriers are responding to the crisis by providing flexibility on payments and commitments not to cancel policies if payments cannot be made.

While answering questions about policies and listening to his clients, Griffin also offered some perspective on the situation in the form of hope — and expectation — that most of those business owners he’s had these hard conversations with find a way to persevere and come out on the other side.

“Hopefully, we can come out of this sooner rather than later,” he said. “And I have no doubt that this region will rally behind the local businesses.”

And Now, a Word, or Two, or Three, About Marketing

John Garvey, president of Garvey Communication Associates Inc., told BusinessWest that, while every sector, and almost every business, has its own unique situation with regard to the virus and its impact, there are some common threads, or thoughts, when it comes to marketing in these difficult times.

To explain it, he summoned three words — actually, one word repeated three times — that was essentially the mantra of Doug Bowen, the now-retired president and CEO of Holyoke-based PeoplesBank, a long-time client.

“Communicate, communicate, communicate — that’s what he used to say, and I think that’s practical advice for everyone right now,” he said. “You need to be talking to your employees, and you need to be talking to your customers.”

As for the messages to be conveyed, he said they generally fall into several categories — from informing the public about what’s happening with a specific company during this crisis to speaking directly to employees. In both cases, the messages are generally about reassuring the intended audience.

“You really want to reach out to employees from the standpoint of appreciation and thank them for their efforts,” Garvey explained. “There is a lot of insecurity out there, and anything organizations can do to placate or resolve that is really important right now.”

Such efforts to reassure and thank people become more difficult and more complicated when a company is also laying off or furloughing employees, he acknowledged, but this shouldn’t stop businesses from heeding Bowen’s mantra.

Meanwhile, as for marketing and communicating in general, this is a perilous time, but it’s also a time when your message can be heard, he went on, because people are listening, and they’re looking for information.

“Your whole audience, your whole customer base, is pretty much sitting at home right now,” he noted. “They’re on social media, they’re reading things online, etc., etc. — you have their attention; never have people been more focused.”

That said, advertisers need to send messages that are important or interesting, or they won’t keep that audience’s attention, Garvey went on, and people need to send messages that are sensitive to the times.

Overall, he said many businesses have been so caught up in the day to day of coping with the crisis that they have become “frozen” when it comes to marketing. The “thaw,” as he called it, should come now, or very soon, as something approaching a new sense of normalcy prevails.

“And then,” he said, “the responsibility is to communicate, communicate, communicate.”

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic deepens, we’re hearing more and more references to the past — and with good reason.

Part of it is an attempt to put this crisis in perspective, and for perspective, you have to look to the past and things to compare this to. That’s why we’re hearing and reading references to 2008 and 2009 — the Great Recession — as well as 9/11, 1987 (the great stock-market nosedive), and, increasingly, the Great Depression of the 1930s, especially as the estimates for unemployment come in; indeed, some of the latest projections are for 20% or more, numbers not seen since 1932.

But we’re also hearing references to World War II, for reasons that involve not so much perspective (although there’s some of that) as inspiration. We’re hearing and reading references to everything from the Manhattan Project (which produced the atomic bomb) to the arsenal of democracy, the phrase coined by Franklin Roosevelt to describe what the United States should — and did — become as the war became a global conflict.

These references and comparisons are essentially spot on. What this country needs right now is a response similar to the one perhaps last seen during World War II — and on all kinds of levels.

Like the arsenal of democracy. In very short order, the U.S. economy went from a struggling peacetime economy — yes, the Great Depression lasted, in most all respects, into the early ’40s — into a thriving wartime economy where manufacturers retooled and produced items needed for the war effort. Examples abound, but the best known is Ford shifting gears — literally and figuratively — and producing B-24 Liberator bombers instead of cars at its famous Willow Run plant (where ‘Rosie the Riveter’ worked). In fact, at peak production, it was rolling out a new bomber every hour.

As the COVID-19 crisis deepens, it’s clear that we need what amounts to a different kind of wartime production — the war against this virus. Just as Ford made bombers, Caterpillar made tanks, Packard manufactured aircraft engines, and Studebaker produced trucks during World War II, today’s manufacturers need to step up, retool, and make surgical masks, respirators, and other items desperately needed in hospitals across the country.

And some are already volunteering to do just that, including Ford, GM, and Tesla. Meanwhile, cruise lines have proposed converting some of their ships into hospital ships, perhaps to care for those who need care but do not have COVID-19, and hotel owners have suggested perhaps converting their facilities into hospitals during this crisis.

These are the kinds of things that happened during World War II, and they need to happen now.

Meanwhile, on the home front during that war, there was sacrifice and a willingness to pitch in and do what was necessary, with drives to collect everything from rubber to aluminum for the war effort. Not everyone was happy with the rationing of many products, but they coped.

Contrast those images with those of people hording toilet paper and partying on the beaches of Florida during spring break, and it’s easy to see that the current generations can learn a lot from the Greatest Generation.

But there are many, many signs of generosity and caring being seen today — everything from MGM Springfield and other venues donating food items to food pantries to the Community Foundation’s creation of the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley, to NBA players donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to help arena workers who are now among the unemployed.

To get through this, we’re going to need a lot more stepping up, sacrificing, and using all our talents and imagination to help in this new war effort.

For inspiration, all we have to do is turn the clock back 75 years.

Offering a Lifeline

It’s called Prime the Pump — an appropriate name, at a time when the pump is threatening to run dry for area restaurants.

A statewide shutdown of restaurants and bars has proprietors worried about the future, with many building short-term strategies around takeout and delivery, gift cards, and other features (see story here). But local government is doing its part, too.

“In conjunction and on top of federal and state loan assistance programs, the city will immediately move to offer $222,679 in grants, up to a maximum of $15,000 for qualified restaurants,” Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said this week in announcing the initiative. “As my administration continues to review any and all options to assist our residents and business community during these challenging times, I have asked my chief Development officer, Tim Sheehan, to see what we could do immediately to ‘prime the pump’ to start to spur a shot-in-the-arm relief and recovery initial assistance program for our restaurants and their employees.”

Added Sheehan, “while the small-business support being advanced by the federal and state government is beneficial, it is clear to me that more creative and flexible financial lifelines need to be established for the small businesses, especially restaurants which have disproportionately felt the economic impact resulting from the coronavirus mitigation measures designed to protect us all.”

For more information and details on how to apply, contact Sheehan at (413) 787-6024 or [email protected].

Read on for other financial resources available for small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

• The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will offer low-interest federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans for working capital to Massachusetts small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19.

Small businesses, private nonprofit organizations of any size, small agricultural cooperatives, and small aquaculture enterprises that have been financially impacted as a direct result of COVID-19 since Jan. 31 may qualify for loans up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred. Eligibility for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is based on the financial impact of the coronavirus. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses and 2.75% for private nonprofit organizations.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster-assistance information, and download applications at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or e-mail [email protected] for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (800) 877-8339. The deadline to apply is Dec. 18.

• This week, the Baker-Polito administration also announced economic support for small businesses with a $10 million loan fund to provide financial relief to those that have been affected by COVID-19. The Small Business Recovery Loan Fund will provide emergency capital up to $75,000 to Massachusetts-based businesses impacted by COVID-19 with under 50 full- and part-time employees, including nonprofits. Loans are immediately available to eligible businesses with no payments due for the first 6 months. Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. has capitalized the fund and will administer it.

To apply, complete the application found at empoweringsmallbusiness.org. Completed applications can be e-mailed to [email protected] with the subject line “2020 Small Business Recovery Loan Fund.”

• Meanwhile, Common Capital offers a Fast Track Loan Program to address the needs of local businesses that need quick access to capital. Loan proceeds may be used for most legitimate business purposes, including purchasing inventory or equipment, and for working capital. The program offers a loan decision in two to three business days for loan requests up to $50,000, with funding typically within a week after approval. It is a credit-score-based program for businesses in operation at least one year. Those approved will be eligible for no-cost business assistance from Common Capital staff and consultants.

Applicants seeking funding from the program to help mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will need to answer the following questions: What steps have you taken or are you planning to take to address the financial health of your business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Please be specific. What is the typical cash-flow cycle for your business? How are your revenues affected by external factors, such as seasons, weather events, or the school calendar, among others? How much revenue did your business have month by month in 2019?

For more information about Common Capital and its loan programs, contact Kim Gaughan, loan fund manager, at (413) 233-1684 or [email protected].

• State and federal government entities are also looking at tax-relief efforts. At the state level, Massachusetts will postpone the collection of taxes to provide relief to the state’s restaurant and hospitality sectors by delaying the collection of sales tax, meals tax, and room-occupancy taxes. Taxes that are due in March, April and May will instead be collected on June 20 for businesses that paid less than $150,000 in sales and meal taxes or less than $150,000 in room-occupancy taxes in the year ending Feb. 29. The state will also waive all penalties and interest. Gov. Charlie Baker said the state Department of Revenue would finalize emergency regulations to establish the tax relief measures before week’s end.

In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that individuals and corporations can delay their federal tax payments for 90 days due to the coronavirus pandemic. Individuals can defer up to $1 million in payments for 90 days from the April 15 deadline. Corporations can defer up to $10 million in payments for 90 days. During that time, the IRS will not charge interest or penalties. Mnuchin’s announcement did not delay the April 15 filing deadline.

The IRS has established a special webpage (www.irs.gov/coronavirus) focused on steps to help taxpayers, businesses, and others affected by the coronavirus. This page will be updated as new information is available.

• Nonprofits are being squeezed by the current crisis as well. In response, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) established the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley with a lead gift of $1 million from MassMutual and a $500,000 contribution from CFWM. Big Y, Easthampton Savings Bank, Greenfield Cooperative Bank/Northampton Cooperative Bank, and PeoplesBank have also committed to contributing. Other area businesses and philanthropic organizations are being encouraged to contribute to the fund, as is the general public.

The fund will provide flexible resources to Pioneer Valley nonprofit organizations serving populations most impacted by the crisis, such as the elderly, those without stable housing, families needing food, and those with particular health vulnerabilities. Funds initially will be given to existing community-based organizations who currently serve vulnerable populations and who are best able to identify those requiring crisis services.

Those interested in making a gift to the fund should visit communityfoundation.org/coronavirus-donations or contact the Community Foundation at [email protected].

• Meanwhile, Berkshire United Way and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation have established the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Berkshire County to rapidly deploy resources to community-based organizations as they respond to the impact of the coronavirus in Berkshire County. They have already committed more than $600,000 for these efforts through a coalition of philanthropic organizations, businesses partners, and generous individuals.

Early partners and funders include Adams Community Bank, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, Berkshire Bank Foundation, Donald C. McGraw Foundation/Blackrock Foundation Fund, Feigenbaum Foundation, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Joseph H. and Carol F. Reich Fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Josephine and Louise Crane Foundation, Mill Town, Northern Berkshire United Way, Unistress, Williams College, and Williamstown Community Chest. The partners encourage other institutions, companies, and funders to contribute to the fund.

Donations to the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund can be made at berkshireunitedway.org/donate. Nonprofits can request funds through a simple, rolling application process that can be found at berkshireunitedway.org.

• Finally, to help individuals in need, the United Way of Pioneer Valley established the COVID-19 Recovery and Relief Fund to provide aid and resources to those affected by the current public-health emergency. As the pandemic unfolds and schools, events, and workplaces close, hourly, low-wage workers and many others will experience unprecedented financial hardship. In Massachusetts, two in five workers lack sufficient savings to withstand a sudden loss in wages.

Funds collected for this emergency relief fund will help families and individuals impacted by the pandemic to meet their basic, childcare, housing and financial needs. This fund will also help to continue United Way programs such as Thrive and especially Mass2-1-1, a free referral hotline providing access to services such as emergency assistance and real-time COVID-19 information. Individuals can dial 211, United Way’s 24/7 information and referral hotline, from any Massachusetts number to get information related to the virus.

Visit www.uwpv.org and follow the link to ‘COVID-19 Relief’ for more information.