Small business owners in Wood County asked to tell of impact of pandemic

State Rep. Haraz N. Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, is encouraging small business owners throughout Wood County to submit their story of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their operations as leaders seek to understand the full breadth of the coronavirus to Ohio’s economy.

“I’ve been having daily conversations with small business owners across the county,” said Ghanbari. “It is important that the businesses in the 3rd House District are represented while the task force prepares to make key recommendations on opening up Ohio’s economy.”

Ghanbari will review submissions and forward to the Ohio 2020 Economic Recovery Task Force. Once submitted, the task force is planning to invite owners throughout the state to participate in an upcoming virtual meeting to explain the impact in greater detail.

If you have a business, you can email Rep03@ohiohouse.gov the following information:

·         Name and location of the business

·         Number of employees

·         Years in business

·         Contact information for business owners (email, phone number)

·         Brief description of nature of the business

Additionally, businesses can submit written responses to the task force. If submitting or speaking before the task force, the panel asks businesses focus on the following points:

·         If/how they are able to operate during the coronavirus.

·         What kind of financial strains have been brought on by this? If they have been in business for many years, how has this been compared to other financial downturns?

·         What kinds of obstacles do they see ahead of them once they are able to fully open up again?

·         Any governmental roadblocks ahead that the legislature should be aware of?

·         Any ideas that they might have on protocols they believe would be helpful to return to work while maintaining a level of safety to provide confidence to their customers?