BOSTON–While many small business owners are feeling better about their prospects for 2021, many minority-owned small businesses are reporting paying their rent continues to be very difficult.
Alignable’s April Rent Poll, conducted among 8,943 small businesses from 3/27 to 4/5/21, showed that covering the rent remains a major obstacle for 31% of all small business owners in the U.S. But for minorities, that percentage is much higher: 53% of minority-owned small to medium-size businesses (SMBs) could not afford to pay their full rent on time.
“While 53% is better than last month's number, 67%, it’s still very discouraging and suggests that the recovery for many minority-owned businesses will likely be slower and more difficult,” Alignable said in its analysis. “Unfortunately, this reflects a trend we've seen throughout the COVID Era that doesn't seem to be going away. And the fact that more than half of minority-owned businesses can’t pay their rent also indicates that the PPP program is not fulfilling its early promises to focus on helping minorities, at least so far. Much more needs to be done for minority-owned small businesses to help them to rebound.”
Glimmer Of Hope
According to Alignable, despite the ongoing challenges that minority small businesses face paying their rent, there is a glimmer of hope for the overall small business economy.
“That’s abundantly clear when we compare the 31% average from this month to March’s figure: 49%. So dropping 18% to 31% is a welcome reversal in the worrisome upward trend that lasted from January to March,” the company said. “And much of this can be attributed to increased hope of a new normal ushered in by faster vaccine distribution. Along with that general trend reversing, we did see some improvement in several industries, too.”