Volume I | March 23, 2020
Business News
The Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce has a dedicated webpage for all business related issues of COVID-19. This will include a list of restaurants open for delivery/take out, webinars, and resources for small business recovery, link to unemployment information. It will be updated as we receive news.

Please let us know how we can help you!
Small Business Loans
Eligibility for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is based on the financial impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The interest rate is 3.75 percent for small businesses. The interest rate for private non-profit organizations is 2.75 percent. SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years and are available to entities without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship.
 
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela . 
Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov  for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (800) 877-8339. For complete details on SBA, visit www.sba.gov .
 
SBA Customer Service Representatives will be available to answer questions about SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and explain the application process at
1-800-659-2955.

Here is a great presentation provided by Diane Lantz, Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC)
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Feel free to call Diane at 910.962.2869
It's Worth the Drive Page Changes Name to Go Local Southport Oak Island
We have renamed the It's Worth the Drive Go Local Facebook Page to Go Local Southport Oak Island. This site is free for you to post information about your business.

*Add it to your favorites.
*Post your opening, closing, specials.....
*Promote the Page to your followers
*Promote the Page in Private Groups.

The more content, the more people we will have follow the page, the better for our business community as a whole.

@GoLocalSouthport-OakIsland

Take Out and Delivery Options
If you get tired of your own cooking and want a cooked meal, these restaurants are providing take out and delivery options under the new guidelines from Governor Roy Cooper.

Tips for Social Distancing & Going Local
We have some helpful suggestions on how you can support local businesses while maintaining your social distance of 6'. Feel free to print and post.

How to Work Remotely & Host Online Events
Gregg Lantz, Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst, Cybersecurity Advisor, with Oferas Technologies offers this information for those who are looking for solutions to move your business more virtual.


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BCC Small Business Seminar
As we get information, about webinars to assist our small business owners we will post them on this page as well. Brunswick Community College Small Business Center has a webinar on March 25 th from 2pm-3:30pm. They will discuss marketing and how you can stay engaged with their clients, financial planning, what's needed to get lending, etc.

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John Maxwell Leadership Summit
Teresa Molter, John Maxwell Team & Mental Game Changers invites you to a free John Maxwell Leadership Summit March 22-24.

Leadership Course for Children
Walter Finnigan, Leaf Advising has made his online youth courses completely FREE for parents, teachers and most important our youth. Schools may be closed, but you can keep the learning going with this special extra curricular journey. You and your student can journey together or individually. Every lesson includes learning experiences, built around, leadership skills.

Virtual Summit
My amazing community of digital marketing experts in Rachel Pedersen's mastermind have all gotten together to present this amazing Free Virtual Summit for everyone.

We're dropping our best trainings and resources from Facebook Ads to TIktok, Email Marketing and Content Creations, 24+ trainings over 3 jam packed days!

We've got your back!

Are you ready for the best of digital marketing to give you all of their best knowledge?

Did I mention it's 100% FREE?

No pitches, no sales, nothing but 100% pure value being given out over these three days.
This is for any small business owner who is looking for some support, guidance and community.

Please share with your friends.

Trainings start on Monday at 12pm EST.
New Song to Sing.....
Need a new song to think about when washing your hands?

Oak Island Lighthouse Run Moves to November 14th
These are trying times for our nation and the world as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope that you and your family are safe and healthy. We know that you have trained hard and were looking forward to another great race. We share your disappointment. We are navigating uncharted waters whether it be at work, home or play as in the case of your participation in the Oak Island Lighthouse Run.

On March 15th, the CDC released new guidelines for the next 8 weeks, it stated that all events over 100 people should be cancelled. The Oak Island Lighthouse Run, an event of the Southport-Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce, has discussed options for our participants with our timing company – Go Time.

We also appreciate your race loyalty as many of you have participated with us for many years and we were looking forward to meeting our new participants. After much deliberation, we decided the best solution would be to postpone, rather than cancel the Oak Island Lighthouse Run/Walk. Our new date is Saturday, November 14, 2020.

For those who have pre-registered we have sent you an email with more information.

This was a very difficult decision. We hope you will join us in November. The weather is mild and the fall sunsets/sunrises at Oak Island are amazing.
Pause, Plan & Don't Panic