Coachella Valley business owners surveyed for coronavirus recovery plan

At Tiffany’s Sweet spot in La Quinta, the owner says business is down only slightly from last year.

“I feel like the community has really rallied around our business.  They are supporting us every way they can,” said Tiffany Thorpe.   

But, a couple of blocks away at Bobby’s Detroit Coney Island, business is off 80 percent.

“It’s really hard to stomach.  It hurts.  But we’re hopeful we will come back,” said owner Linda Locklear.    

No matter how any valley business is impacted by coronavirus, The Coachella Valley Economic Partnership wants to hear about it.

The agency, tasked with developing business in the valley, is now conducting round 2 of their “Covid-19 Business Impact Survey Assessment”.

“We need to see the magnitude of how valley businesses are suffering.  I’ll just use that word suffering,” said Laura James, CVEP’s Vice President of Innovation.   

The survey, which takes about 7 minutes, asks questions to determine the amount of lost business, the numbers of employees who have been laid off or furloughed, and whether business owners have applied for federal assistance.

Owners are also asked about their primary concerns moving forward. 

“We know they are getting hit.  But it’s important for us to not just know it, but be able to quantify it and show the numbers,” said James. 

James says one surprise from the first round of the survey is how the majority of business owners said they could survive a downturn anywhere from 8 to 11 weeks.

The survey also found that 73 percent of employees temporarily not working are not getting paid.

James says out of 16 thousand businesses in the valley, 117 took part in the survey’s first round.

She hopes to at least double that number for round two.

CVEP will use results of the survey to provide direction to their efforts aimed at helping businesses recover.

“That makes me hopeful for my neighboring community businesses that aren’t doing well.  They will get the help they need,” said Thorpe.

Details on the survey, and the survey itself can be found at the CVEP link below: