Mocs News Reporting the news that matters most to UTC
Chattanooga, TN
by Isaac White
Being an, “Essential Business,” is impacting millions of Americans due to the Corona Virus. Small non-essential businesses are looking at shutting down their doors for good while large essential businesses have no choice but to fire employees to make it through this pandemic.
Small business owner, Jason Willard, owns The Mountain Construction Company. Willard builds houses and sells them around the local Chattanooga area. Willard’s business is considered essential because it is a construction company. This virus has not only forced Willard to fire employees but has forced him to consider shutting down temporarily until people start buying houses again, “This virus is not killing my business, but it is impacting how my family lives. Nobody wants to buy houses right now. Of course, I want my business to be successful, but I want everyone to stay safe at the same time.”
As a small business owner, the virus not only effects the cash flow of Willard’s business, but his psychological state of mind around his family as well. Willard is a father of two daughters. His wife and he have found it difficult to operate a business and raise to girls in the house with schools not remaining open, “Believe it or not the tougher part about all of this has been that my daughters are not in school so we have to find ways to keep them busy an operate a business. We have really struggled with this new hurdle, but we are finding ways around this.”
Another business that is being impacted by the Corona Virus is Serv Pro of Chattanooga. Robert White is the Head of Customer Satisfaction for Serv Pro. White believes that the Virus is not going to close Serv Pro down because they are a large essential business that is an emergency service, “I do not see us shutting down soon. We are actually hiring more people to work for us because of the influx of jobs that we are receiving to clean commercial buildings, and houses to kill the potential spread of the Corona Virus.”
Sydney Waylon is a nurse that works at the Park Ridge Hospital in Chattanooga Tennessee. She foresees that the virus will only get worse with time and will come in three waves. This will result in more businesses closing down whether they are essential or not due to the fear of people not wanting to become infected, “Everyone is going to get the virus eventually. The sad thing is businesses are going to shut down over time. From what I have read, according to a doctor at Johns Hopkins, the virus will infect everyone. You either want to get it now while it is not as strong or wait it out until a vaccine is created. More people are going to die, and this will affect businesses because even after you get the virus, it will long term effect your lungs.”
The Corona Virus has brought an end to many restaurants and forced millions into unemployment. Countries around the world are fighting against the virus to bring businesses back and keep the economy rolling.
