Iowa business owners have proven to be creative and resilient despite the number of challenges that have been thrown their way over the last few years.
MoMere in West Des Moines is a great example of how businesses have managed to stay afloat in Iowa. Owned by mother-daughter duo Kay Schiller and Meredith Wells, MoMere has persevered by expanding its online shop and brick-and-mortar store while taking advantage of the federal resources that have been made available throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
I was proud to show U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman around MoMere and several other businesses in central Iowa this week in order to hear how programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program — which I voted for and Guzman has helped to operate — have rescued Iowa’s small businesses.
We heard from a variety of business owners who had to continue with renovations that were already under way in early 2020 even as they had to close their doors, and from owners who had to adapt their well-thought-out plans just to keep their employees paid.
The Paycheck Protection Program helped these businesses keep their staffs and stay in operation by delivering $8 billion to more than 111,000 Iowa small businesses.
While many Iowa businesses are now operating the same way as they were before the pandemic, there are still some that are feeling aftershocks.
I took Administrator Guzman to xBk, a live entertainment venue near the Drake University campus, where business hasn’t quite returned to normal. A lot of folks are comfortable going back into shops and stores, but they aren’t so eager just yet to join the big crowds that xBk usually hosts.
I previously voted twice with a majority of my colleagues to fund the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, created to help theaters, museums and small independent venues like xBk, which has already received more than $141,000 from the program.
Across Iowa, some 136 event operators have received nearly $96 million from the shuttered venues program.
On our visit, Tobi Parks, owner of xBk, highlighted how important live entertainment venues can be. They provide cultural enrichment opportunities, local jobs and opportunities for anyone who wants to enter the music industry to learn and grow.
That’s why I’d like to see more funding set aside for venues and businesses like xBk that are vital to Iowa’s economy and are still struggling.
Administrator Guzman and I also met with a variety of businesses at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, where we discussed challenges with supply chain disruptions, equitable access to capital, employee retention and others.
In Congress I have been working hard to address these issues and recently voted for the America COMPETES Act, which tackles many of the driving factors that are disrupting our supply chains and causing increased prices for both businesses and consumers.
And on the Financial Services Committee, I’m constantly looking for ways to advance minority businesses and making sure we take biases out of the system that have left some people behind and not able to access capital.
We can’t just be looking at getting folks the money right now because that’s a short-term fix. We need to ensure our entrepreneurs have the money they need to start and grow their businesses in the future.
As I go around and visit business owners, the issue I’ve heard repeated most often is that folks are having a hard time finding employees.
It is hard to get people to join the workforce in communities like Stanton, where the local daycare has a waiting list 100 children long. I’ve heard about so many similar lists from daycare facilities across Iowa’s Third District in both our largest and smallest communities.
I will not stop working until the types of investments to create and support quality, affordable childcare facilities that are included in the Build Back Better Act get done.
Small businesses are the backbone of our state and as a small business owner myself, I know how hard it is to keep bills paid and the lights on.
I’ll keep fighting to ensure Iowa’s business owners and entrepreneurs have equal opportunity to earn their fair share and to grow and succeed well into the future.
Rep. Cindy Axne of West Des Moines represents Iowa’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She can be reached at 202-225-5476.
