JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Small businesses help the economy go round, but many are struggling. Some have made comebacks with this past major shopping weekend while others are facing possible closures like the formal wear store Malcolm Royce.
”I used to work with my granddad, my gran, and my mom in a small town. We had a shop. I did that with them and then I moved to American in 2009,” Matthew Subham says.
From a family business to starting his own in America, opening Malcolm Royce was a dream. Subham started his online business in 2016 selling kids formal wear. In 2020, he thought it was the right time to take a leap and create a storefront in Jacksonville. He signed the lease in February right before the global pandemic took over and shutdowns began.
“The whole lockdown situation with COVID dramatically impacted these people,” said commercial lender Bernie Dandridge. He works with Florida Capital Banks and believes there is time for businesses like Subham’s to bounce back.
“We don’t believe for a minute that there’s just no opportunity for you. We believe that people have to be creative,” Dandridge explained.
The opportunity that Dandridge is talking about can be found at UNF’s Small Business Development Center. It is a free resource helping businesses recover from COVID-19 impacts doing everything from consulting and reopening plans and more. It all starts by filling out a simple form from the comfort of your home.
As for Malcolm Royce, Subham thinks he’ll have to close shop in 2021. “It’s too much of a risk to say look right I’ll stick it out until the end,” he said.
He says he’ll most likely revert back to online only for the time being.