Dear Booksellers, Here’s an end of the week roundup with a focus on updates and reminders about operations, access to Covid relief, networking, and more...
What to Do
Fill out the Winter Institute Survey: To ensure we get as many responses as possible, we have extended the deadline for survey responses to the end of the day today, Friday, March 5. All booksellers who attended Winter Institute are asked to fill out the survey. Apply for a first or second Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan before the 14-day priority window for small businesses with fewer than 20 employees ends March 9 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Recent changes now mean that business expenses paid for with PPP funds are tax deductible, and borrowers are no longer penalized for receiving an Economic Injury Disaster Loan grant. Find a participating PPP lender through the SBA Lender Match tool. Join the Board Coffee Break on March 10: Talk with members of the ABA Board about any topics you wish. ABA will send the meeting link to the entire membership a few hours before the event. Sign up for Operational Workflow: Returns: On Thursday, March 11, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, join a conversation with your bookselling colleagues to discuss the returns process and how best to navigate the what, when, and how of returns. A panel of booksellers will share their expertise. Renew your dues: Booksellers now have until Monday, March 15, to renew their dues. Fill out the form now to ensure you don’t lose ABA benefits. Questions? Email the membership team. Sign up for POS User Groups: On Wednesday, March 24, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, join representatives from several POS vendors for an informal conversation, whether you are looking to speak with your store’s vendor or talk with other vendors to learn more about their services. Register here.
What to Know The Small Business Administration (SBA) released updated PPP guidance allowing sole proprietors and other self-employed individuals applying for new PPP loans to calculate their loan amounts based on gross income instead of net profit. If this benefits your store, reach out to a lender and apply before the program ends on March 31, 2021. The IndieCommerce Institute is sold out for IndieCommerce stores, but those interested in the March 18 IndieLite seminar are welcome to register through March 10. The Education Resources page on BookWeb has many recordings from Winter Institute, including keynotes and education sessions, in addition to recordings of ABA Coffee Breaks, Marketing & Technology Meetups, and other education. Filter by the topics at the top of the page, or sort by event. Small business training for entrepreneurs is being offered by the Arizona Small Business Association. The programming — including digital marketing, networking, and finance — is not specific to Arizona stores and applies to small businesses in all states.
Upcoming Events March 9: Coffee Break (watch your email for an invite a few hours before the event) March 10: Board Coffee Break (watch your email for an invite a few hours before the event) March 11: Technology Meetup on Canva tips and tricks (sign up at the bottom of the Meetups page to receive the event link) March 11: Operational workflow education session on returns March 11: BIPOC Coffee Break (sign up at the bottom of the Meetups page to receive event links)
ABA is here for all of you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. Members can contact me directly or email the Membership, Advocacy, or IndieCommerce teams. Best,
Allison |
