The coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly placed a harsh strain on the economy, among the many other areas of life it has impacted. But, despite the government-mandated restrictions and the repercussions that followed, a lot of small businesses held strong and fought their way through to the light at the end of the tunnel.
And, according to personal finance website WalletHub, the Buckeye State fared pretty well over these unprecedented times, landing within the top 10 states in the nation with the “most pandemic-proof small businesses.”
Ohio came at No. 8 on the list, with Pennsylvania at No. 1 and Nevada at No. 51 (the list included the District of Columbia, bringing it to 51 rankings).
WalletHub evaluated each state (and Washington, D.C.) across 11 key metrics in order to create their ranking. The metrics were divided into three groups: impact and access to resources; small-business financial conditions; and business environment and workforce support.
Some of the 11 key metrics included: share of small businesses operating in highly affected industries, small business credit conditions, percent change in number of small businesses open and small business friendliness grade.
Ohio ranked No. 1 in the impact and access to resources category; No. 6 in small-business financial conditions; and No. 49 in business environment and workforce support.
“(The) coronavirus dealt a heavy blow to small businesses in the U.S., as countless businesses were forced by state governments to shut their doors for months on end or have heavy capacity restrictions,” the WalletHub article reads. “Though states are gradually reopening and loosening restrictions, around 100,000 businesses shut their doors permanently in 2020.”
In June of 2020, Yelp released an economic average report for Q2 of the year, reporting that the Greater Cincinnati metro area endured 752 total business closures — 341 marked as permanently closed — between March 1 and July 10.
During a press briefing on April 5, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he would not be lifting restrictions against bars and restaurants, although he did recently lift the state’s ban on mass outdoor gatherings and loosen other restrictions. He noted that bars and restaurants primarily are indoor establishments where patrons are unmasked, unlike retail shops in which masks are worn for the duration.
Science has shown that the coronavirus is easily transmitted through respiratory droplets, with greater risk through prolonged exposure indoors and in spaces with inadequate ventilation.
“The reality is that bars and restaurants are different in the sense that people eat and drink, and when they eat and drink, they do not have masks on. That’s the fundamental difference,” DeWine said.
Read WalletHub’s full rankings at wallethub.com.
Find many of Cincinnati’s best businesses, voted by CityBeat readers, in our Best of Cincinnati 2021 issue.
This article appears in Apr 1-30, 2021.
