Small business leaders across Georgia recently joined with a number of community leaders throughout the state in sending a letter calling on Governor Brian Kemp and other state policymakers to preserve access to business-critical digital tools and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic and the long recovery period that lies ahead.
Led by the Connected Commerce Council (3C), the letter was signed by over 35 Georgia-based leaders representing a range of digitally empowered small businesses, including Clink in Atlanta.
“Access to online tools enables websites, analytics, digital ads, online marketplaces, and e-commerce platforms to empower retailers, restaurants, service providers, and Georgia small businesses of all types,” wrote Georgia business leaders. “Now, more than ever, businesses and the Georgians they serve benefit from the stability, scale, and security of these tools.”
Recently as reported in InsiderAdvantage, 3C released a study that showed that nearly three-quarters of small business owners are optimistic after the fallouts from the COVID-19 outbreak and believe they will be back to “business as normal” in the next six months. In connection with the study, it was reported that most small business owners also believe digital tools and services contributed to their resiliency throughout these unprecedented times. The report “Digitally Empowered: How Digital Tools Power Small Businesses Amid COVID-19” found that nearly one-third of the businesses felt that without the use of digital tools they would have had to close all or part of their business during the COVID-19 crisis.
The letter sent last week cautioned Governor Kemp that controversial campaigns against U.S. tech companies like Google and Facebook create unnecessary instability for millions of American small businesses using these tools and services to run and operate their businesses.
“With storefronts closed across the country, the tools offered by companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon have become vital economic lifelines for countless small business owners and entrepreneurs,” said 3C President Jake Ward. “Governor Kemp and leaders like him throughout the state understand what it takes for Georgia to compete in the digital economy, and they know that now is not the time to put small businesses at a disadvantage or slow their recovery.”
