Small Biz Owner to Congress: Act

Delay Threatens Small Business Survival

December 13, 2020 – A Washington, D.C. small business owner said Sunday that the delay of Congress to a second COVID economic relief bill will result in additional business bankruptcies.

Mary Ganganna, owner of DTS Transportation chauffeur services, told the Retail Politics Podcast with Gerry Shields that she faces financial ruin during political bickering.

“They put us on the back burner,” Ganganna said. “Four months of delay, that could be bread on somebody’s table.”

Ganganna expressed gratitude for the first round of federal government relief, helping her business survive in a climate where few are using chauffeur services. Ganganna is operating at 12 percent of her annual business and is pleading with Congress to give business grants instead of loans.

“All we’re doing is accumulating loans for the future,” Ganganna said. “We’re not even sure how we’re going to pay it back.”

Ganganna had to lay off 75 employees, directing them to a food bank, where she volunteers.

“You know employees on a personal level, including their children,” she said.

Like many Americans, Ganganna is trying to use the COVID time to reinvent herself, taking a course to get her insurance agent’s license.

“This is a mental game going on too,” she said. “It’s definitely working on people’s minds.”

The Retail Politics Podcast with Gerry Shields can be heard on Apple and Spotify in addition to: retailpoliticspodcast.com