Stephen Shortland opened his own franchise of DES Employment, Nine2Five, in Bridgeton, Missouri in 2008. Shortland has been in the staffing industry for over 25, years helping to provide opportunities in the greater St. Louis area. Even with this experience, when the pandemic hit his company had significant obstacles to overcome. Workers were struggling and his bank balance dwindled to $800.
“I was sweating bullets and not sure what was going to happen.” Shortland said. Shortland heard about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance. He applied for PPP at his local bank St. Johns Bank Trust and Company in St. Louis. It took three-weeks for his $86,000 PPP application to be approved and funded. His business was also eligible and received $10,000 in the EIDL Advance shortly after. Nine2Five has eight full-time employees, one part-time employee and one contract staff member. Thanks to SBA COVID funding, he was able keep... Read More