In the spirit of helping as many people as possible, I’m sharing my experience applying for the SBA Disaster Business Loan.
This EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) seems to be the primary source of small business assistance extended by the federal government.
The application process demands patience above all else. The website is understandably under stress and pages take a long time to load. You must apply online; unlike other SBA loans, you cannot apply via your local business banker.
I completed the application on March 24, 2020 after two days of work. I’d allow 5-7 hours to complete the application — part of this time is devoted to the actual work of assembling supporting financial material and part is due to the wait times as the site accepts your data and moves you along to the next page of the application.
Good luck. Stay safe. I’m happy to offer encouragement and assistance if you need help.