Hurricane Helene Support for Small Businesses

[00:00:00] Daily Coffee News has created a page specifically dedicated to sharing how people can support small business coffee shops that have been devastated by Helene, which, you know, everyone runs on coffee, right? Well, I don't drink coffee, but everyone else.

[00:00:20] Everyone but Chelsea.

[00:00:21] Hey, everyone. Welcome to the S.O.B. Marketing Podcast, where we celebrate the S.O.B. that you are.

[00:00:28] And if you haven't figured it out yet, we mean small owned business. We don't mean S.O.B.

[00:00:34] Listen, we know that as a small business owner, you are working hard on the daily to keep your business fully operational while trying to promote it.

[00:00:43] And while some days it may feel like the business is owning you, if we're being honest with each other, I bet you would admit that you wouldn't give up the insanity for anything.

[00:00:53] Our commitment here at the S.O.B. Marketing Podcast is to give you the real talk, what works when it comes to advertising, marketing, promoting your business, and then what doesn't really work.

[00:01:04] And Chelsea and I promise to always keep the conversation real.

[00:01:08] Hey, everybody, and welcome back to the S.O.B. Marketing Podcast.

[00:01:12] S.O.B. as in small owned business.

[00:01:14] We are not calling you guys names.

[00:01:16] Before we get started with this week's episode, I just want to say thank you, everyone, for listening and for the people who have left us reviews.

[00:01:24] You know, reviews are a great way to help us get in front of other small business owners.

[00:01:29] And that is our goal, to help anyone who needs help with their marketing for their small business.

[00:01:34] So please leave us a review, share this podcast with others.

[00:01:39] And if you have a topic you want us to discuss, send it our way.

[00:01:43] You can email us at help at the season marketer dot com.

[00:01:46] You can send us a DM.

[00:01:47] You can leave a comment on YouTube if you're on YouTube.

[00:01:51] Whichever way you want to get in contact with us, just let us know what you guys want to hear us talk about.

[00:01:57] So, Vivian, what are we talking about today?

[00:01:59] Okay. So, today's episode is going to be one that we are hoping is going to lead you guys to take action.

[00:02:07] So, we all know that last week there were a ton of states here in the Southeast that were just absolutely devastated by Hurricane Helene.

[00:02:16] And so, what we're hoping to do is we want to provide actionable resources that you guys can, you know, reach out to or consider if you're just wanting to help fellow small business owners out.

[00:02:30] You know, I think a lot of times we, it often feels so massive and you're like, well, I'm just one person.

[00:02:37] What can I do?

[00:02:38] But there are so many things that we can do from the comfort of our home to help people whose livelihood and homes have been destroyed.

[00:02:48] And so, Chelsea, I know we've done a lot of research.

[00:02:51] We have some really great resources.

[00:02:53] We're hoping that you will share this episode with other small business owners so that way we can just team up and help each other out.

[00:03:03] Absolutely.

[00:03:03] And there are so many ways out there that you can help individuals as well.

[00:03:08] Because we are specifically a podcast for small business owners, we are focusing on ways that small business owners can look for resources or for ways that you can donate or help a small business owner in need.

[00:03:25] So, we are focusing on that.

[00:03:26] Of course, there are many other ways that you can help individuals.

[00:03:31] Yeah.

[00:03:32] And if you guys feel compelled to, if you're listening to us on Spotify or on YouTube, whatever, go ahead and drop a comment if you know of another resource that we didn't mention or that we're not mentioning today.

[00:03:45] Because we do think that it's important to spread the word.

[00:03:48] And, you know, there's only so much that Chelsea and I can research in a short amount of time.

[00:03:53] And we've picked some of the ones that we think are heavy hitters and will go directly to the small business owners.

[00:04:00] But we're always open to providing more resources.

[00:04:04] So, drop it in the comments.

[00:04:05] Okay.

[00:04:06] So, the first resource that we're going to talk about is, of course, from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA.

[00:04:13] And they have disaster loans.

[00:04:15] So, they have business physical disaster loans, which are going to be specifically to help small businesses repair or replace damaged property.

[00:04:25] They also have the economic injury disaster loan, which is working capital loans for small businesses.

[00:04:33] And I want to say, remember, guys, these are loans.

[00:04:38] These are not grants.

[00:04:39] And I know, Vivian, that you wanted to talk about this as well.

[00:04:43] Yeah.

[00:04:44] The asterisk here that I just want to remind you guys of, because when I was researching this as well, I did find that a lot of the local towns that were posting local resources to help small businesses, they were partnered up with someone who was just kind of where you could submit an application for a loan.

[00:05:09] Yes.

[00:05:09] Do not confuse these with the grants.

[00:05:11] The grants are the money that you don't have to pay back.

[00:05:13] The loans are going to be the ones that, you know, maybe they're offering a super low interest rate or maybe they're offering a no interest rate, which, I mean, you want to ask these questions before you submit your application.

[00:05:26] But for some of them, I was also saying that they do take into account your financial history.

[00:05:33] So just be aware of that going into it.

[00:05:36] Anytime you see a loan, you guys know that you're on the hook for repaying that money back.

[00:05:42] And the reason I wanted to bring it up is not because I don't think small business owners are not smart and they don't know this.

[00:05:49] I think when people are in stressful situations and their mind is somewhere else, right?

[00:05:55] They're thinking about the immediate need that they have day to day.

[00:05:58] They may not be as focused on the small details and may commit to something that seems like a good idea at the time.

[00:06:05] And then over time, they're like, I really wish I hadn't done that.

[00:06:09] Absolutely.

[00:06:10] And also really important to consider when looking at loans, are they short term or long term?

[00:06:17] And that means when are you going to be on the hook and have to pay it back?

[00:06:21] So short term, of course, means you have a shorter amount of time to raise that capital again and give it back to them.

[00:06:27] And long term is going to be you have some time, some space before you're going to have to pay them back.

[00:06:34] Now, Chelsea, I know there was another loan.

[00:06:37] You mentioned the first one was going to be the U.S. Business Administration's offering the business fiscal disaster loans.

[00:06:43] What other type of loan is there?

[00:06:45] So another one that I've been seeing a lot that has been spread around as a resource for Hurricane Helene is Florida Commerce is right now offering a Florida small business emergency bridge loan.

[00:07:01] And these are short term, zero interest, working capital loans.

[00:07:06] Now, again, remember, short term means you're going to have to pay them back within a shorter amount of time.

[00:07:12] But these loans, you can get up to 50,000 per eligible applicant.

[00:07:18] I want to say before we go any further, we will be adding the links to all of each one of these so you can find the information and do a deeper dive into each one of these if it's something that you are considering.

[00:07:31] All right. So, Chelsea, I think we've cleared up, you know, just the distinction between a loan and a grant and that people want to be mindful about this when they're going out there and looking for resources.

[00:07:42] As far as grants are concerned, what did you find out there?

[00:07:46] Okay. So specifically for grants, one, check the U.S. Business Grants website.

[00:07:53] It's designed specifically to help small businesses find grants for their specific needs, for whatever niche you are in.

[00:08:02] So for minorities, women-owned businesses, that sort of thing.

[00:08:07] It is, again, kind of like a database.

[00:08:10] So just go on there and look through to see what you can find.

[00:08:15] There is also the Disaster Assistance website, which is also an official government website.

[00:08:21] It is designed, again, to help those in need during disasters, and it will list loans, grants, services and programs, any type of support you might need, you might be looking for after a disaster.

[00:08:35] Also, looking at, and this goes for whenever there's a disaster, of course, specifically for Hurricane Helene, this really hurt the South.

[00:08:46] So looking at your government, your local government's websites, looking at your state government websites.

[00:08:54] So the South Carolina Department of Commerce has created a page specifically about hurricane season and resources to help small businesses during this hurricane season.

[00:09:06] Because we do get a lot of hurricanes here in the South.

[00:09:10] Do they necessarily have such a big impact like Hurricane Helene?

[00:09:15] Thank God, no.

[00:09:17] But there's still times where, you know, it's hard to get through hurricane season.

[00:09:22] There's a lot going on.

[00:09:23] I think that's a great tip that you have, though, to be able to check.

[00:09:27] You know, I think a lot of times we always kind of look for the federal help, right?

[00:09:34] That's the first thing that comes to mind.

[00:09:36] But we forget that there can be opportunities where our local government, so let's say if you live in the town of, you know, Greenville, check the town of Greenville's or the city of Greenville's website.

[00:09:51] Since we're talking about local governments, OneSpartanburg, Inc., they are not government, but they are a business in the Spartanburg area.

[00:10:01] And they are offering support to help businesses restore local business operations or finding a service provider.

[00:10:08] Their website has a specific list that tells people, you know, these are the employees to contact if you need help with this specific thing.

[00:10:18] So you can go check that out.

[00:10:20] Again, we'll be adding all the links.

[00:10:22] I think if you're also a someone who's not in the affected area but you're wanting to help, going in and checking for some of those towns that you may know were in the path of Hurricane Haleen will help tremendously.

[00:10:38] Because as we said, they're listing out the local resources for the small businesses, but they also give you an opportunity to help with the recovery.

[00:10:47] So take, for example, one of the things that we're doing, Chelsea, is through the Season Marketer.

[00:10:52] You guys may remember we launched a fund community called the SOB Community.

[00:10:58] That community is a monthly membership that is $50 a month and it provides you, the small business owner, with monthly marketing support.

[00:11:08] Now, with that, what we decided to do is I was on Instagram and I saw that there was a town specifically called Lansing, North Carolina, in Western North Carolina that had been hit really, really hard.

[00:11:23] And basically, their small businesses that were on that main street part of their town were just washed away.

[00:11:32] They were under so much water and so now they're having to rebuild from scratch.

[00:11:36] So what we've decided to do as our contribution as small business owners is to actually donate 100% of the proceeds for anybody that joins our monthly membership in October to four of the local businesses.

[00:11:50] And we're doing that through their GoFundMes.

[00:11:53] And I've added those GoFundMes.

[00:11:55] They are going directly to the small business owner.

[00:11:57] There is no in-between organization that's dispersing the funds.

[00:12:01] So if you're a small business owner that wants to assist and you're not looking for yourself, still consider going to these town or city websites for a town or city that you know was in the affected path.

[00:12:17] And that way you can come up with ideas on how you can contribute and just help a fellow small business owner out there.

[00:12:24] Yes, absolutely.

[00:12:25] And that, what I just listed, were all of the resources specifically for small business owners who are looking for them.

[00:12:33] Now we're going to talk about the ways you can donate or help.

[00:12:37] So I'm so glad you segued that perfectly.

[00:12:40] And I don't think you meant to do that, but I'm going to say that you did.

[00:12:44] I'm always a, what do you call it?

[00:12:47] Things just happen so naturally, right?

[00:12:49] So naturally to you.

[00:12:51] Well, I'm glad you brought up, you know, local communities because one of the ways that people can donate that I'm going to bring up is downtown Spruce Pine.

[00:13:02] That is a city.

[00:13:03] It was absolutely devastated by Haleen.

[00:13:06] I mean, most of it's been washed away.

[00:13:09] The local government is raising funds specifically for the downtown businesses so that they can rebuild and stay open.

[00:13:17] So if you go to their website, you can donate through PayPal.

[00:13:21] There's more information on their website and all of the things that we are going to list on ways that you can help.

[00:13:28] We have vetted.

[00:13:29] I have vetted.

[00:13:30] Vetted?

[00:13:31] I have vetted.

[00:13:33] Is that right?

[00:13:35] Look, I've checked to make sure that they're legit there.

[00:13:39] So that's definitely one way you can consider helping.

[00:13:43] There's also the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, which I had not heard about, but it's actually a great program.

[00:13:51] If you are a crafter and artist, definitely go check it out.

[00:13:55] They've been active for the past 40 years.

[00:13:57] And this group works to help crafters and artists during emergencies and disasters because, you know, these are the people that give us life, you know?

[00:14:10] Like they make life interesting, but they're also the first ones to get really hit when something like this happens.

[00:14:17] So you can support them through donations.

[00:14:20] They have multiple donation options.

[00:14:23] You can also go to their website to find and apply for loans and grants.

[00:14:27] So it is great if you are a crafter or artist looking for help, go check out their website.

[00:14:33] If you're someone who wants to help that community, go check out their website.

[00:14:38] Chelsea, I also want to mention, too, the most obvious, which is GoFundMe.

[00:14:45] Yes.

[00:14:46] The reason that I want to bring this up is, as I mentioned, with what we're contributing and doing through the SOB community where we're going to donate 100% of the proceeds to those four GoFundMes for the local businesses in Lansing, North Carolina.

[00:15:02] When I went on to GoFundMe, there are a couple things I want to mention.

[00:15:06] For one, you want to be sure that you're looking at who the organizer is for a GoFundMe page and who the person is that's receiving the funds.

[00:15:14] All right.

[00:15:15] Because sometimes people, friends, family members will actually create the GoFundMe and they themselves will be the ones getting the funds and then dispersing it or helping the other person.

[00:15:30] But you want to be sure that the two match up.

[00:15:33] Right.

[00:15:33] So you want that the person who's going to be receiving the funds is going to be the small business owner or the small business that you're wanting it to go to.

[00:15:44] Additionally, GoFundMe has done this cool thing where they have created a global Hurricane Helene GoFundMe.

[00:15:51] And if you go on there, it's going to be all of the GoFundMes that's been set up to go to someone that's been affected by this disaster.

[00:16:00] The other thing is you can use the filter on there.

[00:16:03] And I highly recommend that you do because they have a filter specifically for businesses.

[00:16:09] So when I went on there and then I filtered it by small business, it pulled up all of the ones that were set up for a small business.

[00:16:18] That is so cool.

[00:16:20] I did not know that.

[00:16:21] Yeah.

[00:16:22] So I think if you're wanting to get really granular and the reason I say this, y'all, is because perhaps you've already done the donations of the non-perishable items.

[00:16:32] Right.

[00:16:32] So maybe you've already collected paper towels and toilet paper and have sent water and have put canned goods together.

[00:16:39] And so you're like, I feel like I can do more though.

[00:16:42] So how do I do more outside of just donating money?

[00:16:46] And then who do I donate that to?

[00:16:48] Well, I think this is a great way to do that is to go to the GoFundMe under Hurricane Helene page and then use that business filter.

[00:16:58] And then that way you can see who directly it's impacted and what they're needing.

[00:17:04] For some of them, for example, the four businesses that we chose, they're all using the funds.

[00:17:10] And some of these, I mean, the funds are like they're looking for $100,000 because they need that in order to just get their business cleaned up, reset, get new equipment, get new product so that they can reopen and restart their livelihood.

[00:17:30] But other than that, I mean, if they don't have that money available to them, they're going to be in a real pickle to try to reopen.

[00:17:39] I am going to add the business name when I go back and edit this and for the YouTube video and I'll leave it in the show notes.

[00:17:47] But there is a brewery in Asheville that was completely wiped away, washed away.

[00:17:56] A train actually got carried by the water and thrown into the brewery.

[00:18:02] So like it's gone.

[00:18:04] But I was reading this.

[00:18:06] They, because of zoning laws and stuff like that, they cannot rebuild the building the way that it once was.

[00:18:16] So they're like, we have no idea what we're going to do because we can't reopen.

[00:18:22] We have all of these business loans that now we have no way to pay back.

[00:18:28] Oh, no.

[00:18:29] Yeah.

[00:18:30] Really?

[00:18:30] And again, I'll shout them out.

[00:18:32] I don't remember if they said they had a plan or what they were trying to figure out to do, but we will add that in the show notes.

[00:18:39] So, yeah, it's definitely people are in, specifically small businesses are really feeling it because, I mean, one, your house might have been washed away and your business has been washed away.

[00:18:55] That's really difficult.

[00:18:58] Okay.

[00:19:00] Also, this is going to be like a really strange pivot.

[00:19:04] I want to say, y'all, please, when you are looking for ways to help, do not say, oh, I'm just going to go up to the south wherever they are and I'm going to drive up there and help them physically.

[00:19:20] Don't do that.

[00:19:20] Like they don't, that's not what they need.

[00:19:23] They have hands on deck.

[00:19:25] That's probably more dangerous than anything because, you know, a lot of these structures are now unstable.

[00:19:32] Do not drive up there.

[00:19:34] Yeah.

[00:19:34] I encourage everybody to be smart about how they're sending resources and also contributing their time.

[00:19:43] But also, you know, Chelsea, what some people don't realize is just like you mentioned, there are some things that you can't get back.

[00:19:50] Yeah.

[00:19:51] And I do know I had read somewhere that there are some roads that are going to be indefinitely closed until they're able to go back in and rebuild or maybe restructure them.

[00:20:01] Um, so it is important to note that maybe the best way that you can help somebody is by finding where you want your resources to go to and then contributing that way monetarily or through, um, you know, a donation.

[00:20:18] And I will say not to bring up our SOB community again, but I truly do think it's a win-win for both parties considering that for one, if you sign up for our community this month, when we say a hundred percent of the proceeds are going to them, that means that $48 and 25 cents on your behalf is going to be donated to one of the small, one of the four small businesses that we've selected.

[00:20:42] And, um, um, we actually have those listed on our Instagram right now.

[00:20:46] So you could go and see, but it's important, I think, to know how much of your contribution is going to the small business because it does make you feel like you're making a big impact, right?

[00:20:59] So if you're not able to send a hundred dollars, $200, but you can join a community and then have 48 of those dollars go to, you know, the business, I think that's a pretty big contribution.

[00:21:14] Absolutely. I also found daily coffee news has created a page specifically dedicated to sharing how people can support small business coffee shops that have been devastated by Haylene, which, you know, everyone runs on coffee, right?

[00:21:35] Well, I don't drink coffee, but everyone else, everyone, but Chelsea, everyone, but Chelsea coffee is really important, right?

[00:21:42] So they have an entire list of GoFundMes. They have four specific coffee small businesses.

[00:21:49] They have examples of way bigger, bigger coffee brands are contributing, all that stuff.

[00:21:56] It's really great information. So go check that out too.

[00:21:59] And also secondly, I forgot to bring this up earlier, but the IRS has announced that they are going to have disaster tax relief for those impacted by Haylene.

[00:22:10] So just so you know, I think that's going to be similar to if you guys were a small business owner during COVID-19.

[00:22:18] You remember that there were certain criteria that you could meet as a small business owner for them to give you a COVID-19 disaster relief fund or, you know, grant or money.

[00:22:31] So just be sure that if, even if you're not the one that's had their small business devastated by this, you guys help a fellow small business owner out, just share this information.

[00:22:44] So if you go onto the IRS website and just be checking that regularly when they get that information out there, be sure that you're copy and pasting that link and sending it to a small business owner that you know could benefit from it.

[00:23:00] Because you would not believe the amount of times during COVID-19.

[00:23:04] It was a very popular thing they were doing, like a ton of businesses were applying and signing up for it.

[00:23:11] But there were so many other businesses that had no clue.

[00:23:15] So never assume that somebody knows they have a resource available to them.

[00:23:19] If you know about it and you know they may fit the criteria and just you want to share that with them, then go ahead and ping them on Instagram, right?

[00:23:27] Send them a message and say, hey, I just wanted to be sure that you saw this.

[00:23:30] It might be useful.

[00:23:32] That's why we also ask, you know, if you're listening on Spotify or if you're on YouTube and you have a resource, leave it in the comments.

[00:23:40] If you have a place where people can send donations or send money, leave that in the comments.

[00:23:45] Send us a DM if you're not on Spotify or YouTube, but you think of something.

[00:23:52] Send us a DM and we will share it on our Season Marketer page.

[00:23:57] Just getting this information to as many small business owners as possible and really to everyone out there, anyone who's considering, you know, supporting someone or supporting anyone affected by Hurricane Haleen.

[00:24:12] Chelsea, I think we have a really great opportunity to be able to put just like you listed all these out for our podcast notes today to put all of this into a document and just have it available for people.

[00:24:23] So you guys be on the lookout for that.

[00:24:26] We'll do something like if you go to the seasonmarketer.com slash Haleen, H-E-L-E-N-E, you'll be able to download that.

[00:24:37] And even if it's not for you, you can download it and send it to somebody that it can help out.

[00:24:45] So, and I want to say we're going to try to keep that updated.

[00:24:50] So as soon as we have other resources, we'll send it, we'll update it so that you can get all the information.

[00:24:58] Well, so let me go ahead and add another one, Chelsea, in there.

[00:25:02] This one is Samaritan's Purse.

[00:25:04] And shout out to my friend Ashley, who submitted this on our Instagram stories because we did put a feeler out there and we wanted you guys to share any of the good resources that you had seen.

[00:25:17] Samaritan's Purse, for those of you that do not know, it's a worldwide organization that is Christian-based, non-denominational.

[00:25:27] But what they're doing is they have a whole section.

[00:25:31] If you click on their website for Hurricane Haleen response, you're able to go in and find specific initiatives that they're doing.

[00:25:39] They are a really great 501c3 that you can donate money to and rest assured that they're going to be using the money to help the small businesses that have been affected.

[00:25:50] I think they're also doing some other relief programs.

[00:25:55] Like, you know, they were taking food and water and all that good stuff.

[00:25:59] But as we kind of get through this week by week, I think they're going to pivot more so into trying to rebuild and recover some of what was devastated in these towns.

[00:26:10] Yeah.

[00:26:11] And all of this is going to be really important, especially because, y'all, hurricane season is not over.

[00:26:20] Like, if you don't live in the South, you may not know.

[00:26:23] But hurricane season is until November, correct?

[00:26:27] You're asking the wrong person, Boo Boo.

[00:26:29] I'm not a meteorologist.

[00:26:32] Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's until November.

[00:26:35] And I know right now there's already another hurricane coming for Florida.

[00:26:42] Yeah.

[00:26:43] So let's also talk about the fact, Chelsea, that part of the reason that we chose to have an entire episode dedicated to these organizations and opportunities for people to donate

[00:26:58] is because a lot at the beginning, there was a lot of press around the places in Florida,

[00:27:05] because obviously everybody knows that when a hurricane comes, Florida is just always smack dab in the middle of it.

[00:27:10] And that was the case.

[00:27:11] They were devastated.

[00:27:12] However, this hurricane was a little different in the sense that it reached communities that are not used to getting hit by hurricanes.

[00:27:20] Western North Carolina is not used, I mean, to getting hit by a hurricane.

[00:27:26] And so what ended up happening was a lot of that weather when, you know, it impacts these mountain towns.

[00:27:34] Then you're talking about mudslides and you're talking about all of this other catastrophic stuff where it just kind of set off these dominoes.

[00:27:42] People without power for a really long time that were not prepared because they are not used to getting hurricanes, y'all.

[00:27:48] It's different when we live in South Carolina.

[00:27:51] We're near the coast.

[00:27:53] We're close to Charleston.

[00:27:54] We know what to do, quote unquote, and even still people don't do it.

[00:27:58] But we know what to do.

[00:27:59] I'm not going to lie.

[00:27:59] I don't do it.

[00:28:01] Yeah.

[00:28:01] So we always, you know, that's why people have generators in case the power goes off for an elongated period of time.

[00:28:08] That's why people have a generator.

[00:28:10] I'm sorry.

[00:28:11] Tim is prepared.

[00:28:12] I'm not.

[00:28:12] I'm just here for the ride.

[00:28:13] Sorry.

[00:28:14] We've always said that if, um, when the apocalypse happens, Chelsea's going to get left behind.

[00:28:19] She's going to be the first person that we eat because she's not, she's not going to be able to survive the apocalypse.

[00:28:25] Tim's like, you're not worth the effort of trying to keep you alive.

[00:28:28] You're out.

[00:28:29] That's right.

[00:28:30] But so my, my point in saying all that is, you know, if you're wondering why the devastation was so harsh, it was the weather.

[00:28:38] It was the fact that people were not prepared because they just didn't know any better.

[00:28:41] And also I think because, um, there just wasn't a whole lot of time to prepare people for it.

[00:28:47] So, you know, I do also want to say, um, all of the resources I specifically named in this episode are not centered around Asheville.

[00:29:00] We do care about Asheville.

[00:29:02] Well, I just want to say there are a lot of small rural towns in North Carolina that were devastated that I feel like need to be brought up and need to be mentioned.

[00:29:15] Yes, let's help Asheville, but let's help everyone too.

[00:29:20] So small, any small business.

[00:29:22] And let me tell you a weird experience that we had.

[00:29:25] So Alex and I, my husband and I were driving to, um, we were in Alabama and we were driving back home on Saturday night.

[00:29:34] And this was after the hurricane.

[00:29:36] And as we were approaching, it was really strange because he loves driving at night when there's no traffic, right?

[00:29:42] He doesn't want other people on the road with us.

[00:29:46] So it's, um, it was about 10 o'clock when we were driving through North Augusta, North Augusta.

[00:29:53] Y'all is in South Carolina and it got really eerie because we knew something was up.

[00:30:00] We just didn't know exactly what was up.

[00:30:03] There was like this eerie feeling.

[00:30:05] So we're driving and suddenly I say to him, I'm like, does it look particularly dark?

[00:30:11] And he's like, yeah, I have not seen lights on for like miles now.

[00:30:16] And then we started to notice the billboards that usually are lit up at night.

[00:30:21] Those lights were off the, um, there were no lights for, you know, off ramp exits where usually you'll see a big gas station.

[00:30:30] No lights, miles and miles.

[00:30:32] And then we started to see an increasing number of cars on the side of the road.

[00:30:38] And he's like, why are there so many cars on the side of the road?

[00:30:41] Then we started to put two and two together.

[00:30:42] We got an alert on our phone that said they were under a, um, what do you call it?

[00:30:48] A, what's it called at night when they.

[00:30:52] Like a curfew.

[00:30:54] Yep.

[00:30:55] Okay.

[00:30:56] So they were under a curfew and they advised everyone to stay home.

[00:31:01] So then I start, I'm like, this is really weird because you're hearing a lot about, okay, Florida got hit.

[00:31:07] We heard about that.

[00:31:08] We heard a lot about Asheville.

[00:31:10] We did not hear anything about North Augusta.

[00:31:13] We did not hear anything about upper South Carolina, right?

[00:31:18] Yeah.

[00:31:18] Where, um, there were towns that I think Spartanburg was hit as well.

[00:31:23] There were quite a few towns that were hit there.

[00:31:26] Come to find out North Augusta has not had power for like days and days and days now.

[00:31:34] And so the cars on the side of the road were people that had run out of gas because they had not gotten gas on the other side of Atlanta, which luckily we did.

[00:31:44] Otherwise we would have been joining them on the side of the road.

[00:31:48] But, but I think that's where to your point, Chelsea, um, there has been so much media attention on some of these towns and not to say that that's bad.

[00:31:56] Those are the people that were hit hard and we want everybody to get help.

[00:31:59] But to your point, these resources, we're hoping you guys will go out there, check them out so that you're able to spread the love and to help some of the other communities that really aren't near Asheville, but need just as much help.

[00:32:15] And y'all, you don't have to do a lot.

[00:32:18] You could also just do a call to action.

[00:32:22] So putting out your feelers saying to all your Facebook followers or Instagram followers, I'm sorry.

[00:32:30] I said Facebook like that.

[00:32:31] I'm not on Facebook.

[00:32:32] I was just like Facebook.

[00:32:35] Okay.

[00:32:35] I'm sorry.

[00:32:36] Anyways, asking all of your community, Hey, what small businesses can we support?

[00:32:43] Do you know of any resources?

[00:32:46] Here are all the resources I know about.

[00:32:48] If anyone else is interested, let's just share the information.

[00:32:53] Yeah, I think that's a really great way to do it.

[00:32:56] I can tell you that here locally, um, one of my coworkers, she's just got such a big heart and she actually had a house in Hendersonville too.

[00:33:07] That was, um, affected by it.

[00:33:10] But the second they knew that there was stuff they could contribute.

[00:33:16] They actually just went on Facebook and were like, Hey, there's a need up there.

[00:33:21] We know the local sheriff.

[00:33:23] Here's what they're needing.

[00:33:24] They've asked for bread.

[00:33:25] They've asked for X, Y, and Z.

[00:33:27] And so basically she was able just through her friends to pull stuff together and then have one car take it all up there.

[00:33:34] But in the same way, I think there's a lot of value.

[00:33:38] Um, you know, we have so many connections now on Facebook as Chelsea says, cause she has something towards Facebook.

[00:33:46] I love Facebook.

[00:33:47] Okay.

[00:33:47] Listen, I know I'm in my forties.

[00:33:48] I love Facebook.

[00:33:50] So, but there is a way for you just to throw it out there and just say like, Hey, do you guys know any small business owners that are needing help right now because of hurricane Helene?

[00:34:00] And how can we help?

[00:34:02] And then that way just rally the troops or just you make that contribution yourself.

[00:34:06] So if you're not doing it through one of these other awesome resources that we found out there, if nothing else, just go to your friends and family and ask if they know of anybody that can use a contribution or can use some support right now.

[00:34:23] Love that.

[00:34:24] So y'all, I know this was a different episode than what we usually do, but we really felt like it was very important to have this conversation.

[00:34:33] You know, yes, we are a marketing resource for small businesses, but we want to be just a resource in general for small businesses.

[00:34:42] And if nothing else, if you guys just make the commitment to join our SOB community this month, we are doing this till the very end of October.

[00:34:51] Every single member that joins, you get instant access to our library of short marketing tutorials.

[00:34:58] You get access to weekly Zoom calls with Chelsea and I in the community.

[00:35:03] And on top of it, you get access to a resource database that we put together.

[00:35:07] If anything, join our community this month and we'll contribute as a member your $48.25 to one of those four Lansing, North Carolina businesses that we found.

[00:35:20] If you guys want to see the list, just hit us up and we'll send it over to you.

[00:35:25] We also have it on Instagram in one of our reels.

[00:35:28] Okay, y'all.

[00:35:29] So, you know, we are the SOB community.

[00:35:32] There is power in community.

[00:35:34] Let's go out there and help as many people as we can.

[00:35:37] So use these resources, share these resources and go be the best SOB you can be.