First, let me be clear. I am not one of those who believe the coronavirus is a hoax or that its ravages and potential ravages have in any way been exaggerated. Having contracted and survived the virus myself, I know full well how dangerous it is and how seriously it must be taken. That said, as a small business owner who operates, given the exorbitant rents and operating costs in Santa Barbara, with a very small margin, as so many small businesses do, I must take extreme exception to the decision to once again close businesses as a means of controlling the spread of the virus.
In my particular case, I own and run a small, longstanding boxing and kickboxing gym. We’ve been an integral part of the Santa Barbara small business community for over 20 years. We cater to a comparatively small but extremely dedicated and loyal customer base. In that time, the gym has been able to provide our members with a service they love, and myself with a decent if not in any way affluent living. As I mentioned before, and as it is with so many businesses in Santa Barbara, we operate on a razor-thin margin, a margin that has gotten thinner and thinner as rents have continued to climb. Still, we have survived and, in a small way, thanks to that loyal membership base, thrived.
Now comes the coronavirus and the first three months of shutdowns. That razor-thin margin has cut through my business’s resources and left me more than $10,000 in debt with thousands more dollars of debt on the very near horizon. While my landlord was generous enough to forgive one month’s rent entirely and defer the payment of thousands of dollars more, deferment is nothing more than a loosening of a noose that must eventually tighten and break the neck of my business. Such debt is irremediable in these times.