The Starkville Economy

[MSUDC11]

No sports until the fall presumably and students doing online classes the rest of the semester... is this going to crush Starkville?

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

Yes.

 

[bulldogbaja]

It will be rough for sure. Good news is it looks like there will be some loan/assistance type programs coming out, because it is not just Starkville. It's everywhere.
Except the grocery store. Man, I wish I owned some Kroger stock.

 

[57stratdawg]

They're looking at 6 months of negative cash flow. I doubt many have that level of cash on-hand.

 

[tribaldawg]

If they cancel the gay parade we are doomed.**

 

[o_dawgnabit]

Yeah now is better than any to get out and support your local businesses wherever you live. But especially in college towns like Starkville

 

[patdog]

Dorms will be open and apartment rents will still have to be paid. I suspect a LOT of students will be in Starkville the rest of the semester with a lot of free time on their hands.

 

[ezsoil]

I suspect we will have a surge in infant births starting in nine months...

 

[Palos verdes]

I don't think this will last into the summer. If it does, we will have a lot more to worry about than local economies.

 

[Nunya.sixpack]

If they cancel the gay parade we are doomed.**

Nah, that will keep everything away

 

[Villagedawg]

I'm a Starkville small business owner.

No sports until the fall presumably and students doing online classes the rest of the semester... is this going to crush Starkville?

This definitely has the potential to crush me. I'm not dependent on sports, but not having students could be big trouble. Definitely do not have the cash for 5 or 6 months of negative cash flow.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

Let's hope it doesn't come to that for you or any small businesses (or the economy/workforce in general) anywhere. I had to tell an anticipating 11 year old that College Baseball Season was canceled. His first question was, "We can still go to Mississippi though, right?"

 

[yee dawgy]

Let me begin by saying I’m not disrespecting Starkville businesses because I have a stake in one, buuut now you may have some idea how businesses is the south delta of MS feel if you have a business in college towns.
As an old timer told me years ago (before I was an old timer), rough times are a natural cleansing process of business. He was referring to farming but it applies to all businesses. Those that hang on will prosper. Unfortunately it’s at the expense of the weak.

 

[Bulldogg31]

Let me begin by saying I’m not disrespecting Starkville businesses because I have a stake in one, buuut now you may have some idea how businesses is the south delta of MS feel if you have a business in college towns.
As an old timer told me years ago (before I was an old timer), rough times are a natural cleansing process of business. He was referring to farming but it applies to all businesses. Those that hang on will prosper. Unfortunately it’s at the expense of the weak.

Back in ‘08 and ‘09 I owned some businesses that were hit pretty hard by the financial crisis. The longer it went on the more eager landlords became to renegotiate leases in order to keep tenants in place, and the more forgiving banks became in renegotiating loan structures. I’d imagine the same thing will happen if this thing drags out. Hopefully that will help small business weather this storm.

On the flip side, those that survive get the benefit of servicing the pent up demand created during the lull. The trick though is to make sure you’ve got enough staff and stock to service the demand.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Timing is as important a metric as “weak”. 2 Brothers comes to mind. Strong business but they just built a nice new building. Depending on how their pre-virus economic assumptions line up with their actual experience and their level of reserves, it could get bad.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

I decided to eat some OEC yesterday. I was the only patron while I was there. Typically when I go (only a couple of times a year) college students are the main customers.

 

[TheStateUofMS]

JP Morgan told us the other day during a presentation the average small business in America has 60 days cash on hand.