COVID-19 Impacts Perry Pottery’s Expansion
Case
Teaching Notes
Abstract
Carol Perry was the sole owner of Perry Pottery, LLC, a small pottery studio and school. She was struggling with an expansion decision under the uncertainty of the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She had already expanded her studio once, in 2016, when her part-time business selling her pottery grew. At that time, she also started to teach pottery classes to a couple of students at a time. In March 2020, when Vermont’s governor issued the COVID-19 State of Emergency and shut down non-essential businesses, Perry had been approved for a small business loan to expand the studio again to accommodate up to six students. At the time, she deferred the decision. Even though she was able to re-open her studio by implementing COVID-19 safety protocols, Perry, who was semi-retired, worried about the financial risk of taking the loan and wondered if she would need to take a part-time job if she was not able to maintain her part-time pottery business. As she was working with students, the bank called for her answer. Should she take the loan?
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