PBS高端访谈:如何决定商家何时开业（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: As cities and states struggle to find the right balance between reopening and keeping people safe, the weight of those decisions fall squarely on small business owners. According to a new survey that the Census Bureau is taking weekly, almost half of small business owners say that the coronavirus is having a large negative impact on their business. Shops that are not considered essential have had to close. Anna Kahoe owns a furniture and clothing store in Washington, D.C. And, tonight, she shares her Humble Opinion on determining when is the right time to open back up.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：在许多州和城市都还在努力寻找重新开放和保证安全的平衡时，这些决策的重量实实在在地落在了小企业老板的身上。根据人口统计局每周展开的一项新调查，近半数小企业老板都说新冠对他们的企业产生了负面影响。非必要企业都不能开业。安娜在华盛顿特区有一家家具服装店。今晚，她分享了对于判断开业何时时机的看法。

ANNA KAHOE, Owner, GoodWood: On March 15, I began tumbling down the staircase of grief. We closed our shop for what we thought would be two weeks to flatten the curve. I was in denial. I didn't know we would lose our employees, that we would ask our landlord for help, that I would yell like a banshee at the bank because they ran out of funds before they reached our loan application. I bargained. If we paint, move fixtures and deep-clean the shop, we'd come back better than ever. Now, while states lift stay-at-home orders, I am scared. We want to open, but at what cost? I'm now on the bottom step known as acceptance, asking, why, in the throes of a global pandemic, does my business matter? There is no model that illustrates the intimate ways small businesses form the backbone of our communities. See, it happens when someone comes out of the dressing room, twirling like a child at their first recital. Finally they have a dress that allows them to see themselves as they truly are. I can't believe how good this looks on me, they say. Or a gentleman of a certain age who comes by daily. He always reports which art exhibits are a must-see. He says our shop is a part of a ritual that keeps him healthy. These days, I wake up traumatized. I know it's not going back to normal. It's unlikely I will be able to rehire our staff. Best-case scenario, it will be me, my husband, abbreviated hours and a handful of customers. I am not sure what happens when you go from full speed to full stop, then to puttering along. I don't have a job I can work from home. I want to look my customer in the eye, shake their hand, even hug them. Walking to my shop, I pass shops whose owners I know. I say a prayer, See you on the other side. I have to figure out how to climb back up the steps of my shuttered shop, because there is nothing small about small business.

安娜，优质木材的老板：3月15日，我开始饱尝难受之苦。我们关店了，本以为2周后曲线就能曲平。我不肯接受现实。我不知道我会失去一些员工，也不知道会求助于房东，也不知道自己会疯了般向银行大喊大叫，只因银行在收到我们的贷款申请前就用光了资金。我据理力争。我说如果我们刷漆、移动设备、深度清理店子，就能比以往任何时候都要好。现在，虽然很多州还没有解封，我也很害怕。我们想重新开业，代价是什么呢？我已经走到了妥协的境地，我问：在疫情席卷全球之际，我的企业开不开张对大家有什么影响吗？没有任何模型表明小企业以密不可分的方式组成了社群的脊梁。这会在某人从更衣室里出来，在第一次朗诵会上像孩子一样转圈的时候发生。他们最终有一条连衣裙，允许他们看到自己真正的样子。他们说，我无法相信这在我看来有多美好。或者每天都来的某个年龄的绅士。他总是会告诉大家哪些艺术展是必看的。他说我们的商店是他流程的一部分，来我们店里会让他保持健康。近来，我如梦初醒，心里很难受。我知道不会恢复正常了。我知道自己不可能重新雇回我的员工们了。最好的情况也是我和我丈夫缩短工作时间，而且开店期间也只有门可罗雀的顾客。我不知道从火力全开到戛然而止再到无所事事会发生什么。我没有工作，我可以在家工作。但我想看到顾客们的眼睛、跟他们握手甚至拥抱他们。在去商店的路上，我经过了一些商店，这些商店的老板我都认识。我会默默祈祷，希望在另一边能看到他们。我不知道如何让我摇摇欲坠的商店重新回到以往的样子，因为小企业来说，疫情影响很大。

JUDY WOODRUFF: Anna Kahoe, we thank you. And we wish you and all the small business owners well.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：安娜，谢谢你的分享，希望你和所有小企业的老板都一切安好。