For small business owners, this Small Business Saturday may be the most important they’ve ever faced.

Last year, consumers came through in the throes of the pandemic to spend $19.6 billion nationwide. This year, those owners are not only struggling to recoup COVID-19 losses, but they’ve been hit with supply chain issues, labor shortages and inflation. 

Westchester Assemblyman Steve Otis has been a staunch supporter of the state’s small businesses since he took office four terms ago. He joins In Focus to talk about what the state is doing to help mom and pop shops stay in business against the odds. 

From legislation that offers them emergency grants to help with legal fees as the eviction moratorium ends, Otis says the state is stepping up as much as possible to stem the loss of those businesses that have become neighborhood staples.