Paul Beier has family business roots in the meat industry dating back to 1950 and has continued
the tradition by carrying on his father’s business, Dale’s Meats, in Brighton, Colorado. Weathering the
impacts of a pandemic has not been an easy feat for small businesses, especially ones with such
longstanding history attached. However, through the support of the CARES Act funding, Paul as been
able to shepherd Dale’s Meats through the economic slowdown and has even positioned the business
for future success by implementing new approaches.
By the end of February 2020, Dale’s Meats was experiencing an increase of 40% from the
previous year’s sales. Paul was looking into the possibilities of hiring more employees or purchasing
improved equipment to increase efficiency, but when the pandemic began to make headway in the U.S.
the business took a devastating blow. By mid-March wholesale business had virtually stopped and for
the next two months the only reliable sales would be sourced online.
To react to this sudden shift, Paul began ramping up the business’ current e-commerce
marketing, increasing email campaigns with content focused on healthcare workers and how to stay
prepared during these unforeseen times. He also applied for the Paycheck Protection Program when it
first went live as well as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. After a rollercoaster of ups and
downs and having jumped through a few hoops, Dale’s Meats received the necessary funding to stay
afloat.
Due to support from the SBA funding, Paul was able to bring back all his employees who felt
comfortable working and was able to make a new hire as well as they work to get ahead of the curve for
the return of business demands. Looking ahead, Paul is interested in diversifying the product line and
customer base to offer more options to secure the business. Looking back, Paul is thankful for the
supportive community of SBDC consultants, banks, vendors, industry associations, the SBA, and his local
community, who have all come together to help small businesses navigate this challenging time through
financial assistance, guidance, information, resources, and encouragement.
