Take a second and picture an essential business. Did you think of a hospital? Maybe a grocery store? Your local pharmacy? These are all consumer businesses whose services you directly use. But have you ever stopped to think about how these businesses got the goods you consume?

Behind each of these essential businesses, there are myriad small B2B businesses. They're not seen to the naked eye, but if they were to vanish, none of the essential businesses we rely on could continue to operate. The economy would grind to a halt. At your pharmacy there may be one B2B business supplying the cough medicine, another supplying the latex gloves, another supplying the tissues. Or at a hospital, you can probably now picture a supplier producing ventilators and face masks, but what about the pens and paper the hospital workers use?

The way these businesses receive the supplies they need is through B2B businesses – many of them small businesses, like Peelaways, the small business supplying peel-away hospital bed sheets. Or the small businesses of the world that pivoted on a dime to support the relief effort, like Choura Events going from a huge order of Coachella tents to supplying coronavirus triage tents. Or the scores of local and global distilleries that transformed vodka and gin production lines into hand sanitizer.

But our unsung heroes, and the foundation of the COVID-19 relief economy, are hurting right now. A recent Goldman Sachs survey of 1,500 small businesses found that 96% of small businesses have already been impacted by COVID-19, and 51% of small businesses only have enough cash to operate for 0-3 months right now.

Cash flow is a main reason we're seeing these businesses struggle. According to a 2016 study by JP Morgan Chase, only half of all small businesses can survive 27 days without new money coming in. In an interview with The Street, Mark Muro, Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institute's Metropolitan Policy Program, said, "Some businesses may snap right back. But there are no guarantees, and I think there could be a genuine, deep, reorientation towards higher tech, less people-intensive businesses," Muro continued. "Cash flows, debt, and high-fixed costs, with little ability to scale down and up, will be punished. And again, businesses without a strong digital presence or ways of operating could be endangered."

These are not just the struggles of essential businesses. SMBs deemed "non-essential," such as theaters, gyms, salons, spas, museums, shopping malls, and sporting/concert venues are having an even harder time, which means the businesses behind these businesses are also struggling to stay afloat. Collectively, all essential and non-essential businesses make up the backbone of our economy. The Small Business Administration lists approximately 30 million small businesses in the US, making up more than 99% of all the country's businesses. Collectively they employ almost 59 million people.

Every B2B company that goes out of business during this time will make it more difficult for the people in this country, the economy, and our way of living as we know it to spring back. B2B companies – the unsung heroes of the day – need our support right now just as much as hospitals, restaurants, corner bodegas, and clothing boutiques.

At Alibaba.com, we believe B2B SMBs are the unsung heroes of the economy, and are here to spotlight and support them. Because now, more than ever, all B2B SMBs are essential. In the upcoming weeks, we will share new content on a near-daily basis that is aimed at giving accessible resources, key information, practical tips to survive, and positive stories to look to when things are bleak. You can find this evolving resource list here, with information ranging from how to improve cash flow with a small business loan to the top tech tools to keep your team connected.

Watch our fireside chat with Maxwell Cohen, CEO and Founder of Peelaways. His company creates important medical materials and multilayered, disposable, fitted sheets that are commonly used in hospitals. Hear about Max’s experience with COVID-19 and the trends he has witnessed firsthand. You can view some of our other fireside chats here.

Designate an area for work. Instead of sitting on your couch with a laptop, set up a desk to easily separate work from home-life.