Rockford Sun

Rockford small business owners forced to closed their doors as non-essential businesses are doing everything they can to help their clients and reopen when stay-at-home order ends.

Dawaun “Waunie” Neal, owner of Classic Cuts Barbershop at 1014 S. Main St. in Rockford, is living off his savings like many small business owners whose doors were closed by the state’s stay-at-home order.

Many of them wait on grants or loans from the government to survive until they can reopen their doors and start generating some cash flow. Uncertainty surrounds them on whether they’ll be able to reopen if the closures last much longer.

Neal hasn’t cut hair since March 13, he told the Rockford Register Star. He stopped by the shop recently to paint because he wanted a new environment when he starts cutting hair again. But that’s not all he’s done.

Knowing how many people struggle to cut their own or family members’ hair, he created a hair-cutting tutorial video to help them until they can see a professional. He posted that video on his website. And he offers live, one-on-one coaching. A 15-minute instructional coaching session is followed by a live online critique once you’ve finished cutting your own hair.

Neal applied for a small business loan, but he doesn’t know if or when he’ll get it.

“There’s a whole lot of people applying for these loans. There’s no telling when they’ll get to me,” he told the Register Star.

Hazel Williams, a Rockford beautician, stays at home with her husband, Michael, and their children who are five and three.

Like Neal, she’s offered to get on video conferences with her clients to show them how to care for their hair. She made the offer as a favor to clients and also opened a new avenue to take care of her clients and generate income.

“I can walk them through the different steps, and I can kind of show them how to do it on my mannequin,” she told the Rockford Register Star.

Hazel and her husband, a Fiat Chrysler Assembly Plant employee, were saving for a trip to Florida to see family. They’re using those savings now, but for a real staycation – a stay-at-home one. Money for that trip now gets used for groceries.

Michael and other Belvidere plant employees are set to return to work in early May. The family finances are good for now.

“Hopefully, the stay-at-home order will only be for another three or four weeks. Anything after that, that’s when it’s going to start getting a little bit tight,” Hazel told the Register Star.

Diane Tope expected to be busy at her business, Great Hang Ups, a South Rockford Avenue clothing store and bridal shop.

“This is supposed to be our peak season—March, April and May—where not only are the brides getting married and buying gowns and the men are renting tuxes, the prom girls are buying their dresses with me and their dates are also renting tuxedos,” Tope told the Register Star.

Great Hang Ups closed March 21.

Her husband, Barry, saw his business quickly stop. The owner and operator of Flipside DJ Entertainment performs for weddings and other events in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Cancellations, closure orders and social distancing ended all events.

The couple has no income and dwindling savings.

She has hopes that her application for assistance for her three employees will help them. She applied for the new federal Payroll Protection Program. If her forgivable loan gets approved, she can pay them during the coronavirus crisis.

“We don’t know if anything will happen, but I did apply for it,” she told the Register Star.

Each of the small business owners knows they share their fate with many others. In the uncertainty, they still have hope.

“We’re all in this together,” Tope said to the Register Star. “I don’t want to see anybody close their doors. I hope that someone can come up with a plan to save the local businesses.”