After some renovations aligned with a closure amid the COVID-19 pandemic, w@sh Salon in Oregon received some good news recently.
The salon was one of 11 area businesses that received emergency small business grants from the state to aid small businesses with layoff aversion strategies.
“Receiving financial aid from the SBA has been equally a relief and a stressor,” w@sh Owner Meggan Dickson-Grennan said. “I have to make sure dispersed funds are used as deemed appropriate by the SBA. However, knowing I can make ends meet helps me sleep at night. w@sh salon will survive. The comeback is greater than the setback.”
Applicants like w@sh submitted their applications in April and May for approval by the state. $5 million was set aside and a total of $94,362 has been made available to those that were approved. Awards are being made on a reimbursement basis and companies are expected to price documentation of expenses.
No other Ogle County business received one of the grants. After w@sh was allowed to reopen in recent months, it was booked up for its first three weeks. During the closure, w@sh doubled its square footage to 900 and added three stations, allowing it to hire more stylists.
“If I hadn’t been forced to do this, I don’t know if I’d be as successful,” Dickson-Grennan said. “We made changes. I never had time to do ideas I had. I had 10 weeks. As much as it was draining, it was also a gift in disguise. We’re coming out of it bigger and better.”