MERCER COUNTY, W. Va. (WVVA) – With the height of the holiday season approaching as COVID-19 cases continue their climb… local businesses weigh the potential impact of a new shut down.
For businesses like gyms, spas and salons… they can’t take their business curbside, so a second shut down would mean no customers… and no customers, means no cash flow.
Just rewind to March…
“The bills don’t stop coming. Things that you’ve already ordered, you have to pay for,” Kathy Rahall, owner of Beauty Concepts Salon, said.
Kathy was lucky to make it out on the other side…
“I’ve always been one who liked to save money, so I did have money that was backed up,” she said.
But many were not as lucky as Kathy, and others who were are barely hanging on… so what would a second shut down do?
“If we have to close again, I’m sure there’s a lot of businesses that won’t survive,” Rahall said. “A lot of people probably don’t get that, unless you have a business. Some people think, ‘Oh, they’re rolling in the money, they’ve got all of this…'”
But she said people don’t realize that two months of lost revenue can close doors, permanently.
“It’s sad knowing that people have put their heart, their life into work and then, it’s gone. People don’t realize that smaller businesses… it’s your life, your baby, you’ve raised it.”
And while Kathy said her business would survive another shut down…
“It’s a lot more stress, it’s budgeting, it’s crazy. It’s hard on a business. I still haven’t recovered from the two months being closed.”
