COBB COUNTY, Ga. — By now, we are familiar with their stories: small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve been doing well up until COVID-19,” said Deborah Johnson.
Johnson is the owner of Express Beauty Bar in Smyrna. She ran salons in Cobb County for 30 years.
“It was a time when I had five barbers working for me. [Now] I do one-on-one. I do cancer treatment people, things like that,” she explained. “I made six figures by myself."
Johnson said as soon as the pandemic hit, things quickly changed for her business. She's not alone.
“We’ve been franchise owner for 18 months, which is a newbie,” said Brian Long.
Long and his wife are franchise owners in Kennesaw of the advertising agency Money Pages.
“One of the dreams for us was to own our own business and impact the community around us. Our clients knew that my wife and I cared about their businesses," he said. "We actually grew our business during the time right after COVID."
While Long and Johnson said they have been able to maintain, it certainly hasn’t been easy.
Many small businesses over the past several months have been forced to close their doors.
However, recently, Cobb County decided to help give hundreds of small businesses a boost. The county, in partnership with SelectCobb, awarded more than $7 million in small business relief grants to more than 400 businesses.
Johnson and Long were both on the receiving end.
“They gave me $10,000 and then in 30 days they are supposed to give you another $10,000,” Johnson said.
She said that since the pandemic began, she hasn’t had to take out any loans, so the grant provided her business some breathing room.
“It gave me some hope,” she said.
“I went into my wife’s office and said we got the grant from Cobb County. She completely lost it. [She] started crying," Long said. "Going through this whole surreal moment and then you get relief and a blessing and I’m just like whoa."
The money from the grants came from the CARES Act passed by Congress. For a lot of businesses this is a chance to use it towards rent, utilities and PPE.
Recently, Cobb County extended its partnership with SelectCobb to offer a second round of applications for small business relief grants. A lot like the first round, businesses that apply are eligible to receive up to $20,000 to $40,000.
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