Much has already happened ever since COVID-19 spread like wildfire around late January. Since then, there are more than millions of confirmed cases all over the world. Aside from tens of thousands of fatalities, a lot of businesses got affected by the virus as well.

People are advised to stay at home in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. A lot of businesses shut down either temporarily or for good. A lot of people also found themselves jobless due to the health crisis.

A lot of personal appointments have to be canceled as well. If you have an appointment in a hair salon, you would have to move it in the meantime. The same applies if you have an appointment in an eyelash extensions salon or a keratin treatment by a hairstylist.

The impact of COVID-19 on small businesses

The National Restaurant Association revealed that the industry has already suffered a $25 billion loss in sales. Likewise, about 3 million workers lost their jobs due to ongoing health pandemic. And in April, about 50 percent of food establishment owners are expected to lay off more workers by April onwards.

In the US, millions of Americans found themselves unemployed since March. This means more and more Americans, and other workers and business owners all over the world, look into their uncertain future. Will they be able to get their jobs back? Can business owners be able to revive their businesses?

Larger businesses may still have hope in bouncing back after this pandemic ends. Food manufacturing, agriculture, and health care industries will still be in-demand industries today. However, salons including a hair extensions salon and hair highlights salon also have to close for the meantime.

The events industry is also one of the most hardly-hit businesses in the world. In fact, a lot of events either got canceled or postponed due to the virus. Even popular sports events like annual basketball and marathon games were affected as well. Regardless, everyone is affected here – big and small businesses alike.

Having a salon appointment soon?

Your favorite eyelash extension salon may have to be closed until time indefinite. Simply getting a hair trim can be hard as of now because we have to stay at home. But in the meantime, we can still support our favorite salon despite the ongoing health crisis.

There are a lot of ways to maintain your hair health while you cannot go to your favorite salon. If you have eyelash extensions, there are also ways to make it last longer while at home. Your favorite salon may also be offering gift cards that you can also avail for now. That is one way you can support your favorite salon.

How you can support small businesses

While there is no vaccine yet for COVID-19, we have to adhere to our government and keep ourselves safe. We have to stay at home to avoid the spread of the virus. It is a simple thing to do, but there can also be challenges along the way. However, small businesses have already suffered twice as much due to the ongoing pandemic.

But this doesn’t mean we cannot do anything for these small businesses. There are still ways to do that while observing social/physical distancing.

Online orders

Perhaps there are still some small businesses that accept online orders. Instead of ordering in popular online stores (ex. Amazon), check if there is the same item from a local store. If the store does not have an online selling platform, try contacting them to see how they can continue their business despite the lockdown (ex. via e-commerce sites like Facebook Marketplace or Etsy).

Takeout/delivery orders

A lot of food establishments have shifted to takeouts or delivery in the meantime. This is a more practical choice since we are not allowed to go outside as much as possible. This can also be an easier process if they have their own delivery hotline. However, you can also use a food delivery app as well. Better yet, give tips to the delivery guys and the restaurant employees.

Gift cards

You can also consider buying gift cards from these small businesses. You can use these gift cards once everything is okay. Not only can it help their business and their cash flow but you can also use the gift cards in the future.

Final thoughts

Stay at home is the new norm for now. We all have to follow the authorities to avoid the spread of the virus and to be able to finally flatten the curve. We have to skip our regular salon treatments such as balayage services in Olney MD until everything goes back to normal.