Penny Schooley is the owner of Penny's Hair Design Ltd. in La Ronge. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

small businesses

Small business owners in La Ronge waiting for end of pandemic

Apr 14, 2020 | 2:38 PM

Ever since Penny Schooley opened her hair salon in La Ronge more than three decades ago, she’s never had to close the doors to her business for this long.

When Penny’s Hair Design Ltd. closed on March 21, Schooley couldn’t imagine her business would be shutdown for as long as it has. She has since moved to doing online sales through the salon’s Facebook page selling products and delivering them to customers’ doorsteps.

“People are really being supportive and we’re trying to get through this hard time all together,” Schooley said. “I’m trying to do my part and, if people need product or whatever, I’m more than willing to deliver.”

Schooley opened the salon 32 years ago and she has never had to face such an obstacle as a business owner before. She’s hopeful the COVID-19 pandemic will end as soon as possible, adding she hasn’t heard any news lately about when she could reopen.

In the last several weeks, Schooley sought provincial and federal assistance including a $40,000 interest-free loan from the feds and a $5,000 grant from the province. She’s still waiting to hear back about the loan she applied for, while applications for the provincial grant for small businesses just opened today.

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“For small business owners who don’t pay into EI, there’s also a little bit of a wage we can apply for also,” Schooley said. “That just started last week and that finally came through for me.”

At the time of closure, seven people were employed at Penny’s including five hairdressers and two student helpers. All the hairstylists have been able to receive EI.

“I think I’m kind of fortunate because I have been in business for this long,” she said. “I don’t have the overhead that some newer businesses have.”

La Ronge Home Hardware owner Rita Goertzen, who has been in business for 33 years, is still open to the public between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Even though there’s been a drop in customers leading her to layoff some employees, she said local residents continue to buy products for home improvement projects or appliances.

“We’ve closed off some of the area because it is harder to clean,” she said about the store. “If customers come here we’ll let them in. We’re usually here by 10 a.m. every day.”

Goertzen also noted she’s never experienced anything like the pandemic before, noting the closest event would be the wildfires in 2015. Unlikely Schooley, Goertzen has yet to apply for government assistance for small business owners, but she expects to do so soon.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno