Long wait to reopen taking a toll, says Fannie Bay beauty salon owner Debby Bell
ELLA Bache Fannie Bay owner Debby Bell says the longer her doors remain closed, the harder it will be to reopen. And while she understands the need to close to stop the spread of coronavirus, she’s hopeful businesses can reopen soon while borders remain closed if things continue to improve.
Northern Territory
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ELLA Bache Fannie Bay owner Debby Bell says the longer her doors remain closed the harder it will be to reopen.
The shop was forced to close on March 26 when the Federal Government shut down beauty salons almost immediately in the wake of the pandemic.
As the owner, Ms Bell has been left with no way to make money except to sell the few products she has left on the shelves.
However, she still has to fork out for overheads and has decided to keep her staff on the books through the JobKeeper scheme.
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While Ms Bell understands the need to close to stop the spread of coronavirus, she’s hopeful businesses can reopen soon while borders remain closed if things continue to improve.
“I don’t see that we will be out for six months here,” she said.
“The decision for us to re-open may remain a federal one, but if we’re allowed to keep the borders closed and reopen that would be good.”
“I worry that the longer we are out the harder it will be to reopen.”
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Ms Bell said the longer she remained closed the less capital she would have and the harder it would be to get the business back up and running.
“Some companies have been great and supporting us by suspending some of our accounts, and there’s been some support here, but if it goes on for too long, the bank account will dwindle and it gets hard to start back up again,” she said.
Ms Bell has built up the beauty salon over 25 years.
“We just hope that our clients will come back and support us,” she said.
“I’m hoping I’ll be able to retain all of my staff and I’m hoping to resume and be as strong as we were.”
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