Yellowknife hairdresser prepares to open new salon, during a pandemic

The timing couldn't have been worse.

This winter, after 11 years of doing hair out of her home, Gillian Whitehead decided to finally open the boutique salon she'd dreamt about for 20 years. She signed a lease in March and planned to open Gillian Whitehead Hair in the Centre Ice Plaza on May 1.

"About a week after I signed my five-year lease, COVID[-19] hit and everything just shut down," she said.

Whitehead now finds herself among several small businesses scrambling to get everything in place to open the doors to clients while following strict infection control measures. First she focused on the electrical wiring in her new space, then she put in orders for masks, gloves and sanitizer. She hopes to be up and running by the end of this week.

"I had to move forward because this is my livelihood."

Salons are among several businesses allowed to open under the N.W.T.'s newly-relaxed public health restrictions, provided they have physical barriers between clients, touch-free payment, improved ventilation and don't use a waiting room (and no magazines allowed). They also must prepare and have in place aWorkers' Safety and Compensation CommissionExposure Control Plan. That plan does not need to be filed with the WSCC, but it has to be available upon request.

Whitehead's plan was to rent a second salon chair to another stylist. Now, she'll do hair during the day and let another stylist take over in the evening, so there's no more than two people in the salon at a time. She'll be wearing a mask and will ask clients to wear one too.

"My day will be very slow," she said. "I want to make sure that my clients are comfortable and safe so I won't be working as hard as I normally do."

Rent to pay but no clients

Whitehead faced some glitches financing her new business.

She had hoped to tap into the N.W.T. Business Development Investment Corporation's (BDIC) Business Development Project Fund, which offers up to $10,000 in start-up funding. That fund was put on hold shortly after the COVID-19 crisis hit, though a spokesperson for BDIC confirmed Friday it's making plans to resume distributing $200,000.

Whitehead was able to accessCanNor's Northern Business Relief Fund, which offers grants up to $100,000 to small and medium businesses.

But on the whole, Whitehead says she's "disappointed" with the territorial government. She says she's found several options for loans, but few grants available to someone who's categorized as self-employed, as she is. And she's not interested in taking on debt.

To save on costs, she's sharing her 800-square-foot space with a friend who has an interior design business, and is largely in the same boat.

"We're kind of in a really weird situation. There are cracks in all the programs and I feel like we're in that ditch," Whiteheadsaid. "We've got a little bit of rent relief from the feds and that's about it."

Whitehead has now gone two months without any clients.

"I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed with the situation," she said. "It's been a tough couple months but I'm looking forward to getting back to the new normal."