MASSILLON Like many small businesses, Kathy Boyd's Hair Studio felt the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis about a year ago when she had to abruptly shut down.
In early 2020, Boyd pumped about $25,000 of her personal finances into the business to fund an expansion, allowing her to redecorate and ramp up from two employees to seven. About a week after the pandemic started, thought, she was forced to close.
"I was just devastated," said Boyd, adding that for more than three decades she's worked 40 to 60 hours a week as a hairstylist. "It went from (working like) that to being off all the time."