We’ve got some good news, salon pros! On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed into law a new bill that will extend the deadline for the Payment Protection Program (PPP) through May 31. It’s a move that comes just one day before the program was initially set to expire on March 31.
In addition to the two-month extension, this legislation also grants the Small Business Administration (SBA) until June 30 to process all loan applications.
This new deadline gives the salon industry an additional 60 days to apply for first-time loans or “second-draw” loans and support their businesses that have been severely impacted by the on-going Covid-19 pandemic. Not to mention, stylists as well as barbershop and salon owners who have experienced countless issues during their application process now have extra time to seek help and sort out those problems.
The PBFC’s PPP Relief Efforts
For any salon pros hoping to take advantage of the PPP relief extension, the Professional Beauty Federation of California and its SBA-approved lending partner Adesso Capital have designed an online portal to help streamline the loan application process. Both the PBFC and Adesso will also be assisting all salon pros with the loan forgiveness process to ensure that none of these loans become debt that has to be paid back.
“PBFC and Adesso have been on the leading edge of this second round of PPP, even before Congress passed the new PPP extension back in December 2020. That’s because we learned by sad experience that most in our industry didn’t know they were eligible for PPP during the first round issued back in the summer of 2020,” said PBFC Legal Counsel and Advocate, Fred Jones. “Our industry is populated by the most dynamic creative artists, not accountants, many of whom lack working relationships with financial institutions who could’ve informed and assisted them with their PPP applications.”
The PBFC has also been vocal about reinforcing that salon pros are entitled to two, full draws of PPP relief. So, if you are a stylist, salon or barbershop owner, or booth renter who received a first-time loan either last summer or post-December 2020, you are still entitled to apply for a second draw loan through May 31.
A Lifeline for Salons
Since its creation in March 2020, PPP has been a lifeline for businesses that have struggled to stay afloat throughout the pandemic. In fact, according to SBA data, the program has approved more than 8.7 million loans totalling more than $734 billion.
In February, the Biden administration announced several changes — many of which were super beneficial to the salon industry — to prioritize small and minority-owned businesses. SBA data shows that during the two-week loan application period for small businesses, average loans to minority-owned businesses were up 20 percent and loans to women-owned businesses were up 14 percent.
So, if you’re a salon pro that has yet to take advantage of PPP relief, what are you waiting for? Now, is the time to get your loan application in while you still can. To help you out, we have created a helpful guide for salon pros to assist you with getting financial relief for your business.
For more information about the PPP, we highly encourage you to visit the SBA’s frequently asked questions page.
