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GA Barbershop Owner Drops a Massive Truth Bomb About the Struggles of Being a 'Non-Essential' Business Owner
Townhall.com ^ | April 25, 2019 | Beth Bauman

Posted on 04/25/2020 8:30:07 AM PDT by Kaslin

Those in the beauty industry – barbershops, hair and nail salon and spas – have all taken a massive hit during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. They have been deemed "non-essential" from the beginning. In some states, it will be another four to six weeks before these businesses are able to reopen. In other states, like California, they are closed with no reopening date in sight.

Critics, especially rich critics on the left, want beauty professionals to stay home. Taurean Overall, the owner of three successful Blessed Up Barber Shops in Atlanta, said what's being asked of them is unrealistic and unfeasible. He is, however, thankful that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has decided to reopen the economy and allowed these so-called "non-essential businesses" to reopen.

"What do you say to all the folks out there who think this is so dangerous, you are putting people’s lives, you know, in jeopardy?" Fox News' Laura Ingraham asked. "Al Sharpton today said that what you’re actually doing is bad."

She then played a clip of Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC.

"I don’t know any barber in Georgia that has 6-foot long arms. How are you going to have social distancing in a barbershop or in a beauty parlor?" Sharpton said. "I mean, let’s be serious. You are really telling people, put yourself in danger. For what reason, I cannot imagine."

Overall smirked when he heard the comments.

"Rev. Al, you might have a couple million dollars in the bank. Us non-essential owners do not," the barbershop owner said. "The only thing we can speak from is our perspective. For the last two months – I speak for myself – I had no income for the last two months. I own three barbershops, I also cut hair myself, and us being out of work is no money coming in at all. In the last few months, I have spent over $20,000 in rent, in mortgages, you know, stuff like that. I applied for the SBAs, applied for the unemployment. I haven’t even received the stimulus."

"So my question to people out there: what should we do? Should we just sit back and wait for the government to bail us out, or take advantage of the opportunity we have them be as safe as possible and still, you know, make as much money as we can and play it safe?" Overall asked.

His three barbershops are taking extra safety precautions, like requiring customers to sanitize their hands, spray down in Lysol and wear disposable gloves and ponchos. Employees are wearing masks.

Ingraham played a clip from a New York Times reporter who suggested that allowing economies to freely reopen would put us back to square one in the pandemic.

Overall, again, asked how businesses that are deemed "non-essential" should maneuver this crisis when they're being asked to stay home.

"If you don’t want us to work, find a way to make an extra stimulus package or some kind of funds for us non-essential workers to save our homes, to save our cars from being repoed, to save from being evicted, to save our businesses," the barbershop owner said. "I’ve busted my butt for the last six years building a franchise from the ground up and what people are telling me [to do is] to sit at home and wait, for something no one has an answer to, save me."

Overall said he would rather reopen, take the opportunity to be as safe as possible while having faith in God to provide.

"The key is to be as safe as possible. It’s no different than coming into the barbershop as a person going to the grocery store. And touching that bag of chips. Who knows who touched that bag of chips before you did," he explained. "When you come into a barbershop, I know who sat in my chair so I’m going to wipe it down. I know who’s touching my door handle so I’m going to wipe it down."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: briankemp; foxnews; georgia; lauraingraham; neb; smallbusiness; taureanoverall; wuhancoronavirus
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To: HotHunt

Black market haircuts and the people just get a little more disrespect for the government.

Expensive security theater, and the public is the one that pays the price, not the government that put us in the hole.


41 posted on 04/25/2020 11:08:11 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: workerbee

What an arrogant Bitch.


42 posted on 04/25/2020 11:08:22 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: sport
And he stole every cent that is in his bank account.

He still owes back taxes, interest and penalties of over a million dollars to the IRS.

43 posted on 04/25/2020 11:14:25 AM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: gibsonguy

Gee, he’s getting paid more than the President. Assuming he gets that paid a year. The President gets paid $400,000 a year


44 posted on 04/25/2020 11:14:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Cboldt
I wear my hair long. I was wearing it layered so every so often I needed a trim to maintain the style.

But during this state lockdown the Florida governor put us in, my hair style gal is closed. Fortunately for her, her family has other sources of income so it's not hurting her personally.

It's only hurting her business. She owns the building where the salon is located. It's a rural area. Not many other places to go locally. Her long-time customers can't get their hair cut or styled. But that's not exactly life threatening to them. Her long-time customers will return when she opens up again. I don't think that will be that long here in Florida.

But my own solution is to just keep letting my hair grow and I will wear it in a pony tail again, like I did for years before I cut the length back. No biggie.

45 posted on 04/25/2020 11:38:49 AM PDT by HotHunt (Been there. Done that.)
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To: aquila48

#6 Bazinga!
How about not seeing them wear a face mask as well?


46 posted on 04/25/2020 12:14:17 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (homeless guy. He just has more money....He the master will plant more cotton for the democrat party)
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To: Dennis M.

Science is Driving
.
Driving us
Right over
A Cliff.


47 posted on 04/25/2020 3:07:15 PM PDT by Big Red Badger (He Hath Not Given Us A Spirit Of Fear)
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To: Big Red Badger

It was SCIENCE
That was screwing
With Bat Viruses
To begin With!


48 posted on 04/25/2020 3:08:57 PM PDT by Big Red Badger (He Hath Not Given Us A Spirit Of Fear)
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To: Kaslin

The shop I usually go to on about 3 wk intervals has been shuttered for near 2 months. I hope they reopen when
Nancy’s nefu opens the state.


49 posted on 04/25/2020 7:06:31 PM PDT by sasquatch
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To: Kaslin

First thing I’m going to do when I get out of lockdown is
get a $150 haircut.

They charge about $18. I just hope they reopen...
My hair is as bad as it was in college.


50 posted on 04/27/2020 9:07:59 AM PDT by sasquatch
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