Their Life's Work: Libertyville salon owner keeps in touch with her regulars with contest
Illinois has more than 1 million small businesses — some new, some old, some family legacies, others personal dreams. Each proprietor has a story to tell about how things have changed dramatically for them with the onset of the coronavirus, how they’re adapting, how they’re trying to hold it together and how their life’s work hangs in the balance.
The normally bustling Zachary Chase Hair & Spa in Libertyville is locked and dark, every empty chair lined up with every quiet mirror.
"Most of our clients are regulars who are on a permanent calendar. They come every week," proprietor Donna Husko said.
"We are skin to skin with our clients. We are face to face all day."
While Husko waits for the day she can open the doors to the 25-year-old business again, she's engaging those clients as well as she can.
She encourages them to post photos of the "not so glamorous side" of their unkempt, grown-out roots and unpainted nails on the business' Facebook page. She and her staff reward the best with $25 gift certificates.
She's remaining positive, stocking up on all her supplies for the day when every one of her clients will be desperate to be dolled up again.