"Took the legs out from under me": A Green Bay barber’s struggle to find pandemic assistance takes its toll

The second installment of the Protecting Who? series takes a look at the logistical hurdles and application fatigue a small, minority-owned business has experienced in the past year.

May 17, 2021

Protecting Who? is a four-part series The NEWcomer is producing to delve into how the federal Paycheck Protection Program has affected underrepresented communities in the Greater Green Bay area. This is the second story in the series.

Catch up with our other stories about how PPP loans did little for Black-owned businesses in Green Bay, a breakdown of the data explaining how bulk Green Bay PPP loans were concentrated in suburbs, and how a lack of PPP funding in Green Bay’s Latino community is nothing new.

This story was completed with information from Reveal’s Reporting Networks and Big Local News. Thank you for reading.

Albert Walker, the owner of Imago Dei The Barber Lounge, said he went without a PPP loan in 2020. He cut back on bills like cable and internet at the barbershop and at home to get by.

Albert Walker said that at the beginning of 2020, things were starting to turn. His business, Imago Dei The Barber Lounge, had faced licensing hurdles and struggled to get the doors open at his Broadway Street location in Green Bay. The rest of the year is unfortunately familiar.

Walker is one of the many Black business owners in Green Bay who did not receive a first-round loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) administered the program and was responsible for over $770 billion dollars in loans across the country. The SBA was supposed to target small businesses as a part of the government's COVID-19 relief efforts. An analysis from the Center from Investigative Journalism’s Reveal of over 5 million PPP loans found a chasm of racial disparities in how loans were distributed.

Upon announcement of the PPP loans, former President Donald Trump said the loan program would provide “unprecedented support to small businesses” in order “to keep our small businesses strong.”

From the start, the loan program was not set up to support small, minority-owned businesses. Walker, who has owned the business since 2016, is a sole proprietor of Imago Dei, like roughly 96 percent of Black business owners, and does not have employees on the payroll. The PPP loan was not designed to help businesses like Imago Dei, even though they were severely affected by the pandemic because they provide in-person services.

Walker went through all of 2020 without a PPP loan. He received a $1,562 PPP loan in late January of this year. This comes as the SBA has changed its guidelines to allow for more equitable lending for small businesses with 20 or fewer employees and minority-owned businesses. But the program still leaves some businesses to fall through the cracks.

When initial closures and shutdowns happened Walker had to scramble, like a lot of businesses, to get started back up. Walker said it took four to five months to get started cutting safely again.

“It pretty much took my legs from under me,” said Walker. “You go from trying to be competitive to just maintaining.”

Walker said he had to cut back on bills like cable and internet at the shop and at home to make ends meet, eventually even trimming on insurance and his mortgage.

“We went through everything we could shut down,” said Walker.

The reasons Walker initially missed out on business assistance are twofold. First is his lack of familiarity navigating the applications and resources. The second is simply the time.

Walker said he spends his days handling his seven children, helping with a newborn grandchild, running the business, mentoring and tutoring incarcerated people, and volunteering in the community.

“Who has the time?” Walker said.

Walker said paperwork disputes, his wife’s previous bankruptcy, and other hoops applicants have to jump through have prevented him from getting relief funds from PPP and other grant programs. He said he is currently trying to sort out a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan, but was initially denied by the SBA, citing a problem with tax forms. Walker plans to reapply and follow up with the loan program, but a year’s worth of denials takes its toll.

“It’s so discouraging,” said Walker.

Broadway District, by the numbers

Data from Reveal shows that businesses in majority-white census tracts received loans at 1.5 to 2 times the rate of businesses in majority-Black and -Lantix census tracts in the top 52 metro areas across the country.

The census tract Imago Dei falls in, which is primarily made up of the Broadway Business District, is designated as a racially mixed region according to data from Reveal.

The census tract Imago Dei falls in is primarily made up of the Broadway Business District. The average PPP loan received in the Broadway District was roughly $209,000 with a top end of a $4.5 million loan all the way down to a handful of $2,000 loans to sole proprietors.

The Broadway District fared decently well when it came to receiving PPP loans in 2020. Data from Reveal identifies 223 businesses in this area that would have been eligible for a first-round PPP loan and of those, 82 loans were distributed in 2020. The Broadway District had a 37 percent loan-to-business rate (the number of loans divided by the number of eligible businesses). Green Bay’s average rate was 40 percent.

The average PPP loan received in the Broadway District was roughly $209,000. The top end of this range includes a $4.5 million loan to RGL Holdings, the logistics and transportation company located along the Fox River waterfront, all the way down to a handful of $2,000 loans to sole proprietors of musical instruments and electronic shops along the corridor.

A spokesperson from SBA’s Wisconsin office said the amounts loaned through the PPP are not determined by the number of jobs reported in the application and are based on the average salaries and benefits for each entity’s employees, which can vary widely. Businesses can receive up to $100,000 per employee.

A look at other barbershops in Green Bay and loans they received could contextualize Walker’s struggle to secure relief money and just over $1,500 he received earlier this year. Eight total barbershops in Green Bay received a 2020 PPP loan, according to Reveal’s data. The average loan received for these eight shops was just under ten thousand dollars.

Faith, family, and clean cuts

Inside Imago Dei, the energy is buzzing. Upon a visit, three people wait for haircuts while Walker focuses on the fade in front of him. The walls are lined with sports paraphernalia, uplifting slogans, and reminders of Walker’s source of strength.

The business’s name roughly translates from Latin to “ the image of God.” The theological phrase ascertains that humankind is created in God’s image.

“We believe that everyone is uniquely created by God and we try to bring that image out of those who grace the doors of our establishment,” said Walker.

Albert Walker, the owner of Imago Dei, focuses on a patron’s hair. Walker has leaned on his strong faith, family, and community to get through the hurdles his business faces.

Walker, originally from Chicago, has been in Green Bay since 2002. He said he has formerly served prison time and was heavily involved in gang violence. Apart from his clean cuts, he now volunteers with community outreach programs for formerly or currently incarcerated people and operates Sons of Faith Ministries, a faith outreach initiative. He was also instrumental in legislation that created licensure reforms for barbers under previous Governor Scott Walker’s administration in 2017.

Walker said he has leaned on his strong faith to get him through the last year.

“Some people were financially ready and a lot of people weren’t. I wasn’t financially ready. It was only by God’s graces I was able to survive this,” said Walker.

Despite his business challenges and the hurdles he has jumped through in the past year, he was frank about his outlook.

“I’m supposed to be dead or in prison for the rest of my life,” said Walker. “All this stuff here I’m going through is a cakewalk.”

The walls of Imago Dei feature Bible verses and stickers that read “God over money.” Walker was quick to show off photos of his children, another anchor in his life.

Despite all of the hiccups he's endured in the past year, Walker seems to be always looking forward. He said his work in his business in and in the community is creating a legacy for his own children.

“I'm changing generations,” said Walker. “My son will never experience any of those things [I experienced].”

Walker has framed photos of his previous press appearances, words of encouragement from elected officials during the 2017 licensing reform, and his family(far left). He plans to line the walls with these types of reminders as he completes the VIP lounge inside his barbershop.

In the meantime, Walker has been focused on being creative through marketing his business, live-streaming cuts and other services, and working on building the VIP lounge inside of Imago Dei, which offers a private and premium experience for clients.

Over a year into the pandemic, Walker said he is going to keep trying to apply for assistance. For Walker, the small loan he received in January is a drop in the bucket. His application fatigue is a familiar story for many small and minority-owned businesses searching for assistance.

“I got everything that they’re asking for and I’m still not getting money. I’m getting denied for goofy stuff,” said Walker. “Something’s got to give.”

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