MARION (WSIL) -- Cinda Phelps left her job as a hairdresser in 2009 after 30 years to pursue a new hobby - making organic skin care products.
She mastered the trade in London and shared her skills with others before starting her own business in 2017.
Cinda's Botanical Blends is one of the essential businesses still running in Marion, but the profits are slim and take-home pay is not an option.
"I'm just covering my expenses - my rent and my utilities" Phelps said. "Before I was making a pretty big profit."
The store's sales are down a whopping 90% according to Phelps. Little revenue forced her to lay off her only employee. But Phelps continues to stay busy using curbside delivery and pickup orders.
Phelps says aid from the latest coronavirus can help ease her workload and bring her employee back. "I think I could pay her that money because it's appropriated for salaries."
Phelps did receive a bit of help thanks to a $700 check from the Marion United . Even though the store makes a fraction of its normal profit, Phelps believes any profit is better than none.
"I'm lucky because I can work and make my expenses, and I don't think I'll have to close my business down," Phelps said. "I can get through it. I just feel bad for the ones who can't."
The House is expected to vote on the bill Thursday, an aid package President Donald Trump promised to sign by the end of the week.
