SHERIDAN, Colo. — Fewer than 1% of small businesses in America are certified LGBT business enterprises.

One new Colorado business is working to break the stigma around what types of businesses the LGBTQ+ community owns and operates.

For many, cars are a necessity, which creates a need for proper repair and care.

It’s something often thought of as a man’s job and that stigma instilled a fear in CC Haug for years.

“I just really enjoy seeing things come together and then being able to take care of people," said CC Haug.

“Throughout my entire life that’s been one of those things, knowing inside that I would prefer to transition and sort of live this way I always had that fear that within that industry, to sort of be pushed out of it. To no have a comfortable safe place to work or even a place that I enjoy.”

They are a transgender person who has always had a passion for vehicles.

“My whole life has been around cars. My dad growing up owned a couple different car dealerships over the years, my brothers owned a couple different shops over the years," said CC Haug.

Being their true self while also working in the repair space is what led to the opening of Good Judy Garage.

CC and Faith Haug, the co-owners, wanted their business to be a place where customers can be comfortable.

“One of us said wouldn’t it be really nice if there was like a queer auto shop here in town and there isn’t and we were like oh well let’s make one," said Faith Haug.

“But it’s more about giving them a place that they know they can go for something that had given them anxiety in the past. Right so it’s kind of one more place you know you can go that’s safe because you still have a long list of places you have to go that’s not.”

Good Judy Garage opened in December 2021 and the co-owners say their quick success is a testament to the need their business is filling.

“I think in the first month we had 215 individual customers, not repeat, like individual people, use us in the first month," said Faith Haug.

“There’s 10 auto shops down this street, you can find an auto shop on any block right. So to just be another auto shop but to get that many customers in our first month really says something to us.”

The Haug's have also become role models within the community, making an impact much bigger than themselves.

“I’ve had a few people say that and it strikes me so strangely I don’t even know how to react to that most of the time," said CC Haug.

“I hope what were doing is making a positive difference in the world or even just on some level changing the way people look at things or think about things.”

As the global supply chain crisis continues, retailers are working to meet consumer demand for the upcoming holiday season.

It hasn't been easy.

"We're trying to stay as upbeat as we can," said Brian Lawrence, president of Emigh's Hardware Store in Sacramento, California. "We're waiting on Christmas trees right now. Hoping they'll get here in the next few weeks."

The trees, and other holiday goods, have been stuck on cargo ships docked at Los Angeles and Long Beach for months.

"Normally [our inventory] is here in October," Lawrence said. "Now it's probably mid-November to the later part of November."

Shelves normally bursting with Christmas lights this time of year are now three-quarters or half full. The store is also seeing shortages in any product with metal or plastic parts.

"We normally have a lot more hacksaw blades, and right now we just have a few," Lawrence said. "We are trying to pivot and get products from different suppliers."

Shipping delays are also causing issues with seasonal inventory. Lawrence says he only just received the shipment of patio furniture meant for the summer. Now, he'll have to figure out how to sell them in the fall and winter months.

"We are doing our best to keep prices competitive," Lawrence said. "We used to pay $3,500 to $4,000 to get a container from overseas. Now it's upward of $20,000 for a container to get here."

The crush of shipping delays and labor and inventory shortages is also being felt at Mixed Bag, another small business in California.

"It's been uncomfortable, to say the least," said owner Linda Novi.

Her store only just got their Halloween inventory on Thursday, two weeks before the holiday.

"We're ordering more than we normally would because we know if we order 100 pieces we'll be lucky to get 50," Novi said.

Her store is doing what it can to shield customers from prices that will inevitably have to increase, due to elevated shipping costs.

"It used to be $3,000 to $4,000 per container from overseas," Novi said. "It's now $15,000 to $16,000 per container. Our shipping prices have increased unbelievably."

Mixed Bag is still waiting for items to come in from orders placed 10 months ago.

"There are a lot of vendors we ordered from in January and we still haven't [gotten those items]," said store manager Wendy Gray.

COVINGTON, Ky. — The City of Covington is giving some business owners a helping hand during the holidays. Almost $500,000 in grants are being given out to 13 different businesses in order to offset losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Trying to make it through the next 12 weeks is going to be rough, because we were trying to figure out how we’re going to get funding,” The Delish Dish Catering & Events owner and executive chef Mavis Linnemann-Clark said. “Do I have to take out a personal loan?”

She said these are the questions she wrestles with every day – and at least now, she has some answers.

"The city of Covington has been a cheerleader for us and they've helped us out in other aspects of my business, and this is no exception," Linneman-Clark said.

Covington and Kenton County put money together to give the Delish Dish a $50,000 grand. They’re also giving grants of differing amounts to 12 other local businesses – all in an effort to keep them afloat and keep jobs in the city.

“This will help us keep our doors open and our kitchen cooking," Linneman-Clark said. "It's just the best, absolutely the best, Christmas present that I could ask for."

She said the grant is even more important since her catering company doesn’t qualify for certain relief funds that are only available to restaurants and bars.

"There is hope for small businesses; you just have to look for it under every nook and cranny," Linneman-Clark said.

She said 2020 has not been easy for The Delish Dish or many other businesses across the Tri-State – but the catering company said the grant gives it a new reason to look forward to 2021.

"We're already negative for the year, so it will help us not lose as much money in the first part of the year,” Linneman-Clark said. “And, hopefully next year we can make it out and recover what we've lost this year, which is a lot."

Covington and Kenton County businesses that get grant money will have to work with the Kentucky Small Business Development Center to make sure they are prepared and ready for whatever they might need to do to get through the rest of the pandemic.

August is National Black-owned business month — and one New Mexico business is set out to inspire.

When it comes to products to help protect hair, there are plenty. But for Juperi Johnson and her daughters, creating a hair wrap that worked for their hair type became their business.

"When we first started this, they were about 6 years old and so I needed something that would work on braids, or if I wore my braid my hair natural or curly," said Juperi Johnson, owner of Kena Wrap. "Something that would work on all three of our different hair types."

Johnson is a mother of three. She's also the creator of the Kena Wrap. The goal was to create something that worked for everyone.

"What started as a series of hand-drawn sketches from one of my friends that's an artist turned into about eight or nine different prototypes," she said.

Johnson said it was important to be an example for her daughters.

"It's invaluable to be able to inspire my daughters. You know, they go to school telling their teachers and their friends that they're inventors," she said.

She said her business is also about giving back and empowering others.

"If there's any message I can give to young Black women in our community, it's to utilize the tools that are around you," Johnson said. "If I can give back in some sort of way with knowledge and education that's worth its weight in gold."

Johnson said in the future, she would love to create a nonprofit and teach kids about math, science and finances. Most importantly, show how to start a business.

The African American Chamber of Commerce encourages anyone interested in becoming a business owner to contact them.

Watch the video above for the full story.

CHICAGO, Ill. — COVID-19 rocked small businesses. Mom-and-pop contractors were hit especially hard. Now, an app is helping them connect with customers in a new way.

Working with his hands has been a welcome change for Steve Banyamin.

“Four years ago, I was working for a fortune 15 company doing B2B sales,” he said. “I just hustled. I’d be putting 55, 60 hours of work a week and it’s stressful.”

These days, he runs his own contracting business.

“You see me now, sweating, I’m swinging hammers, it’s dusty, but it’s a different type of mental stress. I’m much happier now,” said Banyamin.

Most of his work comes from word of mouth, but that can leave some holes in his schedule. When he doesn’t work, he doesn’t get paid.

“There was a gap in between where I was kind of like, 'Oh man, what am I going to do? I’ve got no job lined up and the bills aren’t going away,'” said Banyamin.

The pandemic exacerbated that uncertainty.

Unemployment in the construction industry spiked during the pandemic, from 5.5% in February 2020, to more than 16% by April. It continued to hover around 10% through the beginning of this year.

But now he has some help via a new app called ChoreRelief. It connects contractors with potential clients.

“So, you set up an account and as soon as an opportunity comes in and fits your criteria, your skillset, as well as the service area you would like to perform service at, we notify you immediately. All you have to do is open the app,” said Tarik Khribech, the founder of Chore Relief. “And then just send them what is a fair bid, and if they accept your offer, congratulations."

It’s just one of the companies Khribech has started since he emigrated to the US from Morocco.

“Growing up as a kid, I was always the hustler. If I have something and you like it, I’m happy to sell it for a profit,” said Khribech. “I buy something, I flip it, I sell it. You call me in the middle of the night. You see me walking down the middle of the street with the brand-new sneakers my brother just sent me from America and you give me a price for it, I’ll go home barefoot.”

Now, he wants to give a boost to contractors like Banyamin who are hustling to earn a living.

“A lot of the people don’t have the budget or the marketing experience, but you know what they all have in common? They have smartphones. So that’s when the idea came, let’s build an ecosystem that empowers these small mom and pop shops, small businesses,” said Khribech.

That ecosystem is helping Banyamin and other contractors like him to build and sustain their business.

“Because of ChoreRelief and some of the other apps that I use, business is plentiful. So, it’s never the case where I don’t know how I’m going to make that money. It’s more about, 'Oh man, I hope I have enough people to help,'” said Banyamin.

Applications open today for four new grant programs offering $155 million in funding to help small and medium Ohio businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Journal-News.

Funds will be available to businesses that opened in 2020, food and beverage establishments, entertainment venues and lodging venues.

For information on guidelines, terms and conditions and required documentation, visit https://businesshelp.ohio.gov/.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced the programs Friday.

“These four new grant programs will help industries that experienced losses over the last year because of the pandemic,” DeWine said. “Ohio’s economy is moving forward, and with new grant programs like the ones we are announcing today, we are optimistic that our economy will only continue to grow stronger from here.”

The programs include a food and beverage establishment grant, entertainment venue grant, lodging grant and new small business grant.

Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first served basis. To make sure that funds are spread out properly throughout the state, a set amount will be put aside for each county for each grant. Once a county’s allocation is depleted, businesses in that county will be eligible for grants using the remaining funds. If a county does not use all of the funds set aside by July 31, the remaining amount will be available statewide.

“The focus of this funding is primarily on Ohio-owned small businesses that are important contributors to their local economy and the quality of life for the people who live there,” said Husted. “The grants will help these businesses buy equipment, hire more employees and make needed updates to their facilities, so they, and the communities they serve, can recover faster.”

The new small business fund will award grants of $10,000. It will have $10 million total in funding.

The other three programs will offer $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000 grants. The food and establishment grant will receive $100 million in funding, the lodging grant will receive $25 million and the entertainment venue grant will receive $20 million.

As people return to work after historic unemployment during the pandemic, some businesses struggle to hire, leaving small businesses in an especially tough spot.

“The past 15 months or however long it's been has been incredibly surreal,” Beth Gruitch, Co-owner of Crafted Concepts restaurant group, said. “It's been this up and down of hiring and laying off.”

Now -- this restaurant is buzzing with customers again. “We’re busy. People want to go out; they are vaccinated,” she said.

But Gruitch is having trouble hiring at all the restaurants that are part of the group. “We’re having a shortage of staff. There’s like almost 100 job postings, and the amount of people that are here to work in the hospitality industry is very dismal,” she said, explaining that she’s never seen it this bad. “To the point where people aren't showing up for interviews or callbacks.”

While the pay is competitive, the labor pool that existed before the pandemic is no longer there.

“We were always an industry that counts pennies. Well, there's even less of those pennies to count these days,” Gruitch said.

The restaurant industry isn’t the only one experiencing this hiring dilemma.

“There are certain industries more impacted by others, specifically those in construction, manufacturing, transportation. But still those in the restaurant industry services, they’re also having a hard time,” Holly Wade, Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business Research Center, said.

The NFIB’s April jobs report showed a record 44% of small business owners with job openings they can’t fill. 92% of these owners report few or no qualified applicants for the positions.

“One in 5 say that they have significant problems with staffing shortages,” Wade explained. This has pushed many owners to offer more in a competitive marketplace.

“Hiring bonuses, referral bonuses, increasing pay, especially for those entry-level positions, are generally what we’re seeing as far as incentives for small business owners to try and attract talent,” she said.

Economist Victor Bennett said there are many theories as to why we see this problem.

“There's a set of people who are going to argue its exacerbated by government assistance...there’s a set of people who are going to say...that the issue is driven by unfair labor practices,” Bennett said. He said there are a few reasons he’s seeing as contributing factors. One is the skills gap, more openings for a job than qualified people. This idea is backed up by the results of the NFIB’s jobs report. Other factors relate to the pandemic.

“A lot of skilled workers had to leave the workforce to provide dependent care,” Bennett said.

And then there’s the devastating impact COVID-19 had on specific industries.

“What some people call an echo effect, of people leaving industries that were affected in the pandemic and find it hard to return. This is happening, for example, wIth people who used to work at restaurants,” Bennett said.

The skills gap is something Georgiann Jaworskyj is experiencing.

“I haven't found anyone that has the experience that could just come into the office and kind of fill those shoes of the girls that left,” she said. She owns a small business travel agency in New Jersey. “It’s been a rough year, but we’ve gotten through, and now I’m so busy I don't know what to do with myself.”

Small businesses are doing what they can to hire people to meet the rising demand from consumers. Their one request is to have patience.

“Be kind, be gentle, because everybody is working hard to try to get back up to speed from where they were last year,” Jaworskyj said.

“In the here and now, service is going to be slow,” Gruitch said.

In her hands, Tobie Whitman carries her pride and joy, as well as her livelihood.

“We source everything from as nearby as possible,” motioning to the bouquet in her hands.

The florist owns

Little Acre Flowers

in Washington, D.C., a small business with six employees.

Lately, business has been tough.

“I'd say about a month ago some of our event clients, who were planning weddings or bar mitzvahs, began to reach out to us and say that they were thinking about possibly having to change their plans,” Whitman said. “And that's when we thought to ourselves, ‘Oh wow, this is really going to be a big deal for our business.’”

And it has been a big deal.

Their flower orders for events –-gone. That side of the business is down 100 percent. The shop is surviving on a small number of daily flower deliveries and something else.

“We're dipping into the savings that we have to keep people on board,” Whitman said.

The federal government recently passed the $2 trillion “

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

,” better known as the

CARES Act

. In it, it provides more than $349 billion for small businesses in the “Paycheck Protection Program.” It’s designed to help small businesses hold on to their employees.

“Billions of dollars in small business loans have already been processed through Paycheck Protection Programs,” President Donald Trump said on April 5. “So, we went out on Friday and, literally, it’s become so popular. It’s been worked with the banks. They get it to the small business.”

However, it hasn’t worked quite as smoothly as that.

Banks report a confusing lending program process, which is limiting their ability to get those emergency loans out to small businesses.

Wells Fargo announced it would no longer be accepting any more new applications, because the bank already reached the program’s $10 billion loan maximum. That prompted the Federal Reserve to announce it would now allow the bank to go beyond that amount.

On top of that, the Small Business Administration’s computer servers crashed, as banks attempted to submit those loan applications.

Back at Little Acre Flowers, Whitman said they plan to apply for the federal loan, but in the meantime, also applied for a small business grant from the city to help stay afloat.

"We're small business,” she said. “We're like a family."

All part of an effort to keep the door to Little Acre Flowers open for as long as possible – like so many other small businesses are trying to do.