GREENSBORO, N.C. — As some businesses get ready to reopen for phase one, others are scraping together the last money they have, waiting for their loan money and to enter phase two.
One of those business owners is Angel Putnam. She owns a children's salon called Pigtails and Crewcuts.
She won't be able to reopen her salon until at least phase two of Governor Roy Cooper's plan. On top of that, she's also still waiting for her loan money from the Paycheck Protection Program to come in, at least a month after she applied.
"When the second wave came, we had hoped that it would be better, especially with the new regulations they put on it," Putnam said.
Even after the federal money was replenished, she's still received nothing.
"It’s a little unsettling, to be honest," said Putnam.
She's held countless auctions with the retail she had left - tee-shirt sales and now, she's selling refillable vials of hand sanitizer to try to make it through.
"That auction allowed me to pay some of my April rent and continue to pay my staff two weeks into April," she said.
RELATED: 'It's nervous excitement' | Retailers ready to open back up, taking different safety precautions
Her tee-shirt sales helped cover utilities for her salons in May. As she continues to hand out refillable hand sanitizers, she's also thinking about what happens when those sales run out.
"My passion is hair, my passion is children, my passion is not side-hustling sanitizer, but when your passion is on the line and your dream may be dwindling away from you for no reason of your own fault, you really just have to refocus it and think of every way possible to save that dream," Putnam said.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said he's concerned about the number of businesses that still haven't received the help they need.
"Today I sent a letter to Congress urging that they reform the PPP, the Paycheck Protection Program, so that when they put more money into it we know that it goes to small businesses that need it and not the big publicly traded companies, and then there’s some flexibility as it relates to what the businesses have to do in terms of drawing out that money," Stein said.
Rep. Mark Walker said, "The vote to pass this was not only bipartisan but nearly unanimous, because any person in touch with the struggles our communities are facing realizes the Paycheck Protection Program is vital to keeping businesses alive and families fed and housed."
Rep. Ted Budd said his office has assisted countless small businesses in the process of accessing money from the Paycheck Protection Program.
“On the whole, PPP has provided a lifeline for millions of predominantly small businesses in our community and around the country during this once in a generation crisis. However, I am troubled by the loopholes that have been exploited by larger firms and the sometimes sluggish processing time," he said.
Putnam said if and when she's able to reopen again, things won't go back to normal for a while.
"When I have lost three months of revenue and I have to re-open, everything that I’ve had saved has now been used the past three months to try and keep my business afloat," she said.
The date May 22 is scary for her - that's the earliest North Carolina could enter Phase 2 - but she'll continue to remain hopeful that she'll be able to reopen eventually and keep her business.
Putnam said she's turned to smaller banks to see if she can get relief.