Houston SBERP Testimonials

“The SBERP grant gave us the fortitude and protection to enter into a traditionally slow fourth quarter and to ensure our strength to capitalize on 2021’s fitness resolutions. This grant was a welcomed supplement to our working capital needs for the new year and provided a safety net for the company to continue to employ the majority of our staff and instructors at all locations. Our team’s mental health is at the forefront of all we do. We are striving to change the human capital landscape of Houston’s boutique fitness industry to provide employees with fair and legal compensation. This in turn, affords our team the financial and mental confidence to continue to offer the best fitness experience to our community.” – Jess Hughes, Citizen Pilates

Bernard Johnson, The Bridge Imports

“COVID affected my business by causing a drastic slowdown in customer foot traffic. Hence, we were not able to receive the normal level of revenue needed to pay our basic business and payroll responsibilities. A few of the ways we used the funds received were to catch up on past due bills, keep workers, and purchase badly needed inventory.” - Bernard Johnson, The Bridge Imports

David Dalati, Supercuts Franchise

“The SBERP has made an immeasurable impact. It helped sustain our business when there was a very real threat of how it would survive. From mid-March to mid-May, our stylists were not getting a check or tips, and we didn’t realize how long it would take for us to be able to open again. I can’t tell you how excited I was to be selected for the grant, to pass on the news to our employees, and to tell them that we were going to be OK for a little while longer. We also didn’t realize that we would still be in this pandemic a year later, and even though our stylists have returned to work, our revenue is 40-50 percent of what it used to be. Without some sort of help, you can’t survive with 40-50 percent of the revenue but 100 percent of the bills. SBERP literally helped save a business.” –David Dalati, Supercuts Franchise