A Noank hair salon owner almost gave up on applying for the Paycheck Protection Program after not hearing back at all, but everything changed when she got an unexpected answer Wednesday afternoon .
Chris Goslin had to close her doors after the state mandated all hair salons, nail salons and barbershops be closed.
The state and federal government then announced help for small business owners - the Bridge Loan and SBA Paycheck Protection Program to help them through the hard time, but for Goslin, that help was tougher than she thought.
She spent most of her time filling out application after application and she found herself getting nowhere.
"The bank that I expected to do business with told me initially that they had 400 people on a waiting list and that they weren't sure if they were going to get to m," said Goslin.
After hearing some small businesses getting their loans approved, Goslin said she became angry and wanted to know why she was not getting that help.
"We're the ones who sponsor your little league teams, we're the ones that hug you when you're having a bad day, we know your stories, we know your divorces. My clients are my family," added Goslin.
Goslin spoke to FOX61 last week. Her story reached all types of people, including people who she least expected like the Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank in Norwich.
"She had emailed me and she said you know, we're here to help you, we're a small bank," added Goslin.
With little to no hope left, Goslin re-submitted her applications. Within the same day, the bank had notified her, her loan was approved.
This was news Goslin had been waiting to hear for weeks.
"I'm not wondering and I'm not waiting to hear the news that they're out of money again," added Goslin.
The bank then reached out to FOX61 to share the good news.
"That's what we try to do. We take being a community bank to hear. We believe that you're helping the community, you're helping everyone. Small businesses are the backbone of our country. We're not helping them, we're not doing our job," said Lisa Griffin, president and CEO of Eastern Connecticut Savings Bank.
Goslin has this advice for any other small business owner who might be in the same shoes as her.
"You can do this! You can advocate for yourself. We got to stick together. Somebody's got to do it because they're not going to hear you if you don't say anything," added Goslin.
As of Tuesday night, Goslin told FOX61 she had received phone calls from people in Texas, California and Rhode Island wanting to help.