Success Story with Danny Wong, Owner of a Hair Salon in Chicago

In the face of unprece­dent­ed chal­lenges posed by the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic, small busi­ness­es across the Unit­ed States have strug­gled to stay afloat. Among these entre­pre­neurs are Asian Amer­i­cans, who have not only faced the eco­nom­ic fall­out but also con­tend­ed with ris­ing inci­dents of dis­crim­i­na­tion and xeno­pho­bia. In times of cri­sis, sup­port net­works become essen­tial, and one orga­ni­za­tion has emerged as a bea­con of hope for Asian-owned busi­ness­es is the US Pan Asian Amer­i­can Cham­ber of Com­merce (USPAACC).

One of the most sig­nif­i­cant con­tri­bu­tions of USPAACC dur­ing these chal­leng­ing times has been its assis­tance in access­ing finan­cial resources. As busi­ness­es grap­pled with rev­enue loss­es and uncer­tain­ty, secur­ing loans and finan­cial assis­tance became crit­i­cal for sur­vival. USPAACC stepped in to pro­vide guid­ance and sup­port, help­ing busi­ness own­ers nav­i­gate com­plex appli­ca­tion process­es and con­nect with lenders who under­stood their unique needs. One of the busi­ness­es that ben­e­fit­ed from USPAACC’s sup­port and guid­ance was Trend Salon in Chicago. 

Mr. Dan­ny Wong is an immi­grant from Macau and has always worked as a hair styl­ist. He has been liv­ing in the US since 1991. When he first moved to Chica­go, he con­tin­ued with his pro­fes­sion and opened his salon in the Chi­na­town area, ser­vic­ing stu­dents and the Chi­nese immi­grant com­mu­ni­ty. For 13 years, his busi­ness was steady until the Pan­dem­ic hit.

After weath­er­ing the shut­down, Mr. Wong was opti­mistic. His sales were up con­sis­tent­ly for almost two years, but due to the weak­ened econ­o­my, his sales went down again since the begin­ning of 2024. He said he didn’t think his salon would have sur­vived with­out the loan USPAACC helped him secure. 

He said before the Pan­dem­ic, he had nev­er heard of USPAACC. But in 2023, a rep­re­sen­ta­tive from USPAACC came to his salon and told him about a loan pro­gram that’s spe­cif­ic for Chica­go-based busi­ness­es and encour­aged him to apply. With their help and guid­ance, and after work­ing on the appli­ca­tion for about 3 – 4 months, his loan came through. He was able to pay his rent, pay­roll, and some expens­es with the $40,000 loan. He said he’s con­sid­ered clos­ing the salon pri­or to receiv­ing the loan. 

As the pan­dem­ic con­tin­ues to present chal­lenges and uncer­tain­ties, the work of orga­ni­za­tions like USPAACC remains as cru­cial as ever. USPAACC did­n’t just stop at pro­vid­ing finan­cial assis­tance and sup­port, they also offered edu­ca­tion­al resources and train­ing pro­grams to help busi­ness­es of all sizes, piv­ot their oper­a­tions and grow. By pro­vid­ing a life­line of sup­port and resources, they not only help Asian-owned busi­ness­es sur­vive but also thrive in the face of adver­si­ty. To learn more about USPAACC and their work, go to www​.uspaacc​.com.