"I am absolutely gutted, and that's an understatement".
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Those were the words of beauty therapy business owner Ashlea Wilson.
Ms Wilson together with Cass Anthony and Bec Star make up Tanyuk collective - a collaborative business where three sole traders with separate businesses share a premise.
The trio was left shocked on Sunday after Premier Daniel Andrews released a roadmap for both regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne.
For beauty therapy operators and tattoo artists, along with a handful of other industries, it wasn't the news what anyone wanted to hear.
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"My understanding of the announcement means we can't open any earlier than November 23 and that date is still not locked in," Ms Wilson said.
"That date isn't set in concrete. There are a number of considerations that come into being able to open on that date as well."
Ms Anthony said she felt it was "unjust" and "unfair" that businesses in a region such as the Northern Grampians Shire Council weren't allowed to open to service customers residing in the local government area.
Ms Wilson agreed and said she would support changes to allow for the state to be split into metropolitan, regional and rural areas with "bubbles" put around outbreak areas.
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"We don't consider ourselves a regional area," she said.
"We live in a rural area and with that comes it's pros and cons. At the moment it should be positive.
"No one is doing any unnecessary travelling at the moment so there isn't an increased risk.
"There are so many things that could be done to allow us to open - such as postcode checks and even limit the number of clients per day back to even just one or two - to allow for no community transmission to occur."
Ms Anthony said qualified beauty therapists, such as herself and Ms Wilson and tattooist Ms Star were all trained in infection control.
"To get the qualification needed to provide the service is a module on infection control," she said.
"There is so much grey area and it's disgusting how beauty therapists have been disregarded and lumped in all together and labelled as beauty.
"Beauty is such a broad industry."
Ms Anthony said the news was made even more frustrating when she looked into the awards beauty therapists sat under.
"We sit right alongside hairdressers," she said.
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"Why is it now we are being completely segregated? I have nothing against any hairdressers or any business that can open at this time.
"I wish them all the best and thankful residents in the region can still access some services.
"It just raises so many questions that no one can answer."
Ms Anthony said the business would be welcoming of extra measures in place if it was allowed to open.
"Very easily we can have more COVID-19 safe measures," she said.
"This could include temperature checking and making sure each client are getting asked questions surrounding their movements and who they had been in contact with.
"I know our clients would be more than happy to oblige, just as they are if they were to visit any other shop
"The last thing I would want to do is put the community at risk."
The three separate businesses are run as sole traders which Ms Wilson said hasn't made them available for any government support.
"We don't get any assistance from the government," she said.
"Because we don't have huge massive overheads and not paying staff the government has decided we don't need any assistance.
"We still have rent, insurances, utilities plus expenses at home that are all still ticking over.
"We had massive bills to get the collaborative space up off the ground - not to mention the cost of stock that we're still paying for.
"They don't just go away. There are ways we can defer payments but at the end of the day, we still owe that money without an income."
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Ms Anthony said the premise that was "just sitting there eating up money because we're closed" was an elephant in the room which the three business owners were hesitant to talk about.
"The worst-case scenario would be if we can't go back to work before the end of the year I don't know what we're going to be able to do," she said.
Ms Wilson said her business would fold.
"November, December and January is the busiest time," she said.
"I'm already so far behind. Without those warmer months where everyone comes in and gets treatments getting ready for summer and Christmas.
"If that's not available to them they aren't going to come back and continue on their services next year. It opens the door for the next person or business to come along.
"It's hard to keep clients loyal and staying with you when you aren't open.
"It's coming down to the crunch time now. Are we going to have to close permanently or are we going to stay resilient and keep going and ride this thing out for longer? It's just so tough right now."
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