Michaela Woolley has spent the best part of the past decade building her photography business up to support her family of six.
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But the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll, with OMG Imagery so far ineligible for all of the state and federal government business support packages.
While Mrs Woolley has still managed to work hard and keep her business afloat thanks to her loyal customer-base, she is calling for in-depth inspections of small businesses and their needs through lockdowns, 18 months after Victoria's first restrictions came into effect.
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"I'm in the same boat as all the other small businesses, having to open and then shut again with no notice," she said.
"I've gone from capturing newborn baby shots in their first two weeks to doing the shoot at 14 weeks.
"I've had zero government help. The main reason I could see was because my business is attached to my house and at that time I didn't have any employees, but I couldn't get JobKeeper either.
"I went from being the breadwinner in our family to, at times, not making any money."
Mrs Woolley's studio is attached to her home in Maiden Gully and she's pivoted her business hours to be fully booked as soon as lockdown restrictions ease to make up for the shut down periods.
As a qualified nurse, she was also able to pick up shifts throughout the pandemic, but her hours were never guaranteed.
Even still, she's navigated the vague coronavirus business regulations to the nth degree.
"Photography is a grey area but I still have to abide by the restrictions," she said.
"I even had DHHS call twice to ask if I was opening when I shouldn't and I had to show them all my compliance paperwork.
"One of those times, the person on the other end of the line wasn't even sure of the rules for my business. When they came to the door to have a look around, I was so scared I was doing something I shouldn't have been, even though I knew I wasn't.
"I'm a nurse, if anything I'm OCD about this and I would never want to jeopardise public health.
"We've never been asked what our business needs, there's just been a generalisation. I think they've completely overlooked many small businesses."
Despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Mrs Woolley credits hard work in helping her expand her business to include a part-time worker and keeping the financial wheels in motion.
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While many other photographers in the region have expressed similar confusion about when their businesses can and can't operate throughout lockdown, Mrs Woolley is still hopeful more clarity will be given in the event of another lockdown.
"I know I'm a luxury services and I'm lucky to have such a loyal customer base," she said.
"But there are still immediate costs and loss that effect me every time a lockdown is announced.
"There's no rule book, but there needs to be less of a grey area."
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