TAMPA, Fla. — The machines around Paola’s Beauty Boutique are there to simply make every one of Paola Perea’s clients feel beautiful.

“It took me like six years to get all of the machines,” said Perea, who has been in the beauty business for the last 25 years.

She’s been running her own shop for 12 years now and her passion for facials, waxing and eyelash extensions has never wavered.

“I love the beauty industry because I love to help women look beautiful,” Perea said. “That is my main thing.”

She says beauty, in her eyes, brings confidence.

While she’s had a loyal clientele over the years, Perea said the end of 2024 was one of the most difficult times at her shop because of Hurricane Milton.

“We had to close like a few days before and a few days after,” she said. “So, it’s a very hard situation.”

She closed before the storm's arrival to prepare and had to stay closed another five days after because she didn’t have any power.

“It was like two weeks,” she said.

Not to mention that some of her clients had to cancel and couldn’t reschedule because they were dealing with their own recovery.

But Perea seized an opportunity to get some needed help.

Prospera, an organization that assists Hispanic businesses, got $75,000 from Wells Fargo to help local businesses recover from the storm.

They found their clients on the west coast of Florida that have been struggling after the hurricanes and are helping them receive relief grants.

When it was all said and done, Perea got $4,000 to help cover rent and utilities.

“I felt like I could breathe,” she said.

And with that lapse in business, she said it was sorely needed.

Paola said October and parts of November were scary times for the beauty boutique, but the money from Prospera has put her in a better position.