County launches initiative to aid small businesses

By Alfredo Santana

Contributing Writer

LOS ANGELES — Mom and pop shop owners and small businesses without online presence are the target of a new county initiative to spur economic growth, combined with a regional campaign to encourage residents to shop with local vendors.

County Supervisor Hilda Solis, along with staff from the county’s Department of Economic Opportunity, kicked off “Shop Local L.A. County” April 29, an initiative geared to train local retailers how to promote their shops and merchandise with evolving digital tools.

As part of the National Small Business Week running from April 30 through May 6, Solis and other county leaders visited Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles to launch the project, and speak with vendors about marketing digital opportunities alongside positive customer reviews. 

Shop Local L.A. County also seeks to aid in the recovery of at least 400 small businesses hurt by closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially to those doing business in lower income communities. 

“We are calling on L.A. County residents to shop local,” Solis said. “By committing to shopping local, residents are reinvesting their money back into their communities and contributing to our economic recovery. Every little bit helps.” 

Shop L.A. County aims to provide information, digital marketing support, coaching and other services to small retailers by joining social media sites and sharing customer reviews in portals like Yelp, Twitter, Instagram and Google. 

For example, through Grow your Business with Google, business owners and operators can join tutorials and sign up for lessons on topics like setting up an online business, how to list a business in Google Search and Maps, and best practices to get the most advantage out of digital tools. 

Another goal is to get 100,000 customers sign a pledge at www.shoplocal.la to commit lifting businesses by shopping local online, uplift their favorite storefronts or stands by sharing reviews on the aforementioned internet sites and even winning prizes and gift cards. 

Solis said Shop Local L.A. aligns with the economic opportunity grant program the county launched earlier this year for micro business and small business operators hurt by COVID-19, who started operations and obtained business certificates in or before 2019. 

The economic opportunity grant program will accept applications on its website from qualifying businesses through May 20. 

Adan Hernandez, an employee with Torres Produce, a fruit and vegetable retailer that operates several stands at Grand Central Market, said that he has worked for different vendors for 35 years. 

Hernandez has been employed at Torres Produce since it opened for business in 2005, and on behalf of the owner, he received from Solis a diploma in recognition of being a constant in the historic market located at 317 S. Broadway. 

Solis told Hernandez that the economic opportunity grant program offers awards for micro business that suffered income losses due to the pandemic, are on the brink of permanent closure or have a hard time recovering from the setbacks.

The awards range from $2,500 to $25,000. 

“We, the small businesses, need you here,” Hernandez told Solis. 

Solis said the businesses that promote and sell their products on websites and social media have an edge over traditional shops that do not take advantage of the internet. 

“That’s the new wave,” Solis said. “People are advertising and some people don’t know how to do that appropriately. But if we give them the skill sets and teach them the training we are going to spread this out.” 

The supervisor said she wants to launch similar pop-ups events in East Los Angeles, Rowland Heights, Wilmington and places that can benefit from the county’s blend of funding and digital marketing throughout the summer. 

Kelly LoBianco, director of the county Department of Economic Opportunity, said that small businesses are the lifeblood of communities and the diverse vendors at Central Market attract customers and tourists alike. 

LoBianco spoke before the stand her agency set up for the pop-up affair, and the person behind the counter began to give away tote bags, shirts, pins and hats with legends telling people to shop local.   

“Grand Central Market is a lovely institution that has been bringing together the best in food and drinks from local businesses for about a century,” LoBianco said. “It draws local communities, it draws global tourists and the L.A. County Department of Economic Opportunity is here to support small businesses every single day. We want to encourage you to shop local, too.”

National Small Business Week was launched by the Small Business Administration more than 50 years ago. 

SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the business week “celebrates the resilience, innovation and economic power of America’s small businesses and innovative startups.”

According to the Department of Economic Opportunity, 40 small business call Grand Central Market home, including several legacy vendors and their families. 

On weekends, the market’s lineup swells with the addition of 25 merchants who occupy the lower-level bazaar, featuring Oaxacan entrepreneurs selling handcrafted dresses, jewelers and clothes and hat vendors.