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In This Edition:
- Long Beach Encourages Holiday Shoppers to Shop Local this Holiday Season
- New Grant Opportunity for Small Businesses to Build Business Credit
- City of Long Beach Celebrates Reopening of East Anaheim Plaza
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Long Beach Encourages Holiday Shoppers to Shop Local this Holiday Season | |
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As the holiday season draws near, the City of Long Beach is encouraging residents to support local businesses by participating in Small Business Saturday, taking place on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is a nationwide initiative to promote and celebrate small businesses and their contributions to their community.
Long Beach is home to more than 35,000 businesses and several unique business improvement districts like Belmont Shore Business Association, Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association, Downtown Long Beach Alliance, Fourth Street Business Improvement Association, Midtown Property & Business Owner's Association, Uptown Property and Community Association, Visit Long Beach and Zaferia Business Association.
Shopping local offers residents an opportunity to shop from a wide range of products and services keen to fulfill any holiday shopper’s wish list. From boutique clothing, jewelry and decor stores to artisanal coffee and unique food shops, Long Beach businesses have something for everyone at every price point. Shopping locally helps stimulate the local economy, supports local jobs and fosters a sense of community pride and connection.
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The Center by Lendistry has announced a new grant opportunity for small businesses to build their business credit. The Credit Builder Program helps small businesses build strong credit through a $2,500 grant to open an interest-yielding Certificate of Deposit, access to a no annual fee business credit card, and a partnership with trusted local banks. Eligible business must have a credit score at or below 650 and annual gross revenue of less than $1M.
Initial program intake forms are due by December 2nd with completed applications due by December 6th. There will be virtual information sessions available December 2 at 4:30 pm and December 3rd at 12 pm and a Long Beach in-person application workshop on December 3rd from 9a-5p.
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On Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, the City of Long Beach celebrated the grand reopening of the East Anaheim Plaza, a cherished center of connection, essential services and economic opportunity for residents of Cambodia Town and surrounding neighborhoods, following a fire that destroyed the commercial shopping center in December 2022.
The event reunited firefighters who bravely responded to the blaze and featured inspiring stories from business owners and employees. The ceremony marked a meaningful step forward in Long Beach’s journey of community-centered growth and economic revitalization. The reopening of the East Anaheim Plaza, located at 705 E. Anaheim St., reaffirms Long Beach’s dedication to uplifting its small businesses and strengthening the local economy.
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The Verizon Small Business Digital Ready Grant is currently available through December 13th, 2024. This program includes the opportunity to take free education courses to improve various aspects of your small business. Upon completion of two of of their eligible courses or events, businesses are encouraged to apply for $10,000 grants. These grants are available to for-profit businesses. | |
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The Economic Development Department is thrilled to announce the launch of our newly refreshed website! With a new design, streamlined navigation and improved features, our updated site offers an enhanced user experience and is designed to make it easier for you to find what you need, from small business resources to economic data, talent and workforce information, the Vacancy to Vibrancy Real Estate map and more!
The City also recently introduced Ask Elby!, our AI-powered virtual assistant service on the City of Long Beach website! This beta version of the Ask Elby! chatbot will be available for 30 days, starting on November 7 and ending on December 6, and will enhance your website experience by providing quicker access to information and resources. Try Ask Elby! and share your feedback to help improve and shape future digital services in Long Beach. If you have any feedback, please fill out the Ask Elby! Virtual Assistant—Feedback Form.
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Upcoming Events and Workshops | |
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SCORE: Market Research for Small Businesses - Using Free Tools to Grow Your Business
- December 3, 2024, 10:00 am
SCORE: Expert Tips for Starting and Growing a Successful Business
- December 5, 2024, 10:00 am
SCORE: Creating a Business Plan That Works - Key Elements Every Entrepreneur Needs
- December 10, 2024, 10:00 am
SCORE: How To Create A Marketing Plan For Your Small Business
- December 11, 2024, 10:00 am
SCORE: How Tariffs Can Impact Your Business and How to Prepare
- December 12, 2024, 10:00 am
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The Visual Improvement Program (VIP) Grant is providing direct financial relief to local small businesses and nonprofits impacted by crime and vandalism on or after 10/1/2023. Eligible businesses can receive $1,500 to cover repairs to their storefront caused by vandalism. To find more information and access the online application visit longbeach.gov/smallbizgrants. | |
BizCare is available by phone, email, or in-person appointment. Call the BizCare Hotline at 562-570-4249, email 4Biz@longbeach.gov, or request assistance for any kind of small business assistance. BizCare can help with business advising, financial resources, city programs, and more. | |
The City of Long Beach continues to expand its innovative business resources with the launch of its Business Insights Tool, a new, free online resource for local businesses that makes big data accessible for small businesses, allowing them to benchmark performance, optimize marketing, and analyze competitors, suppliers, and underserved markets. The Business Insights tool is now available for entrepreneurs and businesses at longbeach.gov/businessinsights. | |
Whether you are looking to create digital marketing assets for the first time or you need to level up your current efforts, CSULB is here to help your small business grow! This program will work with CSULB students enrolled in Marketing 437: Digital Marketing and Media to create customized digital marketing materials to boost your business for free. Students will assist in creating marketing material such as website creation, email marketing, and social media marketing. | |
Take your business to the next level with free online courses, entrepreneurship training, and marketing tools from the Digital Library. Offering notable and distinguished resources such as Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning, the Digital Library contains an invaluable wealth of knowledge to help business owners (and their employees) upskill and lead a successful business. The Digital Library is free for all LBPL cardholders. Sign up for a library card to access these Digital Library Resource. | |
Become a Certified Green Business | |
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The Department of Economic Development will now be certifying businesses for the Green Business Program. Started in Long Beach in 2018 under the Office of Sustainability, the Green Business Program allows businesses to demonstrate their commitment to creating healthier communities and environments. The program provides free technical assistance to businesses to help them implement more sustainable practices. Our staff will support you through the process and connect you with all the resources you'll need to get certified.
This program is available to all Long Beach businesses and non-profits and is free of charge. Businesses that complete the required measures will receive their Green Business Certification good for three years. Businesses can save on utility costs and create a workplace culture that values sustainability. In addition, businesses will have access to marketing materials and gain recognition through the City of Long Beach and California Green Business Network as a Certified Green Business.
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The Certified Blue Restaurant (CBR) program supports and recognizes the outstanding Long Beach restaurants that achieve exceptional water efficiency in our community. Interested restaurants can enroll below to receive a no-cost, on-site efficiency survey, free water-efficient devices (if eligible), and an assessment for other possible rebates. Enroll your restaurant for the Certified Blue Restaurant Program. | |
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Every year, the Port of Long Beach needs small businesses to partner with, to build, maintain, and service the 2nd largest Port in the United States. Small businesses earn millions of dollars as primes and/or sub-contractors on Port contracts.
Small business opportunities are available for a variety of contract types, such as construction, supplies, landscaping, recycling services, technology hardware, software, and even food services. Visit the Port’s Business Opportunities Overview webpage to download a sampling of products/services procured by each Port division.
Port of Long Beach Small Business Enterprise / Very Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) Program
The main goal of the SBE/VSBE Program is to promote the participation of SBEs and VSBEs on Port contracts and procurements, via prime and subcontracting opportunities. The Port has a 27% annual department-wide goal which is achieved by setting minimum SBE and VSBE participation goals for applicable construction and professional services contracts, and bureau-wide and/or division-wide SBE/VSBE goals on applicable purchases. Learn more about the Port’s SBE/VSBE Program at polb.com/sbe.
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Long Beach Procurement Platform "Long Beach Buys" | |
The City of Long Beach has launched Long Beach Buys, a new purchasing platform and marketplace that is free for all businesses and organizations seeking to do business with the City. Long Beach Buys is part of the City’s Extreme Procurement Makeover initiative, which aims to enhance the City’s procurement process to be more efficient, results-driven, equitable, and sustainable. | |
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Contact the City of Long Beach BizCare Hotline for Immediate Assistance:
Phone number: 562-570-4BIZ (4249)
Days: Monday - Friday
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
City staff will respond to voicemails made after business hours within 24 hours.
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