Week of January 9, 2023

GRANT HELPS SWAP MEET BUSINESS EXPAND

The South Valley Business Source Center (BSC) assisted a North Hollywood Swap Meet business in keeping their doors open with the Microenterprise Grant. 

South Valley BSC Program Manager Luis Luna (above left) met with Mirsa Garza (above right), a single mother of three and the owner of J&M Discount Store in early 2022 when the North Hollywood Swap Meet was in danger of closing. Luis provided Ms. Garza with assistance in finding capital and an alternative  location to continue business operations in case the swap meet closed. Luckily, soon after, the City of Los Angeles Microenterprise Grant program launched and the South Valley BSC guided Ms. Garza in preparing a successful grant application. The grant provided eligible microenterprises assistance in their financial recovery from COVID-19. 

A new operator was found to continue the North Hollywood Swap Meet and Luis helped Ms. Garza pivot to expanding her business instead. 

The South Valley BSC provided Ms. Garza extensive business technical assistance. She received guidance in updating required licenses and permits, filing fictitious business name paperwork with the Los Angeles County Clerk’s Office and updating the name on her Business License with the City’s Office of Finance. The South Valley BSC then referred Ms. Garza to the branch manager at a local Bank of America to open a business bank account.

Once the bank account was opened, the BSC taught Ms. Garza best practices to manage sales tax. She learned the importance of separating the collected sales tax on a weekly basis, if possible, from product revenue to avoid having any issues with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. She saw how much easier it is to implement this process with a business bank account. 

Ms. Garza received the Microenterprise Grant right before the Christmas Holidays, which she used to cover COVID-19 related expenses and to purchase more inventory. The grant will also allow her to accelerate opening a second store and hire new employees by late January or early February. 

J&M Discount Store is located in LA City Council District 2 and can be found at the North Hollywood Swap Meet on 7355 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91605 Wednesday through Monday from 10am to 7pm. 

GRANT HELPS ONLINE SHOP STAY IN BUSINESS 

In 2015, Kyung T. Kim established Gahbin Usa Inc, a company that sells auto parts online. The company has been in operation for eight years in South LA and currently has five employees. In 2020, due to the pandemic, Gahbin experienced financial losses, which jeopardized the company’s operations and employee salaries. 

During COVID-19’s stay-at-home orders, Gahbin’s sales fell by more than 40 percent. Import and export fluctuations and restrictions also caused operational setbacks, and as income decreased, Mr. Kim worried about employee salaries and company operating funds. In order to overcome these financial losses, Mr. Kim applied to the City’s Comeback Checks Program, a grant program that offered COVID-19 financial recovery assistance.

Once his application was submitted and reviewed, Mr. Kim received an email saying he was selected for the grant. Daae Jung, a business counselor from the Hollywood BusinessSource Center, guided Mr. Kim through the process of preparing the necessary documents and he successfully received the funds. 

With the $5,000 grant, Mr. Kim was able to cover COVID-19-related expenses. Through this experience, Mr. Kim learned about EWDD's BusinessSource Centers and the variety of City programs available to help small businesses.“As a minority business owner, there are many limitations to not knowing the various programs that the government has to help with business. It's good to know where to contact when you need help running your business in the future,” said Mr. Kim.