California, specifically the SoCal economic structure, is built on small businesses and mom-and-pop shops. Due to the recent fires, numerous businesses were lost, affecting the economy and job market for residents. LA County houses approximately 1,397,434 small businesses, comprising nearly 99.96 percent of all businesses—with more being women- and minority-owned than any other U.S. county.
“Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the backbone of the LA County economy,” said Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Director Kelly LoBianco. “They provide essential goods and services. They provide spaces for communities to convene, but in the last 60 days, there has been devastation.”
Some businesses are still recovering from the effects of Covid-19 and wildfires. Nearly 1,900 businesses were lost during the fires, and an estimated 275 billion dollars worth of damage was caused.
“In February 2024, the county also passed an ordinance creating a program, permit, and workshops for sidewalk food and other vendors to enter the formal economy,” said LoBianco. “Similarly, last November, we launched MEHKO, the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations Ordinance, another pathway for vendors to grow their business in their home kitchen.”
Interested vendors can operate a home kitchen that also serves as a commissary space for up to two vending carts and can serve up to 30 home-cooked meals per day, up to 90 per week, in annual sales of $100,000.
“When disaster strikes, people rarely think about the invisible or indirect impacts,” said Liana Austin, director of Discovery World Early (DSW) Education Center, a south LA-based school saved by free legal aid through the county.
“With a reduced amount of commercial spaces due to fires or lockdowns, rent demand increases, and businesses face pressure or displacement from lease renegotiations and hidden terms,” she explained. “While DSW had a long-term lease in 2022, that year, the new property owners added $100,000 to our invoice one month, claiming that we owed them additional reimbursements for water utilities going back to 2006 when they only bought the property in 2022. “We’d already been paying for 18 years; their invoices didn’t add up to the amount said, and the statute of limitations passed anyway,” said Austin.
To help, DEO has extended unemployment and disaster unemployment insurance through March 31, with one-on-one application help. Other services available include one-stop permit help, emergency cash relief grants, daily multilingual business resource events and webinars, and a free space-sharing web portal for businesses needing storefronts or kitchens.
This resource, and all those to follow, is available with more details on the DEO website, by phone at 844-777-2059, by email at deo@opportunity.lacounty.gov, and in person at the department office at 510 S. Vermont Avenue, east LA.
Pro bono legal aid, including commercial lease agreements, employee safety, wages and benefits, contract negotiation, intellectual property, tax liability, entity structuring, and bankruptcy, is also available; get in touch online or by phone at 866-375-9511.
