PACE Business Development Center

04/26/2022

You’re invited! In recognition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) Heritage Month, join us for the three-day Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)’s AA & NHPI Business Series of virtual events.

Our MBDA Acting National Director Miguel Estién looks forward to welcoming you at each session! MBDA’s AA & NHPI Business Series:

• How to Do Business with the Federal Government & Contract Readiness 101

Date and Time: Wednesday, April 27, 2022: 3:00pm - 4:30pm ET

Register Now at https://rebrand.ly/mbdaweb427

04/26/2022

Doing Business with the City of Los Angeles: An Online Three-Part Series

Representatives from the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development will discuss how small businesses can do business with the
City of Los Angeles. This three-part program will familiarize you with the procurement process, upcoming programs, and contract
financing with the City. The program is organized by the Business and Economic Department.

All sessions stream live on Los Angeles Public Library’s Facebook and YouTube channels on Wednesdays, April 27 - May 11
12:00pm.

04/12/2022

The Small Business Rental Assistance Program is launching soon on Monday, April 18! The City of Los Angeles will provide $12 million in grants to eligible businesses located in the City that need financial assistance to aid in their recovery from COVID-19. Grants will be of up to $15,000 or six months of back rent, whichever is less. Applications are due May 2.

The grant may be used for rent payments that are in arrears that were incurred on or after March 1, 2020. To be eligible, businesses must be for-profit and have a brick-and-mortar storefront location located and operated within Los Angeles city limits. Businesses must also provide lease agreements and proof confirming that back rent is owed. For more information, please visit https://rebrand.ly/rentassist22

Economic & Workforce Development Department

04/04/2022

New Updates!

PACE Business Development Center is now operating the Pico-Union and Hollywood BusinessSource Centers in the City of Los Angeles and no longer be the Central West and Mid-City BusinessSource Centers.

Pico-Union and Hollywood BusinessSource Centers provide quality services including 1-on-1 business counseling, business development training, workshops, access to low-interest small business loans, and assistance to government contracting that help build successful businesses and promote asset accumulation. We welcome all aspiring entrepreneurs and established businesses to use our services. Learn more at https://rebrand.ly/pacebscs

04/03/2022

Los Angeles MBDA Business Center- Women Entrepreneur Jennifer White's Success Story

Polaris Marketing and Consulting, LLC. was founded in Burbank in 2016. The company's Founder and CEO Jennifer White specializes in building strategic partnerships, business development, and marketing strategy implementation. In addition to managing Polaris Marketing & Consulting, Jennifer also consults with companies across the United States and donates her time to multiple charities. However, higher business costs occurred and her business suffered from a slow down due to the pandemic.

Jennifer was referred to Los Angeles MBDA Business Center's procurement manager, Mr. Andrew Barrera. Andrew has guided Jennifer on the procurement process including identifying her NAICS Codes, registering her business on the various Supplier Vendor Portals, reviewing progress made on NAICS & portal registrations, securing small business certifications, developing a capability statement, and browsing for contract opportunities. Andrew also recommended that Jennifer reach out to her former clients and business networks to reintroduce her business and the services offered to generate new sales and to remain relevant and current.

In addition, Andrew introduced Jennifer to one of his clients Ms. Ogi Jiimen, the owner of Noyon, Inc, who operates a high-quality restaurant and catering business. Ogi is looking for a proposal writer to assist her with the submittal for a bid to LADWP providing restaurant and catering services to the City's John Ferraro Building and the Pacific Stock Exchange. With Ogi’s professional catering experience and Jennifer's marketing and business consulting expertise, they can collaborate to help Noyon to become a more competitive option among all contract bids.

Andrew was dedicated to assisting Jennifer and Ogi to review the request for proposal (RFP) and bid strategies, formatting the bid proposal, writing and establishing the cost and budget details, and preparing all required materials and proofs along with the application for a catering contract with LADWP.

In 2021, Jennifer received the notice of the contracts that she secured including the Incan Project Development for $24,000 per year, Dev Pipeline for $24,000 per year, International College of Professional Celebrants for $7,000, Jackie Lyles for $1,000. Jennifer will use these secured funds for extending her company’s cash runway.

Moreover, PACE nominated some of their clients including Jennifer to receive free enrollment for the OneLA Regional Marketplace Phase I procurement training program. Andrew tried to help Jennifer obtain a procurement training scholarship and more procurement training opportunities down the road.

Jennifer is very thankful for the helpful procurement guidance and support that Andrew provided. She expressed her heartfelt appreciation for Andrew, “Andrew has helped me so much and he has been phenomenal to work with. Our team is really grateful and my heart is full… a huge thank you to Andrew. You're the best!”

Do you want to be the next successful entrepreneur like Jennifer? Get the help you need from Los Angeles MBDA Business Center.

http://pacelabdc.org/mbda/

03/24/2022

GO-Biz Program - Women Entrepreneur Ms. Tolentino's Success Story

Le Divina, named after Ms. Georgina Tolentino’s mother, is a premium manifestation and intentional candle line. Le Divina candles are made from Phthalate-free, Sulfate-free coconut wax candles with crystals that each candle has its unique characteristic. Le Divina is a home-based business located at 226 N. Crescent Drive, #204, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Le Divina started in June 2018, but only as small pop-ups. In July 2019, the e-commerce website was launched, and by September 2019, Le Divina’s products were in stores. 2020 was the first full year of operations. Ms. Tolentino started selling her products online in 2020, later in 2021 she hired a sales representative to oversee the wholesale orders. Since hiring the sales representative 20 more clients are added to the business.

During the 4th quarter, Ms. Tolentino reached out to the GO-Biz program at PACE seeking a $5,000 mini micron loan. She was assisted by loan officer Jennifer Whelan. Jennifer packaged and submitted the loan. The loan was approved and funded on September 30, 2021 (counted towards program goals: loans awarded and job retained). The loan proceeds were to be used to produce products with the private label (in gold travel tins and glass boxes) and to fill the store orders by mid-October.

Le Divina products are in many stores and Ms. Tolentino will be fulfilling orders for additional 15 stores for the peak season in November and December 0f 2021. During COVID, Ms. Tolentino’s revenue was negatively impacted, and could not manufacture new candles due to working capital shortfall and she was not able to buy raw materials. Even though Ms. Tolentino received $10,000 grants in August 2021, it only helped her to buy inventory and start production again. The additional $5,000 loan from PACE further helped her to fill the November and December orders. Le Davina’s candle has gained popularity and has spread to the east coast. Ms. Tolentino is now opening sales in New York City. She has also seen an increase in e-commerce sales and began launching pre-sales. Ms. Tolentino expects approximately $10,000 sales every month if she can get the products manufactured on time.

Do you want to be the next successful entrepreneur like Ms. Tolentino? Get the help you need from PACE Business Development Center: http://pacelabdc.org

03/24/2022

Research Participation Opportunity!

The University of Delaware is seeking to connect with newly self-employed women or female business owners for a research study that will be conducted within the next few weeks.

Research Participation Opportunity Details (With Compensation If Eligible):

Recruiting self-employed women to participate in the study, Identity prototyping of newly self-employed women, which aims to explore the professional identities of women in the United States who have transitioned into self-employment full time within the past 3.5 years.

Participate in this study in one or two individual phone or Zoom 60-minute interviews to share your identity-related experiences and perspectives, including how you relate to how others experienced this time. The purpose of the interview is to hear more about how self-employed women or women business owners experience the transition from traditional employment into their new careers.

Participants will be compensated with a $50 gift card for each 60-minute transcription review completed. The information learned from this study may help other self-employed women to understand how they might experience or perceive their transition into self-employment.

If interested, please email Stephanie E. Raible at [email protected]. Please share with your friends if they are eligible!

03/23/2022

In honor of Women’s History Month, SBA's Office of Women’s Business Ownership and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center are hosting the 2022 Women’s Business Summit from March 29-30, 2022. Join the power-packed panels, inspirational fireside chats, and 'Ask an Expert' workshops to help you build, scale, and grow your business.

RSVP Now at https://rebrand.ly/wmbizsmit22

Women's Business Summit - 2022

03/21/2022

PACE Mid-City BusinessSource Center - Women Entrepreneur Angella Cole's Success Story

PACE Mid-City BusinessSource Center (BSC) helped pastry chef Ms. Angella Cole successfully obtain a microloan to expand her business, Angella's Sweet Spot.

In May 2021, Angella reached out to PACE Mid-City BSC, to seek strategies and guidance to grow her company. Angella met with PACE Business Counselor Supranee May to discuss her business plan and needs. Supranee guided Angella in her expectations regarding business growth and cash flow. Together, they created a plan that included marketing strategy and financial literacy.

With these tools, Angella was able to obtain a First Choice Bank microloan. She also secured a credit card to build assets and forge a path forward to financial success.

The microloan will be a tremendous help in establishing Angella's satellite location for selling her sweet treats at the "Grab and Go" counter at the Hilton Hotel Los Angeles. The treats are also featured on the hotel's room service menu.

The infusion of working capital will also allow Angella to hire extra staff, buy supplies and ingredients for her signature gluten-free and vegan cupcakes, cookies, biscotti, sweet loaves, birthday cakes, and other desserts. She said she looks forward to opening her first brick-and-mortar store in the future.

"I'm extremely grateful to PACE business counselor Supranee May and the PACE Mid-City BSC for their encouragement of me fulfilling my dreams and for allowing me to share my story with other small business entrepreneurs," Angella said.

Do you want to be the next successful women entrepreneur like Angella? Get the help you need from PACE Mid-City BSC: http://pacelabdc.org/pacebscs

03/21/2022

PACE Central West BusinessSource Center - Women Entrepreneur Aksarapak Bondu's Success Story

Ms. Aksarapak Bondu, a minority single mom from Thailand, immigrated to the USA in 2007 with her 3 children, 3 luggage, and only $6,000 in her pocket. The first year in the USA was the hardest time for her as she didn’t speak much English and didn’t have enough money for her family's daily expenses. As a strong woman who has high ambition, she didn’t want to ask for any support from anyone or welfare but did any legal work to live and tried her best to learn everything. She started earning by selling Thai costumes at the open market in the Fairfax area and working for Equinox Sports Club as a Massage Therapist.

Thanks to her strong effort and willingness to learn, she became more successful by opening her first business in Jan 2011 as a high-end Thai Spa in Westwood and another business in Jan 2013 as a Fancy Traditional Thai Costume in Hollywood with $300,000 annual revenues, and she has created 13 jobs for both businesses. Aksarapak also has built a high reputation in her Thai community by contributing to the community’s activities and sponsoring beauty contests.

With her ambition, she plans to open five Massage Spas in five years and increase more jobs for the communities, and she came to PACE Central West BusinessSource Center (BSC) for an SBA micro-loan. Her Loan Counselor, Mr. Phuong Le, not only helped her with a loan of $61,000 for her project of $144,000 but also provided her with technical assistance and employment information. Once approved, she started renovating, recruiting, and training her staff to get ready for the opening in the following month.

Do you want to be the next successful women entrepreneur like Aksarapak? Get the help you need from PACE Central West BSC: http://pacelabdc.org/pacebscs

03/16/2022

Join our webinar Managing Debt on March 28, from 10 am to 11:30 pm (PST). You will learn how to recognize the signs of trouble and how to regain full control of your financials. Hosted by the Central West BusinessSource Center.

Topics will be covered:

• What is Debt.
• How Debt works
• Reducing Debt
• Dealing with Student Loan Debt
• Understanding Medical Debt
• Reducing High-Cost debt

RSVP Now at https://rebrand.ly/mdweb328

03/08/2022

PACE WBC - Women Entrepreneur Brandy Engler's Success Story

Brandy Engler began her private practice as a psychologist and later decided to take a leap of starting a general psychotherapy business - Silver Lake Psychology, investing in a large office space, and hiring more talented and experienced therapists.

As her practice grew, she became mired in the non-glamorous parts of being a business owner – learning acronyms like ADP, ROI, and EDD—and she lacked the skills for managing money and people. She was working 14-hour days doing different tasks including negotiating deals on office spaces and training staff. One year into her business boom, with 12 therapists and 2 offices, she was encountering financial hardships. She learned that growth doesn’t equal profit. Sunk by taxes, high overhead, and no financial management skills.

Fortunately, she sought out PACE Women’s Business Center (PACE WBC) in downtown LA, a non-profit organization that teaches business skills to female entrepreneurs. Brandy joined the PACE WBC mentor program which connects retired business leaders with female entrepreneurs. With the help of Swann Do, Women’s Center Director and Robert McKim retired business executive; shortly after, she learned accounting skills and financial strategies that helped her business to become profitable while growing.

Brandy learned that the staff needs a combination of freedom and structure. She has also learned there needs to be a watchful eye on anyone managing the accounting. Not understanding and paying attention can lead to financial mismanagement. Now Silver Lake Psychology is serving 8 locations in the U.S. Brandy is very pleased to say that the practice is stable with adequate resources and growing for sustainable growth. They are ready for the next set of challenges and know they can count on PACE Women’s Business Center to help them.

Do you also want to be the next successful women entrepreneur like Brandy? Get help from PACE WBC: https://rebrand.ly/pacewbc