The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, convened her Small Business Cabinet to continue to help drive an economic agenda that will prioritize the needs of small businesses in the city. Bass established the cabinet to help serve as a platform for dialogue and collaboration between business owners and the city government, which will help make sure that the city is responsive to the needs of more than 450,000 small businesses. The mayor’s intent to help the companies of Los Angeles proves that she is committed to helping the city improve and flourish in the process and will support the goal of building a thriving business economy in Los Angeles.
In January, Mayor Bass said, “Business owners are feeling the challenges of rising costs, the lingering impacts of the entertainment industry strikes and bureaucratic requirements.” She also states, “We will continue to do all we can to be responsive and cut through red tape at City Hall. We also know that opening Los Angeles for business also means confronting homelessness and increasing public safety. Last year, we brought more than 21,000 Angelenos inside, and homicides and violent crime were down compared to 2022. We have made progress, but there is still more work to be done.”
The members of the Small Business Cabinet include a myriad of representatives and directors, including Maria Contreras-Sweet, the 24th U.S. Small Business Administrator; Stephen Cheung, CEO and President of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation; Julie Clowes, Director of the Small Business Administration LA. Also included were Angela Gibson-Shaw, CEO And President of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce; Kim Hunter, CEO of LAGRANT Communications; Lilly Rocha, CEO and Executive Director of the Latino Restaurant Association; and Maria Salinas, CEO and President of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
Stephen Cheung of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation stated that Mayor Bass “knows that supporting business means addressing all of the issues that impact businesses, from homelessness to housing to public safety.” Cheung added that Bass “is continuing to make real change in the city, and the Small Business Cabinet is pleased to continue supporting her work and our shared priorities to further open Los Angeles for business.”
In her first year in office, Mayor Bass committed to helping provide businesses with the best possible support. This included establishing a small business policy team within the Mayor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and developing a permanent Al Fresco outdoor dining program, helping deliver two small business summits that drew 2,000 attendees. She also prioritized impacted businesses during emergency responses and issued Executive Directive 4 to help support small business creation, growth, and development in Los Angeles. Implementing these practices, such as providing virtual and in-person counter services for businesses looking to open or expand, helped bolster the Los Angeles community, with more than 20,000 businesses opened within the last year.
