2:45pm | “Our dream of having three locations in Long Beach I think is not too far away with the assistance from this type of program,” said Andrew Kripp (right), the owner of Den Barber Salon in downtown Long Beach.
Kripp is one of many local small business owners who are applying to be a part of the 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative, a plan to stimulate economic development in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area by providing businesses like Den Barber with funding and long-term business planning services.
Kripp’s salon has been in operation on Ocean Boulevard for over two years, and has been in danger of closing several times as he and his wife struggled through the recession. Upon hearing about the program, Kripp decided to apply with hope that he will be accepted and have the opportunity to attend business classes. Maybe he’ll even be able to expand his staff and place signage on busy Ocean Avenue.
“For the growth of my company, the welfare of my family and the benfit of all of my employees, it’s a no-brainer,” Kripp said today at a press conference held outside his salon.
“I will do whatever it takes, I will climb any mountain that I need to, to create the stronger company that I’m looking to do.”
The program is an effort from financial giant Goldman Sachs, which has already instituted similar programs in New York and hopes to spread the initiative nationwide by partnering with local school districts to provide educational components. Long Beach City College is one of two schools involved in the Los Angeles program, and will play a key role in providing educational resources, according to Vivian Shimoyama.
“We will be providing a very interactive, a very experiential learning experience,” said Shimoyama, who is overseeing outreach for the LBCC involvement in the initiative.
Mayor Bob Foster spoke highly of local small businesses and expressed City Hall’s commitment to assisting them, by helping them apply for contracts and creating a database that has been used to contact business owners about opportunities like this one. Kraig Kojian, President of the Downtown Long Beach Association (DLBA), said that his organization has made similar outreach to their businesses and is “excited and hopeful that downtown businesses take advantage and are selected.”
The alluring potential of the program could be somewhat overshadowed by the involvement of Goldman Sachs, who are using the initiative to reach out to businesses most affected by a recession that some believe the financial firm helped accelerate. But to business owners like Kripp, that irony is something he’s willing to overlook.
“I think it’s a little counter-productive to think that any of this could be destructive,” he said. “I choose to not really look at it in a negative way.”
Kripp said he is in the middle of the application process, which has set a deadline of July 6. Once businesses are selected to participate, classes will begin sometime in August. From there, they will receive educational opportunities and peer mentoring as well as long-term planning assistance and financial capital – the amount of which depends on the size of the business’ goal.
The program is run in a series of eleven sessions until its completion. The New York version of the initiative is currently in its fourth session, still very preliminary and experimental, but a promising opportunity for small businesses looking to gain some traction as the national economy crawls toward recovery.
The deadline for small businesses to apply for consideration is July 6. Visit lbcc.edu/10000smallbusinesses to learn more.
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