Small Business Resiliency Strategy
Helping a small business thrive means entrepreneurs and employees can stay employed, money can be reinvested in the local economy and most importantly, individuals and their families remain housed.
Initially developed in response to the local economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Holos’ Small Business Resiliency Strategy (SBRS) is an important step forward in addressing the organization’s goals of creating spaces for all and providing opportunities for fuller lives. The SBRS makes available Holos commercial spaces to small, local, women- and/or BIPOC-owned businesses at discounted rental rates, and with other financial assistance such as a Tenant Improvement (TI) loan from a local Community Development Financial Institutions CDFI. Ultimately, through the parameters developed through this program, Holos is looking to enhance local economic growth that can be become part of a broader and resilient approach.
By prioritizing these small, local, BIPOC-owned businesses, the SBRS helps to allow these entrepreneurs to subsist on their own by maintaining a stable income stream, thereby preventing dire circumstances, such as future homelessness. By reducing commercial rent and assisting with TI loans, the SBRS increases a business’ disposable income, which can be reinvested in the local economy. The business can also then bring on employees at a living wage, further reducing potential future homelessness, as most households in LA are rent-burdened.
Available Commercial Spaces
Through the development of this program, we have learned that it is crucial to foster a holistic connection between residential and commercial uses. While we work to provide our residential tenants with access to public transportation as well as do away with the need for large, often concrete, parking structures (and thus the negative climate consequences associated with their construction and individual car travel) by siting developments within Transit Oriented Corridors that require little-to-no parking, we are also now aware that we need to think of our commercial tenants in this same vein. Therefore, part of the SBRS includes supporting businesses types and models that are resilient to future disasters, such as the global health crisis, as well as businesses that do not require much, if any, parking. Moving in this direction aligns Holos with current legislation, including Governor Newsom’s new AB2097, which removes parking requirements for new housing and businesses within a half mile of a transit stop.
The SBRS is a program that can at once address local economic reactivation, the housing crisis, and the climate crisis. By taking a holistic approach to the usage of Holos’ commercial spaces, the organization is able to take an exciting step forward in creating spaces for all.
The Small Business Resiliency Strategy development was partially funded by:
