Providing a Few Answers to Help South Bay Entrepreneurs Expand

The South Bay Economic Development Partnership helps businesses situated between Los Angeles International Airport and the Port of Los Angeles with such activities as preparing business plans, finding sources of financing and hiring and training new workers. Each month the Torrance-based group contacts roughly 200 South Bay businesses, queries them about their goals and offers to work with them to achieve those objectives. Joe Aro, the partnership’s executive director, recently provided answers to the top three questions the organization receives from small businesses.

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Q: What programs and resources are available to help me grow my business?

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A: To answer that, first I want to see what your goals and objectives are, rather than just throwing out a menu of things that may be available to you.

For example, if you are a manufacturing company, we have a set of programs that are available to you. But first I want to know what exactly you’re looking for. We’ll also tell you about things affecting your industry in general. For example, manufacturing companies we deal with are invariably unaware of the investment tax credits and R&D; tax credits available to them. So we tell them about that.

In general, we provide three things: first is basic information; the second is technical assistance; and the third is we actually take on a project.

If a company calls [asking] only, “Where would I go to get such and such,” we’ll tell them. If the company says, “That sounds like a pretty good deal, but how do I really access it,” then that gets into the technical-assistance side.

For example, many companies, we have learned over the years, really don’t have their job descriptions and job requirements laid out carefully or accurately enough so that they can find the kind of employees they are looking for. So we either do it ourselves or we take them to someone who can help them write a more appropriate job requirement. That’s the technical-assistance side.

Sometimes we’ll have companies that are in expansion mode and may need several different things, such as a new site in which to locate their business, new hires, or access to training programs. That’s when we’ll work with them one-on-one.

For example, many people are unaware of the Employment Training Panel of California. One-tenth of one percent of the unemployment tax a company pays goes into a fund for employee training. Therefore a company can get, in theory, up to $3,000 per employee for training. In reality, it’s running now about $1,700 per employee. This is to train people who are already on staff in the various processes in which the company is engaged or wants to be engaged.

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Q: How can I start exporting my product or service?

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A: We have a wide variety of resources. One of the members of our partnership is L.A. World Airports. We also work fairly closely with the Port of Los Angeles and the various chambers of commerce. For example, the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce has an international business committee.

We are also able to refer folks to the Center for International Trade Development, which is located in a small-business development center nearby. So we give out phone numbers and provide hand-holding. Again, we’ll interview you, and, depending on what your need is, we know in which direction we need to go.

Sometimes businesses need assistance in setting up the financing for international trade, which has different requirements than if you are conducting your business locally.

Now what we also do, we team with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments and the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce and hold an annual reception for the consuls general in the greater L.A. area as part of World Trade Week. We invite approximately 200 representatives from the 100 consulates serving the area. We also get a very high representation of local businesses, and this acts as a kind networking opportunity.

We also have a protocol officer who donates her time and works with the companies that want to export and teaches them everything from how to address a letter to someone in a particular foreign country to the protocol on gift-giving and receiving visitors.

We also are a resource for the protocol office for the county of Los Angeles when visitors come in from other countries and want to take tours of various businesses. We give you the opportunity to learn at no cost. We will direct you to those resources that are available at no cost.

For example, we work closely with Guy Fox, who is chairman of Global Transportation Systems, a customs broker/freight forwarder. He is also past president of the California International Trade Assn., and he will give some mentoring to a company interested in getting into international trade.

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Q: Where can I find property in the area to expand my business?

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A: What we have in the South Bay is a highly desirable location for business. Businesses already here want to stay here. So we work with members of our board who represent companies such as Watson Land Co., the Carson Cos., CB Richard Ellis, DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services and others to find suitable property.

We work with the cities to see if they have knowledge of property that could be coming on the market or could already be available that’s not known to the general public. We want to make sure that we are able to accommodate the needs of the businesses that want to expand here.

Sometimes we are able to be a kind of broker and facilitate a relationship between parties. What we are finding is that a collaborative spirit is allowing local jurisdictions to work with local developers to help businesses that want to expand.

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The South Bay Economic Development Partnership can be reached at (310) 792-0323 or by e-mail at jaro@southbaypartnership.com. The organization’s Web site is at https://www.southbaypartnership.com.