LA County Has Money for Your Business

Most money for small businesses is a loan. It comes with interest and a due date. This is not that. Los Angeles County's Department of Economic Opportunity runs a program called the Small Business Mobility Fund, and it gives grants: money you apply for, receive, and never pay back. Here is what is in it, what is open today, and exactly who to call.

Formalization Grants. These are for people who have been running a business informally, from a kitchen, a garage, a truck, a folding table, and want to make it official: permits, licenses, a registered name, a real bank account. The county says applications are ongoing until the dollars are exhausted. That means the line is open today and closes when the money is gone, so move.

Launch Grants gave 5,000 dollars to businesses opening in a non-retail commercial space, like an office or a warehouse, and 10,000 dollars to businesses opening a storefront. Round one, announced in April, put 105,000 dollars into twelve businesses. Applications for this year closed June 1. The county has run this in rounds, so keep your paperwork ready for the next one.

Entrepreneurship Academy Grants pay 2,000 dollars to people who finish the county's free Entrepreneurship Academy and are ready to launch or grow. This year's application window closed in February, but the academies keep running, and finishing one is the ticket. Ask the Office of Small Business when the next class starts.