WATTS : The Business of Going Into Business

After 12 years of owning and operating Angus’s Beef Steak House, Angus Reddish closed up shop in March because of dwindling profits. To keep the commercial property on South Central Avenue from going into foreclosure, Reddish sold his house.

Undaunted by the recent business failure, Reddish said he is determined to start another business.

“I’m just a go-getter,” the 73-year-old Reddish said.

Reddish is among the participants of the Entrepreneurial Training Program sponsored by the Drew Economic Development Corp. The program, which serves Los Angeles, Compton, Lynwood and the Watts-Willowbrook area, aims to help start, improve and expand small businesses.

In two eight-hour workshops and individual counseling sessions, entrepreneurs learn marketing, budgeting, bookkeeping and financing techniques, said Morgan Hatch, coordinator of the project that started in January.

Hatch said that Drew EDC, a low-income housing developer, started the program hoping to help small businesses succeed. In 1992, the number of businesses that failed in the city of Los Angeles increased by 73% over the previous year, according to data by Dun & Bradstreet Corp., a business information company.

About 20 people have gone through the program, which is funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation.

Reddish, who plans to open a self-service laundry on the site of the defunct restaurant, praised the project. “They take people individually and show you just how to put a plan together,” he said.

Participants pay a $25 fee for the workshops.

Information: (213) 357-6900.