Minority Business Center Launched

An ambitious plan to aid the growth of hundreds of minority-owned businesses was unveiled Wednesday as officials celebrated the opening of the West Los Angeles County Minority Business Development Center.

The center, funded by the U.S. Commerce Department and the USC Business Expansion Network, offers minority business owners personalized consulting and training on subjects ranging from loan procurement and accounting to marketing and sales.

“The goal is to help them get access to capital and business resources so they can create sustainable jobs and provide goods and services within their communities,” said Debra Esparza, director of USC’s expansion network, which will operate the center in partnership with the Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment.

The center has a first-year goal of assisting 280 clients and helping to procure more than $10 million in loans, Esparza said.

Mario Benitez, president of Apply Drite Roofing in Van Nuys and one of the center’s first clients, said the advice he received helped him get a small-business loan and cut his operating expenses.

“They really helped me with everything,” he said. “I bought a nightclub before, but I lost the business. Now I won’t make stupid mistakes over again.”

The center will serve a section of Los Angeles County stretching from the Kern County line to the Santa Monica Freeway and the Ventura County line to the Harbor Freeway, officials said.

“It’s great to have something opening in this neighborhood where the concentration is on business,” said Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar), who attended the opening.

“There are a lot of strong businesses here but they have been stymied by not having access to capital and other resources,” Cardenas said.

The business center is located at 8144 Sunland Blvd. in Sun Valley. For more information, call (818) 394-3111.