Small Business and Our Local Economy: The Time is Now

by Maria S. Salinas

The next 10 years will bring unprecedented economic opportunity to this vibrant Los Angeles region. With major projects underway, a construction boom, robust private sector sourcing opportunities and the 2028 Olympic Games on the horizon, the procurement and growth potential for the approximately 1.1 million firms, comprised primarily of local, diverse, small enterprises, in the County of Los Angeles is tremendous.

In the County of Los Angeles alone, there are $3.9 billion in potential goods and services that could be awarded to Local Small Business Enterprises (LSBEs), and the figure represents just a portion of the total potential award pool made available by agencies and corporations seeking to contract with regional small, minority and disadvantaged businesses. However, the complexities of accessing procurement opportunities can be overwhelming. To address the challenge and accelerate the progress of contracting efforts across the region, three major economic development partners – the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, County of Los Angeles and Citi – have come together to launch a regional small business initiative: OneLA.

Our approach is to build a network of strategic partners to connect small, diverse businesses to public and private contract opportunities, convene all parties to effectively do business with each other, use the latest technology to build a centralized, business-friendly digital network that fosters diversity and economic growth, and leverage regional small business technical assistance for mentorship and training.

We need to significantly increase small business participation in private and public sector contracting efforts across the region and to foster a collaborative approach to supplier diversity and procurement that will result in economic and small business growth for Southern California. It is our goal to ensure that we maximize the opportunities for our small business community to participate in the economic growth that is before us.

L.A. will be on the global stage with the Olympics, Super Bowl and World Cup. Underlying the media buzz of what is coming to L.A. is what is already here in L.A. – more than $140 billion in procurement contract opportunities over the next 10 years. We must ensure these opportunities are available and easy to navigate for our small business community. To learn more about OneLA, contact us HERE. As a former small business owner, I know that a contracting opportunity can change the economics of a business. Let’s seize this moment. The time is now.