Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Monday, January 23, 2012 that six transformed BusinessSource Centers are to reopen across Los Angeles as part of a new strategy to revive the local economic environment. This Wednesday, Libby Williams, Managing Director of the Office of Small Business within the Mayor’s Office, introduced the reopening as part of a series of efforts targeted at reforming policy and incentives surrounding job creation in the city.

“Cutting red tape will help us to increase returns to the local economy,” stated Williams.

Williams said the six new centers will replace the former Los Angeles Business Assistance Program (LABAP) introduced in 1999.  In 2010, the Mayor’s Office of Small Business teamed up with the City of Los Angeles Community Development Department (CDD) to create the new Business Services Program. The program, which includes performance metrics, will help to more efficiently track the success of the system as a whole.

“We will offer services that help new businesses succeed, including one-on-one consulting workshops and other programs that allow them to successfully navigate City Hall,” said Williams.

In addition, the new BusinessSource system will support the existing network of WorkSource systems, which include OneSource and FamilySource programs.

“BusinessSource Centers and WorkSource Centers will be contractually obligated to work together,” Williams stated.

The Los Angeles BusinessSource overhaul is a joint effort on the part of the Mayor's Office of Small Business and the city’s Community Development Department (CDD) and Workforce Investment Board (WIB). According to the Office of the Mayor, the city is home to over 325,000 small businesses, making it “the largest small business community in the country.”

"Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy," said Mayor Villaraigosa at Monday’s Grand Opening of the East Los Angeles BusinessSource Center.  "We are reopening the BusinessSource Centers to give entrepreneurs the tools they need to create jobs and grow their businesses.”

By Erin Brodwin, WIB Staff