South Central Business Builders Program

Income Inequality

South LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The issues that Conaxion and CD Tech are addressing are in low-income communities face a number of economic challenges, including: Lack of access to capital: Low-income entrepreneurs often have difficulty obtaining the capital they need to start and grow their businesses. Lack of networks: Low-income entrepreneurs often lack the networks they need to connect with potential customers, partners, and investors. Lack of employment opportunities: Low-income communities often have high unemployment rates. Long commutes to work: Many residents of low-income communities commute long distances to work in other parts of the city. Homeownership as a barrier to upward mobility: Homeownership is a key source of wealth building for many families. However, low-income families often have difficulty saving for a down payment on a home. Lack of quality business education: Low-income communities often lack quality business education.

Conaxion & CD Tech is addressing the economic inequality and poverty through entrepreneurship, by: Building relationships with banking institutions. This helps entrepreneurs to get loans and other forms of financial assistance. Separating business and personal bank accounts. This can help entrepreneurs to keep their personal finances separate from their business finances, which can make it easier to track their income and expenses. Proper documentation. This includes having a business plan, Articles of Incorporation, financial statements, and other documents that can help entrepreneurs to attract investors and lenders. Hosting quarterly pop-up events. These events can be used to promote entrepreneurs' products or services to the public, generate buzz and excitement around their brand, meet potential customers, partners, and investors, and test new products or services before launching them. Starting businesses that allow employees to work from home. This can eliminate the need for people to commute to work, saving them time and money. Creating new jobs in the neighborhoods where people live. This can help people find work closer to home, reducing their commute time. Providing entrepreneurship education. This can help people to develop the skills and knowledge they need to start and grow their businesses. These solutions can help to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs, which can lead to economic growth and prosperity for low-income communities.

Here is a summary of what LA County would look like in 2050: Gentrification reduced: We would help create more opportunities for local entrepreneurs, making it difficult for outside investors to displace longtime residents. Local businesses increase: We would teach residents how to start & grow businesses, creating more jobs & opportunities. Dollar circulation increased: As more businesses & jobs are created, more money would be circulating in the community. Income inequality reduced: More businesses & jobs equals the opportunity to earn a living wage. This would help reduce the gap between the rich & poor. Home ownership increases: As more people have the opportunity to earn a living wage, they will be able to afford to buy a home. This will stabilize the community & create a sense of ownership. If SCBB is successful, LA would be a more prosperous & equitable place in 2050. There would be more businesses & jobs, more money circulating in the community, & less income inequality.

Throughout the program, we are able to measure the impact by getting data on: 1. The number of full-time jobs created 2. The number of part-time jobs created 3. Number of validated products and/or services 4. Number of completed Business Plans 5. Number of completed Small Business branding packages (logo, fonts, colors, etc.) 6. Number of completed online business stores 7. Number of completed Standard Operating Procedures for essential processes 8. Number of businesses that legitimized their business structure 9. Number of businesses that opened a business bank account 10. Number of participants that understand how to build personal & business credit 11. Number of State & County licenses and permits received 12. Number of small businesses created 13. Amount of Investment funding received 14. Percentage increase in sales (if existing)

Our collaborative partner CD Tech will help us with outreach & engagement, as well as teaching a portion of the curriculum that has to do with education around Economic & Community Development, Circulation of the dollar, and Community Wealth Building, specifically in South Los Angeles