By Rebecca Sai
Small businesses line the streets of Boyle Heights: each business has its own story, and its own struggles. Walking the streets of Boyle Heights, very few franchises can be seen. The shops are mostly privately owned- ranging from anything to restaurants to health clinics.
According to the Los Angeles Times, 94 percent of the population is Latino. In addition, only 5 percent of the population above the age of 25 has a college degree, and the percentage of people making 20,000 dollars or less is very high for the Los Angeles County.
With the economy taking a negative toll in the past few years, small businesses have especially suffered. When people feel better about economic conditions, they are more likely to purchase products and services. When the economy is bad, it has the reverse effect.
Smaller business have disadvantages in many sectors of the business world, one of the major hardships being name recognition. Huge franchises such as Chipotle and BlockBuster (which of course is now closed) have name recognition which can result in trust. For small businesses that don't have that, it is that trust that they have to build.
Daniel Mendoza of Whitter Video has owned the small DVD and music shop for years with his family. "Here at the shop we have members. We build a relationship with them, with trust. You have to talk to them." He pointed to the shop across the street and said that they don't know the names of the people who come in daily. That's the problem.
For franchises, they also have obvious financial benefits. Opening a small business means investing in a possible future and investing money out of pocket. "The financial, it's hard. You have to carry the restaurant for two, three months until it starts taking off so that is the hard part," said Fred Haso, owner of the new Boca Del Rio restaurant in Boyle Heights.
Boyle Heights is the home to many small, privately owned businesses. However it is also home to multiple street vendors. These vendors sell many things: fruit, flowers, clothes, and of course various types of food. Although the sales may seem harmless, it is illegal under current city laws. According to lawyers.com street vending experienced a boom in 2010 and has been on the increase. It is this street vending that some business owners believe is hurting their businesses.
Jose Luis Lepi, the owner and founder of Silvia's Flower Shop said, "People sell on the street. They make the money, but they don't pay taxes." He claimed that the government is doing nothing about it, and they are losing business because they have a lot of competition.
Lepi has witnessed several flower shops close down because of this rough dynamic. Affording to pay the rent is a constant struggle, and sometimes it has to come out of his own pocket. "We are still here after 11 years fighting to keep the business, because it is the only way to save the business," Lepi said.
According to the Small Businesses Administration, "About half of all new establishments survive five years or more and about one-third survive 10 years or more. As one would expect, the probability of survival increases with a firm's age. Survival rates have changed little over time."
The success of a small business relies on many factors, as does its failure. The country's economic state, competition, and much more all contribute to the outcome of a business. But in Boyle Heights, a certain loyalty and trust is what many businesses rely on. "Overall, it is a nice neighborhood. Everyone knows each other," Mendoza said.