Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is doubling down on her commitment to the city's small businesses, convening a new Small Business Cabinet aimed to tackle issues from red tape to public safety. The Mayor, focusing her economic agenda on the bedrock of the city's economy, has pulled together a team representing over 450,000 businesses in the region. "Business owners are feeling the challenges of rising costs, the lingering impacts of the entertainment industry strikes and bureaucratic requirements, and we will continue to do all that we can to be responsive and cut through red tape at City Hall," Mayor Bass asserts in a statement obtained by the Mayor's office.

As city stakeholders reckon with economic headwinds, the creation of the Small Business Cabinet signals the administration's urgency to firmly support the local economy. The team also aims to quickly respond to crime and homelessness issues, which impact the business climate. Touting progress in public safety, Mayor Bass reminded citizens that "Last year, we brought more than 21,000 Angelenos inside and homicides and violent crime were down compared to 2022," indicating a clear intent to broadly foster a more secure and stable environment for commerce.

The Small Business Cabinet boasts the expertise of Maria Contreras-Sweet, the 24th U.S. Small Business Administrator, and other prominent leaders in the Los Angeles business community, including Stephen Cheung, Julie Clowes, Angela Gibson-Shaw, Kim Hunter, Lilly Rocha, and Maria Salinas. Cheung, head of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, praised Mayor Bass, telling the Mayor's office, "Mayor Bass knows that supporting business means addressing all of the issues that impact businesses, from homelessness to housing to public safety." The Mayor and the cabinet are pushing to thoroughly open Los Angeles for business.

Among the Mayor's first-year achievements was the institution of a small business policy team, the launch of a permanent Al Fresco outdoor dining program, and the staging of two small business summits which attracted thousands. Additionally, Bass's office helped to generally make life easier for businesses in L.A., from expedited emergency responses to streamlining city hall interfaces. "More than 20,000 businesses opened in the city last year," Mayor Bass's office cited, spotlighting a surge in entrepreneurship that the cabinet seeks to support and sustain.