San Francisco's small business sector got a financial boost as Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Hillary Ronen announced the extension of the city's First Year Free program at a local restaurant, El Mil Amores. With a backdrop of business owners and city officials, Mayor Breed unveiled legislation that would keep the program running through June 30, 2025, providing new and expanding small businesses with relief from various city fees. The initiative, confirmed earlier this week, has so far enrolled over 6,000 businesses, waiving more than $2.58 million in fees.
"When we launched First Year Free, we set out to ensure San Francisco's small businesses received ample benefit, support and cost-savings during the setup phase, a crucial time when businesses are not yet able to generate revenue," Mayor Breed described in a statement obtained by SF.gov. The extension aims to continue to dramatically lower the barriers to entrepreneurship in the city. Breed emphasized the importance of the program to support the dynamic small business community and collaborated with Supervisor Ronen to ensure its success.
Supervisor Ronen stressed the impact of the program, saying it has "proven itself to be impactful for both new and expanding small businesses." She added that an additional year is a win for entrepreneurs, commercial corridors, neighborhood vibrancy, and overall economic vitality. The program's extension is part of Mayor Breed's larger strategy to streamline processes and make it more straightforward for new businesses to open in San Francisco.
Since its inauguration in 2021, thousands have taken advantage of First Year Free, and it helped entrepreneurs like Tala Drzewieski, who opened a multifaceted wine shop in the Excelsior last June. "First Year Free saved my business thousands of dollars while we were renovating our space and preparing to open," Drzewieski told SF.gov. The program offers a streamlined approach for new and expanding businesses with $5,000,000 or less in gross receipts, offering immediate enrollment and waiving fees such as business registration, application, inspection, and initial license fees among others.
The press event at El Mil Amores also served as a testament to the program's reach, with owner Andrea Alfaro crediting First Year Free for helping make her restaurant dream come true. Alfaro's story is just one of many, illustrating how the initiative has assisted in the flourishing of the city's entrepreneurship landscape. As part of Mayor Breed's Roadmap to San Francisco's Future, other reforms have been introduced including the passage of Prop H in 2020 and the Small Business Recovery Act in 2021, simplifying the city's business code and speeding up the permitting process.
