Big news for women in business: LA Mayor Karen Bass and the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Isabel Guzman, have teamed up to launch a Women's Business Center in South Los Angeles. The Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC) played host to the event, marking it as the first federally recognized Women's Business Center in the area. Mayor Bass was eager to emphasize the city's partnership with the federal government and the steps her administration is taking to help small businesses flourish in Los Angeles, offering more resources like those provided by the new Women's Business Center.

"I have worked with Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation for years and have seen firsthand the positive impact the organization is making for small businesses," Mayor Bass said. She added that the partnership aims to make City Hall "an advocate, not a barrier," helping those businesses to grow and thrive. A report by the Mayor's office details Mayor Bass's gratitude towards the SBA and Administrator Guzman for their continued partnership and the recognition awarded to VSEDC.

Just earlier this week, Mayor Bass announced LA Optimized 2.0 and LApreneur, initiatives aimed to boost small businesses' online footprint and impart necessary entrepreneurial skills. And it's not just talk - she's put some skin in the game, making it a priority to bolster City departments' services for small businesses and aiming to streamline the process of doing business with the City.

On the heels of the fourth installment of the Los Angeles Region Small Business Summit, which drew an audience of over 500 entrepreneurs, Mayor Bass is clearly putting effort to aggressively make Los Angeles a welcoming place for small businesses. One of her strategies has involved issuing Executive Directive 4 - an order that faces head-on the challenge of nurturing small business creation and growth. This comes after she made a successful call for federal support that opened up low-interest disaster loans for LA's small business owners and residents, as indicated by the Mayor's office release. The Mayor is standing by her promise to turn City Hall into an advocate for local businesses, marking a concerted push to ensure that the spirit of entrepreneurship burns bright in South LA.