Small Business Mobility Fund

• $2,000 grants – For business owners or entrepreneurs that graduated from the EMI Entrepreneurship Academy Program seeking to launch their business or take their business to the next level

  Launch a business: refers to the process of establishing and formally introducing a new enterprise by developing a viable business concept, completing required legal and regulatory steps, securing initial resources, and beginning operations with the intent to offer goods or services to the market. (e.g. new website or new business location, as well as other costs associated with formalizing a business)

  Take a business to the next level: refers to the deliberate process of advancing an organization beyond its current stage of performance. (e.g. new product or service, expansion to new customer segment, rebrand, new online store, transition to a brick-and-mortar location, and new equipment to expand product offerings

• Must be a for-profit business

• Applicants must reside in LA County

• Business must be headquartered in LA County

• Applicants must be the majority owner and manager

• Annual gross business revenue must not exceed $6 million (or less than $300,000 in household income if a business tax return has not been filed)

• Business must have less than 100 employees

• Must be domiciled in California and have required filings with the California Secretary of State.

• Existing businesses must be in good standing with all local, state, and federal taxing and licensing authorities.

• Cannot be listed as an ineligible business type

Full List of Ineligible Business Types:

• Awardees of other Small Business Mobility Fund Grants

• Non-profit organizations (including churches or other religious organizations)

• Landlords (Schedule E Passive Income)

• Businesses that do not have a permanent physical location in LA County, including those using addresses for P.O. Boxes, co-working spaces with temporary leases and/or memberships, virtual business addresses, Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRAs), and the like, are not eligible.

• Liquor stores and smoke shops

• Corporate-owned franchises

• Private social clubs

• Payday loan stores, pawnshops and other firms involved in lending activities, such as banks, finance companies and any other firm whose stock in trade is money

• Firms involved in speculative activities (i.e., day trading, stock market exchange facilitators)

• Insurance companies, such as life, auto, home, bail bonds and other similar entities

• Astrology, palm reading, tarot, etc.

• Night clubs and any businesses that presents live or other performances of a sexual nature

• Adult bookstores

• Gambling businesses (i.e., track waging facilities, casinos, bingo parlors)

• Trailer-storage yards and junkyards

• Gun or ammunition stores

• Multi-sales distribution & multi-level marketing

• Lobbying firms or businesses that dedicate 50% or more of their time or resources in lobbying activities

• Government offices or agencies

• Other businesses that may be deemed ineligible by DEO, based on information submitted by the applicant

Grants are provided to help businesses accomplish the following:

• Permit and license fees

• Website development and branding

• Start-up and set-up costs

• Accounting software

• Intellectual property protections

• Packaging, inventory, and equipment

• Required building permits

• Facade improvements

• Tenant improvements

Must submit the following:

• A business plan detailing planned usage of funds to support their business’s launch. If you do not have a business plan, you can use an EMI Business Plan template.

• Proof of lease or ownership of commercial space. Please note, co-working spaces with temporary leases or that are non-brick-and-mortar (i.e. open-air swap meets, farmer’s markets, sidewalk vending, etc.) are not eligible. Subleases are not accepted, unless under circumstances where the landlord and primary lessee provide proof of sublease and allowed sublease.

• Government-Issued Photo Identification

• Proof of residency in LA County

• Current Business License

• Doing Business As (DBA)/Fictitious Business Name (FBN) Filing

• California Secretary of State Filings

• Any related industry permits from the State and the County of Los Angeles (i.e. Health Permit, Establishment License, etc.)

• Signed most recent tax return, according to the business’s most recent tax return filings (2023 or later). If no business tax return was filed, household income cannot exceed $300,000 and a personal tax return is required

• Form 941, if firm has employees

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