Newsletter January 2022 Highlights
The mission of The Valley Economic Alliance is to engage and unite Valley stakeholders to raise standards of living and economic vitality across the San Fernando Valley.
We promote business retention, business attraction, workforce development, and tourism to create and retain jobs and a great quality of life in the 5-City San Fernando Valley region, including Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Los Angeles, and San Fernando.
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- Letters From the CEO & Chair
- Breaking News
- Feature Stories
- Grow in the Valley/Small Business
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- Regional Development
- Making an Impact
- Investor Spotlight
- Calendar of Events
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Letters From The CEO & Chair |
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Dear Friends,
We’re ready to begin a new year and a brighter future in 2022. How about you?
In 2021, many of our stakeholders throughout the San Fernando Valley region experienced prosperity, growth, and optimism while others were afflicted with hardship, doubt, and despair. Nevertheless, we made it through another stormy year and we stand strong as an Alliance, ready to embark on a new and promising journey, together.
To strengthen our local businesses this year, we will launch our Pathway to Profit online education series to help businesses stabilize, recover and reach profitability. In addition, we will present our Next Level Growth convenings to help healthy and growing companies continue to thrive here in the Valley, supporting them as they seek to create jobs, expand their commercial spaces, and access traditional and alternative financing to realize their goals. And we will support the educational community to provide industry with a more and more qualified labor market through our Workforce of the Future initiative.
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Happy New Year Everyone.
It is hard to believe that it has been almost two years since we were in a COVID lockdown and I became Chair of The Valley Economic Alliance.
In those first few months, with the visionary guidance of our President & CEO Sonya Blake, your Alliance Board stepped up and developed the “Valley of the Stars – Rising” Recovery Strategic Plan that has guided our efforts ever since. “Virtually” all of our 2020-2021 programs have been laser focused on our primary recovery goals – connecting Valley employers with capital and business assistance, connecting Valley residents with jobs, and connecting consumers with our local Valley businesses.
In 2022 our programs will continue to focus on growth, recovery, and equity, but will also see the Alliance get back into its historic leadership role on the most important policy issues facing our region.
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Housing Creates Communities |
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To usher in the New Year with its “Housing Creates Communities'' advocacy campaign, The Valley Economic Alliance will offer one lucky supporter two complimentary tickets to its upcoming Valley of the Stars Awards Gala, which will be held on Friday, April 8 at Castaway Burbank. The annual Gala– which will be emceed by the illustrious actor and co-host of “The Talk,” Jerry O’Connell– will serve as an elegant evening honoring Eric Dickerson as the Alliance’s Sports & Entertainment Honoree, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt as the Jane and Bert Boeckman Business Leadership Honoree, and Ken Craft from Hope of the Valley as the Humanitarian Honoree. To Learn more, visit TheValley.net/Housing or simply click on the “I SUPPORT HOUSING!” button and register your support for a chance to be selected. The winner of the contest will be announced on Friday, February 4 and recognized on the Alliance’s website.
The “Housing Creates Communities” campaign is a public awareness initiative advocating for development of affordable workforce housing in the San Fernando Valley region. Since housing is one of the top three factors influencing employers’ choice of location, a variety of affordable residences must be provided to ensure expansion, retention, and growth in the region. To build the local economy, The Alliance supports this housing development initiative to mitigate the upward pressure on housing costs. There are four ways to participate in the campaign:
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Speak up! Click the “I SUPPORT HOUSING!” button on the Alliance’s website, and fill out the accompanying form. A winner will be selected from the submitted forms.
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Get Social! Support housing on social media by using the hashtag #HousingCreatesCommunities across platforms. Click here for sample text to post in support of the campaign.
- Get involved! Contact your local elected officials to voice your support for more housing.
- Take action! Attend city planning hearings.
The campaign is being presented with support from the Southland Regional Association of Realtors, Union Bank, and design firm TheZoo360. Additional support is being sought to facilitate expansion of the campaign to display advertising and street banners. To read more about the campaign and the “I SUPPORT HOUSING!” movement, click here.
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Business Assistance Program |
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The Alliance is pleased to recognize Hot & Cool Café, a small Black-owned and family-operated business, that enrolled in our Business Assistance Program this year. Co-owned by Tony Jolly and Tina Amin, the coffee shop and vegan restaurant opened in Leimert Park Village in 2018, introducing a new social impact business model to South Central residents, and opened its second location, Hot & Cool North, in Woodland Hills.
The Alliance business advisor, Brett Dickstein, provided financial guidance and introduced Tony and Tina to Roger Roman, managing partner of PUSH, a marketing expert in The Alliance's Executive-In-Residence (EIR) Program. Roman shared technology-driven strategies with Tony and Tina, getting them ready for fiscal strength and customer growth in 2022. These collaborations enabled the Café to survive the pandemic, retain all 10 of its employees, and expand to the ground floor of “Vert” Apartments in Woodland Hills.
The Hot & Cool Café exemplifies the financial transformation experienced by many businesses with help from The Alliance, which also assisted the owners in applying for a PPP, EIDL, and Restaurant Revitalization grant. Congratulations and welcome to the Valley, Hot & Cool Café.
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The Valley Economic Alliance wants to empower San Fernando Valley business owners to obtain the assistance needed for fiscal survival. Though the pandemic has prolonged managerial challenges for countless local businesses, the Alliance is available to provide free consultations to prevent employers from disrupting their team structures.
Contact the Alliance now as technical assistance is available to help navigate various loans and grants, provide support to avoid layoffs, reduce staff hours, discuss employee relocation, shut down operations, and other emergency instances affecting daily business.
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Though the presence and involvement of people enable an organization to run smoothly, times have recently changed. Despite COVID bringing about rapid, unprecedented structural workplace changes, such as the Great Resignation and hybrid working models, many companies are still employing traditional workers under standard office conditions. The Alliance would like to know what methods are being utilized to hire your most recent employees, given the current conditions under which all of us are working. We invite human resources representatives and company owners to answer the following poll questions below. |
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To help us better serve the Valley community, please take a moment to complete the following quick poll. |
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Are you planning to hire employees in 2022?
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Where do your employees currently work?
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Do you need help finding qualified employees?
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“Valley Main Streets” Place-Based Revitalization |
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The Valley Economic Alliance’s “Valley Main Streets” revitalization project is under construction and preparing for structural progress in 2022. The “Uplift Lake View Terrace” Commercial Cluster Toolkit is the first component of the project, and its development is still on schedule to be used by community leaders as a self-directed guide for economic development in commercial districts.
The Demonstration project centering on the Lake View Terrace Shopping Center will provide amenities aiding local businesses in funding assistance and access to job opportunities for residents, with hopes of increasing visitors from neighboring communities and individuals seeking financial literacy education.
The Valley Economic Alliance recognizes the remarkable business owners who play a role in the success and longevity of the Lake View Terrace Shopping Center, and are instrumental in the evolution of this cultural landmark. Our people are our strength indeed, so stay tuned as we feature some of the Center's notable professionals in our next publication.
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Making An Impact - 2022 Valley of the Stars Gala Committee
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The Valley Economic Alliance is grateful for all the support we have had from our very important Valley of the Stars Gala committee volunteers. With their generosity, support and donation of their time, this amazing signature legacy event supports the Alliance's ability to continue to provide critical business assistance for local small businesses improving the quality of life in the San Fernando Valley region, and so much more. Thank you.
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- Nestor Aguilar-Compass Concierge
- Sonya Blake-The Valley Economic Alliance
- Cleveland Brown-Payscout
- Barry Cohn-JorgensenHR
- Winnie Davis-Coldwell Banker Quality Partners
- Martha Diaz Aszkenazy-Aszkenazy Development
- Gayle Duffy-Pacific Western Bank
- Don Franken-Franken Enterprises
- Samantha Fuchs-Aerojet Rocketdyne
- Fred Gaines-Gaines & Stacey
- Tim Gaspar-Gaspar Insurance,
- Erica Gass-The Valley Economic Alliance
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- David Honda-So Cal Corporate Growth Partners
- Sarah Horvet-Galpin Motors
- Cindy Keitel
- Kristy Lazur-MAXIMUS
- Natasha Madarian-Melzie’s,
- Pegi Matsuda- On Board Business & Community Consulting
- Jacqui Matsumoto-The Valley Economic Alliance
- Kathleen McIntyre-CMTC
- Walter Njboke-Ricoh USA
- Yael Rubin-Blumenes La
- Nairy Sajonian-Comerica Bank
- Tallin Semerjian-Tinq
- Teresa Todd-Point of View Communications Oscar Urrutia-My Valley Pass
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Los Angeles Valley College |
Established in 1949,this public two-year community college it is one of the largest campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), and serves more than 20,000 students in the central and eastern sides of the San Fernando Valley. LAVC offers more than 100 associate degree programs and 62 certificate programs in in-demand career fields.
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Pacific Federal, LLC (PacFed), a Zenith American company, is one of California’s most experienced employee benefits firms. PacFed offers online services, member assistance, workplace support, consolidated billing, COBRA administration and compliance notification.
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Invest in The Alliance
Make your impact by funding our job retention and attraction programs while receiving valuable recognition and benefits. Contact Jacqui Matsumoto at jmatsumoto@economicalliance.org or click below for more information.
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Now's the perfect time to invest in the Valley! The future looks bright for our region, but we need your help in reaching our full potential to provide affordable workforce housing, competitive salaries, and accessible resources for our local residents. Your commitment to our Give Where You Live campaign enables you to become a Valley Influencer, forging a path toward economic prosperity in the Valley. We encourage you to donate to our ongoing campaign and join us, The Valley Economic Alliance, as we continue to build a strong legacy of Valley success stories for future generations. |
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Wednesday, January 26, 2022
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Speakers:
Brett Dickstein, Business Advisor
The Valley Economic Alliance
Andrew Krone, Senior Vice President
Marble Bridge Funding Group
Learn from our expert speakers about reputable, alternative techniques to grow your business fast.
- Accounts Receivable Financing
- Purchase Order Financing
- Custom-Designed Financing for Rapidly Growing Companies
- Contract Procurement Assistance
- Vendor Trade Credit Negotiations
Startups and credit challenges welcomed. Holders of SBA, EIDL (Loan), and other types of loans with UCC1 filings are still eligible for assistance.
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Burbank Tech Talks: The Dawn of Web3: NFTs, DeFi & the Metaverse
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
11AM - 12PM
Speaker:
Peter Csathy, Chairman of CREATV Media & Deep Cuts Media
Informative presentation on the implications of and opportunities in web3.
Burbank Tech Talks series is designed to support Burbank's entrepreneurs and broader business community with insightful speakers who provide actionable advice and inspiration to help startups (and beyond!) expand, and to help grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The series is hosted by the City of Burbank in partnership with TechFire.
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Next Level Growth: CA Governor’s Overview of Business Tax Credits
Thursday, February 3, 2022
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM
Presentation by:
Trelynd Bradley
Senior Business Development Specialist
Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development
Join us to learn how your business may benefit from:
- New Employment Tax Credit
- California Competes Tax Credit
- R&D Tax Credit
- Partial Sales & Use Tax Exclusion
- Full Sales & Use Tax Exclusion
- Employment Training Panel
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Economic Development Committee for the San Fernando Valley
Thursday, February 3, 2022
10:45 AM – 11:30 AM
Presentation by:
Shannon Sedgwick
Director, Institute for Applied Economics
LAEDC
San Fernando Valley Region - A Snapshot of the Past, Present and Future Economy
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Creating Social Media Videos to Drive Fundraising
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Presentation by:
Brian Frankel
Social media expert and VNR Program Administrator
This free workshop will teach you a step-by-step process to create video content for social media.
- Well-made short videos can turn views into donations, especially with younger audiences.
- TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms are purpose-built to show off nonprofit's stories of success and highlight clients' needs.
For additional questions or support: contact VNR Program Administrator Brian Frankel at brian.frankel@csun.edu or 818/677-2774.
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2022 LAEDC Economic Forecast
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Omni Downtown Los Angeles
The LAEDC Economic Forecast will include thought leaders and industry experts who will focus on three elements key to economic growth: Innovation, Infrastructure, and Housing. Speakers and panelists will identify specific ways these areas can advance economic growth, sustainability, resiliency, and equity in local communities and throughout the region.
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San Fernando Valley Business Journal Valley Economic Forecast
Monday, February 28, 2022
8:00 AM
Matthew Fienup of California Lutheran University’s highly regarded Center for Economic Research and Forecasting will provide an economic outlook specifically tailored to the San Fernando Valley. At this full breakfast at the Hilton Woodland Hills hotel, you will learn how the Valley’s economy was reshaped by the pandemic and whether it is likely to continue outperforming all other areas in our region.
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