Asian American Small Business Owners in Sacramento Seek Building Ownership for Contingency Planning

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 17, 2024

PRESS CONTACT

Emily Fuder: efuder@nationalace.org

Asian American Small Business Owners in Sacramento Seek Building Ownership for Contingency Planning

“We have a full commitment to growing a modern, cosmopolitan, inclusive economic base in this city and in this region,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg at the AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtable. 

[April 17, 2024, Sacramento, CA]– The National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE), alongside affiliate partner, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce hosted an AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtable for minority small business owners to discuss the current state of business in Sacramento. 

These roundtables are an open forum for minority small business owners in the United States to connect with policymakers, corporate partners, and community members to find solutions for the barriers facing minority-owned small businesses today. The Sacramento event is National ACE’s seventh roundtable this year. With over 55 attendees, participants discussed the unique challenges facing Sacramento’s residents and small business owners. The conversation explored what was going well for local small businesses and what could be improved upon.

Pandemic challenges continue to affect small businesses in Sacramento. Mayor Steinberg acknowledged that the lack of foot traffic has harmed brick and mortar shops downtown. Dung Do, a Vietnamese restaurant owner, shared his story via a translator. He started his restaurant at the end of 2019. He’d invested all of his savings to start his business, but could not access any COVID financial assistance. Do is based in an underserved area and only speaks Vietnamese. He wasn’t able to access business resources that could help him, and he knows other businesses started after COVID and are facing the same challenges. Events like the small business roundtable help connect Do to his local and federal resources to help him solve some of his challenges. 

Building ownership and access continues to be a challenge for small business owners across California. Frank Louie of the Stockton Boulevard Improvement team said, “Restaurants have the highest failure rate. We have to own the building.” Felicidad Ortega, owner of Felicità Wine Company, shared that the commercial zone is nearly impossible in California for a small business owner to rent or own. Ortega suggested a subsidized program for commercial real estate as well to boost the local economy. She also shared that larger conglomerates are bringing in wine to the region at $1/gallon, edging out small wine producers like her. “We have to support local now more than ever,” Ortega said. 

Jessica Chen with the Oakland Chinatown Chamber shared that her members are perpetually concerned about their own health and safety in their city. “Two days ago a jewelry shop across from us had a strong arm robbery,” said Chen. “They have done everything they can do to protect themselves: a camera, a buzzer, someone sitting outside. Still - people come in and rob them. They don’t have insurance because when they claim insurance their rates go up. Many companies are scared to have insurance to cover their loss.”

The roundtable brings together the community to discuss challenges and find solutions for small business owners. Adrian Blanco, owner of Adrian Blanco Jewelry, acknowledged that “Connection to community helped us survive the pandemic.” Blanco also shared that the event opened his eyes to options for him to enter the real estate market and expand his jewelry stores. 
“We are here to help the person who has the dream of being an entrepreneur,” said Elmy Bermejo, Region IX Administrator for the Small Business Administration (SBA). Federal funding is available to aid small business owners throughout the country. Carrie Ellinwood, the SBA Deputy District Director said EIDL loan payments will not disappear, but there are hardship accommodations small business owners can apply for. Ellinwood urged small businesses to also explore the Certify platform to access federal contracts. The SBA also provides counseling, access to capital, and access to contracting.

“Even when faced with barriers, from access to capital to capacity building, AAPI entrepreneurs have one of the highest rates of business ownership and employ over 5 million people, enriching their local neighborhoods and fostering an overall estimated buying power of $1.6 trillion," said National ACE President & CEO, Chiling Tong. "Our policymakers play a significant role in creating an environment in which our entrepreneurs and job creators can continue to thrive. We look forward to more conversations to understand the needs of our community and strengthen the resilient AAPI entrepreneurs across the country."

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About National ACE:

National ACE’s mission is to serve as a strong advocate of AAPI business interests and positive change on all issues that enhance and advance the goals and aspirations of AAPI business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders. National ACE strives to do this by supporting and promoting issues that impact the AAPI business community, improving the economic development and economic impact of the AAPI community, advancing coalitions, enhancing community building, and fostering the next generation of AAPI entrepreneurs and executives. National ACE provides a unified voice for the business interests of AAPIs nationally. Learn more at www.nationalace.org or www.aapistrong.com.

About Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce

Founded in 1993, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce is the largest minority chamber in the region. Throughout the years, we have continued to champion diversity and inclusion as a source of strength and opportunity. We fight on behalf of the thousands of diverse business owners in our region, including the over 6,000 Asian American and Pacific Islander owned businesses, and offer the technical support, resources, and level of advocacy they need to thrive as part of an inclusive economy in the Sacramento region. We believe in the power of collaboration. This work can’t be done alone. We are currently leading efforts to drive technical support and a much needed policy change for small businesses along our aging commercial corridors, helping build a strategic action plan that prioritizes the region’s core economic initiatives for a more prosperous, equitable, and resilient region, and working to elevate Sacramento’s status as one of the most diverse and integrated cities in the nation.