KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on businesses across the United States, and AAPI business owners relayed some of the challenges they experienced.

• Reflecting an optimistic outlook, 84 percent of AAPI business owner respondents in Southern California believed that their business would survive to the end of the year, even though 48 percent of these optimistic respondents reported bad, very bad, or catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on their business.

• The most troubling answers from surveyed AAPI small business owners in Southern California involved perceived experiences of racism during the past year. Slightly more than half of respondents (51 percent) reported instances of disrespect. 41 percent of respondents reported being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Alongside moderate business confidence, the majority of AAPI owners of businesses located in Southern California also reported trust in the federal government (70 percent) and banks and other financial institutions (76 percent).

BACKGROUND

After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating illness, and social unrest, there are signs that across the country customers are returning, and we’re getting back to business. Yet there are gaps in understanding what small business owners are experiencing on a regional level, and whether this emerging recovery is evenly distributed within the AAPI and other small business communities

METHODOLOGY

170 survey respondents provided valuable insights into the experiences of AAPI small business owners in Southern California over the past year, which highlight both challenges and opportunities. 35 percent of AAPI business owner respondents identified as Chinese, 26 percent as Korean, 24 percent as Taiwanese, 9 percent as Vietnamese, and 7 percent as Filipino. More than 60 percent of these AAPI small business owners employed five or fewer employees, including self only, while the remainder employed six or more employees. Overall, 19 percent of AAPI small business owners in Southern California provided business services, 14 percent were in the food or restaurant business, 11 percent were in retail industry, and 9 percent were in the health, beauty, and fitness industry; 47 percent of respondents classified their business in various fields outside of these sectors.