A free resource connects small business owners with funding and support — and boasts a 94% survival rate through year three.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows about 5.9 million businesses are started each year — a process that can often be challenging and difficult. But there are nonprofits out there that help entrepreneurs turn dreams into reality.
For Chef Andy Mangiduyos and his wife Kahra, the kitchen is home — the place where their dream of opening a Hawaiian restaurant came to life. But getting there wasn't an easy road. Both left their corporate jobs to make it happen.
"We learned a lot about ourselves. and honestly, there's really no option for us to fail... and we just said we just have to go head-on, put everything that we know based on all of the experience that we have ... the research .. and execute," Kahra Mangiduyos said.
They got help from a nonprofit organization called Accessity, which helps small business owners lock in financial support while connecting them with a network of resources. The service is free and open to those who live and work in Southern California. Those interested must submit an application.
Joyce Parra, the regional business development manager for Accessity, said the organization's track record speaks for itself.
"We always hear that 50% of the businesses fail during their first year. With us, 94 percent make it through to the third year. So it's the foundation we give businesses that enables them to grow and be able to sustain themselves," Parra said.
I connected with the organization during our ABC 10 community huddle last month in National City.
"I will set you up with a business counselor so you can develop your ideas, your thoughts, your business plans, all of those great ideas," Parra said.
Kahra says Accessity helped them pivot their pop-up shop at farmers' markets to catering during the pandemic — and helped them understand a critical reality along the way.
"What we didn't realize is that you need funding before all of those theories come to fruition," Mangiduyos said.
Accessity helped them secure that funding. With the nonprofit's support, the Mangiduyos opened their own brick-and-mortar location — Kalei's Kitchenette in Rancho Peñasquitos. Now their business is growing, and Kahra says a big part of that is because of the guidance they received from Accessity.
"We are still toying with the idea of having a 2nd or 3rd location ... however everytime we think about that i feel like my white hair starts growing ...," Mangiduyos said.
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