Small businesses in East County are getting a boost after the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a $300,000 grant designed to help entrepreneurs start, grow and sustain their businesses.
The funding will go to the East County Economic Development Council’s revolving loan fund, which provides financial assistance to small businesses that may have difficulty qualifying for traditional loans.
The program offers revolving loans of up to $5,000 that can be used for expenses including equipment, working capital and business expansion.
Once loans are repaid, the money goes back into the fund and can be loaned to other businesses in the community.
“That’s having something local to East County and having a revolving fund where once it’s paid back, it just keeps going right back out to serve the community,” said Karl Burris, owner of Wise Owl Fit in Santee.
Burris knows firsthand the challenges and opportunities that come with running a small business.
Wise Owl Fit is a group fitness gym focused on helping older adults build strength and stay active. In June, the gym became East County’s first Rock Steady Boxing affiliate, offering a program specifically designed to help people with Parkinson’s disease fight through some of the physical challenges associated with the condition.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to offer something like this to our community,” Burris said.
County officials say the new funding is intended to give more entrepreneurs access to capital when they need it most.
“Many times folks don’t have the capital, and so this provides an opportunity for small businesses, startups, microbusinesses to get that funding that they really need to get their idea off the ground,” said Monica Montgomery Steppe, vice chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
Montgomery Steppe and Supervisor Joel Anderson proposed the grant as a way to strengthen small businesses throughout East County.
In a statement to 10News, Anderson said:
“We know that when small businesses succeed, our communities succeed. This is about making County government work for you and ensuring that entrepreneurs have a real opportunity to invest in their businesses, create jobs and build a brighter future in our communities.”
The revolving loan fund will also serve businesses in the unincorporated areas of East County and provide entrepreneurs with connections to additional assistance and resources.
Montgomery Steppe said the goal is not only to help individual business owners, but also to create a cycle in which successful entrepreneurs can help strengthen the broader community.
“The point is that you can get the help you need if you’re a small business owner and then you can give back to others in your community that are in the same situation you were once in when you had to apply for the funding,” she said.
For business owners like Burris, that cycle can have a broader impact on the character of East County.
“It just breeds more small business owners,” Burris said. “In my opinion, the more small business owners you have, the more of that small-town, close-knit feel you have.”
The county’s $300,000 investment is intended to help more East County entrepreneurs turn business ideas into reality — while giving existing small businesses an opportunity to grow.
