Small Business Development Center hosted by El Camino College Estelle Boutique – Santa Monica, CA Before: Stella Shirman earned her MBA and worked in corporate marketing for 10 years, but she always knew that she wanted to get into the … Continue reading →

Small Business Development Center hosted by El Camino College Planet Bouncy – Los Angeles, CA Before: Sergei Sychev was working in business development for a consulting firm when he noticed a co-worker coming to work every Monday with bruises on … Continue reading →

After Melanie Strauss and her husband, Klaus Jaeger, moved from Frankfurt, Germany, a few years ago, she missed European food, cheeses and German cakes. With no specialty shop nearby that sold them, she decided to open her own delicatessen and … Continue reading →

Before: Janice and Charles Kirk had run Statewide Protective Services, which supplies security to residential and commercial construction sites, as a sole proprietorship since 2002. In July 2008, a company the Kirks had subcontracted with became insolvent, and Janice turned … Continue reading →

Before: Melbert Design Group Inc. provides sublimation designs to the apparel manufacturing industry in the form of “transfer paper.” Sublimation printing delivers higher margins by allowing highquality designs to be transferred onto low-cost garments, giving them a higher perceived value. … Continue reading →