Business Owners Become Video Stars

Business owners from the Conejo and Santa Clarita valleys are featured in online videos on the Small Business Administration website. In the videos, the local business owners share their stories of how the SBA helped them achieve success. The videos for “Small Business Owners Speak” were submitted in a contest that took place during the 2012 National Small Business Week. Participating businesses are Starbunz Couture, a cloth diaper company in Thousand Oaks; Vsolvit LLC, a technology company in Thousand Oaks; and marketing firm Power Media Group in Santa Clarita. “It’s exciting to see and hear from small business owners on how they found and used the SBA to assist in their business’ growth and success,” Los Angeles District Director Victor Parker said in a prepared statement. “The SBA brings a lot of value to aspiring and existing business owners.” In the Vsolvit video, Christen Kitchell, a geographic information systems and environmental specialist, explains how the firm received a five-year, $15 million contract from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural development office to promote the office’s success stories using social media. “This ingenious web application enhances the USDA RD’s community outreach efforts and leverages GIS to enable personalized and location-based data sharing,” Kitchell said. Patricia Gracia of Power Media explains how the SBA helped her to launch her business with training programs. Later, she said, the SBA gave her a loan to buy her building. Property Sold Glendale-based investment advisory firm American Realty Advisors sold off multiple properties across the U.S. totaling more than 530,000 square feet. The goal of the sale was to dispose of certain assets so the proceeds could fund investments with higher performance potential. The properties sold included an industrial building in the Silicon Valley, an industrial warehouse in New Jersey, and seven industrial buildings in Wood Dale, a Chicago suburb. VEDC Receives Grant The Valley Economic Development Center recently received a federal $953,806 grant to support its program providing loans to small businesses. The money is part of an overall $186 million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The funds were given to more than 200 organizations serving low- to moderate-income communities. “In a climate where small business owners are facing overwhelming challenges CDFIs are becoming the lender of choice,” said VEDC President and CEO Roberto Barragan. “These funds will allow VEDC to play a critical role in extending access to capital and support in the creation of jobs throughout California.” The VEDC has six locations in the San Fernando Valley, the greater Los Angeles area and in San Francisco supporting small businesses with access to loans. Credit Union Opens Branch Logix Federal Credit Union recently opened a new branch in Thousand Oaks, its second location in that city. It is the first of two branches the Burbank-based financial institution plans to open this year. A branch on Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley will open later this year. “We intend to add between one or two branches per year,” said CEO David Styler. “It is a modest growth pattern but one that we are comfortable with.” The new branch, located at 2060 Avenida De Los Arboles, Suite B, offers ample parking, an E-Café station for in-branch online banking, and a walk-up, 24-hour ATM. A grand opening for the branch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. Finance Investor Hires Financial planning and wealth management company Lamia Financial Group recently added to its advisory staff with two new hires, Juan C. Ros brings an extensive background in charitable giving and Jill Reagan will focus on tax planning. “Our clients want to preserve and grow their assets, protect their estates and make an impact on others through charitable giving, but they also want to make sure they aren’t paying more than their fair share of taxes,” said Christopher Lamia, principal of Lamia Financial. “With Juan and Jill on staff, we have even more resources available to clients to ensure that all these areas are expertly addressed.” Prior to Lamia Financial, Ros was the director of development for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. He is a member of the Conejo Valley Estate Planning Council, the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning of Greater Los Angeles, and serves on the boards of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Tri-Counties. Reagan is a certified public accountant with an expertise in tax and financial planning advisory services. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association of Ventura County and serves on the board of the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center Foundation. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or by e-mail at [email protected]