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Lake Forest recognizes 20 small businesses for Main Street Digital Program grants
Summary
The Lake Forest City Council and partner SBDC presenters recognized 20 city businesses that completed a Main Street Digital Program; each business received $1,000 to support online marketing after a four-week training and one-on-one consulting.
The Lake Forest City Council on Sept. 16 recognized 20 local businesses that completed the Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center’s Main Street Digital Program and received $1,000 grants to support digital advertising.
Adrian Grijalva, the city’s economic development and housing manager, said the program was funded with $50,000 the city set aside in 2024 from SEAP funds to support a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) effort to help brick-and-mortar retailers expand their online presence. Grijalva said 20 Lake Forest businesses were eligible, participated in a four-week program, and received one-on-one consulting sessions with SBDC consultants.
Mike Daniel, regional and network director of the OCIE SBDC, said the program focused on social media and email marketing tools. “The SBDC...we are a bunch of business owners helping other business owners grow and succeed,” Daniel said, describing instruction on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Manarish, identified as center director of the Cal State Fullerton SBDC, thanked the city and staff for the partnership and said the center hopes to expand collaboration to further support small businesses’ growth in Lake Forest.
The council called the businesses to the front to receive certificates and posed for a group photo. The list of participating businesses announced during the meeting included Aroma Pizza and Pasta; Bonjour Nails Lake Forest; Bridal Pizza; Flare Dev; Griswold Home Care; Hawkins and Hawkins Tax Services; L and M Automotive; A Little Something Sweet; Montessori Preschool and Tutoring Academy; Mountain Mike's Pizza; Navis Pack and Ship; Our Place; Pristine Plumbing; Saha Pizza; SparkLab Robotics and Coding Academy; Spectrum Specialties and Awards; Sunny Dumpling House; We Architects Group; Williams Construction Services; and Yoga 6 Foothill Ranch.
Grijalva said the city values small businesses as “the backbone” of the community and expressed hope the training and grants help businesses grow and remain in Lake Forest.
No public comments were received on the presentation item; the council voted to consider the presentation and recognized the recipients.
