I just thought I would update this. This center is a goldmine of information! It will give you all the tools and knowledge you need to start or increase a business successfully. The negative reviews I have seen seem to center around money. The SBDC is *not* a grant resource. BUT they have experts that can tell you what grants / loans are out there and how to apply for them. You / your business may not get the money - that's not on the SBDC, that's on you / your business plan and your financial situation. And I'll be honest, white males like me? Not a lot of grants and the SBA has very special financial rules about who gets their money that the experts at the SBDC will explain. But there are programs/grants out there to help lots of underrepresented folks in the entrepreneurial world. And the SBDC team know all about these, the requirements, and how to apply. They are great at describing the "terrain" involved in starting a business and helping you be prepared to maneuver in it (especially all the government requirements at Federal, State, County and City level! UGH!). I'm in the tech field and their web and social media experts leave me speechless in their knowledge - I have learned so much about an area where it is hard to keep up with all the changes and all the ins and outs. They will help your create a REAL business plan - that will give you a realistic view of what you need to survive and thrive, what you need to do: in sales, gross profit, net profit, and what those things are and how to calculate them. No plan survives the battlefield but your chance of surviving is greatly enhanced by planning and doing the work they ask of you. They do this only to help YOU succeed. They will help you create a REAL marketing plan - so you know who your target market is and define it so that it is not too big and not too small; who your "perfect customer" is to really understand how you can best serve them; and the best ways to reach your target market. They will help you understand the differences / pros & cons of different types of entities: sole-proprietorship, LLC, Sub-S, C-Corp (Inc) AND help you to make sure you fill out the paperwork correctly. They will help you set up your accounting system to give you the information you need to understand if your business is succeeding. And they will teach you exactly what that information is and what kind of values / "scores" you need to be a healthy and thriving company. They can help you decide / apply for Trademarks and Patents. They help you with importing and exporting. They can help you understand Angel and Venture Capital investment and what those groups are looking for in a business and how you can connect with them (at least Angel investors in the greater L.A. area). Really, if it is an aspect of business, they probably have an expert that can help. BUT you get what you put in. Commit yourself to learning what you need to learn and doing what you need to do, to start a business. Can they guarantee success? Of course not. But you will be lightyears better prepared to give your business a real chance of success by working with them. And remember ALL OF THIS IS FREE! Paid for by our tax dollars. Anyone would have to pay A LOT of money for the advise this center provides for free. I urge you to see for yourself, I think you will easily understand the benefit of this great organization with truly knowledgable people all wanting to help you / your business succeed. read more

I was genuinely excited to work with the LA SBDC, but unfortunately, my experience over the past two months has been extremely disappointing. I submitted my application on June 22, 2026, and originally requested to work with Gary Polk. I was told he was too busy and was assigned to Thomas instead. After meeting with Thomas, I didn't feel his experience aligned with the level of guidance I needed, and I also didn't feel there was much confidence in my concept because of its scope. I requested Gary again and was denied. I was then assigned to Greg. While I appreciated his time, I again walked away feeling there was more skepticism about whether my concept was achievable than actual guidance on how to make it achievable. Greg suggested I meet with two other advisors and reconnect with him afterward, but those meetings were approximately two weeks away. That left me wondering: what was I supposed to be working on during those two weeks without direction or support? After eventually emailing Gary directly about my experience trying to work with him, I was finally assigned to him. We met on August 18, and he gave me homework, which I completed and submitted on August 21. Gary responded on August 23, and I replied on August 25. I then followed up again on August 27 and August 28 without receiving a response. On August 28, I texted Gary to follow up. He replied, "I thought that I replied via email. Did you not receive!" I sent him a screenshot showing my unanswered emails and follow-ups from that week. He read the message on August 28. As of September 1st, I still have not received a response. (Image attached). At this point, the lack of communication has left me feeling as though there simply isn't an interest in working with me as a client. What disappoints me most is the amount of time lost. I first contacted the SBDC on June 22. More than two months later, after being moved between multiple advisors and repeatedly advocating for the support I originally requested, I still don't feel I have meaningful direction or consistent support for my business. I came to the SBDC excited, motivated, and ready to do the work. I wasn't looking for someone to tell me my idea would be easy or automatically succeed. I was looking for experienced advisors who could challenge me while helping me determine how to turn an ambitious concept into an achievable business. I emailed their Regional Director about my experience and he did nothing to try and understand and better support my experience. -------------------------- Dear Rodrigo, Thank you for sharing your feedback. I am sorry to hear that your experience with our services did not meet your expectations. I appreciate you taking the time to outline your concerns, and I will review your feedback with our team as we look for opportunities to improve our client experience. I respect your decision to discontinue your engagement with the SBDC, and we will update your client status accordingly. At this time, we will consider your engagement with the Los Angeles Regional SBDC concluded. As you continue pursuing your business, I hope you will consider exploring other small business technical assistance providers in the region, such as SCORE, PACE, or the Business Source Centers, which may offer services that are a better fit for your needs. I wish you the best in your entrepreneurial journey and success with your business. Regards, -Pat Nye ---------------------- Unfortunately, that has not been my experience, and I am no longer interested in continuing as an LA SBDC client due to the lack of competence. read more

Small Business Development Center - Advisor ghosted me - Business Consulting Near Me - Hawthorne, California

I own a small business and have found the SBDC to be so very helpful in several areas of my business: Marketing Law Quickbooks SEO Lending Really the amount of help that they have given me would have cost thousands of dollars. Plus - they helped me get a grant and a loan during the pandemic too. The customer service and other staff are amazing. In particular: Deborah Doras Israel Serna Have really been a huge contribution to my company. read more

One star is for the fact that there are many good workshops that are free or at no cost. The other is for Deborah Deras, who teaches a lot in little time. I wish all of the counselors had her positive nature because unfortunately, I'm going to have to take my business to another small biz development office. After dealing with a surly Mr. William earlier this year, I took inventory of his nonconstructive feedback and lack of follow-up. I decided that going out of my area to a different office (which I hate) is my next best option. In the past, I've worked with a couple of similar organizations who were able to assist me when I had less direction, almost zero business sense, and no real education. All of this has changed over the past decade but this individual suggested I get a part-time job instead. El Camino continuing education and Mr. Johnson are aware of this incident but months later, no one has offered a solution. It's very unfortunate because unless a person has hard proof that a business idea won't work, who are they to turn someone away? read more

I had a bankruptcy tanks to VEDC during 2017. My husband had a bankruptcy: we did work together. Both filed at the same time. We always have paid everything on time. And we had 6 loans paid off to VEDC. I have excellent references for my past life and I have everything paid on time now. I have been kept for 3 months with a misleading promise for a loan and I did not receive it at the end. I have been asked to provide all my vendors and customers and after two weeks my customers complained that many people did approach them with the same sterling silver items. They have been curious what is going on. VEDC should not ask for our customers and vendors as it is a company's secret how to do the business. But they insisted in my case to show invoices for paid items and how to sale and where I sale the items after that to make a profit. I also had warnings that IRS is going to audit my tax returns, because some of the small businesses did not know how to record their income. I did agree. And at the end I did not receive the loan I needed. Please do not erase my comment, because it is true. I want to share it. Now I am a Tax Accountant on W-2. Business was closed, due to the loan I did not receive. read more

Don't waste your time here. They are basically run by the government and you know what that means. Failed promises, failed call backs, bad advise. From the phone staff to the director of the company I got excuses every step along the way. I was referred to a lender who has about 30 negative yelp reviews only as I would suspect they get credit for the referral. When I disagreed with how I was treated the director told me it was my fault because my loan was complicated. It's really a big waste of your time to use a free service. They know the game so they give you your 30 minutes and spit you out. ----- Lets think about this. Free business development program offered by the government. Has the government ever just offered anything for free that you really expect to get a great value out of. The people that work in these offices are just looking to ride it out until retirement, do the minimum, and get you in and out in 30 minutes. They have no real contacts, they dont really offer any services that will help out a business, and they half ass it. If its too good to be true, it is. You would be wasting your time by spending it thinking you would get some good advice, contacts, etc in these locations. It more like the government wants to spend tax dollars and offer 60k year salaries to people who have given up in their line of work, or they just were not good enough. Why else would someone work here? You could make 10x consulting on your own. Ive visited two locations and have not been helped. Ive wasted a lot of time. My loan request was based on inventory which is harder than getting a traditional small business loan to open a subay. They have no real interest in helping my business past handing me a flyer and sending me to an awfully reviewed bank. What they should have done is look at my financials and help me present a package to a bank that they would be interested in, as the other consultants eventually did. Since they have no vested interest if I succeed or not, they are not willing to put the work in that you would expect(ie looking over financials, offering solid advice based on those financials). Which is really the reasons why they work here in the first place, for a quick and easy paycheck with minimal effort. It comes from the top down directors so you would expect all employees to follow in line. If this seems unusually harsh, too bad because its very true and I want to save any future people from wasting their time here. read more

Such an incredible resource for opening a business. You open a file with them and then can set up 1 hour appointments to essentially ask them any question you can think of to help open your business. They're extremely knowledgable, patient, and friendly. I've worked with Charlie and Dan and they both have been critical to help streamline the overwhelming process of starting your own business. They also offer classes and resources to small businesses. I can't emphasize how their advice has steered me away from making common mistakes and they've just saved me so much time in finding resources and questions to answers. Long story short, they're why I'm able to sleep at night. read more

If starting a new business or already run an existing business, I highly recommend SBDC! They provide excellent training at a significant low fee and offer free one on one counseling on business mechanisms'. They are funded through Small Business Administration. read more

Steve M is completely correct in his review. Place is a scam. You will get nothing useful from them as it's a complete waste of time, energy, money, resources. read more