The Brief

This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Oct. 2, 2024.

When the pandemic closed storefronts in 2020, consumers were forced to find services and vendors elsewhere, while desperate laid-off workers turned to side hustles to make ends meet.

Since then, many entrepreneurs have transformed their hobbies into businesses – and some have even become their main source of income.

Thanks to the rising popularity of social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, many people have been able to sell their services and products online or generate income as “creators.” That trend has especially taken off among the “extremely online” Gen Z population.

According to a study conducted this summer by Talker Research, younger generations are more likely to consider themselves entrepreneurs – 36% of Gen Z and just 25% of baby boomers.

We spoke with three young entrepreneurs from Boyle Heights to learn about their side hustles and small business journeys.

Jose Lima, 23, Chepecleans4you

For Jose “Chepe” Lima, shoes are everything.

The 23-year-old came up with the idea to start his shoe cleaning business, Chepecleans4you, in 2020 after he saw no one was offering the service locally at an affordable price.

“Nobody really does this, especially in Boyle Heights,” Lima said. “We can all see how everybody resells shoes…There are more shoes than the [cleaning] service out there, so it was the perfect opportunity to take over the community with this.”

Jose “Chepe” Lima cleaning a pair of Nike shoes.

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Carol Martinez

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Boyle Heights Beat

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After graduating from Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School in 2019, Lima chose to focus on work instead of going off to college. He landed a full-time job as a delivery driver for Amazon. He thought the hourly pay of $20.75 would be enough to support his expenses while living at home with his parents.

Lima started Chepecleans4you while working at Amazon and eventually quit his job to focus on his side hustle. Like many other entrepreneurs, the side-hustle-to-full-time pipeline was his original goal.

Jose “Chepe” Lima goes through the shoe cleaning process.

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Boyle Heights Beat

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“There’s been good and bad days. I work full-time so my job comes first. I quit once to do [Chepecleans4u] full-time, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” he said. “It’s life, but I’m hoping to try it again one day.”

Today, he works for the delivery company full-time and focuses on his side business on his days off.

Lima runs his business from home, where his clients typically drop off their shoes. He charges $25 to clean any shoe. The service includes an all-around deep clean, including the outsole and midsole.

Most of Lima’s clients are from Boyle Heights, East L.A., and surrounding areas on the Eastside. He says he builds clientele through social media promotion, as well as through recommendations from customers who share the business with friends and family.

“It’s very important, it helps me connect with the community. People love shoes, people work hard for their shoes, so it’s something you always want to have clean and fresh,” he said.

You can find Chepecleans4you here.

Elianet Romero and Alijiah Torres, both 27, Las Niñas Fresitas

Elianet Romero and Alijiah Torres, both 27, met during their freshman year at Bravo Medical Magnet High School. The two bonded during English class and have been best friends since.

When the pandemic hit, they saw an opportunity to create a joint venture that could bring in extra income. They created a sweet treats business called Las Niñas Fresitas, and started selling chocolate-covered strawberries and miniature cakes online.

“A lot of small businesses tend to overcharge. Our whole motto was to be different and make our business more affordable so that people can get a treat for their loved ones, especially during COVID when things were rocky and negative,” said Romero. “It was a chance to spread positivity and start a business together.”

Elianet Romero (left) and Ailijah Torres (right) hold a box of chocolate covered strawberries.

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Photo courtesy of Las Niñas Fresitas

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When the business launched, Romero was working full-time doing communications for a private firm. It fit perfectly with her plans for the future, serving to help fund her education. She is currently attending law school at the University of California, Davis.

For Torres, who had just graduated from college at the height of the pandemic, Las Niñas Fresitas became her main source of income until she started working for a finance company.

Today, the business venture serves as additional income for the two.

“Our venture is really unique because we’re two best friends giving back to the community. We grew up around there [Boyle Heights], we went to school there, and it’s really nice seeing locals that went to school together or we worked with them at some point and end up recommending people to us because they know our product is good,” said Romero.

Custom sweet treats made by Las Niñas Fresitas.

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Collage made with photo courtesy of Las Niñas Fresitas

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A team, in and out of the kitchen, Romero and Torres use their skills to build and maintain the business. Studying law, Romero has been getting acquainted with the ins and outs of running a business to implement informed practices in their growing business and future storefront. Torres uses her knowledge working for a financial firm to manage Las Niñas Fresitas’ finances.

“I think it’s pretty profitable as a side hustle but I know we want to see it as a storefront. Is it profitable as a storefront right now? Absolutely not,” Romero said.

In March, the entrepreneurs added cakes to the menu and began receiving weekly cake orders in addition to chocolate-strawberry purchases.

Las Niñas Fresitas takes orders through Instagram and caters celebrations, including birthdays, weddings and baby showers.

Looking ahead, the friends want to focus on promoting their business through social media, pop-up events and pursuing their goal of a storefront in the next few years.

You can find more about Las Niñas Fresitas here.

Bryan Rojas, 24, Mezcal Mixer

Bryan Rojas developed a passion for crafting cocktails while working as a bartender at dive bars and cocktail lounges.

Bryan Rojas.

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Carol Martinez

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Boyle Heights Beat

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During the pandemic, he saw an opportunity to use his vast experience to create his own craft drink mixing business based in Boyle Heights. Rojas started uploading videos of his custom recipes online, an endeavor that would eventually blossom into his own bartending business.

“From making videos, it quickly became where I had friends from high school that were like ‘Hey I noticed you’re bartending, how much would you charge me for my birthday?’ and it kind of went from there,” said Rojas.

At the time, he and his wife were struggling financially and living paycheck to paycheck so the business helped keep them afloat. Rojas decided to call it Mezcal Mixer.

The 24-year-old currently manages and curates the menu for a Japanese restaurant in the Arts District and runs this bartending side hustle on his free time. This past summer, he said, the business booked up to seven events monthly.

Booking inquiries are handled through a link on his business Instagram page, where interested clients can share details about the number of guests, event location, budget and theme. An average event for 100 guests could cost $350 to $400, Rojas said.

Custom drinks made by Mezcal Mixer.

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A collage of photos courtesy of Mezcal Mixer.

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When it comes to booking events like birthday parties or graduations, Rojas works closely with his clients to ensure that they’re never spending more than they need to by often creating specialized menus, pre-event drink tastings and bar schedules to combat the inevitable leftover liquor and supplies.

“I try guiding people in the direction where I can make a good menu or curate a menu to fit a theme while still saving them money because no one wants to spend $1,500 on a bartender and no one is drinking the cocktails,” he said.

Rojas also takes pride in using quality ingredients in all of his recipes and says his syrups and drink infusions are all housemade.

“I love the extra money and the fact that it helps me do what I want to do, but I love the creative aspects more…I’m 100 percent proud of my original recipes and all the brainstorming that goes into it,” Rojas said.

You can find Mezcal Mixer here.

Public officials across California are contemplating what to do with dozens of streets, parks and libraries named in honor of civil rights icon César Chávez in the wake of allegations he sexually assaulted two girls and a woman decades ago.

The allegations surfaced in an investigation by the New York Times published earlier this week that sent shock waves across the country.

Chávez, who was head of the United Farm Workers union, is widely recognized as one of the most influential labor leaders in U.S. history, known for founding the union and for leading national boycotts of grapes to improve working conditions for farmworkers.

Chávez died in 1993.

Many state and local leaders, including L.A.’s mayor and county supervisors, suggested changing the César Chávez holiday on March 31 to Farm Workers Day. March 31 was Chávez’s birthday.

In Sacramento on Thursday, Democratic leaders of the state Legislature said they would push for such a change.

“The farmworker movement was never ever about one man,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said at a news conference. “It was built by tens of thousands of workers. People who labored in the fields, people who organized, people who sacrificed and who stood up when it was hard.

“We have a responsibility to remember the movement and to move it forward with integrity.”

Also on Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed a proclamation renaming the city's César Chávez Day holiday as “Farm Workers Day.” The city recognizes the holiday on the last Monday of March.

“I grew up as a child admiring the farmworker movement,'' Bass said. “I didn't think I was ever going to eat grapes again because my family boycotted grapes.”

The grape strike, organized in part by Chávez, lasted five years from 1965 to 1970.

Multiple allegations of sexual assault

The New York Times investigation uncovered multiple allegations that Chávez had sexually assaulted girls and women in the 1960s and ‘70s, when he was head of United Farm Workers, including union co-founder Dolores Huerta.

Huerta, now 95, told the Times the rape and sexual assault resulted in pregnancies that she kept secret. Huerta said she gave the children up for adoption after birth.

In a statement, Huerta said in part: “... for the last 60 years [I] have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.”

Bass said Thursday she met Chávez once and “thought it was an opportunity of a lifetime.” She said her heart “broke” this week when she heard the allegation that Chávez had raped Huerta.

The mayor said renaming the holiday would allow people “to reflect on how the struggle of farmworkers has elevated working people everywhere.”

She added that the city would need to consider changing the names of buildings, streets and other things named in honor of Chávez.

For example, César Chávez Avenue runs through the heart of the Boyle Heights neighborhood. Several murals of Chávez dot the city.

Bass said she had been in contact with Chávez's family, and they supported her action.

The mayor was joined at the proclamation signing by Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who said in a statement that the farmworker movement has always been about the power of the people, “especially the women whose labor built it and too often went unseen."

“As we honor that legacy, we also have a responsibility to tell the truth about harm and stand with survivors,” Hernandez said.

Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado also attended the news conference. She said the movement doesn’t belong to one person.

“Farm Workers Day honors the workers, families and organizers still in the fields and still fighting for fair wages, safe conditions and dignity,” the statement from Jurado read. “And it recognizes that this movement is carried forward every single day by people whose names we may never know but whose impact continues to define the spirit of Los Angeles.”

Other cities and counties 

Many other cities and counties are considering wiping Chávez's name from public spaces.

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she would introduce a motion looking at renaming the county’s César Chávez holiday.

Supervisor Janice Hahn suggested the county consider renaming Chávez day “Farm Worker Day.”

“For those of us who grew up admiring the farmworker movement, today's news is heartbreaking,'' Hahn said in a statement Wednesday. "But as in any other civil rights movement, men were only half the story. The abuses of one man will never diminish the extraordinary sacrifices, accomplishments, and legacy of the women of the farmworker movement.

“It's time we put them first.”

The process for renaming streets and other public structures varies from city to city and school district to school district. It could take months before many cities move to erase Chávez's name from public spaces.

You can follow your city council agenda to keep up with what’s going on, or better yet, reach out to your representatives on the council and county Board of Supervisors to make your voice heard on the issue.

California, along with a coalition of 23 other states and a dozen cities and counties, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday for rolling back the scientific finding requiring it to regulate greenhouse gas pollution.

“This isn’t a small technical change,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a press conference in Sacramento. “It’s a sweeping decision that would increase pollution, worsen climate change and put the health of millions of Americans at risk. And it’s not based on any credible science.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, seeks to reinstate a 2009 conclusion known as the endangerment finding — that carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases threaten public health and welfare.

The climate rule served as the scientific basis for the agency’s ability to limit emissions under the Clean Air Act.

The Trump administration finalized the repeal of the endangerment finding Feb. 12. A post on the EPA’s website stated the change would also dissolve restrictions on vehicle emissions and save Americans $1.3 trillion.

“As a result of these changes, engine and vehicle manufacturers no longer have any future obligations for the measurement, control and reporting of GHG emissions for any highway engine and vehicle, including model years manufactured prior to this final rule.”

Sanchez said California’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the landmark 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, signed into law by then-Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, “remains unchanged.”

Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties also were parties to the suit.

KQED’s Laura Klivans contributed to this report.

California voters are split along party lines on two controversial proposed ballot measures — a billionaire tax and an initiative requiring voters to show government ID when they cast a ballot — according to a new poll.

The survey from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found 52% of voters backing a proposed one-time, 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires. The money would be used to fund health care programs, which are being cut by the Trump administration; 33% of registered voters said they were opposed and 15% said they are still undecided.

Whether voters back the measure, which is being pushed by a health care labor union, is highly correlated to their partisan leanings: 72% of Democrats said they’d support the billionaire tax if it qualifies for the November ballot, while the same percentage of Republican voters are opposed. Voters with no party preference were more split, with 51% backing the wealth tax.

The voter ID ballot measure is more evenly divided, with 44% of voters in support and 45% opposed. Republican voters said they would overwhelmingly vote “Yes.” Democrats are unified in opposition, with only 19% in support.

IGS co-director Eric Schickler said that while neither measure has qualified yet for the ballot, most voters surveyed said they are aware of the proposals.

“The Billionaire Tax Initiative starts out in a relatively strong position, but with it polling just above 50%, that still leaves room for what will be an intense, expensive campaign,” he said. “The Voter ID Initiative looks like it faces an uphill climb: given the strong Democratic opposition, it needs very strong support among nonpartisan voters, and it currently seems to be falling short. But it is still very early.”

If they move forward, the campaigns around both measures are expected to be expensive and bruising. Democrats are split on the billionaires tax: Gov. Gavin Newsom is opposed, Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna said he’s in support, and many other Democrats — including legislative leaders and candidates for governor — have offered support for the concept but expressed concerns with the details of this proposal.

Some billionaires have already left California, and others, like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, are lining up huge campaign war chests to fight the measure.

And Democrats are gearing up to fight the voter ID measure, which several Southern California Republican lawmakers are pushing. The proposed ballot measure comes as the U.S. Senate debates what’s known as the SAVE Act, a far more draconian voter ID measure.

Backed by President Donald Trump, that legislation would require a passport or birth certificate to register to vote, essentially eliminate mail-in ballots and require states to hand over their voter rolls to the federal government. It already passed the House but is facing a steep climb in the Republican-led Senate.

The poll was conducted between March 9 and 15 among more than 5,000 registered California voters. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 2 points.

The Los Angeles Unified board members who represent schools named for César Chávez are calling for their renaming.

A New York Times investigation published Wednesday found the famed labor leader Chávez sexually abused girls and women including United Farmer Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta.

“In light of this information, we believe it is necessary to move away from traditional César Chávez-centered celebrations and lessons tied to the state holiday and instead prioritize student safety, dignity and truth,” read a statement from board member Kelly Gonez and Vice President Rocío Rivas.

The renaming process would likely take months and include meetings with school staff, students and parents. In the meantime, district leaders and educators are grappling with how the allegations of abuse change lessons about a figure who helped galvanize generations of activists.

“ I think we are all deeply, deeply troubled by the allegations that have come forward over the last couple of days,” said Andres Chait, the acting Los Angeles Unified superintendent.

Chait said that March 27 will continue to be a school holiday (the currently named César Chávez Day, on March 31, falls during LAUSD’s spring break).

A district spokesperson provided a statement Wednesday that said a review of curriculum and resources related to Chávez is underway “to ensure the emphasis remains on the important work of the farmworker movement, not on any one individual.”

How are community members and educators reacting?

Last semester, students at STEM Academy of Hollywood learned about Chávez and the movement to unionize farmworkers in Irene Atilano’s ethnic studies class.

Atilano said students walked into her classroom Wednesday with questions after seeing the allegations of Chávez’s abuse on social media.

“ They were just like, ‘What do you think?’” Atilano said. “And I'm like, 'It doesn't matter what I think. What do you guys think? Let's learn together.'”

Their reactions ranged from “this really sucks,” to a sense of loss.

“This is why we don't try to idolize people,” Atilano said. “We want to make sure that we focus on the community, we focus on the movement.”

Atilano said she plans to teach ethnic studies again and is thinking about how misogyny and patriarchy intersect with political and social justice movements.

“It can be found everywhere,” Atilano said. “I’m trying to see how I can make those connections in the future, but it's a work in progress.”

On March 10, the LAUSD board unanimously approved a resolution recognizing Chávez — one of many such resolutions over the years — and pledging to provide curriculum and resources aligned with the foundation that promotes his legacy, education and economic development. The board last year also passed a resolution honoring Huerta.

In response to LAist’s questions about curriculum related to Chávez, an LAUSD spokesperson provided a statement that said the district is providing additional instructional materials “to support classroom learning, ensuring students continue to engage with themes of leadership, service and social justice in age-appropriate and meaningful ways.”

LAUSD board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin issued a statement Wednesday morning with links to resources related to sexual and domestic violence.

“Just my own team, we’re seven women … and our own triggers, our own stories are coming out,” Ortiz Franklin said. “You can imagine that happening everywhere in homes, in classrooms, the adults having to manage this, and then also, helping students process.”

César Chávez Elementary in El Sereno is one of several schools in Southern California named after the labor leader.

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How would renaming work?

Blanca Juarez was at César Chávez Elementary in El Sereno on Wednesday to pick up her daughter. With a father and grandmother who were both farmworkers, she said she was troubled by the news.

“He was like the only hope in those days — the only one speaking for all of the — and now, well, I don’t know. I don’t know what to say,” Juarez said.

She said it was too soon to be talking about renaming the school.

Gonez and Rivas said they would work with the communities surrounding the elementary school and the César Chávez Learning Academies in San Fernando to identify new names.

In recent years, the school renaming process has included meetings with staff, students, parents and community members and a public vote. The LAUSD board must vote to finalize any name changes.

LAist Deputy Managing Editor Fiona Ng contributed to this story.