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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Carol Martinez

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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.

A court hearing for Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price got underway Tuesday, with a focus on allegations Price was married to another woman when he collected city health insurance benefits for his wife — which prosecutors say amounted to embezzlement of city funds.

In addition to facing five counts of grand theft by embezzlement of public funds, Price faces four counts of conflict of interest related to votes he took on projects connected to his wife’s business and three counts of perjury by declaration related to allegations he failed to disclose financial interests related to his wife’s business.

Price has pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles County Superior Court. At the end of the preliminary hearing, which is expected to run several days, a judge will be asked to determine whether there’s enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 11 years behind bars.

On Tuesday, prosecutors called an analyst with the city’s Personnel Department to testify and presented him with documents that showed Price placed his current wife Del Richardson on his city-issued healthcare plan from 2013 to 2017, before they were legally married.

Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins then showed the analyst a 1981 marriage certificate showing Price’s marriage to Suzette Price. The analyst said his office never saw the certificate.

“We most likely would have asked questions,” said Paul Makowski, chief benefits analyst with the city’s Personnel Department.

Prosecutors say Price bilked the city out of tens of thousands of dollars in health benefits for Richardson.

Price has said he thought he was divorced from his wife when he signed Richardson up for the benefit. He and Suzette Price had been separated since 2002. His attorney Michael Schafler noted Price never sought benefits for both women at the same time.

Prosecutors say the conflict of interest and perjury charges relate to Price failing to recuse himself from votes on projects that benefited his wife’s business, which provides relocation services and community engagement on big projects.

For example, the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles paid Richardson & Associates more than $600,000 over two years from 2019 to 2020. During that same time, Price voted to support a $35 million federal grant and a state grant application for $252 million for the agency, according to prosecutors.

In addition, LA Metro paid Richardson & Associates about $219,000 over two years from 2020 to 2021. Prosecutors say during that time, Price introduced and voted for a motion to award $30 million to Metro.

Price’s staff allegedly alerted Price about both transactions as potential conflicts of interest, according to prosecutors.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last six days.

Los Angeles officials gathered Tuesday for a media event to launch the county’s newest department. The new entity faces a daunting mandate: solve the region’s deeply entrenched homelessness crisis.

The new L.A. County Homeless Services and Housing department takes the mantle from the embattled regional L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, which until now has overseen the funding and administration of homeless services across a county where more than 72,000 people experience homelessness on any given night.

County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said transferring responsibilities from LAHSA — a joint powers authority created in 1993 by the city and county of L.A. — to one centralized agency will reduce finger-pointing.

“For a long time, it is LAHSA blames the county, the county blames the city, the city blames LAHSA — we all blame each other,” Barger said. “Accountability now ends with the [Board of Supervisors]. ... The buck is going to stop with us.”

Department launches as volunteers count LA’s unhoused 

The launch coincided with the first day of the region’s homeless count, which is still being overseen by LAHSA. Last year, the county decided to pull hundreds of millions of dollars from LAHSA and entrust that annual funding to the new county department.

The decision came shortly after a series of audits uncovered spending and oversight problems at the agency. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said she hoped reducing LAHSA’s responsibilities would help the agency better execute its core duties, such as the annual homeless count.

“Now that the focus and scope of what they're doing has been narrowed, hopefully that's where they've been focusing their time, effort and energy,” Horvath said.

Sarah Mahin (center) speaks about the launch of the new county homelessness department she will direct. Standing behind her are L.A. County Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath.

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David Wagner/LAist

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Revenue for the new department comes from Measure A, the half-cent sales tax voters opted to double from the previous quarter-cent tax in November 2024.

Why sales taxes are up, but overall revenue is down

Despite the increased sales tax revenue, officials say overall funding is down because of federal and state funding losses, plus allocations of sales tax revenue to a separate entity, the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency.

The county’s new homelessness department has a $635 million draft spending plan. It comes with proposed cuts of more than 25% to homeless services.

“Cuts are painful for everyone, but we are making thoughtful and responsible decisions,” said Sarah Mahin, the new county department’s director. “We are prioritizing the most vulnerable people and the programs that we know work. And we're actively working with our partners to secure other funding and solutions to fill gaps.”

One program that will see cuts is Pathway Home, which clears encampments and offers residents spots in interim housing. Mahin said spending on the motels that serve as that interim housing will go down, dropping the number of annual encampment clearances involving motels from 30 to 10.

The hearing: At the corner of Wilkins and Kelton avenues, Hale told reporters that his hearing Tuesday lasted just about 10 minutes. According to Hale, the statute of limitations for his charges remains open until Dec. 7, a year after the street safety activist was arrested. “So they can change their mind, and I do risk arrest if I do this again,” Hale said. The hearing had been rescheduled from its original date of Jan. 5.

The crosswalks: Police arrested Hale as he and a group of volunteers, known as People's Vision Zero, were painting the third of four crosswalk legs at the Westwood intersection. As of Tuesday, the city has not repainted, eliminated or finished the crosswalks at the intersection.

One of the four crosswalks at the Westwood intersection where Hale was arrested remains unfinished. Two legs of the crosswalk were completed by Hale and his group before the L.A. police arrested the street safety activist.

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Jonathan Hale

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What’s next: Hale said People’s Vision Zero would continue painting crosswalks if the city does not take concrete steps toward its goal of ending traffic deaths. One way Hale said the city could make progress is by working with his group to create a community-led initiative to paint code-compliant crosswalks.

Dig deeper … into the background on Hale’s arrest.