Micro Enterprise Creates Jobs, Builds Neighborhoods and Transforms Lives
In 2009, CAMEO members served 21,000 very small businesses with training, technical assistance and loans. These firms – largely start-ups with less than five employees – brought 42,000 new jobs into California’s economy.
When small businesses succeed, they create jobs, they build their neighborhoods and communities so that California can thrive.
- Jessicurl
The story of how Jessicurl was born is best told by its owner, Jessica McGuinty. Until the time I was 14 I had thick yet fairly straight hair. When puberty struck, my hair grew more and more coarse and eventually started to curl. I was mortified and...
- William Ortiz
Success story from Mission Economic Development Agency in San Francisco. William Ortiz, owner of Gentle Parking produced by medasf on Vimeo.
- Semper Fi Security
Jason T. grew up in a small town in Northern California. He did well in high school, after which, he decided to join the U.S. Marine Corp. He served from 1991-97 through multiple tours in Desert Hope, Desert Shield and Desert Storm and received an Hon...
- Taqueria Lidia
Taqueria Lidia prides itself in making fresh tortillas by hand as well as regional treats such as Oaxacan mole negro (black sauce) with dried chilies, seeds, fruits and nuts and tlayudas, a round corn masa made from corn native to Oaxaca, topped with beans, cabbage Oaxacan cheese, tomatoes, tasajo (a jerky-like meat), and avocado. Lidia is also preparing healthy menu items like roasted corn on the cob, sliced mango and jicama for the new "Jovenes Sano" program in Watsonville.
- Chai Lee
Escaping the harsh realities of life in a refugee camp was a victory for Chai and his family, but he had to re-build his life. Chai liked the idea of owning a business. He had no credit history and very little collateral, but wanted to buy a janitorial franchise. Enter Fresno CDFI.
- Rewind Audio
The story of Rewind Audio mirrors the story of Jen and Oscar Carpinteyro’s family. Jen met Oscar in January 2000, when they both worked at the ACLU. They were married in April 2001. Jen says “With a good foundation to start, only positive things...
- Cortland Avenue Corridor
San Francisco - An unprecedented number of small businesses in the Cortland Avenue Corridor are utilizing an important asset in the San Francisco small business community. Working Solutions, a local nonprofit microlender is providing much-needed capital to businesses that need small loans that traditional banks won’t touch. And creating jobs in the process - a total of 17 jobs!
- Town Cutler
San Francisco - Galen saw beautiful sushi-grade fish lose their clean line, vegetables chopped in non-uniform sizes, and butchers turn red because of rough cuts. Finally fed up with this problem, he put down his chef’s hat and replaced it with a whetstone.
- Mission Cheese
San Francisco - Sarah Dvorak knows cheese. Whether it be the sweet and nutty Estero Gold, the smooth and earthly Boho Bel, or the notoriously fragrant bleu cheeses from Northern Califiornia, this cheesehead breaks it down for you.
- Sweet Treats
San Diego - One day at a friend’s party, Chris, Jennifer and some others were reminiscing about the ice cream truck when they were kids – the excitement they had when they heard the music, the breathlessness from running in the house, scrounging for change and hoping you didn’t miss the truck, eating the peanuts off the top of a Drumstick, then the chocolate, then the vanilla ice cream, then crunching on the cone.
- Kara McGibben, Perception
Kara and her husband came to CAMEO member Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) in Santa Barbara after a long period of unemployment. The two decided take their economic future into their own hands and launch a business. With a background in proj...
- Ted Sheets
Ted Sheets has been making signs in Eureka since 1984. In 2006, he began to look at the possibility of moving out of his garage, which was full to the rafters. Ted wanted to expand his sign business and started looking at sign franchise opportuni...
- Lucy Ludwig
Lucy Ludwig began her law career in 2006 as a public defender in San Diego, working long hours at volumes of impersonal work. But she yearned for the satisfaction that comes from helping individuals with financial needs. She took a position with ...
- JJ Lee & Chris Lord
JJ Lee and Chris enrolled in the Individual Development Account program with CAMEO member Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC) in Los Angeles with the goal of launching a music production company. Upon completion of their required savings ...
- Gloria
Tired of selling timeshares, in 2005 Gloria began to look for a new career path. She found a listing for the sale of Parkside Postal, a San Francisco neighborhood mailing and postal business. When Gloria met with the owner, who had decided to ret...
- Ginger Elizabeth
Fascinated with chocolate and its beautiful and complex characteristics, Ginger Elizabeth Hahn had always dreamed of opening her own chocolaterie. A formally trained American chocolatier, Ginger Elizabeth began learning her craft at age 16 at...
- Elizabeth Pond
Elizabeth Pond moved from Waimea, on the Big Island of Hawaii, to Santa Barbara in 2007 to pursue better educational opportunities for herself and her two children. Upon completing the Professional Financial Planning program at UCSB, a CAMEO memb...
- Johneric Concordia
After being laid off from a major airline in 2009, Johneric Concordia took the opportunity to put his barbecue skills to work by opening a his own food service business in Los Angeles. Concordia developed his cooking skills while growing up in ...
Add the story of your small business to AEO ‘s website (our national partner.) They are collecting stories to demonstrate the power of Micro. If just one in three Micro Enterprises hired a single employee, the U.S. would be at full employment.
