There is a moment in every entrepreneur’s journey when the dream has to become a plan. On September 9th, 2026, seventeen South Los Angeles entrepreneurs marked that moment together at CRCD’s BusinessSource Center, celebrating the graduation of the recent cohort of the Entrepreneur Training Program after six weeks of doing the hard, unglamorous work of turning a passion into something built to last. They were leaving as business owners equipped, connected, and ready to build a legacy that lasts.
Building Businesses From the Ground Up in South Los Angeles
CRCD’s Entrepreneur Training Program is a free, six-week intensive program designed to give aspiring and established entrepreneurs a real foundation for their businesses. Through practical workshops, one-on-one coaching, and access to the full suite of services available through CRCD’s BusinessSource Centers, participants work through the building blocks of a sustainable business, including: financial readiness, business planning, branding, marketing, human resources, and the operational systems that separate a side hustle from something that lasts. The program is open to entrepreneurs from across South Los Angeles and the broader City of LA at no cost.
“Our mission is really around economic development and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to help small businesses grow,” said Veronica Vitela, Director of Business Development at CRCD and who oversees the BusinessSource Center. “As we’re leading up to some of the big events happening in the city, it’s really our mission to ensure that small businesses here have every opportunity to thrive beyond all the events that are happening.”
Los Angeles is on the verge of one of the most significant periods of economic activity in its modern history as it hosts the 2027 Super Bowl, and the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics. These global events are bringing billions of dollars in investment, infrastructure, and opportunity to the region, and through programs like the ETP, CRCD is making sure South LA’s entrepreneurs are ready to meet this moment, and lead it.
The Pitches: Real Businesses, Real Vision
The graduation ceremony’s centerpiece was a series of live business pitches, with each graduate presenting their business concept, their growth plan, and the lessons they had taken from the program to a panel of judges from across the CRCD ecosystem. The pitches were honest, personal, and alive with the specificity that comes from six weeks of actually doing the work.
Marvin Valencia, LA Hub LLC: Marvin has been building LA Hub LLC for years, creating authentic video content that tells the stories of South LA’s small businesses for audiences who might never have discovered them otherwise. The ETP helped him make the shift from hobbyist to business owner, giving him the financial tracking tools and accountability structures he needed to turn a passion project into a sustainable career.
Dominique Ross, Shotbydominique: Dominique is a South LA-based photographer and LGBTQ advocate for Black men, building a client base that spans nonprofits, law firms, and editorial work across Los Angeles. The ETP gave him the business structure he had been missing to help him step into his work not just as an artist but as a CEO.
Erica Gillespie, BBL & Curves: Erica is building a post-surgical fitness coaching program designed specifically for women recovering from cosmetic procedures, combining targeted resistance training, nutritional guidance, and wellness support in a niche that is underserved and growing. The ETP helped her sharpen her pitch, identify her ideal client, and articulate what makes her offering unlike anything else in the fitness space.
Denisha Richardson, Sa’Amai Birthwork: Denisha is the founder of Sa’Amai Birthwork, a culturally grounded doula care and maternal wellness practice serving families across South Los Angeles. The business is built on the belief that every birth deserves a village. The ETP helped her see that a powerful mission needs systems, and she left with a clear roadmap to move Sa’Amai from a growing doula practice into a recognizable South LA maternal wellness brand.
From Passion to Practice
From the social media storyteller who finally started tracking his numbers to the bike-riding doula who realized that a powerful mission still needs a balance sheet, every presenter in the room arrived at the same place through a different door. Although their focus differed, they all have genuine, community-rooted ideas that had been waiting for the right foundation to stand on. The ETP gave them the language to articulate what they were building, the tools to manage it, and the confidence to show up as the CEO their business needed them to be.
Not everyone who walks through CRCD’s doors is looking for a job. Some of them are building one through a business that, if properly grown, could one day create jobs for their neighbors too. The Entrepreneur Training Program Cohort 2’s graduation was proof that when community-rooted people get the right support, they build something worth celebrating.
One Ecosystem, Endless Pathways
CRCD operates two of the City of Los Angeles’s ten BusinessSource Centers in Council Districts 8 and 9, and the ETP represents what those centers can do at their best: not just one-on-one consultations, but cohort-based, curriculum-driven programming that builds community among entrepreneurs as much as it builds their businesses. Beyond a business plan, participants leave with a peer network, connections to CRCD’s team of business coaches, and access to a full suite of services that can carry them well beyond graduation day.
ETP’s deepest value is in how it fits into something larger. The CRCD ecosystem not only supports entrepreneurs, it prepares young people for union construction careers through the MC3 program, connects families to stable housing through its Housing and Support Services department, and helps small business owners access their first loan through the BusinessSource Centers. The continuity is built intentionally to ensure that South LA residents have the resources and programs they need, all connected in one place.
Cohort 3 Is Now Open!
CRCD is now welcoming applications for Cohort 3 of the Entrepreneur Training Program, open to aspiring and established entrepreneurs from across the City of Los Angeles. Whether you are just starting out or looking to strengthen a business you have already built, the ETP offers the practical tools, guided support, and community connections to help you take your next step.
To learn more about the Entrepreneur Training Program or CRCD’s BusinessSource Centers, visit coalitionrcd.org or contact us at info@coalitionrcd.org.
The Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD) is a South Los Angeles-based nonprofit founded in 2005. Over 20 years, CRCD has served more than 12,000 South LA residents through workforce development, affordable housing, small business support, and community investment. Learn more at coalitionrcd.org.