Blogs

In 1975, Adolf Dulan opened his first restaurant in South Los Angeles and became the “King of Soul Food” in his community. 

45 years later, Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen stands as a well-loved community establishment. With Adolf’s children—Greg Dulan, Terry Dulan, and other siblings—at the helm, it has grown to more than 60 employees and multiple locations across LA. Their mission goes beyond serving first-rate soul food in generous portions—they strive to be a socially responsible, successfully operated business with hospitality that reminds one of being at Grandma's for Sunday dinner. 

After more than 45 years of business, Dante Hamilton, owner of Internet Webpages Newspaper Inc., has found himself in a resource renaissance thanks to the newly prevalent online tools that have been available since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team advocates for entrepreneurs on two fronts: It supports policies that benefit small firms and it offers workshops and events that help small business owners grow their companies. We have found this work to be even more important as small businesses experience rising inflation, supply chain disruptions and workforce challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic.

This week we are spotlighting Tasha Brown, Small Business Majority’s Midwest Director, to let small business owners know how our team members can assist them.

Without a trace of experience in the food industry, Matt Weyandt and his family sailed into the world of chocolate and launched Xocolatl in late 2014. Although their business is based in Atlanta, Matt and his wife Elaine discovered the wonders of chocolate and chocolate-making processes in the Costa Rican jungles. 

Diane Hernandez knows from raising her own four children and one grandchild how hard it is to get quality childcare in her small, rural town of Julesburg, Colo. 

So after retiring from retail management, she decided to take a leap of faith and opened a home-based, licensed childcare business in January 2020. 

This fall, The Bottom Line webinar series has brought together U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) officials, small business advocates and subject matter experts for discussions on how to address the economic challenges facing small businesses today. Through these webinars, members of the small business community have been connected to tools and resources for long-term, stable growth. 

When Terry Norris left the Marine Corps, he needed a part-time job. He soon found one at a calibration lab working with the government on aerospace initiatives. On his first day there, he met his now wife. Just a few months later, they opened their own calibration lab in Palmdale, California. 27 years and 17 employees later, Precision Labs Calibration serves a variety of customer bases, including the medical, aerospace, agricultural and film industries. 

During lockdown, New Mexico transplant Skylar Shafer found herself homesick for the flavors of her New England childhood. Looking to connect herself back to her roots and find a distraction from her emotionally intensive day job as a community support worker, she started Sky’s Sweets, a bakery that specializes in Jewish and Brazilian desserts. Skylar’s role as a small business has helped her feel connected to her New Mexico community while her baking connects her to the community she left behind on the East Coast.

Janna Rodriguez has always been an active leader in her community—when she was 16, she began volunteering for political campaigns, from her local school board, all the way to presidential elections. In 2018, her entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish the Innovative Daycare Corp. in Long Island, New York. Her mission is to ensure that minority children in her community have the resources and privileges that children in other communities experience.

Small Business Majority’s Outreach Team advocates for entrepreneurs on two fronts: It supports policies that benefit small firms, and it offers workshops and events that help small business owners grow their companies. We have found this work to be even more important, as small businesses recover from the ongoing global health and economic crisis. 

This week we are spotlighting Jessica Anguiano, Small Business Majority’s new Southern California Outreach Manager, to let small business owners know how our team members can assist them.