In 2015, Kyung T. Kim established Gahbin Usa Inc, a company that sells auto parts online. The company has been operating for eight years in South LA and has five employees. In 2020, Gahbin experienced financial losses due to the pandemic, which jeopardized the company’s operations and employee salaries.

During COVID-19’s stay-at-home orders, Gahbin’s sales fell by more than 40 percent. Import and export fluctuations and restrictions also caused operational setbacks, and as income decreased, Mr. Kim worried about employee salaries and company operating funds. In order to overcome these financial losses, Mr. Kim applied to the City’s Comeback Checks Program, a grant program that offered COVID-19 financial recovery assistance.

Once his application was submitted and reviewed, Mr. Kim received an email saying he was selected for the grant. Daae Jung, a business counselor from the Hollywood BusinessSource Center, guided Mr. Kim through the process of preparing the necessary documents and he successfully received the funds.

With the $5,000 grant, Mr. Kim was able to cover COVID-19-related expenses. Through this experience, Mr. Kim learned about EWDD's BusinessSource Centers and the variety of City programs available to help small businesses.“As a minority business owner, there are many limitations to not knowing the various programs that the government has to help with business. It's good to know where to contact when you need help running your business in the future,” said Mr. Kim.