Small Business Spotlight: Importance of disaster preparedness

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- In the heart of Old Town Pasadena, you'll find Amara Chocolate and Coffee, known for their Venezuelan flair of flavors.

"In Amara Chocolate and Coffee, we offer Venezuelan food and of course, we have a full menu with Arepas cachapas," says owner Amara Barroeta. "We're very well known for our hot chocolate and coffees, of course."

Though not in an evacuation zone, fires raging in Southern California forced the business to close for several days.

Barroeta says they didn't lose their business, but they still lost income.

Since getting the all-clear from the health department to reopen, they've seen barely 40% of the customer base return as many of their regulars were impacted by the fires.

Amara says they're navigating next steps as many of the disaster relief loans and grants are for rebuilding efforts.

"We didn't have any kind of physical damage, but we are very affected because the community has been totally displaced from the area, and then business in general has been disrupted," she said.

The LA County Economic Development Corporation says nearly 1,900 businesses were potentially impacted by the fires.

CAMEO Network CEO Carolina Martinez says in addition to low-interest SBA loans for those with property damage, economic injury disaster loans activate during emergencies as well.

"These provide working capital to help small businesses impacted by a disaster survive until normal operations resume," she said.

CAMEO Network is a resource for small businesses and non-profits offering help from coaching to capital.

While safety is always top of mind, Martinez says disaster preparedness goes beyond having an evacuation plan, a list of emergency contacts and backups of important documents.

"Is the business insured? Do you have a financial plan in place in case of an emergency," she said.

Both federal and state disaster declarations have freed up financial aid, but Martinez says more funding needs to become available for small businesses.

"Gov. Newsom put at a $2.5 billion recovery package," she said. "Unfortunately, there is not much there for small businesses. We are urging, right now, California State legislators to bring more resources to the small businesses that are affected."

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