One Door Closes and Another Opens: LISC LA Loan Recipients Lead the Way for Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery
9.29.2020
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LISC StoriesEconomic Development
One door closes and another door opens, this saying has never been more true than now. In the year of 2020, lifestyles, habits, and norms are all changing rapidly in response to the pandemic, and so are the opportunities. As some businesses have temporarily or permanently shut their doors following changing standards and safety measures, new businesses equipped and essential to the emerging future are opening their doors. From the service providers to the micro-entrepreneurs, LISC LA and our partners are proud allies of these resilient and emerging Angeleno businesses, committing the capital to help them thrive.
One such business is iCareClean, a commercial cleaning and janitorial service provider local to Los Angeles and serving the Southern California area. iCareClean has been in business for three years but not until coronavirus did their work come to the forefront of serving our communities. It goes to show, cleaning services have become so essential that without them many other industries would be unable to go on. Today, the LA-based business provides their services to medical and dental offices, schools and daycare facilities, restaurants, production studios, retail spaces, and religious centers, all facing stringent health standards. As an essential business, iCareClean serves our local communities by keeping Angelenos healthy and safe, and allowing for the economic health of LA businesses.
iCareClean janitorial maintenance workers
However, like many other businesses, iCareClean faced challenges during the three months of quarantine. While they were allowed to stay open as an essential business, many of the clients they provided with their services closed their facilities during those long months. Due to the lockdown, 60% of iCareClean’s clients put their contracts on hold, and less than half continued with regular cleaning. Today, with lockdown measures loosened and accompanying safety measures on businesses, the majority of those clients have returned and iCareClean is already experiencing a windfall for their business. But to prepare for the new demand, they first need support.
“Because we were able to get the loan we have working capital to afford the salary of a sales manager and we are just grateful and thankful that LISC was able to deliver on that promise that they were going to help us get a loan.”
LISC LA is providing that support by awarding the essential business with a $50,000 economic development loan that will allow them to grow their business. The money will be used to hire a sales manager to run a new sales team, increase marketing and advertising, and cover ongoing business expenses and hedge against losses due to the pandemic. As iCareClean has already seen clients removing contract holds and reengaging them for cleaning services, they are also expecting more clients to create new contracts. The loan from LISC LA will allow iCareClean to prepare for this new influx of clients and boost their businesses growth after three years of continuing success by the founders.
iCareClean Founders Erick Casillas and Jose Alvarez
Since its founding three years ago, the company has grown entirely through the marketing efforts of co-founders Erick Casillas and Jose Alvarez. The two business owners bring together fifteen years of experience in janitorial maintenance and have managed more than 500 commercial accounts. In their current business, they also manage eighteen independent contractor cleaners, and have garnered dozens of brand-name commercial and local small business clients. Co-founder Jose Alvarez says about their growth, “The biggest thing for us is that we started in 2016 and we are at about $2 million in sales now, and I am just humbled by the fact that in four years we were able to grow our business to generate $60,000 a month in sales.”
Now iCareClean is positioned to grow even more as a business providing a key service in the post-pandemic world. In fact, it is thanks to the company’s services that many Angeleno-owned businesses now have the ability to open their doors and stay open with the proper cleaning and compliance with health standards. And it is also thanks to the essential services of iCareClean and other janitorial maintenance providers that Angelenos can stay safe and healthy while life goes back to normal.
Little by little, we are rebuilding our economy in the aftermath of the pandemic and the stringent health and safety standards that came with it. It is all made possible by the efforts of business owners like Casillas and Alverez, as well as institutional lenders like LISC LA and our many committed partners. These efforts would not be possible without partners like Bank of the West who makes the LISC LA Small Business Rapid Response Program possible. Together we are proud to be the support behind iCareClean and other minority-owned businesses like them, helping them thrive and grow in the aftermath of the pandemic.
