In brief
Long Beach’s small business help runs through Economic Development’s BizCare hotline at 562.570.4BIZ (4249), a no-cost Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hosted by Long Beach City College, city loans of $10,000 to $5 million, and grants whose status changes by program. As of October 2, 2026, the city’s grants page marked the Safe & Secure Grant and the Visual Improvement Program “Application Open!” and Level Up LB closed.
- BizCare answers “8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays”, and after-hours messages “within 24 business hours”1.
- The SBDC offers “no cost” advising at 4900 E. Conant Street, Building O2, Suite 108, and is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration4.
- The Microenterprise Loan is $10,000 to $100,000 with a 2 percent loan fee; the Grow Long Beach Fund is $100,000 to $5 million6.
- Safe & Secure grants are $750 or $1,500, though the same page also prints “up to $500”7.
- The Legacy Business Program carries no grant money, and home-based and cannabis businesses are not eligible9.
The city’s business support is split between Economic Development and Opportunity, the Business License Division and several partners. This page is part of the sequence for starting a business in Long Beach. It lists what each program states about itself, marks grant status as of October 2026, and notes where a detail is not stated on the page. The pages describe offerings and eligibility; none of this is a recommendation of one over another.
The short answer
| If you are… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Starting out and unsure which departments apply | Call or email BizCare; it connects owners to “grants, loans, technical assistance and more”1 |
| Looking for free coaching or workshops | Inclusive Business Navigators or the SBDC at Long Beach City College34 |
| Borrowing $10,000 to $100,000 | The Microenterprise Loan; it requires creating one full-time job per $35,000 borrowed6 |
| Borrowing $100,000 to $5 million for a business open at least two years | The Grow Long Beach Fund6 |
| A storefront owner after a vandalism or property crime loss | The Visual Improvement Program, “up to $1,000”, marked “Application Open!”7 |
| A sidewalk vendor | Sidewalk to Success, first-year fees covered “as long as program funds are available”11 |
BizCare
Economic Development and Opportunity works from 411 W. Ocean Blvd.; main phone 562.570.6099; Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It describes its work as “Providing access to capital through our small business lending programs” and “Facilitating business startups”2.
BizCare “provides support and resources to small businesses and nonprofits in Long Beach”. The hotline is 562.570.4BIZ (4249) and the email [email protected], answered “8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays”, with after-hours messages answered “within 24 business hours”1. An Outreach Team “is currently visiting businesses weekly” in low-to-moderate income areas, and a Business Support Partnership links city departments and community organizations. The page links a BizCare Request Form and “Starting a Business in Long Beach” guides in English, Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog1.
BizCare also takes complaints about commercial operations, including alcohol businesses, according to Planning’s alcohol page13. The licensing side of alcohol is in Selling Alcohol in Long Beach.
Advising: Inclusive Business Navigators and the SBDC
The Inclusive Business Navigators offer “free technical assistance, workshops, and business coaching/advising”. The partners listed are the Small Business Development Center, SCORE Long Beach South Bay, Braven Agency, Centro CHA, RightSource Services and the United Cambodian Community. Centro CHA is described as offering “access to capital such as KIVA loans, Latino Small Business grants”3.
The SBDC’s own site reads “SBDC Hosted by Long Beach City”, with the host given as Long Beach City College at 4900 E. Conant Street, Building O2, Suite 108, Long Beach, CA 90808; phone 562.938.5100. Advising is “no cost”, funded in part by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the center is part of the Los Angeles SBDC Network4.
Kiva
The city’s Kiva page says: “Through the Kiva City Long Beach initiative, Long Beach entrepreneurs can now access 0% interest, no-fee loans”. It invites people to become “a borrower, a lender, and/or a Trustee” and lists funded borrowers from 2019 to 2021. The trustees named include City of Long Beach Economic Development, the CSULB Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Bixby Knolls Improvement Association, Downtown Long Beach Alliance, Valley Economic Development Center, LB Fresh and Ironfire5.
The page text read for this article does not state a loan range, a match amount or whether a stand-alone Kiva Long Beach hub operates today. Those details are not stated and are left out here5.
City loans
The city’s loan page lists two programs6.
| Detail | Microenterprise Loan | Grow Long Beach Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | $10,000 to $100,000 | $100,000 to $5 million |
| Rate | “75% Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Prime Rate with a maximum rate of WSJ Prime Rate + 3%” | prime rate + 2.75% |
| Fee | “2% loan fee, if loan closes” | not stated |
| Term | 3 to 10 years | 10 to 25 years |
| Business age | not stated | operating “at least two years” |
| Other terms | one full-time job per $35,000 borrowed; personal guarantee; Loan Committee approval; no construction | SBA-guaranteed; usable for construction and tenant improvements |
Source:6, as of October 2026. The rate wording is as the page prints it.
Grants and their status
The city’s small business grants page marks status per program7.
| Program | What the page states | Status on the page |
|---|---|---|
| Safe & Secure Grant | $750 for storefronts of 1,500 square feet or less; $1,500 for 1,500 to 5,000 square feet or 25 or more linear feet of frontage | “Application Open!” |
| Visual Improvement Program | “up to $1,000” for vandalism or property crime on or after October 1, 2023; “Additional funding has been identified” | “Application Open!” |
| Level Up LB | $10k grants | Closed March 20, 2025 |
Source:7, read October 2, 2026. The closed list includes the Inclusive Business Navigators Microgrants, Fresh Start, Recovery Act relief grants, Commercial Rental Assistance and the Business License Tax and Fees Grant for Full-Service Restaurants. The page lists no standing facade-improvement grant7.
Official pages disagree The Safe & Secure Grant is $750 or $1,500 by storefront size in the description, and the same page also prints “up to $500” for the smaller tier7. The page does not reconcile them. Whether funding remains in either open grant is not stated, so the “Application Open!” label is the only status the page gives.
Other city programs
- Vacancy to Vibrancy Storefront Program. Free artist window wraps for owners of storefronts vacant “a minimum of 6 months”; “Application review is anticipated 6-8 weeks”8.
- Legacy Business Program. For businesses of “10+ years” or “25+ years”; no grant money; home-based and cannabis businesses are ineligible9.
- Grow Long Beach. A 10-year blueprint adopted in November 2022, not a funding program10.
- Sidewalk to Success. Covers first-year license, permit and health fees “as long as program funds are available”, plus “up to $450 for the required insurance”11. An April 2, 2026 memo says “the City is no longer accepting new applications for the Free Cart Program”; fee coverage continues “while this funding lasts”, with $90,410 left at the start of FY2612. The pages used here do not say how much remains. The permit itself is in Sidewalk Vending Permit in Long Beach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BizCare in Long Beach?
A city program that connects small businesses and nonprofits to “grants, loans, technical assistance and more”, reached at 562.570.4BIZ (4249) or [email protected]1.
Is there free business advising in Long Beach?
What city loans does Long Beach offer?
The Microenterprise Loan, $10,000 to $100,000, and the Grow Long Beach Fund, $100,000 to $5 million6.
Is the Long Beach Safe & Secure Grant still open?
As of October 2, 2026 the city’s grants page marks it “Application Open!”; its amounts are $750 or $1,500, with a conflicting “up to $500” on the same page7.
Does the Legacy Business Program give money?
No. It carries no grant money, and home-based and cannabis businesses are ineligible9.
Who hosts the SBDC in Long Beach?
Long Beach City College, at 4900 E. Conant Street, Building O2, Suite 1084.
Related Articles
Sources
- BizCare Program — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Business Support — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Small Business Advising — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Long Beach SBDC — Small Business Development Center, hosted by Long Beach City College. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Kiva Long Beach — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- City Loan Programs — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Small Business Grants — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Vacancy to Vibrancy Storefront Program — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Legacy Business Program — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Grow Long Beach — City of Long Beach, Economic Development. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Sidewalk Vendor Business License — City of Long Beach, Financial Management. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Sidewalk to Success Program Update, April 2, 2026 — City of Long Beach, City Manager memo. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- Alcohol Regulations — City of Long Beach, Planning Bureau. Accessed 2026-10-02.