A San Jose hotline for small business owners
With the City of San Jose and the Latino Business Foundation of Silicon Valley, we run a rapid-response hotline for business owners facing lease problems, eviction, and contracts they can't read.
Latino small business owners are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. Over the past ten years, the number of Latino business owners grew 34% compared to 1% for all business owners in the United States, according to a study from Stanford University. The same study found that Latino-owned businesses contributed about $500 billion to the economy in annual sales.
The Latino business community in San Jose, California, where Latinx individuals make up over 30% of the population, is no exception. To build on that momentum, Start Small Think Big is teaming up with the City of San Jose and the Latino Business Foundation of Silicon Valley to make sure Latino entrepreneurs — and all small business owners — get access to the resources they need to set up for success.
The Latino Business Foundation helps very small businesses and organizations survive and thrive while helping San Jose retain its unique cultural flavors even as the city attracts development from multinational corporations and large retail outlets. Their mission aligns with ours: to provide empowering resources to existing and future leaders in the business community through long-lasting learning and support. Together — with funding from the City of San Jose — we are connecting small businesses in San Jose to legal resources so they can grow and sustain their businesses into the future.
What is it?
The City of San Jose, Start Small Think Big, and the Latino Business Foundation of Silicon Valley operate a rapid response hotline where small business owners can get help resolving lease issues, avoiding eviction, and addressing other legal issues. On-call staff from the Latino Business Foundation provide callers with real-time assistance and connect them to legal and other resources, including our network of volunteer attorneys.
Call to receive help from trained staff, completely free. Get assistance if:
- Your contract is in English and you do not speak this language
- Your contract contains terms you are not familiar with
- Your landlord changed the terms of your lease without letting you know, or wants to end it early
- Your landlord seeks to evict you for no apparent reason
Call, free of charge: 888-664-0882
