{"id":185083,"date":"2026-02-19T20:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/185083\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T20:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:57:08","slug":"long-beach-opens-applications-for-3rd-cohort-of-level-up-lb-program-for-small-businesses-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/185083\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach opens applications for 3rd cohort of Level Up LB program for small businesses \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long Beach small business owners can now apply for the third cohort of the city\u2019s Level Up LB: Extreme Small Business Makeover and Grant Program<\/a>, which aims to support entrepreneurs and help advance small businesses toward success and sustainability.<\/p>\n

The Level Up LB program offers selected entrepreneurs an opportunity to connect with essential support resources and undergo comprehensive workshops that focus on crafting new business and marketing plans. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. March 31.<\/p>\n

The program will assist 20 small business owners with support services, workshops and $10,000 in funding to help take their companies to the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall businesses drive our local economy and provide more than half of jobs in Long Beach,\u201d Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. \u201cWith another round of Level Up LB, we\u2019re reaffirming our commitment to the entrepreneurs who create jobs, spark innovation and help shape a stronger, more connected economic future for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Economic Development and Opportunity will once again lead the Level Up LB program, with support from local partners, such as the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and Visit Long Beach, according to a press release.<\/p>\n

\"KekeKeke Badua prepares a latte at Confidential Coffee on West 6th St. in Long Beach on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)<\/p>\n

Businesses will be scored and selected for the program based on their needs and readiness to participate and the potential impact of the program on their business. Those selected will be provided with technical assistance and resources to evaluate their business plans and financials, sales metrics and benchmarks; optimize marketing and social media; and identify strategies to reach the next level of growth, according to the press release.<\/p>\n

Once business owners complete the eight-week course, they will receive $10,000 in grant funding to help grow their companies. Last year, 24 small businesses were awarded<\/a> $220,000 through Level Up LB.<\/p>\n

As part of the adopted fiscal year 2026 budget, the City Council approved one-time funding of $230,000 to continue Level Up LB as part of the city\u2019s Small Business Rebound Initiative<\/a>, the press release said.<\/p>\n

EDO\u2019s BizCare staff will provide in-person technical assistance with the application process from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, at the Long Beach Workforce Innovation Network Adult Career Services site, 4811 Airport Plaza Drive. Additional times and locations will be made available on the Level Up LB webpage<\/a> as they are scheduled, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLevel Up LB is about investing in the people behind our small businesses \u2013 and their passion, creativity, hard work and commitment to our community,\u201d EDO Director Bo Martinez said in a statement. \u201cWe are proud to support local entrepreneurs with the resources they need to grow and succeed, because when small businesses thrive, Long Beach thrives.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about program eligibility requirements, visit longbeach.gov\/levelup<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach small business owners can now apply for the third cohort of the city\u2019s Level Up LB:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185084,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,23,131,133,132,137,4823],"class_list":{"0":"post-185083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-long-beach","11":"tag-long-beach-headlines","12":"tag-long-beach-news","13":"tag-los-angeles-county","14":"tag-small-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}