MicroBiz Program

The City of Garden Grove has established the MicroBiz Program that is designed to stimulate economic growth and job creation for micro-businesses in the community. The Program provides one-on-one technical assistance and support to help each participating micro-business improve operations and increase capacity. The City is also offering low-interest loans to eligible Garden Grove businesses for job creation activities.

Program Flyers

ENGLISH FLYER
SPANISH FLYER
VIETNAMESE FLYER
KOREAN FLYER

Program Guidelines & Application

Program Application

Program Eligibility

  • New or existing businesses located in Garden Grove
  • Business must be a microenterprise with 5 or less employees
  • Business must have applicable licenses, permits, and insurance

Technical Assistance

  • An initial assessment will be performed for each business to identify the technical assistance needs
  • All loan applicants are required to receive a minimum of five (5) hours of business counseling
  • All start‐up businesses and those open for less than one (1) year will be required to receive ten (10) hours of business counseling
  • Ongoing check-ups with each business will be performed assess the business expansion efforts and provide ongoing technical assistance as needed
  • One-on-one business counseling and technical assistance will cover the following topics (as needed):
    • Self-esteem building;
    • Skill development;
    • Accounting, budgeting, financial management;
    • Marketing;
    • Sales;
    • Business planning; and
    • Technology.

Business Expansion Loan

  • $50,000 maximum loan amount
  • $25,000 awarded per full-time employee hired
  • Employees hired need to be full-time equivalent (FTE) and need to work more than 40 hours per week
  • Multiple part-time employees can be hired to fulfill the FTE requirement
  • Business is located in Garden Grove
  • Business possess a valid GG Business License
  • Must be able to provide collateral to secure the loan
  • Business owners can only be approved for 1 loan
  • Business owners can re-apply for the loan once the original loan is paid back to the City

Interest Rate

  • Minimum interest rate: 3%
  • Maximum interest rate: 75% of the current United States Prime Rate (https://fedprimerate.com/)
  • The interest rate charged to each borrower will be based on various factors of the business at the time of approval, such as:
    • The amount of equity the business plans to contribute to the proposed project;
    • The ability of business to service the loan;
    • The rate of return the borrower will receive with a lower interest rate; and
    • The credit risk factors and management experience.

Interest Rate Reduction Incentives

Businesses have an opportunity to reduce their initial qualifying interest rate if any of the following characteristics apply. The business will be awarded a 1% reduction to their interest rate for each characteristic that applies to their business, for a maximum reduction of 2%.

  • Women-owned business
  • Minority-owned business, which includes: Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
  • Business owner is a Military Veteran
  • Operating a Garden Grove-based business longer than 5 years
  • Startup business whose gross receipts have increase by greater than 25% over the previous 6 months
  • Businesses located in CDBG eligible census tracts
  • Environmentally conscious business, which includes but is not limited to the following activities:
    • Sustainable sourcing and supply chain;
    • Waste reduction;
    • Energy efficiency and renewable energy;
    • Product design and lifecycle;
    • Carbon footprint reduction;
    • Water conservation;
    • Ethical business practices; and
    • Employee and consumer engagement.

Contact Information

Greg Blodgett
Deputy Director
(714) 741-5124
greg1@ggcity.org