Las Vegas NowGrants Funding Small Businesses Available

Grants Funding Small Businesses Available

$5,000 can go a long way for any small business.  But many businesses don't realize there is money out there through grants that can help them.   

Tuesday, a barber shop in North Las Vegas was awarded a grant that will help it survive.

The grants are made possible through the Valley Center Opportunity Zone and the Latin Chamber of Commerce.  And for places like Classic Cuts, you could say it's a slam-dunk that keeps them open and cutting hair.  

Their shop may look like a gym, but it’s a great place to get a haircut. Owner Tito Hudson, Jr. runs this barber shop with a basketball court inside. Kids or customers come get a haircut and are free to shoot hoops. “I'll have kids come in here on a Tuesday and call me on a Thursday and say, Tito, can I come to the shop? I just got my haircut the other day. My mom is going to work. Can I just come hang out,’” he said.

Hudson says he would rather have them at his shop, than out on the street. But times have been tough for his basketball concept shop. A grant of $5,000 could not have come at a better time. “This is what it's for. We were able to secure funds through the state. To me this is true stimulus. This is direct stimulus. We've taken funds from the state and as you just saw, handed it right over to a small business,” said Peter Guzman with Valley Center Opportunity Zone.

Guzman says the grant Hudson got through the Opportunity Zone may even help put more people back to work. “It's giving him the opportunity to maybe hire somebody, a receptionist, keep employment and it keeps his shop open,” he said.

Opportunity Zone wants other small business to get on board for money. There are requirements for this grant, such as specific zoning and location of your business.