A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

~ Jackie Robinson

By Mary O’KEEFE

In the beginning of the pandemic many people walked the sidewalks of what was once full of bustling local businesses. Shoppers looked for that special item only found at a “mom and pop” store, or went to a favorite salon to get their nails and hair done before stopping by a local coffee shop for a caffeine pick-me-up. Shopping locally meant more than just supporting a small business; it is like visiting old friends, shop owners who know their customers and their families. But much that was lost when doors closed after COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

There were those who walked the sidewalks and were saddened by the closures of so many businesses, wondering how or if they would be able to recover. One woman, though, decided she didn’t want to stand by and watch these businesses close; she wanted to do something to help.

Carmenita Helligar has lived near Magnolia Avenue in Burbank for about 20 years. It’s where she has raised her children; it’s home.

“Magnolia has these cute shops,” she said. “Then the pandemic hit. I walked [along Magnolia Avenue] all the time and I started seeing the businesses closing.”

She said it was during these walks that she decided something had to be done. She found out that the businesses were struggling and many were falling behind on rent so even when they got help they had a lot of financial ground to make up.

“While on these walks with my husband I said someone had to do something,” she said. “He said, ‘Well, you’re the visionary.’”

Helligar began contacting local businesses to see what she could do to help. She is a small business owner herself – Carmenita Helligar Designs – and she knew that sometimes it was difficult to ask for help – especially when you didn’t know what you needed. Going virtual seemed like a foreign approach to some of the local business owners, and they didn’t have the extra funds to develop a website. She wanted to set up a type of one stop shopping website where local businesses could gather and highlight items they could sell online. By advising some of the business owners on things that they could sell online, she became a type of consultant to them.

“We would help them develop a product from start to finish,” she said.

While big online businesses, like Amazon, saw a huge jump in sales during the pandemic small businesses were being left behind. That concerned Helligar.

“Small businesses support the community,” Helligar explained. “In Burbank, we have Warner Bros. and Disney [studios], but they are not putting [funds] into schools.”

She added when her daughters needed to find support for their school they’d go to the local community coffee shop to put up flyers or ask for support.

According to a survey compiled by SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteers, small businesses donate 250% more than larger businesses to local nonprofits and community organizations/causes.

Helligar is on the Burbank Board of Library Trustees and began to speak publicly about how small businesses are in need of help. She did not initially find a lot of support; however, being overlooked or ignored is, unfortunately, nothing new to her. When she began her own small business she got some pushback.

 “People said it would be hard but a lot of things are hard; marriage is hard but so is divorce,” she said, adding it comes down to the choices people make. “It is hard for me as a black woman to get support but it’s harder for me to have my community decimated.”

She said she attended many Burbank City Council meetings to talk about her Local As Can Bee concept. One councilmember gave the idea strong support.

“Councilmember Nick Schultz,” she said.

Schultz said he had been raised by a single parent and believed in the power of small business.

“I think Local As Can Bee is a wonderful concept. When she first told me about this [I thought] this is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking we need to support our small businesses,” Councilmember Schultz said. “[Burbank City Council] is very committed to supporting small business but, unfortunately, our focus can be drawn to larger businesses.”

He added the City of Burbank values the large companies in their neighborhood but also knows how important it is to support local mom-and-pop entrepreneurship.

“I was happy to help any way I could,” he added.

To continue this support of small businesses, the Local As Can Bee website asks site visitors to pledge to spend $50 a month with local businesses. This is only a request/suggestion, but is a way for people to put shopping locally at the forefront of their minds when buying.

Helligar has raised her children to be entrepreneurs; her daughter started her own company.

“My youngest started her business when she was 11,” she said.

Helligar had to persuade her own daughter to join Local As Can Bee, which she did with her AfterLite bodycare.

Helligar also had a difficult time with her design business during the pandemic, which normally worked on red carpet affairs, and the COVID-19 restrictions affected every part of her business.

Local As Can Bee is off the ground now and Helligar is working to add more small businesses to the website – including her own.

“So now I had to take my own advice,” she said. She will be adding her own new small business venture to Local As Can Bee.

Helligar added that, being a woman in business, she has found that other women are not as quick to accept needed help. Often this is because of the misconception that women who don’t succeed on their own is equated to failing. She hopes that she can unite all locally owned businesses, but especially women-owned businesses. She wants them to know they are not alone.

For information visit localascanbee.com