ATLAS WHOLESALE
His mother offered his help on the weekends to clean the shelves and dust off the products at the beauty store she was working at. That was Al Añorga’s first entry in the beauty supply business at the young age of 13 and as they say the rest is history. He began working in the beauty supply store that his mother owned, and educating himself on the products, memorizing all of the hair colors. His break into the business ownership role came when his mother offered him one of her salons. His job as the new owner was to get the salon out of debt. Not only did he avoid eviction, and turned profits, he redecorated the entire salon into a classy hip look. After that adventure, Al took a break but returned shortly to the business when he had the chance to buy Atlas Beauty Supply, now named Atlas Wholesale (562-464-3997). Once again, he brought a business out of near bankruptcy. To do that, he turned his attention to developing his own hair color products, after realizing that some of the products he sold were not of high quality. Color Seal, designed to lock in and preserve color, in addition to several other products Al later developed, accounts for his $1.1 million gross for the year 2000.

PUEBLO NUEVO ENTERPRISES
With the goal of creating jobs for the unemployed community of his church, Rev. Phillip Lance (213-483-2000) turned a non-profit organization into a for-profit corporation. Pueblo Nuevo Enterprises, a janitorial company provides services to schools, hospitals and low-income housing developments. Today, the company manages a strong workforce, employing over 30 people and empowering them with the opportunity of business ownership. Eighteen of the company’s employees have become part owners and active board members, sharing in the profits and decision making.