Small Business

Business at Fresco Cafe North in Goleta is built on grilled chicken sandwiches, Gorgonzola-and-walnut salads and a $135,000 loan backed by the Small Business Administration. Owner Indras Govender has had a triple helping of SBA loans since 1995, each used to serve up a new restaurant. In May, he and his wife, Tilly, got their latest from Community West Bank to transform their pizzeria into an eclectic lunch and dinner spot that features giant cupcakes and other desserts.

After he was laid off last fall from his job driving a delivery truck, Ricardo Lara couldn't find another full-time position that would pay the bills. So he went into business for himself driving an ice cream truck. At first, he was making as much money peddling Heath bars, Bomb Pops and ice cream sandwiches as he did at his old job. But that didn't last. As the economy melted down, so did sales, despite his seven-day workweek plying the streets of South Los Angeles.

After a decade, adult-film star Alexis Amore is looking to remove the Playboy bunny tattoo below her belly button. She also wants to get rid of a crown and the letter "a" on her wrists. "I got them when I was really young," said the petite 30-year-old. "I'm a little bit older and a little bit wiser now. And it's not very classy to have tattoos on your wrists and stomach." Amore, who goes by her stage name, is in the months-long process of getting rid of her ink at the Dr.

Lingering fog shrouds the Venice boardwalk midday as Thomas Mundy rolls past ice cream vendors, T-shirt shacks and falafel stands, a discerning eye trained on the warrens of beach-themed kitsch and quick nibbles. He's not looking for leather thong pendants or Jamaican trinkets in memory of Bob Marley, or to commune with the manic crowd of in-line skaters and street artists.

Starting a business is no piece of (cup)cake. Just ask two of the newest bakeries to open in Southern California. Beverly Hills-based Sprinkles -- pioneer of the cupcake-only shop and purveyor of miniature morsels beloved by celebrities -- is turning up the heat on competitors allegedly treading on its trademarked name and dot motif. Three-year-old Sprinkles most recently set its sugary sights on Sprinkled Pink Cupcake Couture in Montecito.

Jeff Lopez got into the Christmas decorating business because he wanted to work only three months a year and kick back the rest of the time. Fat chance. Lopez has done such a good job of snagging big contracts with cities and shopping malls that his company, Santa Ana-based Dekra-Lite Industries Inc., is busy all year.

A glance through the front window at Planet Florist in West Los Angeles reveals a flower shop packed with furniture, fixtures and flower vases. The concrete floor has old paint spattered on it. Fluorescent lights beam down and a rusty, broken neon sign tops the bulky awning out front. It's a far cry from the upscale design that owner James Underwood specializes in for clients that include the luxury Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica.

Flying in a private jet has been typically reserved for the privileged few who can easily drop $20,000 for a weekend ski trip to Aspen, Colo. But two Santa Monica High School graduates are starting a no-frills discount "air taxi" service that could allow more people to join the jet set. Next year, the company, JetAviva, will begin offering seats on a new line of small planes that it says will bring airline affordability to the private-jet experience.

Spending time at the family-operated Not Your Daughter's Jeans corporate office in Vernon is like hanging out in somebody's living room. The daughters prop their feet on a coffee table, the son scratches his dog and patriarch George Rudes launches into a series of stories about his granddaughter. Everybody's laid-back, except maybe Rudes, 77, who is poured into a pair of the company's Tummy Tuck jeans. What can he do? He's crazy about the product, and they make jeans only for women.

Five months after he opened PNK Pro Beauty Supplies in Glendale, owner Karhen Abramyan has put the shop up for sale. He's gotten a few lowball offers in the last few weeks, but no deal. "I have $60,000 in inventory here, I can't just sell it for $50,000," said Abramyan, who is asking $95,000. Blame the bad economy. Buyers and sellers of California businesses are hampered because the vast pools of money that once fueled sales have dried up.