An interview with SBA's Los Angeles District Director. (Mike Lee, district director of Small Business Administration's Los Angeles District Office) (Interview)

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BUSINESS recently interviewed Mike Lee, district director, Small Business Administration's Los Angeles District Office, which is comprised of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The office, which is the largest district office in the nation, provides economic development tools to the area's small businesses. These include loans, contracts, counseling sessions and more. We asked Mike Lee about the state of small business in Southern California and how the SBA is helping to further stimulate capital formation, economic growth and job creation.

SCB: How does the SBA Los Angeles District Office compare to the rest of the country in terms of population served and activity in the office, which is the largest in the U.S.?

ML: In terms of population, we definitely do serve one of the largest areas in the nation. Even more importantly than that, though, other areas in the nation are very homogeneous in nature whereas, Los Angeles has a very diverse and fragmented business population. This makes it an even tougher…