This story has been published by GOOD Magazine as part of its Los Angeles issue quarterly magazine. A video version of the piece was also published in the Los Angeles Times. Also linked by PSFK.
In trying economic times, underground entrepreneurs run a variety of enterprises, including driveway taquerias and at-home car washes. Most operate without the required licenses and are in violation of zoning regulations.
At 7:30 a.m. in East Los Angeles, women in sweatpants stand around in front of Naty’s house. The sun is just starting to bathe the neighborhood in golden light as Naty and her two employees haul out goods and place them on the front fence, on picnic tables, and on garment racks. Everything here—clothing, shampoo, toys, and electronics—is new, and nothing costs more than $5. On the two days a week that the “shop” is open, neighborhood folks wait to see what new merchandise Naty has to offer.
Naty has been doing this for the five years since she arrived in Los Angeles from Durango, Mexico. A single mom to two young daughters, this business is her sole source of income. Sociologists would call her work “entrepreneurship by necessity” since she started the business when she was out of options, and, indeed, Naty is a savvy and hard-working businesswoman. There’s just one problem with an enterprise like hers: It’s illegal.
Read the full story at GOOD Magazine or watch the video at the Los Angeles Times.
May 07, 2011 Lindsey Hoshaw 
