Last September, she organized The Eastside Hustle & Heart Entrepreneur Summit event, attended by 300 entrepreneurs to exchange information, perspectives, and networking opportunities.
For a moment, I forgot the most important detail when starting an interview. I began my conversation with Corissa Hernández by telling her about my experiences with other business owners and how badly they were struggling.
“I want to talk to you about hope,” I told her. “I’d like to know what you would recommend to them in these very difficult times.”
She answered my question with the respect that characterizes her, and that’s when I realized my lack of tact.
“I myself have been going through many difficulties. Just in December—traditionally one of the best months—my sales dropped sharply. I started January with a significant loss, as if I were looking at myself in the mirror and saying, ‘Corissa, what are you doing?’” she said.
That’s when I apologized. I should have started the interview with a basic question: “How are you?” I overlooked it, perhaps because of my admiration for her journey—an entrepreneur who has never given up and for whom resilience is part of her DNA.
“I don’t feel defeated, I feel angry and empowered. We need to educate the community, share information, and fight,” she says.
Corissa Hernández is the daughter of Mexican immigrants.
“My father always told me, it’s not about what you have, but what you can share,” says Corissa, an entrepreneur and educator involved in various businesses and community activism. “I can’t accept that they want to take those dreams away. We are the backbone of this country.”
She told me this in February of last year. Now, Corissa—owner of Nativo Cocktail Bar and Restaurant in Highland Park, among other ventures—faces, like many other business owners, the serious problems affecting small businesses under the government of Donald Trump.
“I come from many generations of struggle. I know I can’t give up—certainly not easily. We have to recognize, talk about, and confront the problems we’re facing. That’s very important. Many times, Latinos don’t talk about what’s happening to us, or we try to hide it—you can’t do that. By communicating, we find a community where we can exchange ideas and help one another. The phrase ‘if you help me, I help you’ still holds. It’s also necessary to identify complementary brands so we can collaborate and create projects together,” she says.
Corissa radiates community. When you talk to her, she doesn’t just talk about herself—she talks about projects and activities that benefit her community. For Corissa, that is the importance of small businesses: projects filled with love whose impact is always positive for the environment they are part of.
“That’s why Bad Bunny’s work inspires me. Through his projects, he speaks proudly about his people, reflects their problems, and invites conversation. There’s activism and eloquence. For example, at Nativo we’re hosting the Bunny Bowl this Saturday, inspired by him. But it’s not about me or Nativo. Other organizations will also be there, benefiting street vendors, other sellers, and small businesses. When the community hears that a business needs help, they come together, collaborate, and support one another. We need to keep doing these kinds of events,” she affirms.
One piece of advice Corissa offers to business owners is not to become depressed or feel guilty about what they’re going through.
“They need to understand that it’s not their fault. They must be clear that the situation our community is facing is what’s causing these problems. All we can do is face them and figure out how to move forward. We can’t control ICE, but we can control our reactions,” she adds.
Corissa radiates community. When you talk to her, she doesn’t just talk about herself—she talks about projects and activities that benefit her community. For Corissa, that is the importance of small businesses: projects filled with love whose impact is always positive for the environment they are part of.
After that bad December, Corissa wasn’t doing well—she couldn’t sleep, she questioned herself—but she concluded: “I know there are resources out there. I have to go look for them.”
And that’s exactly what she did. Unfortunately, she acknowledges that not all small business owners know about these opportunities. She also recognizes that Los Angeles is far from being a city organized to help small businesses during these times.
“It’s as if we’re trying to survive on our own. There is very little or no help from the city. There are no information channels that provide what we need, and that causes support resources not to flow or reach where they should. For example, I see a need for a coalition of small businesses that can put pressure on authorities to find a way forward. The city of Los Angeles isn’t doing that—it feels like they don’t see us,” she adds.
Corissa becomes animated when talking about New York’s recently elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who has made support for small businesses a priority on his agenda.
Zohran Mamdani is implementing a pro–small business agenda focused on reducing bureaucratic hurdles, cutting fines and fees by 50%, speeding up permitting processes, and increasing one-on-one support funding by 500%. His administration aims to ease operational burdens for local entrepreneurs, particularly minority-owned and neighborhood small shops.
“I hit myself over the head asking, ‘Why can’t Los Angeles do this?’ The mayor doesn’t have to be an expert—he can have experts on his staff—but here it seems like they just don’t care,” she says.
As an example—even if it may seem like a small detail—she shares an anecdote. Last September, she organized The Eastside Hustle & Heart Entrepreneur Summit event, attended by 300 entrepreneurs to exchange information, perspectives, and networking opportunities. Corissa went to Mayor Karen Bass’s office to seek support. She asked for water for the event—and it was denied. They told her her organization was too new.
“Denying water to 300 small business entrepreneurs—can you imagine?” she says.
“We have no value to the city of Los Angeles. Small businesses trying to survive are disconnected, living in our own small contact circles. The city thinks that posting something on Instagram with a few views is enough to solve the problem. In Los Angeles, we need to discuss our situation, ask ourselves how we can help one another, and allow information to flow. We need leaders. We need our community fighting for our dreams,” she says.
Corissa is a boxing fan. I told her that every time I talk about or read about resilience, I think of her. I told her I remembered the fight between Julio César Chávez and Meldrick Taylor, when Chávez was losing until the final round and, when everyone thought he would lose, he got up and kept throwing punches until he knocked Taylor out in the final seconds.
“Exactly! Just like that—that’s me. I get up and keep throwing punches.”
Corissa Hernandez: “They Haven’t Defeated Me, it’s Time to Punch Back.”
