LOS ANGELES – While the world might be on a pandemic lock down, renowned makeup entrepreneur and LA based landlord Toni Ko provided free rent for her tenants for the month of April.
As the founder of the well known makeup brand NYX, Ko immigrated from South Korea at age 13. They started with a small cosmetic shop, but now Ko owns half a million square feet of rental space in and around L.A. As an entrepreneur herself, she feels compassion for her 120 tenants, many of them with mom and pop owned businesses.
“A lot of the times these small business owners, on the papers you might be profitable, but I remember us too, we were always cash poor, because all your profit, all your proceeds from your business is reinvested back into inventory or equipment and what not. And with the forced closures of the businesses, I knew what kind of hardship they were going through,” Ko said.
With discounts and deferment in March and May, she knows many of her non-essential small business tenants don’t have any other income possibilities.
“That’s 60 days with zero income. With 100 percent liability on these small businesses. And I just felt so bad,” she said.
As a potential solution Ko believes some sort of property tax relief program could enable more property owners like herself to provide the support to their tenants that she has been providing, creating a cycle of generosity.
“As an entrepreneur you always have to run your business with you heart. Not everything is on an excel sheet. Not everything is about profit. Or finances. Being an entrepreneur you’re in a really lucky place, so when you’re in that lucky place, when hardships like this happen, be motivated to give back and give forward,” she said.
Through Ko’s support to her tenants, many of them have chosen to use the relief to help their employees with job security.