Call for Halimah Ginyard, Executive Director of Inglewood Chamber, to Abandon DBA filings in the name of two established Inglewood Businesses

How Important is a business name to a business?
It is the foundation of your image, it represents your brand and becomes synonymous with the goods and services you distinctly offer. When you see CVS, McDonalds, Kaiser Permanente, Ralphs or Best Buy we automatically know what goods and services they provide. Although, there may be competition, these companies spent decades building public trust, offering consistent services and protecting their name. A business name is extremely important if you want to have a long-term subscribers and establish a positive track record with the general public. 2UrbanGirls has a long history of researching and reporting on Inglewood facts. The are one of the few sources of factual information in the city of Inglewood.

What is a DBA?
A DBA (aka "Doing Business As") is a legal filing governed by Los Angeles County to establish a business as a legal entity. Applicants are required to submit an application, sign an affidavit to attest to business ownership, and pay a filing fee to publish the posting for a period of 30 days. Once a DBA is approved the applicant can do the following:
1) Open a Bank Account
2) Create collateral and market their business (fliers, website postings, business cards, letterhead etc.)
3) Use the name for a legitimate business purpose.

Why is this so troubling that Halimah would do this?
1) She is employed as the director of the Inglewood/ Airport Chamber of Commerce and represents the city of Inglewood and the Inglewood business owner community. Her position requires public trust.

2) Both of these business existed in Inglewood for over 25 years (combined) before this filing. They were also active during the filing dates. Many would consider these actions as unethical. How will she be able to attract and have the credibility necessary to lead Inglewood/ Airport businesses?

3) We do not know if a bank account was established or used in the 2UrbanGirls or Inglewood Today's name. Based on this filing this is perfectly legal. If funds were potentially collected, this was misleading. It can cause damage to the 2UrbanGirls or Inglewood Today by confusing the public into thinking they are supporting a established brands. 2UrbanGirls prides themselves in independent reporting of factual, unbiased information.

4) We do not know the motivation of Halimah registering these business names and what lawful purpose would it serve to assist 2UrbanGirls or Inglewood Today. Especially, since 2UrbanGirls and Inglewood Today were not told of the filing by Halimah.

Halimah’s role in the chamber is to assist and advocate for Inglewood businesses and create opportunities to achieve the american dream. Chamber directors should empower business owners. All business deserves the right to use their own name and market as such. They deserve to be able to trust the chamber director and feel a sense of advocacy. This filing undermines public trust and sets a precedent of conduct for future chamber directors.

Why sign and circulate this petition?
Inglewood stakeholders deserve a chamber leader who will behave ethically and in the best interest of all business owners. Would you want your chamber director registering a DBA in your company name? Regardless of how you feel about Halimah personally, this petition focuses on the behavior of taking over the DBA filings for two established businesses. Although, this behavior maybe legal it does not support the actions of a proper chamber of commerce director. We do not want current or future chamber of commerce directors to file DBA's in the same name of established businesses in the city of Inglewood.

Lastly, we must share this petition to raise awareness and promote transparency in Inglewood. I can almost guarantee this petition will not be approved in a very popular Facebook group and YOU are stronger than any Facebook group.