What happens when a delivery business becomes more than a delivery business?

In this episode of the Small Business Resiliency Series, Stuart Takehara sits down with Robb Smith, founder of Alley Cat Deliveries, a Long Beach-based personal errand, delivery, shuttle, and logistics service built around one simple idea: people over profit.

Robb shares how Alley Cat started on a bike after a major life change, grew during the COVID era, and became a trusted local resource for everything from airport rides and business logistics to emergency community support. He also talks openly about the rising cost of fuel, slower consumer spending, the challenge of competing with major delivery apps, and why local businesses need local customers now more than ever.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that small businesses are not just storefronts or services. They are neighbors, helpers, connectors, and sometimes the people who show up when nobody else can.

• How Alley Cat Deliveries started and grew over seven years

• Why Robb built the business around personal service

• The real impact of gas prices and rising costs

• Why big delivery apps hurt local businesses

• How small businesses can pivot when sales slow down

• Why “support local” has to mean more than just a slogan

• How Alley Cat helped during regional wildfire relief efforts

• Advice for entrepreneurs who are scared to start

• Why people over profit can still build a strong business

00:23 Welcome to the Small Business Resiliency Series

01:08 What Alley Cat Deliveries does

01:30 The unusual requests Robb gets from customers

02:42 How Alley Cat started seven years ago

03:24 Surviving COVID and entering a new economic challenge

03:53 The impact of fuel prices on a delivery business

05:03 Why customers are spending less right now

05:30 The problem with big delivery apps

06:30 Why local dollars need to stay local

07:00 How Alley Cat supports restaurants and small businesses

08:11 How rising costs are affecting small businesses

08:52 Pivoting away from food delivery

09:46 Knowing your worth as a service business

11:02 What keeps Robb up at night

12:19 What small businesses can do to stay relevant

13:12 Why Long Beach needs more people supporting local businesses

14:51 Why some businesses catch fire while others struggle

15:51 Robb’s “people over profit” philosophy

16:42 How Alley Cat helped during the wildfire relief efforts

20:14 The community response at Expo Arts Center

21:18 Advice for new and struggling business owners

22:35 Why supporting small businesses helps everyone win

23:08 How to contact Alley Cat Deliveries

Small businesses survive when the community chooses them.

Robb’s story shows that resilience is not just about working harder. It is about adapting, serving people well, building trust, and creating a business people believe in enough to recommend.