"It's painful. I don't know how to prepare for it. We didn't prepare for it," Santos said.
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He launched his company just after the last writers' strike in 2007-2008 and scored "American Idol" as his first gig. More than a decade later, his company averages about 10 TV shows per day. Now, they're down to three shows and on Thursday, they'll only have two shows.
Santos said if the strike goes on for a long period of time, it could be a make-or-break situation for a business like his.
The strike is also impacting other small businesses such as camera rental equipment companies and costume stores.
"It started yesterday but I expect a lot of setbacks because of it," said Theresa Saidy, co-owner of Adele's of Hollywood costume store, a family-owned business that has been around since 1968.
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Saidy remembers the last WGA strike, which lasted more than 100 days. The California economy lost roughly $830 million in retail sales.
"I'm surprised that they went on strike. I'm surprised that they didn't break through with a good enough deal to make that work and that's just corporate greed," Santos said.
The WGA strike will end when there is an agreement with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.