Companies that pay well are hard to find in the Central Valley and some economic specialists are saying until we can attract businesses that offer a middle income life-style we need to grow our own.
In a basement of a building in Downtown Fresno, individuals with an idea are being encouraged to follow their dream of starting a business.
Alondra Williams said, "I want to start a business that provides administration services for small business owners."
Williams already has a name for her company, Overhead Solutions, and says she wants to provide job opportunities for single moms and plans to offer childcare at the job site. She attended this workshop seeking support and resources to make her dream a reality.
Allysunn Walker Williams said, "A lot of the reasons small businesses fail, is because people don't have the skills and knowledge, how to market, how to manage, how to keep good books."
Businesswoman Allysunn Walker Williams says that's why she created Women and Entrepreneurship. She said, "I think our economy right now is going through some unique challenges and I don't know how we recover if we don't support and encourage small business."
Many say supporting small businesses is important in the Central Valley where there is a lack of development and growth of good paying jobs.
Dr. Timothy Stearns said, "Job growth is a real problem here and that's one thing that's been around for decades... is that we haven't been able to build a strong mechanism or capabilities to build strong jobs."
According to Dr. Stearns, until we can attract companies that offer good middle income salaries we need to grow our own. He said, "I would look for the mid-range companies those companies that have been around five to ten years who have growth potential and I'd try to figure out how to expand that potential."
Dr. Stearns says that's the short term solution for job creation, long term. He said, "Is going in and trying to build the entrepreneurial spirit and capture as many people and support as many as you can around the entrepreneurial base."
If you have an idea you want to develop, Women and Entrepreneurship is holding a series of workshops that will be held on the second Saturday of every other month.
