New Entrepreneurial Resource Center Launching In Southwest RivCo

TEMECULA, CA — A new Southwest Riverside County resource for entrepreneurs is set to open this fall in Temecula, according to a news release Tuesday from the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship at Cal State San Bernardino.

The Entrepreneurial Resource Center will open on the second floor of the Temecula Valley Entrepreneurs Exchange at 43200 Business Park Drive, offering a hub for existing small businesses as well as entrepreneurs looking to launch their ideas.

The resource will serve "as a catalyst for the creation of new businesses and the growth of existing small businesses in Southwest Riverside County," according to the news release.

The new facility will offer training, technical assistance, funding access and marketing, as well other services and resources for small business owners and entrepreneurs in Temecula and surrounding cities, said Paul Nolta, program director of the IECE Inland Empire Small Business Development Center.

The aim of the new ERC is to improve access to resources for all aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, increase the rate of business creation, and foster greater success and long-term sustainability for local small businesses. The ERC will also seek to address disparities in small business ownership and entrepreneurship through a deliberate focus and outreach to underrepresented groups in the region, according to Nolta.

“The ERC in Temecula is exemplary in bringing together public education and local government to support the economic dynamism of our region through the creation of new companies and the growth of existing ventures,” said Jack H. Brown College Dean Tomas Gomez-Arias.

The ERC is the result of a partnership with the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) at Cal State San Bernardino, the Riverside County Office of Economic Development and the city of Temecula.

City of Temecula Mayor Zak Schwank called the effort very "forward-thinking."

"Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, and the ERC will raise the bar in providing the utmost in access and availability to partners and resources to help local business in the Temecula Valley grow and thrive," Schwank said.

Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington also lauded the effort.

“Small business growth and entrepreneurship are the past, present, and future of Riverside County’s economy. The county has a long history of supporting innovative programs for our small businesses and the ERC will be a significant asset to those efforts," the supervisor said. "The ERC is the first center of its kind in the inland region and will create a hub of diverse regional partners working together for business growth.”