Navigating Entrepreneurship: Insights from Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Business Owners in Fresno

Themes/Topics: Entrepreneurship & Freelancing

Geography: California

Audience: Ally, Educator, Undocumented Youth

Download

Summary

Navigating Entrepreneurship in Fresno is a research report that documents and outlines the experiences, challenges, potential, and importance of small business entrepreneurship in the Central Valley. This report includes statistics, data, and accounts on small business owners, individual or informal entrepreneurs, and aspiring business owners in the Central Valley. It outlines the Central Valley’s unique entrepreneurial landscape, the barriers entrepreneurs face throughout different stages of their businesses, and the coordinated support services and interventions by community-based organizations. This report also includes recommendations to improve the conditions and support available for Central Valley entrepreneurs based on the findings.

To read an overview of this report, view this research brief.

Authored by Dr. Marlene Orozco on behalf of Immigrants Rising, this research reflects the collective efforts of the Central Valley Alliance, including the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation (FAHF), Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC), and the New Business Community Law Clinic (NBCLC).

Who may benefit from this resource?

We especially encourage legislators, community-based organizations (CBOs), service providers, and funders, especially in the State of California and the Central Valley, to use this report to inform public policy, service design, and program priorities. However, anyone interested in learning more about coalition-building, immigrant alliances, immigrant entrepreneurship, Central Valley entrepreneurship, and combined qualitative and quantitative research can gain new knowledge from this report.

Outline

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Introduction
  3. Research Design and Methodology
  4. Findings
  5. Entrepreneurship Rooted in Necessity and Cultural Identity
  6. A Landscape of New and Small-Scale Ventures
  7. Financial Fragility and Capital Barriers
  8. Digital and Language Divides
  9. Navigating a Fragmented Support Ecosystem
  10. Regulatory Barriers and Formalization Gaps
  11. Aspirations and Long-Term Goals
  12. Service Provider Perspectives:
    1. A Patchwork of Support, Not a Pipeline
    2. Immigrants Rising – From Direct Service to Ecosystem Empowerment
    3. FAHF – A Holistic, High-Touch Anchor
    4. CVIIC – The Backbone and the Bridge
    5. NBCLC – Legal Lifeline in a Risk-Fraught Environment
    6. Lessons from the Central Valley Alliance
  13. Policy and Ecosystem Recommendations
  14. Conclusion
  15. References
  16. Appendix
    1. Methodology: Research Design, Participants and Ethical Considerations, Data Analysis, and Limitations
    2. Focus Group Protocol
    3. Survey Instrument

Topics & Keywords

entrepreneurship, research report, policy advocacy, Central Valley

Immigrants Rising helps you make decisions based on your potential, not your perceived limits. Visit our website so you can see what’s possible: immigrantsrising.org.

Back to Resources