IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
The U.S. Small Business Administration held a special meeting Tuesday with some Inland Empire business owners.
The two-hour session at Riverside City Hall was invitation-only, with no public or media allowed, and was made up exclusively of business owners, said Gene Valdez, one of the 15 entrepreneurs asked to attend.
Adalberto Quijada, director of the administration’s Santa Ana office – which oversees Riverside and San Bernardino counties – chaired the discussion.
“The big question was what was our biggest problem, our biggest frustration, and that turned out to be finding qualified people to hire,” said Valdez, who spoke shortly after the meeting broke up. “There are plenty of people out there who are looking for work, but not all of them are qualified for the jobs that are open.”
The session gave the administration a chance to hear the concerns of business owners directly, said Valdez, whose company, CEO Teachers, does banking and financial consulting for established businesses.
“It was a good meeting,” Valdez said. “It’s good that the SBA got to hear these things directly from business owners. I could see us doing this four times a year.”
