Working together for success

One of the ways I help my community is by supporting efforts to develop small businesses here. I once was the owner of one of the small businesses. I operated Pen Porter, a business communications service, from my home. But for a variety of reasons, I was not successful. That doesn’t mean others who have better ideas than mine cannot be.


In attempting to help both myself and others,  I’ve joined two local organizations. The first of these was my local Jurupa Valley Chamber of Commerce, which I joined in 2012. All chambers of commerce work differently. What was and still is great about mine is it provides access to a network of people. Some of them gave my business writing service a try. My target was not the truly small business though. It was the businesses that are too big for the owner to do his or her own marketing, but too small for the owner to hire a marketing service. Even more of these business owners have purchased one or two of the historical fiction novels I have written.

Being in the network helps not just in business. Some of these members were instrumental in helping me get elected to the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District governing board in 2014. Unfortunately, a few of them were equally instrumental in getting me defeated in 2018 when the husband of the current Chamber board president decided to run against me. But I still thank them for the opportunity they gave me five years ago.


The other organization I’m a part of is the Healthy Jurupa Valley Community Prosperity Action Team. This organization hasn’t been around as long as the Chamber. It formed in 2014 as part of Healthy Jurupa Valley. This organization formed in 2013 with a vision to improve community health by focusing not just on health care, but on five aspects that make a place healthier – community prosperity, arts and recreation opportunities, healthy food through gardens and markets, public safety, and of course, access to quality health care.  Action teams, each focusing on one of the pillars, meets monthly to develop strategies for improving that aspect of community health.


Community Prosperity met on Thursday, Sept. 5. We are promoting a small business conference called the 2019 Jurupa Valley Small Business Summit and Expo. This annual project became our first priority when the action team first formed in 2014, and we put that one together in a mere six weeks. In the five years since, the conference has become bigger and better. It draws in more local business owners, and it targets an area of specific concern to them. This year, we will have some of the more successful Jurupa Valley business owners share how they have created success.


The demise of Pen Porter means the organizations’ efforts don’t help me personally as much as they did when I was trying to achieve success with my business. But I still believe it’s important, especially as a Christian, to help others succeed.  In Philippians 2:4 it says “Do not look out for your own personal interests, but for the interests of others.” (New American Version). That means to help others succeed in their businesses, and to help still others succeed by being employed by these businesses, and still others to succeed by starting small businesses in which they can be successful.


Furthermore, while our local Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery Store does supply the food needs of many in our community, myself included and the corporation owning K-Mart has not abandoned our city, it is not these businesses who are the backbone of our economy. It is the stores and other businesses started by people who are part of our community that form this backbone. If we help these small business owners, their employees, and their customers, we live in a better community because we support each other.