EL PASO, Texas \u2014 The city of El Paso has been selected as a site of a new effort to better connect local governments with innovative entrepreneurs. The initiative is launching in just three cities across the country.<\/p>\n
The program is set to kick off on Oct. 20 and will bring together the mayor and other city stakeholders. But as El Paso prepares, local entrepreneurs and business leaders say breaking down barriers is only part of the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think rising tides lift all ships,\u201d said Xtreme Core Fitness owner Crystal Cholewa. \u201cSo, if we would all help each other, that\u2019s what this place is all about. It\u2019s about community and helping each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cholewa is looking forward to a new program she believes will help others like her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith businesses, with programs like that, that\u2019ll come help us, and with people like me that are willing to donate their time to help mentor other businesses,\u201d said Cholewa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
El Paso was just named as one of the founding cities of the Kapor Center\u2019s P.R.I.M.E. (Public Results through Impact and Mission-Driven Entrepreneurship) Alliance. The new initiative aims to help businesses that are focused on education, healthcare, housing and economic opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe gap closing companies, plus local and state governments, lead to huge opportunities, huge benefits for the people who most need them,\u201d said Chike Aguh, the head of innovation and strategy at the Kapor Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aguh leads the P.R.I.M.E. Alliance. He says opportunities to improve communities are everywhere, and yet it\u2019s not easy to make the most of them. El Paso Mayor Renard U. Johnson is excited about the partnership with the Kapor Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a number of entrepreneurs here in the city of El Paso,\u201d said Mayor Johnson. \u201cSo, we have a lot of good ideas there, and you know, in our city. But it\u2019s the government, or it\u2019s the city government, that slows them down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aguh referenced the historic partnership, highlighting a gap-closing startup focused on expanding access to high-quality childcare in Maryland. He says proven work will help the government and entrepreneurs be successful together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think because of having a better government, and most importantly, life on the front line for people who need it will get better,\u201d said Aguh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
El Paso Community College Small Business Development Center Director Audrey Marrufo says that even with a resource like the Kapor Center and barriers being broken, she believes these entrepreneurs should proceed with caution.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what happens when you grow too fast?\u201d said Marrufo. \u201cOr you know maybe you\u2019re just you know not ready you know to take that next step? That foundation is going to crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says that anyone who wants to launch a business needs dedication, perseverance and commitment, something that Cholewa had to demonstrate when she launched Xtreme Core Fitness in 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a degree in biochemistry,\u201d said Cholewa. \u201cI\u2019m a science teacher. Zero business experience. Zero. I thought I\u2019ll learn. I\u2019ll figure it out. People said, \u2018Crystal, gyms open and close all the time. You might want to, you know, maybe not do it.\u2019 And I thought maybe I do want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cholewa\u2019s belief in herself has allowed the gym to remain open for 11 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas \u2014 The city of El Paso has been selected as a site of a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[159649,132,1570,102,138,140,139,159648,159647,56,223,8075,82,151397,1569,835],"class_list":["post-470049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-app-everyday-heroes","tag-austin","tag-ctv","tag-dallas","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-everyday-hero","tag-everyday-heroes","tag-houston","tag-news","tag-rotx-what-you-need-to-know","tag-san-antonio","tag-solomon-ladvienka","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}