Patricia Summers at the California Smog & Automotive Institute. Courtesy Patricia Summers.
Patricia Summers has the perfect response when people assume she is the secretary of the Riverside automotive repair shop and training school she owns with her husband.
“I say yes. I’m the secretary, the accountant, the janitor, the electrician, human resources, you name it because this is my business,” Summers said.
Summers co-founded the California Smog & Automotive Institute in 2004 in response to a shortage of technicians statewide. The facility operates as a repair shop by day and institute by night – training more than 4,000 people of all ages and backgrounds to start their own business in the smog trade.
“We helped a woman take over her husband’s company after he passed from cancer,” Summers said. The institute currently has three women enrolled in the course who plan to get licensed in California.
Jennifer is currently enrolled to become a licensed smog technician to help her dad at his smog and repair shop in Colton. Courtesy Patricia Summers.
Summers now runs operations full-time so her husband can launch a youth leadership academy and that road hasn’t always been easy. A fire at the facility and coronavirus pandemic eventually forced her to ask for help.
“I struggled with trust for many years because of my experiences as a business owner in an environment that wasn’t used to seeing someone like me owning a company,” Summers said. “That all changed when I met Michelle Skiljan at the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center.”
Summers enrolled in the inaugural Riverside Small Business Support Series facilitated by the city and Inland Empire Women’s Business Center (IEWBC). The goal of the virtual eight-week series was to help small business owners understand operational excellence through free business coaching and training on topics ranging from finance to social media.
“IEWBC made me realize there are people willing to help you grow your business,” Summers said.
Through support from the City and IEWBC, Summers received several grants, business consulting, and a large PPP loan that helped keep her business afloat during the early days of COVID.
IEWBC, a program of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship, launched in the fall of 2003 to counsel, teach, encourage and inspire women business owners at every stage of development and expansion.
An undated IEWBC ribbon-cutting. Courtesy IEWBC.
“All businesses face obstacles, but women entrepreneurs have additional challenges such as fewer contracts available, limited skill development, and access to capital,” said Michelle Skiljan, IEWBC’s founding executive director. “We exist to help small business owners get over these hurdles to survive and thrive.”
IEWBC is undoubtedly a force multiplier for the region. To date, the center and its Coachella Valley counterpart have trained 84,740 workshop participants, provided business counseling for 5,701 owners, supported more than 5,400 jobs, and generated an economic impact of more than $28 million.
Skiljan said the entire economy benefits when more women enter the workforce. “If your small businesses are successful, that money stays local,” Skiljan said. “There is a ripple effect when you empower women through entrepreneurship.”
For information about the Inland Empire Women’s Business Center, go to www.iewbc.org.
For information about the California Smog & Automotive Institute, go to www.californiasmoginstitute.com.