California has earned recognition as one of the best states for female-owned businesses, according to a recent study, and women in Kern County are making a powerful impact while driving entrepreneurial success.
Denisse Coronado owns La Toxica GD based in Arvin. From working in the fields, she's now a proud business owner who still remembers when she sold her first bag of beef jerky two years ago.
"I was so happy because it was my first sale and in God's name time to continue going forward and from there I got a lot of motivation," Coronado said.
"I started my business as a way to have extra income. I make different flavors of beef jerky from "the original" to habanero, and most of my clients are in Arvin.
I started to sell outside of stores and the fields. A lot of the workers from the fields are my clients and they've helped me out so much," Coronado said.
As a first-time business owner, Coronado had guidance from the owner of Chepe's Mexican Restaurant.
"We talked with him and he helped us on how we should do the package tags, what it needs to have the percentage, the nutrition table. He started to explain all of that to us," Coronado said.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, around 1.5 million businesses in California are owned by women, which equals 37 percent. States are ranked based on the average percentage of employer and non-employer female-owned businesses.
Coronado says she understands why California ranked in the top 20 states.
"I'm proud that here in California I got the opportunity to work on this and to continue growing," Coronado said.
She has big plans for her business.
"I see myself with a big company. Distributing my product to different stores in California and sending it to other states," Coronado said.
Another entrepreneur, Martha Rodriguez, is the proud owner of MJ's Sweet Delights in Bakersfield. Her journey began in 2023, when she and her sister started making chocolate-covered pretzels as a hobby.
"I was coping with a lot of anxiety, a lot of anxiety, a lot of depression. And it's something we women really don't speak about, what kind of gets us out there and, you know, want to start a business. That was mainly my my focus at that moment," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez is still in disbelief at how fast her business has grown.
"I never thought my business was gonna go 360 from 2023 to now. If you would tell me back then, if I would see myself now, I would definitely say no, I wouldn't. But I am very thankful for the community and support that I receive," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says she's always keeping up with the latest trends—a strategy she credits for her continued success.
"Now we do snack cart catering, we eat pancakes, tosti locos, esquites, Now it's coming like like ice we do iced coffee, and, you know, hopefully, by the end of this year, next year, we already have our local store here in Bakersfield," Rodriguez said.
Other states that made the list are Oregon, Washington, Colorado and New Mexico.
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