IMMOKALEE, Fla. - Immokalee is becoming a breeding ground for new, growing businesses.

If you've got a vision, they've got the tools. After only six months, Immokalee Business Development Center, or IMMBIZ, has helped six young companies get their start, and they're helping current businesses continue to grow.

What was once an idea has become a business.

"It's the latest generation in the evolution of sun shades," John Jenkins said explaining his invention. "This utilizes the inflatable properties of the wind. The wind fills the sail and gives you a whole area of unobstructed shade underneath."

"I love to clean," Cynthia Clinton said. "I love it, I enjoy it. I know there is a great need for elderly, people with disabilities."

Budding entrepreneurs John Jenkins and Cynthia Clinton know starting a business is no easy feat. But partnered with IMMBIZ, they have everything from workshops  to training to a 6-week entrepreneurial school, right at their fingertips - free of charge.

"We were starting off with 3 businesses," IMMBIZ Director Marie Capita said. "Now we are up to 10 businesses we are helping in Immokalee. We go through everything - marketing, the importance of incorporating, the importance of having a lawyer, an accountant, a banker."

The idea behind IMMBIZ is simple: cultivate ideas and create jobs, exclusively in Immokalee.

"I got my kick start here in Immokalee," Jenkins said.

By the end of next year, Jenkins hopes to have 60 SandySail Sunshades distributorships nationwide.

"This place has given me those tools," Jenkins said. "They introduced me to the people at SCORE, who helped me put together a business plan, going through financial projections, going through marketing plans." 

And Cynthia of Cynthia's Cleaning hopes her business will not only fill a need in the community where she grew up, but also get those without jobs back to work.

"Coming to class really allowed me to give them my past and they gave me a future," Clinton said. "I feel that I am on my way now. I'm on my way."

The Immokalee Community Redevelopment Agency helps fund IMMBIZ. And Suncoast Federal Credit Union just donated 10 computers for the computer lab.

But they're always looking for equipment donations. If you'd like to learn more, just head to http://www.immokalee.biz/