Lynisha Senegal is leaving for the Midwest from Fresno. Photo conributed

A local business leader will soon be leaving the Central Valley.

Lynisha Senegal, founder of Vision View Business Formation Center, a business and entrepreneur hub in Fresno, recently announced that she will be leaving Fresno, but will continue to help businesses as she enters a new chapter in her journey.

Senegal founded Vision View in 2017 with a vision to establish a business-focused campus for entrepreneurs after encountering several people that had trouble starting or growing their businesses. 

The facility at 4974 E. Clinton Ave. near the Fresno Yosemite International Airport will continue to operate.

A once-single mother of five that was having trouble making ends meet, Senegal has grown her Vision View Business Formation Center with multiple partnerships with local businesses and entrepreneurs and has even been recognized by the city for her work.

Over the last seven years, Vision View has worked with over 600 small businesses, helped launch 170 new businesses, and has provided office space for over 200 minority owned small businesses.

“My journey has been unbelievable, but it’s been a testament to my faith and when you believe and get out there and just try, there is nothing you can’t do,” Senegal said.

The two-story, 33,950 square-foot building has emerged as a prime location for micro and small businesses. It has seen extensive renovations in the past few years and is leasing space for nearly a dozen businesses.

She will continue to help businesses as CEO of her nonprofit, Helping Others Pursue Excellence (H.O.P.E.), which she founded in 2012 as a vocational training and entrepreneurship program.

Senegal said the last seven years of leading Vision View have been exciting, and she is grateful for all the opportunities it opened for her, as well as for all the businesses and entrepreneurs that have come through the business incubator.

She said she was able to pay off the mortgage for the property, and having freedom from mortgage debt has allowed her to move on to her next phase.

She will be moving to the Midwest with her partner. Senegal was granted $25,000 and will be taking a six-month sabbatical to work on and bring to market a boardgame she created, “Bootstrap Economics,” an interactive experience that highlights the journey of bootstrap entrepreneurs.

A bootstrap entrepreneur refers to someone who starts a business with little money or outside investment, relying on their own resources to build it.

“I will be able to use the game as a tool to share stories of resilience and use it to speak to lawmakers to show how legislation impacts small businesses, either negatively or positively,” Senegal said.  

There are still some projects that she wants to finish, including a food court at the Vision View campus called the Culinary Flavor Junction in the Fresno Airport District, and their media station KOFP 103.3.

Senegal will continue to do what’s most important to her — helping create generational wealth for communities of color.

She said she feels she has accomplished what she set out to do and will look back on all her opportunities and how she brought all her visions to life.

“I’ve landed in a place where I’ve grown a legacy. I’m just thankful I had the opportunity to give back to the community,” Senegal said.