Cassandra Rushdan

For years, Cassandra has been known as the party queen to family and friends. Her elaborate birthday parties for her son and for others in her neighborhood made her the go-to person for all things related to planning events. But she was hesitant at first to turn her passion into a full-time business.

Then Cassandra got accepted into the chamber’s Circle of Excellence cohort, and everything changed. Thanks to a nudge from the chamber’s leadership and the support of her Circle of Excellence cohort, Cassandra landed several big event planning opportunities in Fresno.

Now, her company, Omega Party Zone, is steadily growing and her services continue to be in high demand. The most valuable thing Cassandra learned from working with the chamber? How to overcome her fear of being rejected.

“Being around other Black business owners made me want to do more,” she said. “I saw that there were no limits to what they were doing, so I said to myself, ‘Why am I letting fear get in the way of doing what I love?’ Now, I’m just focusing on doing what I love to do, putting my passion out there…and whoever embraces it, embraces it.”