The surprisingly low jobs growth for August may have raised questions about economic recovery, but one small-business owner told CNBC that despite the fact that many people are still looking for work, his biggest issue is finding workers to hire.
"The biggest problem we've got is finding people that want to work and finding people that have the appropriate skills," Larry Mocha, president of APSCO, said Friday in an interview with "Street Signs."
Mocha said he's concerned about the high school dropout rate, which is between 25 and 30 percent.
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"We want to work with our career techs to make our workforce even stronger. We can do this. … We gotta get some people that want to work," he said.
APSCO manufactures air controls for the mobile equipment industry.
The jobless rate fell to 6.1 percent in August from 6.2 percent, but labor participation also dropped to 62.8 percent from 62.9 percent. August's nonfarm payrolls grew just 142,000, much weaker than expected.
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Mahisha Dellinger, president and owner of hair care product company Curls, told "Street Signs" that while unemployment and a slowing labor force are challenges for the economy, she's seeing upsides in her industry.
"I see growth in the black hair care market tremendously and the black buying power, which is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by next year," she said.
Curls is also hiring and recently relocated its offices from California to Texas to take advantage of lower tax rates. Dellinger projects 15 percent revenue growth in 2015.
However, she cautioned that others who want to start a business do their homework.
"You want to make sure that you know your market in and out," Dellinger said.
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She suggested working with a mentor and taking advantage of free public services like SCORE, which offers classes and mentoring.
"You can do it if you put your mind to it, as long as you're prepared, resilient and ready for the role."
Mocha echoed that sentiment, and said to be in business today, you really have to want it.
"You never run the victory lap because if it's good times right now you know it won't be long until things change. And if it's bad times, you gotta just hang in there because things will get better," Mocha said.
—By CNBC's Michelle Fox. CNBC's Shartia Brantley contributed to this report.
