People packed City Hall on Thursday to learn just how Bozeman is weathering tough economic times.

Less than a decade ago, the city of Bozeman may not have been too worried about the state of the economy or a summit talking about where it's headed.

"You're seeing a huge change then what you had seen five years ago even. In that first of all the event is here at City Hall. Where five years ago our advice as a city would have been to get out of the way. Today our responsibility is much broader and we're here to facilitate economic development in our community," said Mayor Sean Becker.

The economic summit brought people from different sectors such as technology, real estate and hospitality to talk about the ups and downs of Bozeman's economy, and assets the community can use to bring in new businesses and keep existing ones.

"I think there's a tremendous opportunity, we have a number of talented people, we have great resources coming out of MSU, both in terms of the faculty and the students. There's great support from the city and county in helping these businesses get started," Rob Irizarry, founder of StartUp Bozeman said.

People attending the summit say they recognize the economy is still struggling, but say times are changing and now could be the best time to start a new business.

"In a lull in the economy there are opportunities. Costs can be lower, arguably people are economically not in the greatest place but if you're in danger, for example, of losing your job, well maybe there's not a better time to take a leap," Irizarry said.

The leaders at the summit agree there's no one thing the community can do to salvage the economy as a whole, but say the pieces are in place for Bozeman to be successful.