Bilingual business assistance program launched

 

CAHNRS Dean Dan Bernardo speaks at the recent conference.

YAKIMA, Wash. – About half of new businesses survive the first five years, according to the Small Business Administration, and the success rate for Latino-owned businesses is even smaller.

 

But one-to-one business advising, peer mentoring and a robust support network that includes training opportunities, education and resource sharing can make a huge difference, said José García-Pabón, Latino community studies and outreach specialist with Washington State University Extension.

 

Those are the key components of a new statewide bilingual business assistance program that is being developed by WSU Extension, the Washington Small Business Development Center network, the Economic Development Association of Skagit County and the Association of Washington State Hispanic Chambers of Commerce (AWSHCC).

 

Known by the Spanish acronym ASFINLA, the program translates to “Assistance for the Financial Health of Latino/Minority Businesses.”

 
“ASFINLA’s ultimate goal is to contribute to the economic recovery of our state by helping small business owners stay in business, expanding the tax base of the state and local communities and empowering the Hispanic chambers of commerce to better serve their members and become a stronger voice in their communities,” García-Pabón said.

 

 

The partnership, along with a new AT&T-sponsored online business directory for members of Hispanic chambers of commerce, was announced Sept. 30 at the 2011 AWSHCC conference at the Yakima Convention Center.

 

Also announced was a $25,000 contribution from the AT&T Foundation to launch development of ASFINLA’s business assistance curriculum and a Hispanic chambers of commerce board training program. AT&T, Walmart and Wells Fargo were conference sponsors.

 
Speakers at the half-day conference included Dan Bernardo, dean of the WSU College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resources Sciences and director of WSU Extension; Jeff Gunnoe, a senior food sourcing merchandising planner with Walmart; Dan Youmans, AT&T president of external affairs for Washington and Hawaii; Calvin Goings, Region X administrator for the national Small Business Administration (SBA); and Cris Guillen, AWSHCC president and CEO.

 

Bernardo, an agricultural economist, was one of many speakers who stressed the importance of small business development, calling it critical to Washington’s economic recovery.

 

According to SBA data from February 2011, small businesses represent 99.7 percent of employer firms and pay 44 percent of the U.S. private payroll. In the past 15 years, small businesses have created 64 percent of net new jobs, and they produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.

 
About 10 percent of businesses in the U.S. are owned by Latinos, but that number is expected to grow. According to the last census, Latinos accounted for half the population growth in the U.S. in the past decade.

 

In Washington State, Bernardo said, the percentage of Latinos grew by 70 percent from 2000 to 2010. Those facts alone, he pointed out, make it clear that Latino business development is “a critical cog in the economic recovery gear.”

 

Brett Rogers, director of the Washington SBDC, said that ASFINLA’s ultimate vision is to have sustainable funding for four bilingual business advisors to meet one-on-one with Latino small business owners from around the state as needed. These advisors also will work closely with the 26 SBDC certified business advisors located in 24 centers around the state to leverage the existing expertise and resources of the entire network.

 

 

Much of the afternoon conference was devoted to panel discussions on how to support the success of underserved small business owners and the importance of incorporating the benefits of new business technologies into business plans.
 
Participants also lauded the involvement of higher education in the ASFINLA vision.

“If we are going to develop the way we should, education is the answer,” said Gus Ramos, executive director of the Skagit Housing Authority and a former president of the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce.

 
According to Ramos, people with information critical to small business success often work in silos, and it is extremely difficult for small business owners to figure out whom they need to talk to and what they need to know.

 

Martin Valadez, president of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said one-to-one advising is important, but it is also important to work for structural changes in public policy that support equal access to information, resources and opportunities.

 

 

The ASFINLA program concept grew out of a pilot program created in 2004 by Diana Morelli, coordinator of the Latino business expansion retention program at the Economic Development Association of Skagit County.  Morelli promotes small-business success strategies ranging from writing a business plan or completing a loan application to preparing for job applicants’ interviews.

 

“Nothing motivates people as much as being treated with respect,” she said.

 

Among ASFINLA’s goals is to support the membership, infrastructure and resources of the AWSHCC. To further that effort, AT&T sponsored the development of an online directory for use of Hispanic chambers of commerce affiliated with the AWSHCC.

 

This is the first directory in Washington that allows users to locate Spanish-speaking professionals and service providers as well as businesses with Spanish-speaking employees anywhere in the state. Inclusion in the directory is open to anyone who belongs to an AWSHCC-affiliated Hispanic chamber of commerce.

 

AWSHCC’s Guillen demonstrated the online directory at the conference for attendees.

For information on how to help with ASFINLA’s expansion or to become a member of a Hispanic chamber of commerce, please contact José García-Pabón, garciajl@wsu.edu or 425-357-6008, or Cris Guillen, president@awshcc.com or 206-329-5534.

 

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Sources:
José García-Pabón, garciajl@wsu.edu, 425-357-6008
Cris Guillen, president@awshcc.com, 206-329-5534