Latino business ownership in US continues to grow at quick rate

RICHARDSON GROUP, PROTECTING WEALTH AND RETIREMENT. WELL, WE’RE JUST FIVE DAYS INTO HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH. IT’S A MONTH LONG CELEBRATION OF HISPANIC AND LATINO HISTORY AND CULTURE. AND IN LIGHT OF THIS MONTH, THE HEAD OF THE U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS SBA, ANNOUNCED MORE THAN. $34 MILLION FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. AND IT’S FUNDING. AND I’M JOINED NOW LIVE BY ISABEL CASILLAS GUZMAN, ADMINISTRATOR AT SBA. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US, ISABEL. IT’S GREAT TO BE HERE WITH YOU. THANK YOU. MICHAEL. YEAH, IT’S GREAT TO BE HERE WITH YOU AND HAPPY TO HAVE YOU. SO FIRST, JUST TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MONEY FOR HISPANIC SMALL BUSINESSES AND WHY THIS FUNDING IS SO IMPORTANT. WELL, WE’VE SEEN A SMALL BUSINESS BOOM IN THIS COUNTRY ACROSS ALL THE STATES. 19.4 MILLION NEW BUSINESS APPLICATIONS FILED AND PENNSYLVANIA, IT’S OVER 550,000. THAT BASICALLY MEANS THAT THERE’S ALL THESE INCREDIBLE NEW STARTS OUT THERE AS WELL. WHO ARE STARTING GROWING, BUILDING RESILIENT BUSINESSES AND ADDING TO OUR ECONOMY. AND SO NOW, MORE THAN EVER, IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE SUPPORTED AND FUNDED. AND IT’S HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH. SO NOTING THAT THAT THAT BOOM IS BEING LED BY WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND ESPECIALLY BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES WHERE LATINOS HAVE STARTED UP AT THE HIGHEST RATES IN DECADES NOW, ALMOST 10% OF LATINO HOUSEHOLDS ARE HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS. SO IT’S A PRETTY INCREDIBLE TIME. YOU KNOW, THE SBA POWERS OVER $50 BILLION EVERY YEAR IN FUNDING TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES, AND THAT’S $34 BILLION IN LOANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO REACH ALL COMMUNITIES. BUT FOR THE LATINO COMMUNITIES, WE’VE MADE GREAT PROGRESS DURING THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION. MORE THAN DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF LOANS TO LATINOS. THAT’S INCREDIBLE. AND I WANT YOU TO UNPACK THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BECAUSE, AS YOU JUST SAID, SPEAKING OF THE LATINO BUSINESS, OWNERSHIP HAS GROWN AT AN INCREDIBLE RATE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES. HOW IS THE SBA BEEN ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THAT GROWTH AND PROVIDE HELP AND RESOURCES TO THOSE BUSINESSES IN THIS BOOM? YES. WELL, AND THIS HAS BEEN THE PRIORITY FOR THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION AND WHY WE’RE SO PROUD OF THE SMALL BUSINESS BOOM THAT’S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SMALL BUSINESSES DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC, OBVIOUSLY, EXTREME HAD THIS EXTREME DISRUPTION, A REALLY CHALLENGES. THEY PERSISTED AROUND INFLATIONARY PRESSURES, WORKFORCE CHALLENGES. BUT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GOT THE TOOLS, THE FINANCING THAT THEY NEEDED TO CONTINUE TO POWER THROUGH. AND AT THE SBA, WE HAVE LOCAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE, CENTERS THAT CAN SUPPORT BUSINESSES AS WELL AS DISTRICT OFFICES WHO ARE ON THE GROUND MAKING SURE THAT THEIR BUSINESSES ARE BUSINESS READY, CAPITAL READY, TRADE READY, E-COMMERCE READY, ABLE TO REALLY COMPETE IN THE MARKETPLACE. AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN REALLY TO BE TRADE READY, ECONOMIC READY? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE IN THIS TIME WHERE WE KNOW THE FINANCES CHANGE CONSISTENTLY IN OUR ECONOMY? YES. WELL, WE KNOW YOU KNOW, THE THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN GOOD. THE DATA HAS BEEN GOOD IN THE ECONOMY. WE’VE SEEN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO FINALLY FIGHT INFLATION TO A POINT WHERE THE FEDERAL RESERVE HAS DROPPED INTEREST RATES. THAT’S GOOD FOR MORE AFFORDABLE CAPITAL FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESSES. WE’VE SEEN CONSUMER SPENDING CONTINUE TO STAY STRONG, ESPECIALLY IN THE E-COMMERCE REALM. THAT’S GOOD FOR BUSINESSES WHO RELY ON CUSTOMERS WITH MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS COMING IN THEIR DOORS TO SPEND AND FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, THOUGH, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING EVERYTHING FROM HOW TO MANAGE YOUR FINANCES, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS TIME WHERE INFLATION WAS HIGHER AND PRICES WENT UP, YOU KNOW, KNOWING HOW TO BETTER MARKET YOUR BUSINESS SO THAT YOU CAN GET MORE CUSTOMERS IN THE DOOR, ESPECIALLY AS YOU’RE, YOU KNOW, MODEL. YOUR BUSINESS MODEL IS CHANGING WITH PRICING, ETC., OR YOU KNOW, HOW TO GET INTO NEW AREAS ALTOGETHER, LIKE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING OR TRADE ABROAD OR E-COMMERCE, DIGITAL E-MARKETING. SO ALL OF THOSE TOPICS ARE COVERED IN DEPTH WITH SBA’S RESOURCE PARTNERS THAT ARE AROUND THE STATE. OUR SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS, OUR WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS, OUR NEW VETERAN BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER, AND OUR SCORE MENTORS. WE ARE DESIGNED TO PRETTY MUCH BE A TEAM BEHIND ANY ENTREPRENEUR OUT THERE, AND DOING A BUSINESS IS HARD WORK. WE KNOW YOU WAKE UP EVERY DAY WITH NEW CHALLENGES, BUT ALSO OPPORTUNITIES AND HAVING FREE ADVICE FROM AN INCREDIBLE, SKILLED LOCAL ADVISORY NETWORK IS WHAT CAN GIVE YOU THAT LEVEL UP TO CONTINUE TO COMPETE. IT IS HARD WORK AND YOU KNOW, FOR SO MANY FAMILIES, THE AMERICAN DREAM IS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL ONE. YOU TALKED ABOUT IT EARLIER. MORE THAN 10% OF LATINO FAMILIES HAVE A SMALL BUSINESS IN THEIR HOME. HOW MANY FAMILIES WOULD YOU SAY HAS THE ORGANIZATION HELPED AND WHAT AGAIN, DOES IT TAKE TO RUN A FAMILY BUSINESS? BECAUSE AGAIN, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST THINK, OH, YOU CREATE A BUSINESS, YOU RUN IT. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO NOT ONLY RUN, BUT TO MAINTAIN AND TO SUSTAIN A FAMILY BUSINESS FOR GENERATIONS TO COME? YEAH. WELL, LET’S START WITH THAT BECAUSE THEY DO THE HARD WORK. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO YOU KNOW, DEFINE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, PRODUCE THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES WE DEPEND ON AND THAT MAKE US MORE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE. IN THIS COUNTRY. AND IT TAKES INCREDIBLE GRIT AND DETERMINATION, THAT ABILITY TO POWER THROUGH WITH YOUR IDEA, GET PEOPLE TO FOLLOW YOU, YOUR EMPLOYEES, AND REALLY DELIVER AGAINST THAT DREAM AND GET PEOPLE TO FUND YOU AND SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR CUSTOMERS TO REALLY FALL IN LOVE WITH THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT YOU’RE DELIVERING AND ALL OF THAT TAKES IMMENSE GRIT AND DETERMINATION AND ALSO A VISION AND AN OPTIMISM FOR THE FUTURE. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND BELIEVE THAT IT CAN HAPPEN, BUT IT REALLY HONESTLY, THE, THE, THE EDGE ABOVE THAT GIVES YOU AN ADVANTAGE IN THE MARKETPLACE IS TRULY BEING ARMED WITH A STRONG NETWORK. AND THAT’S WHAT SBA CAN COME AND FILL IN TO, TO HELP SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES. BECAUSE YOU NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN TALK TO ABOUT STRATEGIC ADVICE AND DIRECTION TO GET CUSTOMERS THROUGH NETWORKS, TO BE ABLE TO FIND GOOD VENDORS THROUGH NETWORKS. AND SO TRULY THE, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES BEING ABLE TO BUILD THAT SUPPORT AROUND YOU AND TRULY THAT THAT MAKES THE TALENTED ENTREPRENEUR. BUT WE’RE JUST SO IMPRESSED WITH WHAT AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP HAS EVOLVED TO BE OVER THE LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS, WHERE BUSINESS DYNAMISM IS BACK. THESE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE CREATING JOBS AND REALLY DELIVERING FOR OUR ECONOMY AND SBA, OF COURSE, HAS BEEN ON THE GROUND FOR DECADES, HELPING SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES AND SOME GREAT SUCCESS STORIES AROUND THE COUNTRY. ICONIC BRANDS WHO HAVE GROWN THROUGH THE SBA PRODUCTS, EVERYTHING FROM CHOBANI YOGURT TO SWEETGREEN REALLY INCREDIBLE BRANDS. AND WE’RE PROUD TO HOPE TO DELIVER THOSE NEXT ENTREPRENEURS TO HARRISBURG AND BEYOND. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE HELP ABOUT 1.5 MILLION SMALL BUSINESSES EVERY YEAR WITH THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. KNOW HOW NETWORKS AND BEYOND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HELP TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SMALL BUSINESSES EVERY YEAR CONNECT TO THE CAPITAL. YES, AND WE’RE ABOUT TO WRAP HERE. BUT CAN YOU JUST TELL US VERY, VERY, VERY QUICKLY, HOW CAN A FAMILY APPLY FOR THIS FUNDING VERY QUICKLY GO TO SBA.GOV. WE HAVE FREE TOOLS CALLED LENDER MATCH AND YOU CAN CONNECT LOCALLY TO RESOURCE PARTNERS. AND THAT FUNDING TODAY. FANTASTIC. ISABEL CASILLAS GUZMAN, ADMINISTRATOR AT SBA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

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