Guest Column
Rallying Latinas and women entrepreneurs
By Daniel Urzedo
Half of the nation's population growth since the start of the decade is driven by Hispanics. This group accounted for more than 13 percent of the population in 2002 according to a recent report by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
The latest 2002 U.S census also reports that Hispanics owned nearly 1.6 million businesses however only 1.82% these grow to pass one million dollar mark. This disparity is even more apparent when applied to Latina business owners.
To raise awareness of this issue, a national movement formed by Count-Me-In for Women's Economic Independence and OPEN from American Express is rallying Latinas and women entrepreneurs across America to declare their intention to grow their businesses to million-dollar enterprises by 2010 and add approximately 4 million jobs and $700 billion to the US economy. The call to action is part of the launch of the 2006 Make Mine a $Million Business program (www.makemineamillion.org), an expanded national effort to provide women with mentoring, money and marketing resources.
Through the program two Latinas found better access to capital, mentoring relationships and opportunities to grow their businesses.
Beatriz Ramos, a Venezuelan who was the inspiration for the Latinas on the move to become millionaires, is the owner of New York based graphic design firm Dancing Diablo Studios http://www.dancingdiablo.com/. Beatriz came to the U.S to pursue the American dream and earlier this month met and was honored by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington D.C during an event for Women in Business.
- Another Latina, Annette Grignard, was also awarded by the program. She runs a pet bedding and accessory company www.petdreams.com and can tell her stories on struggling with mentoring and financing. Annette like many entrepreneurs had no experience in the industry that she developed a product for. She says: If I had known better I would have gotten a part time job in the industry or even offered to work for free with the right mentor before launching my company".
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- Daniel Urzedo For Count-Me-In for Women's Economic Independence danielu@mbooth.com
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