A STRONGER SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR, FOCUS OF ECONOMIC SUMMIT
The Latino Coalition Praised by Small Business Owners for National Business Matchmaking Program
WASHINGTON, DC May 14, 2009-The setting resembled a speed dating event. Dozens of numbered tables in a hotel ballroom, with seated men and women eagerly waiting to meet a counterpart, as a line of well groomed suitors formed outside, anticipating their turn. But at last week’s Latino Coalition’s annual Economic Summit and Business Matchmaking event in our nation’s capital, romance was hardly in the air.
What procurement officers for some of the nation’s largest government agencies and Fortune 500 companies -and the more than 250 small business owners present from across the nation- expected was a match of a different sort. A match that would help expedite the transfer of the more than 80 billion dollars in government contracts that federal agencies and the private sector assign to small businesses (those with 20 or less employees) every year.
For the last 2 years, The Latino Coalition (TLC), under the leadership of its Chairman and former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Hector V. Barreto, has been at the forefront of ensuring that economic opportunity flows quickly and equitably to small business owners, and most especially, to Minority Owned Enterprises (MOEs). “I am gratified by our turnout: more than 30 federal agencies, more than 250 small businesses and billions of dollars in opportunities that will help small businesses, as they’ve always done, bring us out of this downturn and restore health to our economy,” said Barreto.
Also announced at the summit were key partnerships and programs aimed at equipping small businesses with resources for their success:
– Signed a strategic partnership with SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide.
– Signed a strategic partnership with Women Impacting Public Policy, a national bi-partisan public policy organization that advocates for and on behalf of women and minorities in business in the legislative processes of our nation.
Announced new relationship with following firms that will offer competitive pricing in the area of Healthcare and financial services:
o Empyrean Insurance Services, which distributes, administers and supports leading health insurance and benefit programs for employers and associations.
o Newtek Business Services, which provides access to the leading commercial insurance carriers in the country in addition to placing all lines of commercial insurance, including commercial property, casualty, auto, umbrella, professional liability and workers compensation, among others for all industries and company sizes.
The Latino Coalition also announced the launch of a new initiative entitled “Exito,” an ongoing, multi channel direct marketing outreach program targeting over 1 million Hispanic owned small businesses nationwide. Exito focuses on “just in time” marketing and starts with the freshest data available and the quickest turnaround for initial communication with the audience. The program mails weekly to ensure your message reaches the target audience at that critical time when they are more likely to purchase your products or services.
The matchmaking event was preceded by morning sessions, where attending small business owners listened to panels of experts discuss some of the most important issues facing small business in this economy: the cost of employee healthcare and international growth opportunities for small enterprises, among them. At the luncheon session, another key issue was highlighted by U.S. Senator John Thune, who, in his keynote address alerted a packed ballroom on the impact that passage of the so called ‘Card Check’ legislation would have on small business. “The cost you would have to bear would be too great, and your prospects adversely affected, if this legislation passed,” Thune noted.
To the small business owners in attendance, the event proved to be an ideal forum for professional networking, quick assessment of issues impacting their sector and, most importantly, a face-to-face opportunity for new business growth. Alex Fortunati, a small business owner of Support Services of America, Inc. company in Los Angeles, CA, summarized it best: “As a small business owner, I need to be informed of the issues impacting me and I need to know the legislators who are working on my behalf; but, most importantly, I need the opportunities to earn contracts. The Latino Coalition has the mix right.”
For more information on the new partnerships or Exito program, please visit www.thelatinocoalition.com, or contact Allen Gutierrez at 949-546-0476.
About The Latino Coalition
The Latino Coalition (TLC) was founded in 1995 by a group of Hispanic business owners from across the country to research and develop policies relevant to Latinos. TLC is a non-profit nationwide organization based in Irvine, CA, with offices in Washington, DC and Mexico. TLC was established to address policy issues that directly affect the well-being of Hispanics in the United States. TLC’s agenda is to develop initiatives and partnerships that will foster economic equivalency and enhance overall business, economic and social development of Latinos. For more information, please visit www.thelatinocoalition.com.
Media: Melissa Alvarez Latino Coalition: Allen Gutierrez
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A STRONGER SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR, FOCUS OF ECONOMIC SUMMIT
The Latino Coalition Praised by Small Business Owners for National Business Matchmaking Program