Chicago United knows that when Latinas succeed, we all succeed

Latina businesses are one of the fastest-growing minority business segments. What can Chicago United do to help fulfill their remarkable potential, and how does that benefit Chicago overall?

 Chicago United helps both corporations and small businesses maximize their resources and succeed, to the benefit of the entire Chicago economy. Latinas are, of course, a key resource. Chicago United helps businesses of all sizes utilize and grow the talents of Latinas so they can reach their full potential and develop into seasoned senior-level executives.. That requires corporations to become culturally competent so that they understand that each individual may approach leadership from a different perspective.  Leaders today may look like me whereas that might not have been true 20 years ago. It’s about changing corporate mind-sets as to how they view leadership; recognizing the varied skills and talents of leaders; and realizing how those skills and talents are expressed within different cultures.

 The second part as it fits into our vision is obviously with entrepreneurial Latinas. Clearly Latinas are starting businesses at a very fast pace. The challenge is that many such businesses are essentially self-employment enterprises. They are not created with the vision of launching a corporation with a business model that can be sustained over a long period of time and with a value proposition that is going to move them forward, help them grow,  or allow them to become employers rather than just self-employed. So, the challenge is for these companies to think about scale. What is their business going to offer that is unique? How will they capitalize on that? How can they build a business that will create jobs with good benefits and create wealth so that they become truly sustainable businesses.   The founders should also have an exit plan You can’t be in business forever, you don’t want to be 90-years-old and running the business, and so you’re looking to create a business with its own unique value. If you choose to turn it over to your sons and daughters that’s great, but if you want to sell it and move on, will it have its own intrinsic value?  I think that’s a new message for many Hispanic entrepreneurs, who started out thinking about their business as small but then began to think really big.

 What is the most critical step toward helping Hispanics succeed in the greater business world?

 It means that attention must be paid to two different obstacles: the larger, societal issue, and  the other is individual. The larger obstacle, the societal obstacle, is education. We are not attaining the levels of education as an entire population that we need to if we’re going to succeed. We have to focus on ensuring that our students are not just finishing high school but that they are going on to an associate’s degree, a four-year baccalaureate degree or a master’s degree. We need to support our kids as a society because that is what will change the profile of wealth in the Latino community and breed success. Now, on an individual basis, if I’m looking for a job today, I’m looking for a corporation that clearly has a range of diversity in its senior leadership.  Tangible confirmation of an opportunity for advancement demonstrates that they have a commitment to inclusion and that the commitment that they have is not that they have two of these and three of those — you know, counting heads. It’s really about understanding that the way I approach a problem, and that the way I understand the world, is going to bring value to the company. Individually, the question is: how do I utilize my talents and where do I fit in? You need to look for a place that welcomes your perspective, but then you’ve got to seize control of your own advancement whether through continuing education or assuring that you are well situated and thought of within the corporation. I think in that regard, sometimes the obstacles are inside the corporation, but sometimes the obstacle is that we don’t see how to leverage what we’re doing so that other people recognize it. We may tend to put our noses to the grindstone, to work hard and hope other people notice us. Well, they won’t, you’ve got to tell them: look I did this great stuff.

 Having had an exceptional relationship with both small and medium-sized minority businesses and corporations in the past years, what do you think is the principal obstacle confronting Hispanics seeking to rise in the business world?

Primarily, we have to achieve certain levels of educational attainment.If we do not achieve the levels of education that will be required for the jobs that will be available 20 years from now, we will be a drag on the economy. We will be the ones who require social services and support. We will not build the wealth and we will build a permanent underclass. It’s up to us to decide. It’s up to us to achieve.                         

Chicago United is well-known for its different programs aimed at helping minority companies, programs such as the annual Changing Color of Leadership Conference and the Bridge Awards dinner and the Five Forward Initiative. How do these programs help the Hispanic business community?

Corporations have a large presence here in Chicago. Whether they have their headquarters here or they have a large footprint here, they create economic vitality. It’s the multiplier effect. If you give me $1 in salary, I’m going to pay my rent. I’m going to get my car fixed. I’m going to go to the drycleaners. I’m going to go to the local restaurant.  All of this necessity creates economic activity. Five Forward is all about saying to corporations, ‘Develop minority businesses here, help them grow, and you will create a more robust local economy.’ For our Latina businesses, this is critically important because many are younger entrepreneurial ventures. They need the opportunity to build scale, to partner with a large corporation that has identified them and said, ‘you have great potential.’ They get a stamp of approval. It is a five-year commitment to do business so that they can plan and they can book scale. With that assurance, some of the minority firms that have been selected have added shifts to their manufacturing operations. That creates jobs.

Yours is one of the most prestigious nonprofit organizations in the country. Before leadingChicago United, you were a businesswoman. Additionally, you have received numerous awards and recognition from the Small Business Administration and any number of important organizations. Do you still feel like an entrepreneur?

  Once it’s in your blood, it’s always in your blood; it never goes away. I can tell you that entrepreneurialism will always be a part of me. Chicago United felt like an entrepreneurial venture from the first day because when I came to the organization I was able to use all of my small-business skills: budgeting, hiring people, which products are you going to offer? How are you going to offer them? How are you going to bring in new customers, if you will? In this case it’s our members. What are you going to do to market and brand the organization? All of those things that you do as an entrepreneur, I applied here at Chicago United. There is no question that once you have entrepreneurial blood that is what runs through your veins, and it makes you feel very connected to other Latina business owners. You like to see them do well. You want to see them succeed. You know how hard it is. 

What advice do you have for Latina and other minority business owners in these difficult economic times?

 Have a clear business plan that includes defining your target financial ratios.  Build into your processes means by which you measure those metrics so that  v when they go out of scale you are in a good position to make corrections. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  But it’s definitely best to recognize quickly that you’re making one and fix it fast.   Don’t think it’s going to correct itself later. Make sure you have a really solid business plan. You can go to the Women’s Business Development Center and they will help you put together a solid business plan and that will take you so much farther than thinking, “I can just do this by gut.” You don’t want a business “by gut.” It’s all about being very clear that I’m now a businessperson. It’s realizing: “I’m going to treat my business as if it were a major corporation. My business is every bit as important. I’ve got to plan ahead the same way that they plan ahead.”

That would be my advice.