SBA tours Latino businesses in Georgetown, highlighting available resources
GEORGETOWN, Del. – Members of the Delaware Branch of the SBA met with Non-profit La Plaza and Latino Chamber of Commerce group Dale to tour Latino-owned businesses in Georgetown, highlighting their success despite a lack of resources and highlighting ways to support their growth.
The groups discussed issues of fundraising, language barriers and even issues such as hiring or renting space as barriers that must come down to allow the Latino-owned businesses community to thrive.
For printing company Impressions LLC, has been surviving purely on word of mouth from their existing customers, with a Facebook page as their only digital presence. The two-person family-run businesses is looking to add an expansion to their retail space, and even hire workers to keep up with demand, but they can’t take those steps alone.
“We only worked for a company for 16 years, but we don’t really know how is to hire anybody and what is the requirements,” said Owner Ivan Velascez.
SCORE, an organization funded by the SBA was there at the tour and says Impressions is a perfect candidate for their free services aimed at teaching businesses how to grow, how to spot a smart move and even how to keep books to impress any bank looking to give them additional financing.
“We offer business planning, financial management, competitor analysis, and market research so that they know that they are focused on the right market instead of just deciding they think they want to do something without any quantitative and qualitative discussions,” said Delaware Score Director John Frankie.
The second and third stops of the tour saw the group tour Jalapeno Restaurant in downtown Georgetown and the Super Tienda Xel Latino grocery store, both owned by Victor Paxtor.
Paxtor opened Jalapeno 12 years ago, and the Grocery just last year.
Now with a dream of opening a second restaurant, he is relying on the resources of La Plaza to help him get his ducks in a row for the city, something that can he quite the hassle, before you factor in a language barrier.
“He has been attending our business classes, and we are working to help translate documents, he is learning how to better administer his business and realizing that he doesn’t have to do it alone anymore, that we’re here to help,” said La Plaza outreach coordinator Araceli Gil.
District Director for the Delaware SBA Office Michelle Harris says that they hope with the tour the businesses can become aware of the additional federal resources that become available, especially when non-profits like La Plaza help them put their best foot forward.
Harris says those funding resources are not contingent on the legal status of any of the business owners, a stigma she is hoping to break.
“You’re immigration status doesn’t necessarily close the door, there may still be resources from the federal government and even state agencies that are available to you,” she said adding that while the office does not write the loans, but can access federal funds to help minimize a risk for a bank looking to provide a loan or line of credit.
Members of La Plaza say for years, the Latino business community was isolated from resources, funding, and each other, but in the last two years that trend has reversed and they are excited about the future.
“We want to help them, to grow them, and to support this community,” Gil said.
