Nov 24, 2006, Immigrants are Critical to US Emerging
Business
Immigrants founded 25 percent of U.S. venture-backed
companies that have gone public in the past 15 years,
according to a National Venture Capital Association study.
That one statistic shouts the importance of immigrants to
the emerging technology energies of the U.S.
Nearly half of all privately held venture-backed startups
were founded by immigrants. India, Israel and Taiwan were the
top countries of origin.
It is incredibly important the US maintain an open door
policy for talented engineers, scientists, business people and
dreamers -- the people who for centuries have made the country
so great.
More than two-thirds of the immigrant entrepreneurs
surveyed said current U.S. immigration policy is making it
harder to start a business here.
One-third said the lack of available visas has been a
factor in their decision to add more workers overseas instead
of in the United States.
"The U.S. must remain a magnet of foreign-born talent
if we are to maintain our competitive edge," says
National Venture Capital Association President Mark Heesen.
"However, current quotas on highly skilled immigrants are
insufficient, and these great minds are beginning to look
elsewhere to build their businesses."
The time is NOW to turn that trend around.
Nov 17, 2006, Happy, Happy British Entrepreneurs
The London Times reports that the women entrepreneurs in
England are an overwhelmingly happy group, 95% happy to be
exact. Their biggest problems were gaining clients and raising
money, a common issue with all new businesses. But virtually
all said they would do it again.
Oct 22, 2006, Minority Business Loan Programs
Minority business loan programs are often scarce, very
scarce. Use every advantage to capture one for yourself.
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Oct 13, 2006, There's Oro in Those Demographics
The buying power of Hispanic households is expected to
reach $1 trillion by 2010. That's a huge number. Nevertheless,
Hispanics are much less likely to use credit cards, debit
cards or have a savings or checking account. All this, is
despite the fact that they send an estimated $20 billion in
remittances back to Mexico. Companies looking to reach the
Hispanic market have a massive target.
Oct 8, 2006, New Women's Business Center in Racine, WI
The Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corp. in
Milwaukee will open a new Women's Business Center in Racine
funded by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corp., known as
WWBIC, will use SBA match grant funding to establish the
center that will provide resources to emerging entrepreneurs
in the Racine and Kenosha-area communities.
Sep 30, 2006, Hispanics Are No Pushovers For Marketers or
Banks
If you want to know how hard it is to break into the
Hispanic community, ask Whidbey Island Bank in Bellingham,
Washington. I has taken them over five years, and the intense
devotion of a native speaker of Spanish to begin to make
inroads.
Sep 28, 2006, The Principal Financial Group Offers
Teleclass for Women Entrepreneurs
Business ideas are a dime a dozen, but it takes a special
person and a strategic plan to turn a concept into a business
reality. Having a vision in place for your business could be
crucial to the success and growth of your company.
As a dedicated partner to women business owners, the Principal
Financial Group® will offer the complimentary teleclass: A $1
Million Tale: One Woman's Business Building Triumph on
Tuesday, Oct. 24 at noon CDT (1 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. MDT and 10
a.m. PDT).
Anyone interested is encouraged to register early.
Reservations are limited.
Click
for more info
Sep 28, 2006, Hispanic Businesses are No Longer Mom and
Pop Operations
A quarter of all Hispanic-owned businesses in Arizona had
$1 million or more in revenue last year, while about one in
five Latina-owned businesses earned the same amount.
Those statistics were released Tuesday as part of the
"2006 SRP Arizona Business Study: Hispanic Outlook."
With stats like these, it's no wonder the business world is
finally taking notice of the Hispanic business world.
Sep 25, 2006, Get A Great Deal -- Hire A Female Consultant
Across the board, no matter what field or what level, women
consultants and entrepreneurs charge about HALF of what male
consultants and entrepreneurs charge. That's according to a
new report published in the San Francisco Business Times.
The article didn't address quality of work, but my experience
says that women consultants and entrepreneurs are more
thorough and conscientious than their male counterparts.
Click
for more info
Sep 24, 2006, Hispanic Chamber Leads The Way In Mentoring
Youth
For the U.S. Hispanic community, mentoring at-risk teens
has become a national priority. A 2003 study by the Pew
Hispanic Center found that the Hispanic dropout rate was 15
percent -- twice as high as for whites.
Researchers say that immigrant teens are often pressured to
choose work over school, trapping them in a cycle of
low-skilled, low-paying jobs.
The chamber's BizFest program aims to change that
progression. In Philadelphia and other large cities
nationwide, at-risk and other Hispanic children are taught how
to envision, plan and execute their own business, from
marketing to customer relations.
"We take them through a whole self-esteem build-up in
the beginning," said BizFest organizer Shana Mosher, who
said the primary message of the four-day program is simple:
"You can make a living out of things you like to do. We
give them the push."
Sep 16, 2006, New Jersey May Be Slow, But It Now Sees
Minority and Women as Business People
Gov. Jon Corzine signed an executive order on Friday
creating a Division of Minority and Women Business Development
and directing all state agencies to help direct business to
minority- and women-owned businesses.
New Jersey spends $2 billion buying goods and services
every year and only 3 percent of the firms getting state
contracts are owned by minorities and women, yet minority
owners account for 20 percent of small businesses and
women-owned businesses account for 28 percent.
New Jersey may be slow to get the message, but it has apparently
now gotten it: Businesses owned by women and minorities are worth investing in.
Sep 7, 2006, Women: Stake Your Claim in Nevada
Women-owned businesses are on a dramatic rise.
Nevada posted the most dramatic increase, reporting 43 percent
more women-owned businesses in 2002 than it had five years
earlier.
Georgia ranked second with a 34.8 percent increase, followed
by Florida, New York and North Carolina, respectively.
Sep 6, 2006, Woman of the Year Nominations Due Oct 15
Third Annual Women of the Year Award nominations are due
Oct. 15, 2006.
OPEN from American Express and Entrepreneur magazine will
honor one outstanding woman entrepreneur as Woman of the
Year. If you are the woman business owner who best exemplifies
the qualities needed to be truly successful in business today
-- competitiveness, compassion and clarity of vision -- you
could be our winner.
To qualify, a woman business owner must be a founder of the
business; own at least 51% of her business; be actively
involved in day-to-day operations; have been in business for
at least one full year; have 2005 sales of at least $1
million; and have fewer than 100 employees.
Click
for more info
Aug 26, 2006, SBA Latina Programs Capture the Best of Both
the SBA and Latina Entrepreneurs
The SBA Latina Programs being introduced aim to propel this
dynamic group to higher successes.
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$85,000 in Grants Goes to Minority Owned
Businesses
Six entrepreneuers in the Pennsylvania
Minority Business Development Center's Sixth Minority Business
Plan Competition are now $85,000 richer, coming out ahead in a
field of 160 contestants.
The awards are as follows:
* Robin's Desserts & Bakery of
Philadelphia, healthy food alternative for baked goods/whole
foods/produce. Owner: Jerome Shabazz. Winner of $25,000 Growth
Innovation Award sponsored by The Enterprise Center.
* Heritage Capital Services, a
Conshohocken, Pa., mortgage broker that originates residential
and commercial loans. Owner: Lisa Salley. Winner of the$25,000
Business Innovation Award sponsored by The Enterprise Center.
* Eats Food Market of Philadelphia,
gourmet food products. Owner: Radiant Dixon. Winner of $10,000
Food Retailer Award sponsored by The Reinvestment Fund.
* Philadelphia Diamond Co., special and
customized jewelry. Owner: Kenyatta Black. Winner of the
$10,000 Neighborhood Retailer Award sponsored by Neighborhood
Transformation Initiative.
* OmPay LLC of Philadelphia, cashless
technologies to government agencies and private operators in
the transportation market. Owner: Nitin Khanna. Winner of the
$10,000 Teckhnology Trailblazer Award sponsored by
GlaxoSmithKline.
* Art Official, urban clothing line
focused on positive messages to uplift the African-American
community. Owner: Gary Carr of Philadelphia. Winner of the
$5,000 Emerging Fashion Business Award sponsored by The
Entreprise Center.
The Enterprise Center was founded in 1989
by the Wharton Small Business Development Center to fuel
minority entrepreneurship in urban communities. It operates the
Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Center.
Congratulations to everyone who
participated. It
is refreshing to see a competition of this caliber targeted to
minority businesses.
$1 Million Grant from SBA for Missippi
University for Women Entrepreneurs
Mississippi University for Women (MUW)
has received an approximately $1 million
congressionally-directed grant from the U.S. Small Business
Administration to assist individuals who want to start or
enhance their business.
The Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative
will focus on economic development, according to MUW president
Claudia A. Limbert, who said U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran was
instrumental in helping MUW obtain the grant.
Limbert added, "This initiative will
further the impressive economic development taking place in
the Golden Triangle, and we look forward to working with the
economic leaders in this area."
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