News
Microenterprise series aims to boost small businesses By CRISTINA HERRERA LareDOS Staff
WWW. L A R E D O S NE W S . C O M
Cristina Herrera/LareDOS
O
n the second floor of an old building in El Azteca neighborhood, a small hopeful group listened to the speakers in the latest installment of the Latino Microenterprise Tech Net Speaker Series, hosted at the recently created Latino Micro-entreprenur Tech-Net Center on August 24. The Azteca Economic Development and Preservation Corporation (AEDPC) operates the center. Hector Ramirez, a small business loan officer from Acción Texas, spoke to the group about the requirements for a small business loan from Acción USA, a nonprofit dedicated specifically to microfinance. According to Acción USA’s website, the company “empowers low-to-moderate income business owners through access to capital and financial education.” “I know [microfinance loans] create jobs,” Ramirez told LareDOS, commenting on the current nationwide priority of job creation. Ramirez said he is currently working with a customer who has been in business for a year, but he did not have enough cash to hire employees, which meant the customer had to do many small tasks himself. The customer went to Ramirez and applied for a small loan — $10,000 to $15,000 — to help hire an employee to help with the minor tasks. “That helps them in that manner to delegate little jobs that he shouldn’t be doing, and puts them out there to be getting some sales,” Ramirez said. Ramirez said that to qualify for a microfinance loan, a company must be classified as a microenterprise, which includes 5 or fewer employees. A microenterprise differs from a small business in that a small business can have up to 100 employees. Acción Texas is more lenient than the average bank, Ramirez said, and offers loans to people with “minor credit problems.” These issues, which show up on a client’s credit report, include current bankruptcy, a federal tax fee, and civil judgment by a person or organization of large amounts. “There are some customers that I am not able to help out, but I still see the potential for them to receive funds somewhere else,” Ramirez said, adding that Acción Texas can help guide these customers. The nonprofit also offers job training, with its own job database and tax credits for businesses that hire from the database.
José A. García, president of Graphitiks Advertising Design Inc., answers a question from potential small business owners at the monthly Latino Microenterprise Tech Net Speaker Series on Wednesday, August 24. José A. García, president of Graphitiks Advertising Design Inc., built his small business from the ground up. García, who also spoke at the event about building up his business, worked as a designer at The Laredo Morning Times in the 1980s. While at the Times, he was doing design jobs for other clients, such as the Laredo Chamber of Commerce. Eventually he figured he could start his own business with the client base he had already built up, but García did not have a business plan. A good client list, a routine that worked, and a bit of luck helped García. “I was just doing a routine I was doing when I started, and it was good,” he said. “I think we were more lucky than being astute. I didn’t learn from anybody.” Garcia did not discount the advantages of being prepared and having the proper training, even though much of what he learned was self-taught. The business center staff agree. “There are no guarantees for success when creating a small business but proper training and technology can make a difference,” according to literature from the Azteca Small Business Technology Training Center. Licensed and ordained minister Tonie
Gamboa, who also attended the event, has run the Chapel of Everlasting Love on San Bernardo Avenue for over a year now. She was struggling to get returns on advertising she had placed in the radio and newspaper, but she decided to go to AEDPC to receive advice about her nonprofit, which does not take payment but does request donations. “I’ve got the passion, I’ve got the excitement, and I have the hunger, but to pay the bills, I need to be out there,” Gamboa said. She told the crowd in Spanish that she didn’t understand technology, but she knew that she was missing out on a major online market. With the help of the small business center, Gamboa created her own website, laredoweddingchapel.com, and is aggressively trying to get her chapel seen. She credited the aid of small business center director Steve Gutierrez, who helped her create the website. Gutierrez said micro-lenders such as Acción USA offer credit to people who had no credit history or are in debt — people in poverty who seemingly have no way to pick themselves up. “You’re talking about a population who didn’t have credit, and culture comes in and they develop a loyalty to these micro-
lenders,” Gutierrez said, explaining why the micro-lenders have found success in these areas. He said customers feel obligated and can be counted on to pay back their loans. Once they pull themselves out of debt, they often take out more loans to expand their small businesses. Gutierrez said the center plans to do the speaker series monthly, and is asking any small business owners or business experts who are interested in being a speaker to contact him at (956) 726-4462 or steve@aedpc.org. AEDPC is a nonprofit corporation that has served the poor in Laredo since 1982. The nonprofit helps low-income people find housing and offers financial education, job training, and business development. The Azteca Small Business Technology Training Center is an offshoot of the Latino Micro-entreprenuer Tech-Net program, which is led by the Mission Economic Development Agency and that National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders. The center is funded by a federal grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. For more information on the program or AEDPC, go to aedpc.org or call (956) 726-4462. u LareDOS | S EPTEM B ER 2011 |
21