Of the 18 million commercial applications for small businesses During the government of President Joe Biden, Latinos have been the ones who have submitted the most applications.
This has allowed one in 10 Hispanic or Latino households own their own businessrevealed Isabel Guzmán, head of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
“There are five million Latino-owned businesses across the United States. and Latino small business ownership is growing at the fastest pace in a decade with one in 10 households now owning a business,” he said.
In an interview with this newspaper, as part of the new small business report, Guzmán highlighted how Latinos contribute to the US economy.
“The GDP [Producto Interno Bruto] Latino is 3.2 billion dollars. And Latino wealth has increased a record 50% since 2019, even after accounting for inflation,” she said. “So really, the economic output of this community is growing and so is its scale, impact and importance in our economy.”
President Biden highlighted the SBA report on applications from small businesses, including Hispanic ones.
“We have had the strongest three years on record for new businesses and the small business boom that has continually fueled our economic recovery,” the president said in an email message. “Since the pandemic, Black business ownership has more than doubled, Hispanic business ownership has increased 40 percent and women own a record proportion of companies.”
He noted that Republicans in Congress voted against the economic relief represented by the American Rescue Plan, which helped 100,000 restaurants and bars and 225,000 child care programs remain open.
“The Republican agenda in Congress would undermine small businesses by reversing our investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, cutting funding to the Small Business Administration by nearly a third, and prioritizing large corporations and billionaires by cutting their taxes and protecting its legal loopholes,” the president warned.
What type of companies are being created
Guzmán highlighted that Latinos are doing business in person, in the so-called “main street” establishments or through digital platforms.
“We are seeing some trends, in terms of the types of businesses that are being started, more and more Latinos are connecting and entering e-commerce through those new business applications, where we are seeing more professional services, in addition to science and technology companies. technology,” he highlighted.
Service areas have also increased, but Guzmán indicated that Americans are confident in pursuing their “dreams.”
“We see growth across geographies and in multiple sectors as people set out to pursue their dreams and one of the examples I have seen across the country [una persona con quien] the President and I met [es] “a new coffee shop owner, a Latino coffee shop owner in Pennsylvania, who decided to leave his corporate job and jump in and start that coffee shop that he had always wanted,” he said. “We know new technology companies that we see starting even in artificial intelligence.”
What are the concerns of small business owners?
Access to capital is one of the main concerns of new small business entrepreneurs, Guzmán indicated, according to the records of comments and the guidance requested.
“We find that small businesses that seek support and receive some of the free advice we offer through SBA networks have better success outcomes, we want each of those applications to be an opportunity for businesses to develop and prosper” , said. “More often they express the capital need, affordable capital to grow. And many times small businesses depend on credit cards and high interest rates, as well as personal savings.”
He added that the SBA provides guidance on how to obtain affordable loans to start a business.
“So, being able to access capital to grow at a faster pace is really important,” he said. “The other thing is that network of knowledge, technical assistance from free advisors, and the SBA, under the Biden-Harris Administration, has expanded its network of trusted local organizations that can provide entrepreneurship, training, everything from how to get online to how doing international business, how to do business with the federal government.”
He highlighted that entrepreneurs, including Latinos, are taking advantage of such resources.
Keep reading:
• Three tips that Latinos should follow to start a business in the United States, according to the SBA
• It is a good time to open a business in the United States, says SBA administrator
• La Opinión Hoy and Verónica Pugin: “Biden with his policies is promoting the American dream of a small business”