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STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Fueled by a rapidly expanding Hispanic consumer market,
the number of Hispanic-owned businesses is growing much faster than
the national rate for other companies.
Hispanics owned nearly 1.6 million businesses in 2002, a 31 percent
increase from five years earlier, according to a report Tuesday by
the Census Bureau. The number of all U.S. companies grew by 10 percent,
to about 23 million, during the same period.
In Manatee County, the number of Hispanic-owned firms rose from 830
companies in 1997 to 1,486 in 2002. In Sarasota County, the number
of Hispanic-owned firms actually dropped. There were 1,474 firms
in 1997 compared to 1,301 firms in 2002.
Manatee County ranks No.14 in the state in the number of Hispanic-owned
companies in 2002, with Miami-Dade County No. 1.
"The Hispanic consumer market is exploding," said Michael Barrera,
president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "Who
knows that consumer market best?"
Hispanic consumers spend $700 billion a year, a figure that is expected
to climb to $1 trillion by the end of the decade, Barrera said at
a news conference.
Ronald Langston, director of the Commerce Department's Minority Business
Development Agency, said immigration is helping to increase the diversity
of America's economy.
He noted that one in 10 U.S. workers is Hispanic, a figure that is
expected to grow to one in four by 2050.
"The United States will once again become a nation of immigrants," Langston
said.
The overwhelming majority of Hispanic-owned businesses were one-person
enterprises, according to the report. Only 13 percent had any employees
other than the owner. About a fourth of all U.S. businesses had employees
in 2002, the report said.
Tania Sanchez, owner of Latinos Barber & Beauty Salon at 1706
Ninth St. W. in Bradenton, is a sole proprietor. The single mother
of three started her salon a few months ago. Sanchez immigrated to
Bradenton from Mexico City in 1999.
Determined to succeed, she got loans from family back home in Mexico
and earned a cosmetology license from the academy in October. She
is now living out her American dream.
Another local business owner, Gonzalo Salgado, owner of All About
Fence, also is a sole proprietor. He started his fence installation
business five years ago with his own money. He said he struggles
every day as a small business owner but enjoys being his own boss.
"I've heard the sarcastic remarks and I've lost a few bids from being
Hispanic. There is still some prejudice out there," Salgado
said.
New businesses started by Hispanics face many of the same problems
as those started by non-Hispanics, said Louis Olivas, assistant vice
president for academic affairs at Arizona State University. Money
to start and expand is usually the biggest hurdle, he said.
"All startup businesses face funding issues," Olivas said. Salgado
believes many Hispanics beginning businesses aren't aware of the
government assistance they can apply for like small business loans.
"A lot of people don't know how the government can help you out," he
said. Nobody tells you about it."
Some Hispanic business owners also face language barriers, but those
who speak both Spanish and English have advantages, he said.
Pedro Perez, who owns Nuevo Advertising Group in Sarasota with his
wife Roseanne Avella-Perez, agrees. "We have had very few obstacles
and people have been more open to me because I can speak English
and Spanish well," Perez said. Sanchez, who speaks little English,
is attending school to learn.
Hispanic-owned businesses are growing, Perez said, because Hispanics
want to build a legacy or a company to pass on to their family. "Hispanics
are a very entrepreneurial community at large," he said. "They
are hardworking. Many are blue-collar now but that will change."
The report is based on administrative records and a survey of 2.4
million businesses. The Census Bureau defines Hispanic-owned businesses
as private companies in which Hispanics hold at least 51 percent
of stock or interest. The report does not classify public companies,
with publicly traded stock, because they can be owned by many stockholders
of unknown ethnicities.
Hispanics owned nearly 7 percent of all businesses in 2002, up from
about 6 percent in 1997.
They made up a little more than 13 percent of the population in 2002,
but they have accounted for half of the nation's population growth
since the start of the decade, according to a recent report by the
Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
Among the report's findings:
• Nearly three in 10 Hispanic-owned firms were in construction or service-related
industries in 2002.
• Hispanic-owned businesses generated nearly $222 billion in revenue
in 2002, up 19 percent from five years earlier.
• The number of Hispanic-owned businesses in New York grew by 57 percent
from 1997 to 2002, faster than any other state. Rhode Island, Georgia,
Nevada and South Carolina rounded out the top five.
• New York City had 129,461 Hispanic-owned businesses in 2002, more
than any other city. It was followed by Los Angeles, Houston, Miami
and San Antonio.
• There were 29,184 Hispanic-owned firms with receipts of $1 million
or more in 2002.
• There were 1,510 Hispanic-owned firms with 100 or more employees.
Those firms generated more than $42 billion in receipts.
• About 44 percent of Hispanic business owners were of Mexican descent.
Jennifer Rich Herald business editor, contributed to this report. HeraldToday.com.
To see how Manatee compares with other counties nationwide for Hispanic-owned
businesses, go to the Special Coverage area of HeraldToday.com.
Local comparison
• Manatee County, Hispanic-owned firms:
1997 - 830
2002 - 1,486
Sales and receipts:
1997 - $123.6 million
2002 - $153.2 million
• Sarasota County, Hispanic-owned firms:
1997 - 1,474
2002 - 1,301
Sales and receipts:
1997 - $140.7 million
2002 - $249.9 million
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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