Jessica Alba Talks Latina Identity, Complexities Of Race In New Generation

Jessica Alba feels Latina thanks to her father’s Mexican roots, but she knows that topics of race and identity won’t be so clear cut for her children.

The “Sin City” star is the face of Glam Belleza Latina’s Fall issue and spoke to the magazine about her heritage and why race becomes a more complicated for her daughters’ generation.

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From Tobacco to Tortillas: Latinos Remake Durham, North Carolina

DURHAM, N.C. -- Roselia Flores rushes into La Superior and quickly genuflects before the encased Virgin of Guadalupe statue in the corner of her supermarket.

“My first priority is God, then family and then work,” said Flores, who built the expansive Latino grocery-, bakery-, meat shop-, tortilleria-in-one.

A native of Mexico, Flores came to Durham from California in the mid-90s when the Latino population was about 2,000 people, just 1 percent of the city's population, according to a study by the Latino Migration Project at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.


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Baton Rouge among America’s best cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs

Data collected by researchers at WalletHub, a website that helps small business owners make financial decisions and save money, shows there is a growing demand for Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S.

According to WalletHub, Hispanic-owned businesses contributed approximately $486 billion to U.S. revenue in 2013.
As of this year, Baton Rouge is the ninth-best place in the country for Hispanic entrepreneurs to make a living, according to WalletHub.

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Rosie García >www.IconMediaAgency.com.

Rosie García, CEO & Founder, Icon Media Agency

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
Loyalty, Respect, Dedication and Love.

What inspired you to start your business?
The ability to be as creative and flexible to meet the needs of my clients with no rules or regulations or politics.

How did you finance it?
Through independent contracts with individually chosen clientele.

Does being Hispanic/Latina have any influence on your business?
Yes. Being an experienced Latina in the industry grabs the attention of mainstream clients that want to target the Hispanic market as well as the existing participants that want to expand to the Latino market.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to drive ahead?
I'm very observant.  I stay open minded and work with the wisdom and knowledge I've been blessed with everyday.

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?
The biggest challenge is knowing how to reveal at first sight the receivers versus the believers.

If you could change one thing about your business. What would it be?
I don't know.

What was your childhood ambition?
To show the world the value of humbleness and the passion of the ambition of fulfilling a dream.

Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire.
Sofia Vergara, Oprah, and Jennifer Lopez

For business meetings, which do you prefer: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Lunch. It's brief and right to the point.

What sacrifices in your personal life did you have to make in order to become successful in your business?
I haven't been able to have a personal relationship.

What is your favorite quote?
Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?
Morpheus: No, Neo. I’m trying to tell you that when you’re ready, you won’t have to.

Is it difficult to be unconventional?
No as long as you remain focus on your goal based on your own experience and instinct. It's always good to have the two mentors in two different divisions of your field of business, in my case the accountant and the creative. Not more then two. 

Biggest mistake made?
Not starting my own company sooner.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
Yes. Because I believe in the impossible. 

About the Company: 
Icon Media Agency caters to celebrity talent bookings on major TV networks and nationally syndicated radio segments. "The Luis Jimenez Show", Univision, Telemundo, Viacom, SBS, Music Choice etc. We hold the key to developing and cultivating the careers within the mainstream, Latin and Urban artists. Specializing in consistently generating a diverse fan base via social media, TV, radio and print promotion. From the management of press junkets for concerts, conferences and client events to implementing strategic market tactics to engage clients through exposure of cultural diversity. Icon Media Agency is the voice for todays entrepreneurs and tomorrows entertainers.

Online Hangout Sept. 25 about new course for young entrepreneurs in Spanish

Young entrepreneurs have a new tool to help determine if they’re ready for business ownership and help them get started. Young Entrepreneurs: An Essential Guide to Starting Your Own Business (Jóvenes Emprendedores) is a free, self-paced online course in Spanish that gives an overview of basic business principles and introduces resources available from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“This month, the SBA recognizes the vital contributions Hispanic American small business owners have made to our economy as we observe National Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA administrator. “As a proud Hispanic-American, I believe that providing financial, educational and technical assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs is a major means to create jobs and stimulate the economy. The new course is an essential business development tool for young entrepreneurs that can be central to the future success for many generations to come.”

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Franchise Business Opportunities a Growing, Viable Path for Hispanic Entrepreneurs

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., Sept. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Coverall North America, Inc., a leading franchisor of commercial cleaning businesses, is a viable option for aspiring Hispanic entrepreneurs interested in starting a business. Franchised business owners have found that being your own boss and having a flexible schedule to spend more time with loved ones are the benefits of ownership.

Of the 8,000 Coverall franchised business owners worldwide, 25 percent of them are of Hispanic descent.

National Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, was enacted into law in 1988 to celebrate the history, cultures and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Sept. 15 is significant because it serves as the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

"Coverall offers people the opportunity to become their own boss and take control of their future," said Rick Ascolese, CEO of Coverall. "We wish all of our business owners continued success as they operate their businesses for themselves and their families."

From Mexico, Robert Yepez started a Coverall franchised business eight years ago. Over the years, his business grew exponentially. Today, his franchised business services nearly 250,000 square feet each month.

Alan Landaverde, another Hispanic Coverall Franchised Business Owner, is originally from El Salvador. Landaverde worked in the aerospace industry for 25 years before changing his career path and starting a commercial cleaning franchised business. Like many business owners, Landaverde wanted the freedom of owning a business and more time to spend with his children.

Mercedes Cisneros moved to the U.S. in the 1980s and later started a Coverall commercial cleaning franchised business. She has owned her business for eight years growing it through customer referrals.

Coverall franchised business owners cite customer service and going above and beyond expectations as keys to their success.

"When a customer calls we do everything we can to help," said Yepez. "There is no task that my team cannot take on."

Coverall has been recognized with numerous awards for its franchise opportunities. Recently, the franchisor was named by G.I. Jobs as a 'Hot Franchise for Veterans' and was also named to USA Today's 'Top 50 Franchises for Minorities' list in 2013.

Learn more about Coverall franchise opportunities visit http://www.coverall.com/tufuturo

The Best And Worst Cities For Hispanic Entrepreneurs

Hispanics and Latinos now make up the largest ethnic minority in the U.S. By 2050 they will constitute a third of the country’s population, according to census figures and their impact in business continues to grow. Latinos today account for more than 70,000 of the country’s CEOs and the number of Hispanic entrepreneurs has tripled over the past twenty years – surging from around 557,000 in 1992 to over two million in 2012, according to a report by the Partnership for a New American Economy.

Together, they brought in an estimated $486 billion in revenue, says the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

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Eddie Rodriguez >www.latinworksmusic.com

Eddie Rodriguez, CEO, Latin Works Music

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?
Faith in God, passion, stick to it, preparation, a plan, contacts, opportunity and patience.

What inspired you to start your business?
I was working full time as VP Sales for Reed MIDEM involved in a new event called MIDEM Latin America & Caribbean. It is a Latin Music Industry Trade Show & Conference held at the Miami Beach Convention Center 1997, 1998 and the last event MIDEM Americas in 1999.  Since my position was eliminated due to budget cuts plus MIDEM decided to organize only one music industry trade show per year in Cannes, France at Le Palais du Festival as they have for the last 50 years I was on my way to being out of a job. A mentor, the late Jack Hooke (Tito’s manager with the late Ralph Mercado) passed away and I called Tito to express my condolences. He thanked me and asked if I was available to work for him. My answer was when did he want me to start and he said right away. I spoke to Ralph Mercado and Latin Work Music was contracted to manage the King of Latin Music The late Tito Puente.

Does being Hispanic/Latino have any influence on your business?
Yes, since being a bi-lingual Latino working as an entertainment marketing professional, I understand the diversity of the US Hispanic consumer being Hispanic has been key to my success with projects.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to drive ahead?
Faith in God and keeping the momentum going on a project until it is completed or you come to the end of the road with it. Then I look to my right and start a new road on a project that inspires me.

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?
Staying relevant with the fast paced evolution of the music industry globally in the last 15 years especially in the distribution of digital content, live concert streaming rights, downsizing of multinational recording companies and the continued growth of the smart phone / tablets / smart TV sectors.
.
If you could change one thing about your business. What would it be?
I would have more trade shows and conferences in New York, Miami and Los Angeles where the next generation of Latin music industry leaders can rendezvous annually to learn about the present and future state of affairs of the business.

What was your childhood ambition?
To be a doctor until I learned that studying chemistry and biology were too boring for me.

Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire.
Sir Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Jimmy Iovine.

For business meetings, which do you prefer: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
All three work well for business meetings for me.  However, I must be disciplined about nutrition and diet.

What sacrifices in your personal life did you have to make in order to become successful in your business?
Traveling alone up to 70% of the year for out of town business meetings, concert tours, trade shows, conferences and conventions. You miss special occasions with family and friends.

What is your favorite quote?
Let The Games begin.

Is it difficult to be unconventional?
Yes. It is difficult to find investors that have faith in the future of the music Industry. What generates revenues today is digital audio / video streaming (paid subscriptions) concert tours and music publishing. Being unconventional means thinking out of the box to be successful.

Biggest mistake made?
Wow, the biggest mistake was taking a break from the concert promotions business to focus on educating myself in the digital and technology side of the music Industry for the last 5 years. However I’m back with new ways to monetize content to generate revenues for investors and return on investment to our clients via traditional and new media outlets.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?
I was involved in a anti-piracy software and digital download technology companies early on and have promoted recorded digital music and video distribution via mobile since before the iPod and smart phones.

About the Company
Latin Works Music is a 100% minority owned Latin music concert organizer, marketing and promotions company. We produce events in venues such as Madison Square Garden NY, The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and nightclubs throughout the USA. We are experts in activations of experiential consumer engagement and experts in gathering data at live events to increase data base for brands messaging to the $1.2 Trillion dollar in annual spending (2013) US Hispanic consumer (population 56 M). 

Study: Albuquerque 31st for Hispanic entrepreneurs

A new report released by financial information site WalletHub ranked Albuquerque at no. 31 in the U.S. for Hispanic entrepreneurs. Rankings were based on each city’s Hispanic purchasing power (we’re number 26) and business friendliness (a less-exciting 71). 

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Springs Resident Honored As Stony Brook Hispanic Entrepreneur of the Year

A small-town boy from Palmas, Ecuador, Luis Heras felt he could accomplish big things, but staying in Ecuador, and pursuing electrical engineering as he had planned, didn’t appeal to him as much as making it on his own abroad. So he moved to the United States in hopes of something more.

Now, 20 years later, he owns his own fuel company, Heras Fuel Oil Corporation in East Hampton—and was just named Hispanic Entrepreneur of the Year by Stony Brook University’s Small Business Development Center

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