Gabriel Varga | BlueSkies Construction & Design LLC
(Editor’s note: This is the 13th installment in a monthly series speaking with minority business owners and leaders. Each is asked their views on minority-business conditions in the state and for ways to improve those businesses’ chances for success. You can find previous installments here.)
Gabriel Varga always thought of himself as white until he moved to the U.S.
Not that the distinction of skin color mattered much to him in his native Costa Rica. Varga says he never felt it was a focus among Costa Ricans of primarily Spanish descent such as himself and the smaller population of Jamaicans and Indigenous people.
But since moving to Arizona, and later to Rhode Island, more than 20 years ago, he has found his native language of Spanish, his Central American country of origin and, to some degree, his appearance to be the first things people notice.
“People tell me, ‘Wow, you almost look white,’ ” he said. “It is insulting.”
While he dislikes being labeled as a minority, he’s realized that subscribing to these “boxes” can come with some advantages, at least in the business world.
His construction company, BlueSkies Construction & Design LLC in Lincoln, is registered with the R.I. Office of Diversity, Equity & Opportunity’s Minority Business Enterprise program, which aims to direct a certain percentage of state contract funding to minority businesses. Varga, a University of Rhode Island graduate with a civil engineering degree, previously owned several companies, but he only decided to register as a minority business after launching BlueSkies in 2013.
He hoped the designation would help him to grow his business. And while BlueSkies has won some government contracts, the process of bidding has not always been a positive experience.
He said in one case BlueSkies was the lowest bidder for a $400,000 state contract to manage a construction project at a downtown courthouse, yet his company was not awarded the contract after spending $5,000 to assemble the proposal. When he called the state to ask why he was turned down, he says he was told to “drop the complaint.” Varga believes he would have faced business consequences if he did not.
Another bidding obstacle for Varga’s company: the need for bidders to obtain a bond to protect the government in case the winning company doesn’t honor the terms of its bid.
Varga has struggled to secure the underwriter – typically an insurance company or bank – to guarantee his bids, which he said was because he was not part of the insider network of longtime Rhode Islanders.
I do not believe in the ‘poor me’ approach.
Similarly, his attempts to take out loans through traditional financial institutions usually fell flat. The federal payroll relief loan totaling $95,000 his company secured through the Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic was the first business loan he’s ever received, he said. Previous attempts were either denied or offered at such unfavorable terms that he could not say yes.
Varga chalked up his financial woes to a system that he finds problematic for people of any race. You need money in the bank to qualify for a loan, but the whole reason he needed a loan was that he did not have enough money in the bank.
Other negative experiences relate much more directly to what he looks like or how he speaks. A few years ago, he was leaving a meeting to discuss a state contract. As he made his way to his car, the architect who was also involved in the project said to Varga, “I never met a carpenter that drives a Jaguar.”
Varga was not surprised the architect mistook him for a carpenter. He often encounters stereotypes about the education level or wealth of immigrants, particularly from Spanish-speaking countries.
“People assume everyone who speaks Spanish is all the same,” he said.
1. Do you believe racism is keeping minorities from starting businesses in the Ocean State or succeeding when they do? I do not think racism is the correct word since a minority is not a race but a group of people linked by traditions or a language or a geographic area.
There are definitely preconceptions and negative misperceptions that define a person based on their native language, which I have been subject to on a few occasions, both from people who are minorities and those who are not.
But I believe the main reason for minorities not succeeding is the lack of education and desire to do things the right way. In my perception, people make excuses, then use the “racism card” to cover their lack of education, persistence and desire to keep pushing forward. I do not believe in the “poor me” approach.
2. How dependent is your business on the support of other minority groups? Is that a sustainable business model? My business does not depend on minority support, but it would help if minorities supported one another instead of being cutthroat or taking each other down, which has sometimes been my experience. For example, Indigenous people from Guatemala sometimes mistreat me because of feuds between native and Spanish-immigrant people in their country from hundreds of years ago.
3. What one thing could Rhode Island do to boost the odds for minority-owned business success? We need to redefine what it means to be a minority-owned business. I think some groups should be removed, such as those whose ancestors are from another country but whose families have lived in the U.S. for several generations. In my mind, they should not be considered minorities because they are not any more a group at a disadvantage when it comes to doing business.
Also very important for me is a reality check [needed] for some politicians and minority groups that are trying to give extra help to people that have not reached the level of education or professionalism to be in business.
4. Have you had to turn somewhere other than a bank for a loan? Do you believe the state’s lending institutions generally treat minorities fairly? Yes, I have had other sources to get a loan or just wait and save the money myself. It is hard to get a loan from the bank if you don’t have a lot of money to begin with, but I do not think that has anything to do with the fact of if you are a minority or not.
5. If another minority entrepreneur asked you where they could turn to for support for their business, where would you direct them? To Rhode Island PTAC [Procurement Technical Assistance Center] – a partner program of R.I. Commerce Corp. that offers free technical assistance to businesses related to registering with and bidding on government contracts.
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Email her at Lavin@PBN.com.
