Nohemy Velasco arrived in Rhode Island with her husband from their native El Salvador in 1993. The kids came later – Nohemy wanted to be established before she brought her kids to the States. She wanted to ensure that she would be able to provide the family with a better life.
Nohemy started her own little business – Mimi’s Joyeria, a store that carries mostly 14 carat gold jewelry – in December 2001, on Dexter Street in Central Falls, one of the most Latino neighborhoods in the most Latino city in Rhode Island.
The Pawtucket resident, who speaks no English, has developed good relationships with people within her insular community. Yet Mimi’s Joyeria is not doing as well as its owner would like it to. Just recently, Velasco has tried to diversify her inventory by adding perfumes, women’s lingerie, and artifacts from El Salvador.
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Last week, the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center launched a new Latino Outreach Initiative that could help meet the socioeconomic and cultural needs of Velasco and other business people in the growing monolingual Spanish speaking business community here.
For the first Core Series schedule which should last 8-10 weeks the organizations that will host the RISBDC workshops are Progreso Latino in Central Falls, and the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce, said Adriana Dawson, assistant director of RISBDC.
Velasco’s story is a typical one for thousands of immigrant, Spanish speaking business owners in Rhode Island. They represent an under-served segment of the business community, which has not been assisted with their business needs and concerns, say advocates. They exist under the radar, without the help of banks and other institutions and organizations – without much help of any kind, without being noticed.
Many of these people have difficulty with the English language or do not speak it at all. Most feel most comfortable with someone who is Latino, not just persons who speak Spanish. By and large they do not have access to the Internet. They might not have immediate transportation – many rely on others or take public transportation. They do not trust government entities or financial institutions, but they are very loyal once they feel satisfied and comfortable.
“They don’t speak English. They’re not familiar with the resources that are available. They don’t know how to navigate the system. We’ve found that it’s a barrier to grow the business outside the geographical or cultural community,” said Dawson. “They most often go into mom-and-pop-shop niche. That’s what they’re familiar with. But I also think that being the entrepreneurs that they are, they’re also thinking big, but they don’t know how to go about growing their business. They feel as if there’s no one, or nowhere they can go to obtain that information.”
There are an estimated 2,186 Latino business owners in Rhode Island, who represent approximately 2.7 percent of all small businesses in the state, according to 2000 U.S. Census statistics. It’s a seemingly small number. And yet, walk the streets of Pawtucket and Woonsocket, where Latinos constitute more than 25 percent of the population, or Central Falls and Providence, where Latinos make up more than 50 percent of the population. On every corner, a bodega. Or a drug store. Or a jewelry shop.
Many came to escape poor economic conditions, seeking better life for themselves and/or their families. They were professionals in their country but could not find work. Many have family already residing in Rhode Island and want to join them. Many have been informed that there is a large population of Latinos here and a strong network.
“The RISBDC’s aim is to help them grow their business, take a bodega and turn it into a grocery store, take a single mom-and-pop independent drug store and turn it into a family-owned chain of pharmacies,” said Robert Hamlin, state director of the RISBDC.
“You can’t just assume that you’re going to take an existing model for teaching business skills and translate it from English to Spanish and have it work. We’re being very conscious of cultural differences,” said Dawson.
For Velasco, the major challenge in maintaining her store has been finding more financing.
“I’ve been finding that diversifying inventory is helpful and is bringing in more clients. However, introducing new inventory requires money and finding that financing is one of my more primary challenges,” she said through an interpreter. “It appears as though the banks have more of an interest in working with larger, more experienced businesses. But how are we supposed to succeed? How are we supposed to grow if these banks are not giving us an opportunity to prove ourselves and that in fact we are not as risky as they think? It is also very difficult when the application material or instructions are all in English, or the loan reps do not speak Spanish. I want to complete the forms, I want to provide them all the information necessary, but I find it difficult if they don’t recognize that some of us are limited in English.”
An estimated 50 people took part in the RISBDC pilot program, held in Central Falls last fall. For the last class and graduation, held on December 18th, the graduates were invited by Central Falls Mayor Lee Matthews and Councilman Ricardo Patino to host their recognition ceremony in the Council Chambers at City Hall in Central Falls.
“We graduated 47 people, and held the event at City Hall, accompanied by Mayor Matthews, Senator Juan Pichardo, and Edwin Cancel, executive director of Progreso Latino. So there was this sense that the city was involved, and somehow they were being validated in their wanting to succeed in business here and achieve the American Dream,” said Dawson.
Velasco, who was one of the participants in the pilot program, said the experience was eye opening.
Velasco said that she learned that there was actually a plan and structure that she could follow to help track progress.
She discovered a variety of resources that the state had to offer that never knew existed. She said she learned that there were a variety of options and alternatives to doing business.
“I also had the opportunity to meet other business owners facing similar situations and I don’t feel as alone anymore,” she said.
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