Hispanic Chamber meet focuses on 'business side of business'

By Brice Wallace

For much of the recent Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (UHCC) Convention & Expo, the emphasis was not on “Hispanic” as much as “business.”

Alex Guzman, president of The Marketing Factory and chairman of the UHCC board, noted that the gathering included the president and chief executive officer of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and members from the Utah Asian and Utah African chambers.

“And as you can see here, this is not about the Hispanic side of the business. This is about the business side of business,” Guzman said. “We are here to do business with each other. We are not here just because we are Hispanics or we are Hispanic descendants. We are here because we are looking for opportunities to grow our business, to grow our opportunities, not necessarily just to defend our Hispanicity.

“We have representatives from many sectors, from all over, and we are doing this just to highlight you as a business owner, as a company, and — more important — as a person, as individuals.”

Francisco Sotelo, president and chief executive officer of the UHCC, offered similar sentiments.

“Businesses in America are one,” Sotelo said. “We are one, and we have the same, common goal. To business – specifically, small businesses – we make the economy run. … It really doesn’t matter if you’re brown, if you’re white. … Businesses are one, and Hispanic businesses are changing this economy. We hope that with this event today that you get to learn practical knowledge that you can apply to your businesses and bridge communities so that we can continue to prosper together.

“American businesses are all the same, and Hispanic businesses are part of that.”

The convention’s theme was “Strengthening Our Business Voice to Expand the Economic Landscape.” Val Hale, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, noted that of Utah’s 80,000 small businesses, about 11,000 are Hispanic-owned. Scott Wakefield, regional manager for Nevada and Utah for Wells Fargo, said growth in the Hispanic market in Utah over the past 15 years has been “exponential.” The past seven years have seen nearly 78 percent growth, from 5,177 Hispanic-owned businesses to more than 10,000.

Nationally, Hispanic-owned businesses total 4.3 million, according to Don Salazar, chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The number of Hispanic-owned businesses is growing three to four times faster than the general community, and the number of Latina-owned businesses are growing six times faster, he said.

“Every 30 seconds in this country, a young Latino or Latina turns voting age. That’s very important, folks. Every 30 seconds. … That equates to every month, 50,000 join those ranks. And it’s going to continue for the next 15 years,” Salazar said.

“So we’re part of this. Let’s help each other. Let’s support each other. If you see some business struggling a little bit and you sort of know the key, go help them, because it’s all about not ‘me.’ It’s all about ‘we’ — everybody in this room contributing, making all of us better.”

Among other speakers at the event, Laura Termini, a Venezuelan actress, producer, writer and health/beauty counselor, discussed the importance of branding and using storytelling through social media. Matt Schneck, managing partner at Savvi Ventures and CEO of Savvi.com, urged business owners to share their success with others. Charlie Freedman, founder and legal counsel at DownEast, emphasized that business owners need to learn lessons when things aren’t going well, to stay positive and have a passion reflected in creativity. Debbie Trujillo, vice president and corporate responsibility officer for the KeyBanks’ Rocky Mountain Region, talked about how everyone has untapped potential and dreams.

The convention and expo is “not from the chamber to you,” Guzman said. “It’s an event from you to you. What we’re doing here is just pretty much highlighting you as a company, you as a small-business owner, and [saying] thank you to the very large corporations we have supporting our chamber.”