Filed under: Uncategorized
The Washington County Roadshow will be a English-Spanish bilingual event focusing on reaching out to Latino Business owners. It will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, December 12, 2012 from 10am-2pm in Beaverton. The event has a lot of great partners that are dedicated to providing valuable information, tools and resources, to create/strengthen relationships to assist Oregon small businesses, including OAME, Business Oregon, and the Washington County SBDC which have all supported the work of Pasos al Éxito as well. This is a great opportunity to learn more and to network with other small business owners and resource providers! You can find more information and register here.
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If you are looking for an opportunity to learn about the basics of starting a small business in Oregon, you can do so in Spanish or English through the SBDC. You can register here for English or here for Spanish!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: community development, Entrepreneurs, Hermiston, Latinos, Small Business
Pasos al Éxito in Hermiston has been forging ahead, with the support of an incredible team of dedicated community leaders that have helped not only advise participants on their business, but have offered computer training and additional resources on the path to becoming more successful. Art Hill, the VP for Economic Development at Blue Mountain Community College, reported on a few amazing outcomes outside of the business establishment and growth of participants after the last class:
- Advising two established business owners (one of whom is a prominent community leader) as a direct result of our involvement with the Hispanic business community
- Invitation to do a presentation on our small business development programs to the Hermiston City Council’s Hispanic Advisory Committee on November 19
- Participation in our Umatilla PAE workshops by Virginia Garcia, member of the Hispanic Advisory Committee, business owner, and Chamber of Commerce liaison
- Participation by Jose Arias in the Chamber’s planning session this week for engagement of the Chamber in the Hispanic business community
Congratulations to all the hard work Hermiston! They have also developed a PowerPoint describing their core services that you can find under our mentor page. The last class occurs next week and the team looks forward to seeing the progression that participants have made!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Entrepreneurs, Latino community, malheur county, Small Business
In the latest class sessions in the Malheur communities of Ontario and Nyssa, participants talked about the progress that they have already made, with a few newly registered businesses and others that have put pricing plans and marketing projects into place.
While the classes have reunited once a month over the length of the program, participants have been working with other members of the community and with our facilitator Grace Gallegos to put what they learned into practice. Childcare providers have been expanding their professional development through the help of Danielle Phillips, at Malheur Childcare Resource and Referral while a few participants have begun working on expanding their business with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) based out of the Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC) in Ontario.
In addition to a salon, a restaurant, photography business, and childcare, a non-profit is in the process of being established as well. With Pasos al Éxito focusing on the importance of community and bringing wealth and jobs to local, rural towns, participants have seen other ways to give back and interact with the community. Two have joined the local chamber of commerce, and others plan to attend small business networking meetings in the area. With so much enthusiasm for moving forward, Pasos al Éxito participants will continue to bring and take advantage of new opportunities in Ontario and Nyssa, after the program has ended.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Community Partners, OAME, PAE, rural Oregon, Small Business Loans, Technical Assistance
Jorge Guerra, President of The Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME), met with Pasos al Éxito community partners and mentors in Ontario, Nyssa, and most recently, Klamath Falls.
Formed in 1987, the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) is a non-profit organization with a mission to promote and develop entrepreneurship and economic development for ethnic minorities in the State of Oregon & SW Washington. (www.oame.org) Jorge Guerra is interested in connecting with organizations and community leaders around the state to share information about lending opportunities for small business owners. OAME recently received more funding from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide small business loans around the state, and while based out of Portland, is making an effort to do outreach to rural communities and diverse populations.
Community members were excited to have an organization that believes strongly in “Everyone is IN, no one is OUT,” visit their town, hear their concerns, and learn more about the business and lending opportunities that OAME has to offer. We look forward to seeing small business owners take advantage of OAME programs and services. Thanks to Jorge for traveling out to the rural areas and sharing information!
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Jessica Rodriguez-Montegna introduces us to the Oregon Latino Agenda for Action (OLAA), in addition to presenting on the upcoming conference being held by the coalition and the scholarships to help you get there.
After watching the webinar, be sure to visit the OLAA page to learn more, or check out additional information here:
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Entrepreneurs, Goal setting, H, Nyssa Oregon, Small Business
There were four very distinct plans represented in the Nyssa class:
One wanted to begin establishing a panadería, or bread store, that would sell bread made from his family’s recipe. Another wanted to sell off her consignment business to focus on personal well-being. The third has been looking for a location to give permanence to her small restaurant that has long provided delicious Mexican food from a small cart or from home. And the last entrepreneur continues to struggle with creating a specific plan.
The last class in Nyssa was focused on helping participants break their bigger goals into more manageable steps, and ensuring that they were both realistic and measurable in their results. When the class reconvenes in September, we will see if they were able to accomplish the various goals that included doing research for an hour each week on the internet, attending two networking meetings, and talking to the Chamber of Commerce.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Entrepreneurs, Latino Business, Ontario Oregon, Pasos al Exito
A month after finishing the curriculum on Starting a Business at Home, participants of PAE and business professionals from the community reunited to learn about Best Practices in Mentoring and goal setting. The facilitated session gives the group a chance to work together and become comfortable in the roles of mentor and mentee.
The session began with a visit by the Mexican Consulate from Idaho, talking about the services they offer for businesses and the process of sending remesas, or remittances back to family in Mexico.
After the presentation, the session focused on the characteristics of good mentors and mentees, SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Based) goal setting, and overcoming some of the challenges that can be faced in the process of working together. Taught in both Spanish and English, table groups were huddled over sheets of paper, making lists that included the characteristics in both languages. The exchange and explanation of different terms and ideas was as much of a learning process as the activity.
Sharing stories was encouraged in the session, and one participant shared her surprise when learning that a close friend that she had relied on for advice for many years was much more: she was a mentor. One business professional emphasized the importance of asking for help; many people are willing to be mentors, but are waiting for somebody to ask them for the specific help they need. From family members to class facilitators to their peers and neighbors, each person had the experience of being mentored in some capacity, receiving advice, encouragement, and a step towards success.
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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) featured Pasos al Exito on their blog as a success story and as an example of the outcomes that USDA program support. With help from the Rural Enterprise Business Grant provided by the USDA, Pasos has been able to focus on providing additional technical service and training to the class entrepreneurs. You can read the success story here.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Hispanic resources, IRS, SBDC, Small Business, Spanish language
John Lopez, presenting on the SBDC and KayDel Marshall, presenting for the IRS, share a few of the Hispanic Resources that they offer to help Spanish-speaking business owners with their business plan, taxes, and more.
You can visit the OSBDCN Hispano Resource page here, or find the nearest SBDC location here.
The links provided by the IRS in the webinar are listed below:
- IRS in Spanish
- IRS Videos en Español
- Spanish Forms and Publications
- Audio Files for Podcasts and Text Scripts
- English-Spanish Glossary of Tax Words and Phrases
- IRS Video Portal en Español
- Spanish Newsroom
Facebook has Hispanic articles, videos and links to tweets. You can “friend” the IRS here
Pasos al Exito/Steps to Success 