Here’s the good news about America: ethnic background doesn’t matter, in terms of being successful, provided you put the work in. In point of fact, Hispanics tend to be one of the most successful minority groups pertaining to small business operations in the country. Did you know Latino business owners are the fastest growing group in the country?
Now granted, it’s important to differentiate between terms. “Latinos” are those who speak English fluently, or as a native language, while Hispanics have Spanish as their fluent, native language. So Latinos in America may be second-generation Hispanics, if you will. Though the terms are used interchangeably often, there is a distinction.
Despite the distinction, the fact stands: if you’ve got a Hispanic or Latino background, things are looking good for you as regards starting a successful small business in America. Your biggest barrier will be the language issue. English is the native language in America; but given the growing Hispanic influence, in many regions, both languages are spoken by customers.
For example, in South California, you probably don’t need to worry too much whether your store is primarily English or Spanish in its focus on the community; you’ll likely get the same amount of traffic either way. That will change slightly if you’re in the midwest. Accordingly, this writing will cover a few more pointers on getting your Hispanic business started.
Use Available Resources
Something to consider in America is that, for the most part—especially as you get away from the coasts—communities both welcome and encourage small businesses. Some of the following tips will apply regardless of your ethnic heritage. For example, if you’re going to start a small business, at some point you should check in with your local Chamber of Commerce.
As a small business, you need to buy supplies. If you don’t need to buy supplies owing to service-related offerings, then you need to buy marketing. The point is, at some juncture, you need to work with other businesses to get yours off the ground. You might work a trade, for example. The Chamber of Commerce can help get you started.
Legal Trade Arrangements
Imagine there’s a local advertiser who distributes a monthly periodical that sells, say, cars. Many small towns have such periodicals, and many residents still read them despite the internet. Millions of people in America don’t use sites like Craigslist to sell vehicles or properties. In fact, there are millions in this country who specifically avoid such transactions.
How do they get exposure? Well, they may call up a local magazine like Anybody’s Autos, or something similar, and pay between $20 and $400 for an ad; depending on the size of the ad. Well, as a small Hispanic restaurant, you may work a trade. Perhaps the owner of the magazine gets $300 a month in dinners, provided he gives you a half-page ad every month.
That’s called a “trade” arrangement, and here’s the beauty of it: you get more for less without bringing any actual monetary transaction into the equation—it’s a win-win for everybody. As a small business, you definitely need a solid core clientele; but you also need to have as many business relationships like this as possible.
So you want to use resources like local peers in small business. You want to know what the Chamber of Commerce is up to—is there a new district in town opening up where there aren’t any Hispanic restaurants? They can help give you information about that, and assist you in choosing the best location for your new business.
Capitalizing On Specific Resources
Beyond peers and the Chamber of Commerce, specific resources exist designed to help Hispanics get their businesses started and flourishing. There are quite a few areas of information specifically designed to help individuals trying to get a Hispanic small business off the ground. It would be to your advantage to use such resources.
Something else you might want to do is put together assets for the acquisition of an independent small business or franchise. In today’s world, you don’t have to start a business from the ground up—provided you’ve got a little capital. As a matter of fact, if it’s the right choice for your specific situation, you can buy an existing business. More information found here.
America is a melting pot. Starting a business successfully has nothing to do with the ethnic background you bring to the table, and everything to do with your will to succeed. Something else to consider is that, no matter who you are or what your background, any sort of entrepreneurial effort is difficult. You should expect a ten year minimum before any real profit.
Sure, you might be making money month over month, but to be successful even in a minute sense, you need to be making about $40k over your operating expenses. You can have a family with only $40k in annual income, but it’s difficult. If you’re in a big city, like L.A. or N.Y.C., you need to have on average $100k to $200k in profit to live comfortably.
Getting The Balance Right On Operating Expenses
Operating expenses include overhead, taxes, and the unexpected. What’s wise is chalking it all up to overhead. Expect 25% to 50% of profits after overhead to be taxed directly or indirectly, depending on your reason. An example of an indirect tax would be employer’s insurance. You’ve got to pay it in case employees get sick or injured. It’s like a tax.
Employer’s Insurance isn’t precisely a tax, but it’s a necessary reduction of your profit that gets bigger as your business does, just like a tax. So you want to play “above-board”, as it were, and that means “covering your bases”.
You need to have rent, utilities, maintenance, insurance, materials acquisition, work tool acquisition, taxes, and incidentals under one monthly budget category. That means designing a representative budget. Then, you need profits to continuously exceed your operating costs; and you want to keep close numbers.
The prices you set for services or products will depend on the cost to your business in their acquisition or implementation. Regardless of ethnic background, you can succeed here well—it may mean moving, though.
Choosing The Right Location, And Finding Your Success
Generally, states like Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Missouri, and Tennessee will have less expensive operating costs for more profit potential when compared to states like Maryland, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, California, Oregon, or Washington.
So lastly, choose your area of operation carefully. There are resources available to Hispanics specifically, you also want to check with your local chamber of commerce, expect ten years before true profit, be persistent, and budget to cover overhead. Do these things correctly and you’ve got a good shot at running a successful business.
