Minding their own businesses!

 The growth in Latina-owned businesses in our state reflects national trends, though our sheer numbers place us at the forefront of the Latina businesswoman movement. In 2006, Hispanic women owned nearly 750,000 businesses in the United States - a 121 percent increase from 1997. Though Latinas still lag behind their male counterparts, making up about 30 percent of all Latino-owned businesses, they are catching up, and fast.

The increasing numbers of businesses owned by Arizona Latinas in recent years has made this demographic less of an anomaly than it was, say, 15 or even 10 years ago, according to business and Latino community leaders here. In a culture many stereotype as being steeped in traditional gender roles, the mental wall so many previous generations of Latinas carried within – and the requisite sense of “struggle” to balance work and family – seems to have been demolished to some extent by a new generation of acculturated Latinas who are, truly, doing it for themselves.

“I think more and more, we are seen as equals because we have similar experiences, resumes and education. There’s not much of a difference as there might have been 15, 20 years ago when there were less Latinas in the professional world,” said Perla  Flores, 39, managing partner for Principal Marketing and Communications in Phoenix. “But that’s not the case anymore. I never felt a disadvantage.”

Flores, like several Latina entrepreneurs interviewed by Latino Perspectives, seems less likely to receive – or notice – negative stereotyping that past generations have faced for being Hispanic or female. And that absence of obstacles, be it from ignoring them, surmounting them, or simply having never encountered them, seems to be the key to success for Latina business-owners in Arizona.


Laura Garcia, owner of Laura Garcia Insurance Agency, LLC
When Laura Garcia, 40, decided to start the Laura Garcia Insurance Agency, LLC, a little more than a year ago in Phoenix, it was not because she was dreadfully unhappy working for someone else. Nor was it a phase, something friends were doing, or an early mid-life crisis attack.

Rather, her 14 years experience as an agent had given her the knowledge, experience and connections within the industry to make her succeed on her own, and she wanted to see if she could. It was a natural progression, she says.

“It got to the point that I was thinking, ‘If I were running the company, this is what I would do...’ With this opportunity, my hard work is directly related to results I’ve achieved and can see for myself,” Garcia says.

Like most of her fellow professional Latinas, Garcia oversees a staff and pours over budget statements, networks at mixers hosted by business associations and tries to make time for her family after a long day at the office. She dons a business suit by day but would likely prefer a worn-in pair of jeans if given the choice.
Garcia says she has never felt uncomfortable being the only Latina in the room, or the only woman, and that she simply doesn’t think about it. Garcia was comfortable in being one of a few, if not the only, female or minority students in her upper division math classes at Arizona State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

Garcia, as well as Flores, often network with other professionals through organizations like the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Small Business Association and other groups. Garcia says it’s important to network with Latinos, but just as important to step outside that box too.
“For anyone, our comfort level is with others like us. But for me, I had to think of what makes sense for my business. We’re doing what best for business and we can go beyond that,” Garcia says.

Perla Flores
Flores comes to business honestly. After all, her mother started a small business in her native Tijuana, making jackets and purses out of her home in order to raise her four children alone.

Growing up with this role model, Flores did not consider a life where she could not be in charge. Equipped with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Literature and Culture from the University of California at Irvine, and a MBA from Arizona State University, after 17 years of working in the public relations field, she decided to start her own business not long after she and her husband welcomed their first child almost two years ago.

When she networks with professional Latinas at mixers and workshops, Flores hears little whining about inequity.

“We have more opportunities, the networking opportunities are growing and clients and funding sources are also becoming more available. I’ve been surrounded by powerful Latina role models all my life. There isn’t a thing they can’t do,” Flores says.

Still work to be done
When it comes to bottom line, however, not all is equal between Latina business owners and their Latino counterparts.

Arizona Latina-owned businesses earn less than those owned by Latinos, according to the 2006 SRP Business Study: Hispanic Outlook. In 2005, the median revenue was $282,860 for men, and $145,750 for women.

The reasons vary, but are tied to the types of businesses Latinas tend to own. Women gravitate toward retail and professional services, like Garcia and Flores’ respective companies. Men are more likely to own businesses in manufacturing or construction industries.

Men are also more likely to take over an existing business. Women tend to start their own smaller business, usually with less overhead because many of them operate out of their home, like Flores. To get started, she applied for and got a home equity loan and purchased a few office supplies and equipment. Garcia operates out of a commercial office space and asked her husband to help finance her venture. Men tend to seek external funding sources, whereas new Latina business owners commonly get assistance from family or friends.

About 60 percent of female Hispanic-owned businesses were sole proprietorships, compared with only 49 percent of male Hispanic-owned businesses.

The combination of starting a smaller business that does not require as much capital or earn as much profit contribute to the disparity, explains Louis Olivas, professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. However, the region’s growth offers a good environment to grow a business.

“We are one of the fortunate states whose population is growing. With growth comes small business opportunity, and because the Hispanic population is thriving, it is a great opportunity for Hispanic business-owners to fulfill a niche market,” Olivas says.