Leveraging the power of the Chambers of Commerce
By Mindy Charski
When Raquel Barrientos received her real estate license in 2003,
she decided to join the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
to make some contacts. It made sense, since her niche is working
with Hispanic business owners seeking commercial real estate.
Now the vice president of Solender/Hall in Dallas, Barrientos has
found clients by networking and attending chamber events. She recently
helped one contact find two new locations for his store, for instance.
But she has found that the organization is more than just an outlet
for new business.
“It’s beneficial, both businesswise and socially, and
if you’re wanting to be active in the community as well, it’s
also good for that,” says Barrientos, who has chaired a committee
to help participants feel welcome and to recruit new members. “I
found the opportunity to go about gaining more leadership skills.”
Chambers of commerce are associations that promote their members’
commercial interests. The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
for example, advocates for the nation’s more than 2 million
Hispanic-owned businesses. The national not-for-profit organization,
founded in 1979, now has 215 local chambers in the U.S., Puerto
Rico, Mexico and Canada.
The USHCC helps members on a national and international level through
a number of initiatives and events, such as its annual convention,
which gives members the chance to network with Hispanic business
owners outside their region and with representatives from large
corporations.
The USHCC Procurement Council makes it easier for Corporate America
to find qualified Hispanic-owned businesses by compiling a vendor
directory of its members. Another example of the organization’s
activities: Chairman David Lizarraga and President and Chief Executive
Officer Michael Barrera recently met with newly elected Mexican
President Felipe Calderon to encourage international trade missions
between the U.S. and Mexico.
Local chapters follow the same mission as the umbrella organization—to
foster their members’ business success. One quite active chamber
is the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which offers
programs that focus on access to capital, procurement contracts,
and technical assistance training. The chamber holds educational
sessions about loans and capital, for example, and brings in lenders
to present their services. The group has 1,000 members, the majority
of whom own businesses that bring in less than $1 million in sales.
Linda Caballero-Sotelo, president and CEO of the San Diego chamber,
says members join for a variety of reasons. Among them: to share
ideas and practices, to learn how to grow their business, to participate
in chamber activities, and to be involved with the group’s
scholarship foundation. When potential members ask about the benefits
of joining a Hispanic chamber over other business chambers, she
tells them, “We’re small enough in terms of operations
that we can give a lot of one-on-one attention.”
That’s exactly what Ray Arias got at the Illinois Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce. Arias, the president Arias Information Solutions
in Chicago, found that being a member of the Chicagoland Chamber
of Commerce didn’t offer much opportunity. “Maybe they
were too big to help a company like mine,” he says. Instead
he found more success by joining the Illinois Hispanic Chamber,
which he credits with helping his company grow from $114,000 in
revenue in 2005 to $8 million in 2006.
“We were able to use their influence and existing network
of high-level relationships to help us knock on some doors,”
Arias says. “The chamber created the dialogue and we could
go in and close the deal.”
It generally costs between $100 and $500 a year to be a member of
a USHCC chapter, depending on the location. But often, dues aren’t
the only requisite investment.
“To make your membership work for you, you really do need
to be involved and active,” Barrientos says. “People
have to get to know you, then people start recognizing you, then
they start remembering your name, and then they start remembering
what you do.”
For More Information on the future business and Commerce missions
call the USHCC at (202) 842-1212 or visit www.ushcc.com
|
