HISPANIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN

Abstract

This report examines the current conditions and needs of Latino entrepreneurs in New Orleans. Through surveys, interviews, testimonies, and observations from interactions with the Latino community gathered from January to August 2019, the report aims to identify key challenges for businesses and gaps with the current support available for businesses. Our findings attempt to provide guidance for community partners to design appropriate and effective business support programming for the Latino community. Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Research Context: The Hispanic Community of New Orleans

2. Stakeholder Analysis: Existing Organizations and Community Partners in the Hispanic Community

3. Research Questions and Hypothesis

4. Methodology

5. Data Description

6. Analysis and Key Findings

7. Research Challenges

8. Opportunities and Recommendations

Conclusions

Acknowledgments to our Partners Introduction

We conducted research in the Hispanic Community of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area from January to August 2019. The objective of this project is to identify the challenges, perspectives, and needs of entrepreneurs in the Latino Community. The research identifies how additional resources can support economic mobility for immigrants and Latino community members. Our research aims to analyze the current conditions of micro-businesses and entrepreneurs in the Hispanic community.

This study provides statistical and qualitative data to community partners that are leading initiatives to support micro-entrepreneurs in minority groups in the city. The findings and recommendations of this study can guide local non-profit organizations and community partners in developing sustainable projects to support entrepreneurs in this community.

Currently, most organizations working with entrepreneurs and micro businesses do not offer support tailored to the Hispanic community. They lack available statistical data to analyze the conditions of the community and design appropriate programs. An in-depth study was needed to understand Hispanic entrepreneurs’ unique needs, level of success and barriers to growth.

Methodology Overview

Data for this investigation were collected through 47 anonymous surveys of Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs in the New Orleans Metropolitan area. Surveyors visited sites, such as the West Bank Market and events held by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and El Centro to survey participants. Some surveys were also conducted over the phone. Participants were invited to take part in the survey through in-person interactions at community sites or through referrals from friends, and colleagues. Surveys were available in both English and Spanish, as were consent forms.

In addition to conducting surveys of entrepreneurs and business owners, the researchers also recorded detailed notes of their observations at the survey sites and interviewed several community members to develop a more in-depth and well-rounded understanding of the perspectives of Latino entrepreneurs. As a result, this report utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods to draw conclusions and make recommendations.

Summary of Findings

This report does not attempt to establish generalizations about Latino entrepreneurs in New Orleans due to the complexity of that community and the limitations of the sampling methods used by the survey. Rather, through careful analysis of the survey results, the report finds several trends that exist within the target population. Our data suggest that language and business knowledge are significant barriers that limit the ability of Latino entrepreneurs in New Orleans to access capital, utilize business resources, and grow their

1 business. We also find that entrepreneurs in this community tend to be reluctant to use some resources, such as loans from banks and assistance provided by governmental and non-profit organizations. Finally, this report reveals that there are a number of organizations working with the Latino community in New Orleans, but that Latino entrepreneurs are not always aware of their services and programs, so there are opportunities for additional resources to support unmet needs.

The report is organized in 8 sections as follows: The first section presents a study on the demographics and historical growth of the Hispanic community in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, as background to the research topic. The second section includes a stakeholder analysis of organizations and community partners interacting with the Latino business community. The third section states the hypotheses and the main research questions for this report. The fourth section explains the methodology used for data collection and analysis. The fifth section presents a description of the surveyed participants and their businesses. The sixth section analyzes the survey results and highlights key findings. The seventh section discusses challenges encountered by the research team during the study. The eighth section presents recommendations and suggestions from the research team to community leaders, ending with the report conclusions.

About Fund 17

In order to build a more equitable local economy, Fund 17 provides guidance and resources to entrepreneurs who are primarily low-income people of color. The mission of Fund 17 is to create economic opportunity in the 17 wards of New Orleans by providing tailored assistance to community members disconnected from traditional business and financial resources. Established in 2012 by Tulane undergraduate Haley Burns, Fund 17’s goal was to provide financial opportunity to unbanked and underbanked New Orleanians. Today, Fund 17 is a robust network of staff, professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and partners working together to create a stronger local economy where all New Orleanians can build sustainable livelihoods. Through various programs and services, Fund 17 has directly supported over 400 community entrepreneurs since becoming operational in 2015.

In addition to its programmatic work, Fund 17 has led two other research projects to better understand entrepreneurship in New Orleans. As Fund 17 explored conducting programs in the Latino community, there were persistent barriers to integrating this demographic into its everyday work. Although Fund 17 has a majority Latino Board of Directors and has had multiple Spanish speakers on its team, it became clear to the organization that it needed to better understand the unique needs and perspectives of the Latino entrepreneur community. This led to Fund 17 designing this particular project where it could leverage its previous research experience, its Latino Board and staff and expertise on the New Orleans entrepreneurship ecosystem.

2 About the Research Team

Our research team is composed of three members of Fund 17 affiliated to .

● Carol Serrano Crespo was born in Cuenca, Ecuador on December 21, 1996. She grew up in Quito, Ecuador and moved to New Orleans in 2015 to attend Tulane University. During her years as an undergraduate, she gained experience in business consultancy through internships in Ecuador and in New Orleans. She fell in love with New Orleans architecture, music, food, and people. The sense of community and New Orleans’ family-oriented culture reminded her of her Ecuadorian and Latin American roots.

● Madeline Ninno is from Orlando, Florida. She recently graduated from Tulane University, in Economics and International Development with a minor in Public Policy. She has conducted research in microbusinesses in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

● Brian Contreras was born in Managua, Nicaragua and raised in Los Angeles, California. He graduated in 2019 with a major in Latin American Studies from Tulane University.

● Haley Burns is the founder of Fund 17 and an avid community researcher. After studying under geographers at Tulane University, Haley led four research projects for Fund 17 and our partners, including this final project on Hispanic Entrepreneurship. She has since obtained her Masters in Urban Planning and continues entrepreneurship research as an Extension Specialist in her home state of Alabama.

3 Section 1: Research Context:The Hispanic Community of New Orleans

Historical Growth of the Hispanic Community in the 21st Century in New Orleans

According to the national census of 2018, 9% of the population1 in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area2 self- identifies as Hispanic/Latino3. Jefferson Parish has the highest concentration of Hispanics, as they represent approximately 15% of the total population. Second is St. Bernard with 10%, followed by Plaquemines with 8%. All other parishes, except for St. James, have a Hispanic population that represents approximately 6% of the overall population. Figure 1 below illustrates the counties with a higher Hispanic concentration.

Figure 1: Map of New Orleans Metro Area by county subdivision showing Hispanic density4

The Hispanic population in the New Orleans Metropolitan area has grown significantly in the past decade. According to the 2018 National Census, the number of Hispanics in the Metro area almost doubled from 2001 to 2018, increasing by 55,751 people. In 2001, The Hispanic population represented only four percent of the

1 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Ori- gin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2019. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 2 For the purpose of this research, the New Orleans Metropolitan Area consists of the following eight parishes: Jefferson, Orleans, St. Tammany, St, Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, Plaquemines, and St. James. 3 The term Hispanic relates to Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain. The term Latino relates to Latin American origin, including non-Spanish speaking countries. However, during our community outreach and surveying, we found that the community in New Orleans uses these terms interchangeably. Additionally, we did not encounter any non-Spanish speakers. Therefore, this report uses both terms interchangeably. 4“Race and Ethnicity in New Orleans, ,” Statistical Atlas, September 17, 2018, https://statisticalatlas.com/place/ Louisiana/New-Orleans/Race-and-Ethnicity)

4 total metro population5, increasing to nine percent by 20186.

The Hispanic community growth has outpaced the total population growth in the Metro area. Since 2010, the total Metro area population has grown 7% while the Hispanic population has grown 25%.7 Figure 2 illustrates the difference in population growth between Hispanics and the general population.

Population Growth 2002 -2018 25.00%

20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

5.00%

0.00% 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 -5.00%

-10.00%

-15.00%

-20.00%

-25.00%

H ispanic Po p Growth Metro Pop Gr owth

Figure 2 8: Population Growth of Hispanics vs Metro Area Population from 2002 to 2018

As observed, during the last 20 years, the Hispanic population has been constantly growing at a higher rate than the general population. During the first years Post-Katrina, only 10% of Hispanics left New Orleans, compared to 25% of the general population. Additionally, the Hispanic community grew the most during the 2010’s, when its growth reached 25%.

5 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for Counties in Louisiana: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2010. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2016. 6 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Ori- gin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2019. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 7 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Ori- gin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2019. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 8 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2019. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for Counties in Louisiana: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2010. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2016.

5 The Hispanic population has increased in all parishes. However, Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Tammany have recorded the highest number of Hispanics for the past 20 years. Figure 3 below shows the number of Hispanis per parish, from 2000 to 2018.

Hispanic Population in Metro Area (2001-2018) 140,000

120,000

100,000 St. James Plaquemines 80,000 St. John the Baptist St. Charles

60,000 St. Bernard St. Tammany Orleans 40,000 Jefferson

20,000

- 2001 2003 2005 2007 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Figure 3 9: Hispanic Population in Numbers by Parish from 2001 to 2018

As shown on Figure 3, St. Tammany and Jefferson have experienced the highest increase in Hispanics in the last 20 years, by number and by percentage. Between 2000 and 2018, the number of Hispanics in Jefferson Parish doubled, and, in St. Tammany Parish, it more than tripled, with an increase of 10,074 people.

Current Demographics of the Hispanic Community in New Orleans

In the metropolitan area, a high percentage of noncitizens or naturalized citizens come from Latin America. Five-year 2017 census data10 estimates show that 50% of naturalized citizens and 66.2% of non- citizens in the Metro area come from Latin America. In Jefferson and Orleans Parish, 56.4% and 38.7%, respectively, of all

9 U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2019. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Intercensal Estimates of the Resident Population by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for Counties in Louisiana: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2010. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2016. 10 2018 Census data is only available for total number of Hispanics. The 2017 American Community Surveys the most recent census that provides detailed information such as country of origin, education attainment, income, etc.

6 naturalized citizens are from Latin America. Regarding non-citizens, Jefferson and Orleans Parishes experience 74.4% and 46.5% of Latin Americans.11

The country of origin of Hispanics in the Metro area is also worth noting, as it differs in the percentage of composition when compared to the U.S as a whole. Figure 4 shows the country of origin by percentage of Jefferson and Orleans parishes, the aggregated percentage in the Metro area, and the U.S. Jefferson and Orleans parishes are analyzed the most as they have the two largest Hispanic communities of all parishes in the Metro area

Country of Origin 2017

100% 6.0% 4.8% 10.9% 8.1% 3.6% 4.2% 90% 4.0% 4.2% 5.7% 3.8% Other, Latin America 4.5% 80% 5.9% 3.1% Other, South America 5.6% 3.3% 7.3% 3.8% Colombia 70% 4.4% 9.6% El Salvador 60% 36.1% 29.8% Nicaragua 23.6%

Honduras 50% Guatemala 4.7% 5.8% 40% Other, Central America 6.8% 4.1% 4.0% Dominican Republic 30% 5.2% 6.5% 6.7% 63.19% Cuba 5.7% 6.0% 5.3% Puerto Rico 20% 4.2% Mexico 10% 18.11% 21.15% 22.06%

0% . Jefferson Orleans Metro Area US

Figure 412: Bar Chart of Country of Origin of Hispanic Population

As shown on Figure 4, a high percentage of Hispanics come from Central America and the Caribbean, equaling approximately 64% of the Hispanic population in the Metro area. From all countries, most Hispanics in the Metro area and in Orleans and Jefferson Parish, come from Honduras, with approximately 30%. Mexico as a country of origin still shows one of the highest percentages (21%) but its percentage is substantially lower compared to its national percentage of 63.19%.

11U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table B05002. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2018. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index. xhtml 12 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table B03001. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2018. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index. xhtml

7 Economic Indicators of the Hispanic Community

The economic and education conditions of Hispanics can be compared to the conditions of the general Metro area population. In the Hispanic Community, the average annual income is forty four thousand dollars.13 Unemployment rate lies at seven percent. Table 1 below summarizes the differences in economic conditions between the Latinos and the general Metro population.

Economic Indicator Hispanic Community Metro Population Median Household Income14 $44,047.1515 $50,696.7216 Unemployment rate (%)17 6.5 7.12 Labor Force Participation (%)18 70.20 62.77 Poverty rate (%)19 18 21.84 Table 1: Economic Indicators of Hispanic Population vs Total Metro Area Population

As Table 1 shows, the labor force participation is higher for Hispanics than the general population. Although unemployment is lower for Hispanics, the average annual income is lower compared to the general Metro area population.

Also noteworthy is the Hispanic population unemployed and living below the poverty line in the Metro area. Out of the population below the poverty line in the Metro area, 10.56% are Hispanics. Moreover, Jefferson Parish experiences a higher percentage, with approximately 20% of the population below the poverty line being Hispanic.

13 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table B19013I. American FactFinder version. Distributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2018.https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 14 For the past 12 months for Households in 2017 inflation-adjusted dollar 15 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table B19013I. American FactFinder version. Dis- tributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2018.https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 16 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table B19013. American FactFinder version. Dis- tributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2018.https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 17 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table S2301. American FactFinder version. Distrib- uted by The United States Census Bureau, 2018.https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 18 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table S2301. American FactFinder version. Distrib- uted by The United States Census Bureau, 2018.https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml 19 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table S1701. American FactFinder version. Distrib- uted by The United States Census Bureau, 2018. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

8 Other Indicators in the Hispanic Community

Educational attainment in the Hispanic Community reflects a somewhat different reality than the general population. The most significant differences are the percentages of the population that have graduated high school and that have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Figure 5 and 6 below illustrate the reality in education in the Hispanic community compared to the general Metro area population.

Educational Attainment Educational Attainment (General Pop.) (Hispanic)

13% 19% 26% 30%

27%

26%

29% 30%

Less than high school graduate Less than high school graduate High school graduate High school graduate Some college or associate's degree Some college or associate's degree

Bachelor's degree or higher Bachelor's degree or higher

Figure 520 & Figure 621: Education Attainment of Total Population vs Hispanics in Metro Area

As shown in the figures above, education attainment proves to be significantly lower for Hispanics than the general population in the New Orleans Metropolitan area. Twice as many people in the Hispanic community, 26%, have not obtained a high school diploma, compared to 13% in the general population. Similarly, significantly less Hispanics have obtained a bachelor’s or a higher academic degree compared to the general population, 19% and 30% respectively. As these percentages are calculated over a five year period, from 2013 to 2017, they show the historical difference in education attainment between these two groups in recent years.

20 U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table B23006. American FactFinder version. Dis- tributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2018.https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml _ 21U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Table C15002I. American FactFinder version. Dis- tributed by The United States Census Bureau, 2018.https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

9 Section 2. Stakeholder Analysis: Existing Organizations and Community Partners in the Hispanic Community

Currently, several non-profit organizations serve the Latino community, however, only a few are focused on entrepreneurship and business support. The main organizations providing business assistance are El Centro Inc and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana. Community markets also play a key role as enablers and facilitators for Latinos to open their businesses. The Algiers Flea Market and Westbank Flea Market are weekend markets with predominantly hispanic vendors and customers. Other social organizations are important community partners as they are well-connected to the Hispanic community and can facilitate communication with hispanic business owners, like Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Hispanic Apostolate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. La Voz Coalition, Jambalaya News Louisiana, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and Noche Buena Bazaar, are other organizations that connect the community with resources, including business resources. We observed communication and cooperation among the organizations working in the Hispanic community.

El Centro Inc El Centro Inc is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2018, that works closely with entrepreneurs and small business owners. Their mission is to empower Latino entrepreneurs through financial literacy and entrepreneurial training. El Centro achieves this goal through business bootcamps, educational workshops and one-on-one consulting.22 In addition to offering these services, El Centro has a broad outreach through other organizations or corporations like The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Capital One, and consulates in New Orleans. El Centro and its founder and executive director, Lindsey Navarro, supported this research project, connecting the team with Latino entrepreneurs for surveys and interviews.

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana is a nonprofit organization founded in 1999 as a result of a merger between The Louisiana Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and The Gulf Coast International Chamber of Commerce.23 The organization is committed to create and facilitate business climate to foster economic development and progress in Louisiana. It offers paid membership that includes networking opportunities through access to the many events hosted by the chamber, discounts with the Office Depot program, corporate sponsorship and advertisement and business resources like listing of personal business on the chamber’s website and opportunities to participate in the chamber’s monthly radio shows.

In addition to the paid membership, The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is host to different organizations that offer workshops to people looking to start or develop their businesses. It arranges multiple events like Conversacion y Cafe, partnering with El Centro, 2019 Women’s Business Symposium, and the Young Professionals Summer Minglethroughout. The Chamber also offers ESL classes through a partnership with

22 El Centro Inc. “Servicios” El Centro. Available at: https://www.elcentrola.org/servicios.html [Accessed 11 Nov. 2019]. 23 HCCL. “HCCL Overview” Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana . Available at: https://www.hccl.biz/hccl-over- view/ [Accessed 07 Nov. 2019].

10 Delgado Community College. Our research team connected with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to promote and reach out to the community for the project. The organization invited us to their events. Through those interactions, it was observed that the Chamber relies heavily on other local organizations to organize their events. The Chamber acts as the middleman between organizations that wanted to offer business support services and their members. Members are not exclusively Hispanic, as some events are tailored to the entire local business community.

Additionally, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana Young Professionals is a committee that aims to grow the young professional Hispanic community through networking and community service events.24

The Algiers Flea Market The Algiers Flea Market or Dix Jazz Market, the official name of the flea market, hosts small diverse businesses offering food, catering, hair-styling, retail, tire services among others. They are well known among the Latino community of New Orleans. Although the market is only opened during the weekend, a large amount of people frequent it. One of its main attractions is its food shops. The Algiers Flea Market is home to established restaurant-style food shops that offer Latin dishes ranging from South American to North American foods.

The team visited the market multiple times and interacted with vendors and customers. From those visits, it was observed that the market’s infrastructure needs improvement; some tents appear to have aged materials that could be repaired. Predominantly built in wood, the market should be carefully managed to reduce fire hazard, among other risks.

West Bank Market The Westbank Flea Market is located in Harvey and is open only during the weekends, from 8 am to 4 pm. As an open-air market, Westbank has a welcoming set up, with large walking and resting areas, as well as a significant number of parking spaces. It has a roof-covered area designated for food stands, with the capacity to house approximately 25 to 30 food vendors. Open since 2017, The Westbank Flea Market still faces a low flow of customers. Vendors and visitors mentioned a need for more advertising to reach the market’s Hispanic and non-Hispanic target customers.

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans The Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans provides a comprehensive network of social services that connect people to resources in eight parishes spanning the greater New Orleans region. It is well-known among the members of the Latino community as it offers support services regarding family issues, health, immigration, and language barriers.25 Catholic Charities welcomes everyone who is in need of support to better themselves, regardless of their religion, race or ethnicity. Catholic Charities partners with many organizations to provide support and connect individuals to adequate resources.

Catholic Charities also partners with academic institutions to offer ESL and financial literacy classes. Tulane 24 HCCL. “Young Professionals Committee” Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana . Available at: https://www.hccl. biz/young-professionals/ [Accessed 07 Nov. 2019]. 25 Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans.. “About Us” Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans. Available at: http://www.ccano.org/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019]

11 University, through the course ECON 3100 Money and Banking taught by Professor Antonio Bojanic, sends students to volunteer bimonthly. Students lead and help expand the financial literacy course taught to the current ESL learners. The course focuses on how to set financial goals, how to prepare a simple budget, how to fill out a W4 form and other tax forms; the basics of financial institutions and types of bank accounts, credit, the foundations for asset and wealth development, consumer rights; savings; how to maintain a checking account and manage credit cards, among other topics.26

La Voz De la Comunidad Coalition La Voz De La Comunidad is a comprehensive community coalition. Their mission is to improve Latino communities in Louisiana through the prevention of youth drug abuse through cultural competency. La Voz de la Comunidad works with community leaders to aid in the strengthening of these communities. Although they only meet once a month, they are on top of the ways they can tackle social issues that the Latino community might encounter around Louisiana.

For the Hispanic youth, organizations like Noche Buena Bazaar, which hosts pop-up markets, have developed to provide Latinos with a space to promote their businesses. Noche Buena Bazaar happens once a month in different locations and hosts around 15-20 vendors that are mostly self-identified as Latinx. They attract a young audience and sell clothes, jewelry, arts, food, etc, accompanied with live music and a modern ambiance.

Other organizations in the Metro area focused mainly on social issues among Hispanics. Congress of Day Laborers “Congreso de Jornaleros” hosts social and political activism events. Puentes New Orleans offers college preparation programs, arts, and cultural events. It also has a Youth Action Council to advocate for Hispanic youth.

During our interactions with all these organizations, we have noticed a strong communication and relationship among local organizations to support Latinos. Community leaders work closely and meet regularly to discuss issues concerning Latinos. Monthly meetings and special events gather leaders of these organizations to network and tackle different problems in the community. Co-programming among these community partners is offered to the Latino community, especially business workshops provided by El Centro with the collaboration of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Consulates, and other local partners. However, most organizations are not focused primarily on the business needs of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the community.

26 Antonio Bojanic (Tulane ECON 3100 professor) in discussion with the author, February 2019

12 Section 3. Research Questions and Hypotheses Research Questions Our research aims to answer questions about the conditions, challenges, and perceived needs of Latino businesses and business owners. Specifically, we aim to answer the following 7 questions:

1. What are the main barriers for Latino entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses? 2. Are Latino business owners accessing capital and technical assistance? 3. What are their perspectives on business and capital resources? 4. What is their desired level of business growth? 5. What is the main reason for Latino entrepreneurs to start their business? 6. What are the most popular advertising channels among Latino business owners? 7. How do culture and other personal experiences play into their experiences as entrepreneurs?

Hypotheses With data collection through surveying, interviewing, and interacting with the community, our study aims to test four main hypotheses:

☐ Language is the main barrier for Latino businesses to grow.

☐ Latino businesses serve primarily a Spanish speaking customer base.

☐ Latino business owners have previous experience in business, and a majority owned businesses or were involved in family businesses in their home countries.

☐ Finally, our study’s hypothesis is that Latino entrepreneurs and business owners are not aware of resources available for their businesses.

13 Section 4. Methodology

Fund 17 researchers conducted outreach at several locations in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area before surveying any participants. We dispersed flyers at the Westbank Market, the Algiers Flea Market, and several events hosted by groups such as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and El Centro. These events took place in New Orleans, Kenner, and Harvey. Most in-person surveys were conducted at the Westbank and the Algiers Markets with both vendors and visitors at the markets. Surveying took place on weekends throughout the spring and summer of 2019. We also conducted surveys over the phone, often with participants referred to Fund 17 via community partners or with participants surveyors engaged at community events.

Many participants were randomly identified at the markets or selected at events hosted by El Centro or the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Many others were referred to Fund 17 by other participants in the survey. As a result, the sampling process was not perfectly random, which is considered in the analysis of the findings.

All participants consented to participate in the research prior to beginning the survey. Participants also had the right to skip any questions they chose. Participants could choose to take the survey in Spanish or English. The surveyor read the questions aloud to the participant and recorded answers on the survey’s Google Form on their phone. For some sensitive questions, such as household income, they would allow the participant to select the answer on the phone themselves. The surveyor or their partner took notes during the survey to capture all of the details of the participant’s responses. At the end of the survey, the participant would sometimes be rewarded with a $5 Walmart gift card.

While at community events and the markets, surveyors took detailed notes of their surroundings. Surveyors also participated in several events and socialized with customers and workers at the markets in order to better understand the business environments and to cultivate a relationship with community members.

The Fund 17 research team also conducted interviews with several members of the Latino business community who could provide unique insight into the current situation of Latino business owners and entrepreneurs in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. These semi-structured interviews were conducted in person or over the phone, and were recorded with the consent of the interviewee.

14 Section 5. Data Description

We surveyed 47 entrepreneurs self-identified as Latinos/Hispanics through in-person and phone surveys. Figure 7 to 21 illustrate the characteristics and demographics of the survey participants in the following way:

1) Channel through which we connected with participants (Figure 7)

2) Age range (Figure 8)

3) Gender (Figure 9)

4) Ethnicity (Figure 10)

5) Area of residence (Figure 11)

6) Country of birth (Figure 12)

7) Country of origin (Figure 13)

8) Annual income (Figure 14)

9) English fluency (Figure 15)

10) Spanish Fluency (Figure 16)

11) Business industry (Figure 17)

12) Business location (Figure 18)

13) Time business has been open (Figure 19)

14) Business income (Figure 20)

15) Language to do business (Figure 21)

15 How We Connected With Participants Partipants' Age

10% 4%

6% 2%

We st B an k Fle a M arke t 6%

El Centro 30% 6% The Algiers Flea Market 41% 28% HCC

Visiting Businesses 11%

Ide al M arke t

Other Referrals

Latino Forum 11%

17% 28%

18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56+

Channel through which we connected with participants (Figure 7) Age range (Figure 8)

Ethnicity (Self-Identified) Participants' Gender

50 45 40 35 30 36% 25 20 15 10 5 64% 0 Latino/ Black Indigenous Mest izo W hi te Arab Hisp ano from Latin America M ale Fem ale

Ethnicity (Figure 10) Gender (Figure 9)

16 Area of Residence Westwego 4% Jefferson Gentilly 4% Uptown/Carrolton Gretna 6% 4% 6% French Quarter St Bernard 2% 2% Harvey Marerro 9% 2% Terrytown 2% Kenner Bywater 11% Other 14% 2% Algiers 2%

Other Mid City 4% 19% Metarie 19%

Area of residence (Figure 11)

Country of Birth

1 1 1 2 2 Honduras 14 2 El Salvador US Mexico Nicaragua 5 Puerto Rico Colombia Ecuador Co st a Ri ca Belize 7

12

Country of birth (Figure 12)

17 Country of Origin

Colombia Mexico Puerto Rico 6% 15% Costa Rica 7% Nicaragua 2% 4% Belize 2% Guatemala Other 2% El Salvador 12% Ecuador 26% 2% Dominican Republic 2% Prefer not to answer 2% Honduras 30%

Country of origin (Figure 13)

Income Range

9% 19% Less than $12,000 $12,000-$28,000 19% $28,000-$36,000 4% $36,000-$55,000

6% $55,000-$75,000 $75,000-$100,000

9% More than $100k 15% Prefer not to answer

19%

Annual income (Figure 14)

18 English Fluency Spanish Fluency 16 50 14 12 40 10 30 8 6 20 4 2 10 0 1 Cannot speak nor 2 Limit ed Level 3 Can understand but 4 Flu e n cy ( O ra l & 5 Native Language 0 understand have diff icult ies Comprenhension) 1 Cannot speak 2 Limit ed Level 3 Can understand 4 Flu e n cy ( O ra l & 5 Native Language speaking nor understand but have difficulti es Comprenhension) speaking

English fluency (Figure 15) Spanish fluency (Figure 16)

18 Business Industry 4% 4%

6% 24%

27 Ot her Food Stall/Grocer 6% Services Clothing/Jewelry/Accessories Construction/Contractor 6% Technology Food Production Cleaning Services 9% Arts/Crafts 21% Restaurant/Catering

9% 11% Business industry (Figure 17)

Business Location Uptown-Carrollton 6% Everywhere Central City/ Garden Metarie 7% District 7% 3% Algiers Marrero 7% Gretna 3% 4%

Outside NO Metro Area Mid City 3% 12% Other 13% Jefferson 2% Kenner 2% ByWater 2% 16% Other 1% Harvey 25%

Business location (Figure 18) ______27 Other includes: Real Estate/Rental, FoodStall/Grocer,Restaurant/Catering. Tools Vendor, Education, Nonprofit, Lawn/Landscaping, Entertainment,Technology, Insurance, Communication/Media, Entertainment,Sports, and Product

19 Designer. Business Lifetime

15% 13%

Less than 6 months 6 months - 1year 1-5 years 21% 25% 5-10 years 10-20 years

26%

Time business has been open (Figure 19)

Monthly Business Income

6%

23%

< $500

28% $500-$1,000

2% $1,000-$1,500

$1,500-$2,000

11% $2,000-$3,000

6% 11% 9% 4%

Business income (Figure 20)

20 Language to do Business

17% 23%

4% Spanish Mostly spanish Both Mostly english English

28% 28%

Language to do business (Figure 21)

Interviews We conducted interviews with community leaders that have worked with Latino entrepreneurs and can provide us with insights into the current state and the development of local Latino businesses. Through these interviews, we have gathered qualitative data that can further support our key findings. We interviewed Lindsey Navarro and Mariana Montero.

Lindsey Navarro Lindsey Navarro is the Founder and Executive Director of El Centro Inc, a non-profit that supports Latino businesses. With an MBA from Loyola University, Lindsey started working in the community when she joined LiftFund in 2011 as Senior Business Development Officer. She was the organization’s first bilingual loan officer outside of Texas. In this role, Lindsey built relationships with many local Latino organizations. Her passion to help business owners in the community led her to found El Centro in 2018. El Centro Inc. is a 501c3 Nonprofit Organization in New Orleans that offers financial literacy and business education training to entrepreneurs. It hosts a series of workshops about topics that range from budgeting, understanding credit reports to strategic decision making. Lindsey also serves as Co-Chair of the board for the Committee for a Better New Orleans, President of the board for Fund 17, and Vice-President of the board for the Crescent City Community Land Trust.

21 Mariana Montero Mariana Montero is the Founder and Executive Director of Golden Change Inc., a local non-profit that addresses violence and health issues in diverse communities in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. With an engineering degree from University of Guayaquil and an MBA from the University of New Orleans, Mariana has experience in corporate, academic, and non-profit sectors. She has been working with the Latino community for 24 years, holding positions in multiple local organizations including La Voz de la Comunidad, Metropolitan Center for Women & Children, Board Member of Luke’s House Clinic, Vice-President of the Latin American Civic Association of Louisiana, Inc., a member of the National Organization for the advancement of Hispanics, former President of the Business Professional Women’s Association, and a member of Jefferson Lions Club. With her involvement in the community, Mariana has gained a deep understanding of the condition of local Latino businesses and how they have changed over the past years.

22 Section 6. Analysis and Key Findings

In this section, we analyze the results of our survey, focusing on how they answer our research questions and support our initial hypotheses. We further support our key findings by citing our interviewees and connecting their answers to what is reflected in the survey responses.

Using data collected through surveys, interactions with the community, and interviews with community leaders, we aim to respond the following research questions:

1. What are the main barriers for Latino entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses?

2. Are Latino business owners accessing capital? Technical assistance?

3. What are their perspectives on business and capital resources?

4. What is their desired level of business growth?

5. What is the main reason for Latino entrepreneurs to start their business?

6. What are the most popular advertising channels among Latino business owners?

7. How do culture and other personal experiences play into their experiences as entrepreneurs?

What Are the Main Barriers for Latino Entrepreneurs to Start and Grow Their Businesses? One of our main research intentions was determining the key barriers that limit Latino businesses’ growth in the city. Through survey responses, we identified five main barriers Latino entrepreneurs are likely to face: language barrier, access to capital, finances, time and personal issues, and lack of business knowledge. Figure 22 below illustrates the challenges mentioned by participants and the percentage of participants who selected those challenges as main barriers to growing their business.

Barriers for Business Growth

Other Physical Space Staffing Legal/Admin Problems Finances Time/Personal Issues Business Knowledge Advertising Access to Capital Language

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Fig.22 Survey questions “ What are the main barriers for your business to grow”

23 Language Barrier

The first potential obstacle we investigated was the language barrier, which we hypothesized would impede Latino business owners’ ability to access clients and resources. When asked if language was a barrier for their business, 50% of participants said that it was. Particularly, 47% said it was a barrier to accessing clients, while it was a barrier to business resources for 19% and a barrier to government resources for 17%, as illustrated in Figure 23. Lindsey Navarro explained that she had also noticed during her time working with the community that language barrier is a major obstacle for Latino entrepreneurs. She believes improving language accessibility of government resources does not only mean translating government websites, but marketing these translated sites and material to the public to raise awareness of their existence when complete.

Language as a Business Barrier

To Access Govt Resources

To Access Business Resources

To Access Clients

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Fig.23. Survey Question “Is language a business barrier to access resources and/or client”

While many participants indicated that language was an obstacle, their response was greatly dependent on the nature and requirements of their businesses. Some participants who spoke basic English still responded that it was a barrier because they had difficulties completing legal and financial forms in English. On the other hand, several participants who only spoke Spanish indicated that language was not a barrier because few or none of their customers spoke English with them. This distinction demonstrates that, for participants, language plays a complex role in the development of their businesses.

Finances and Access to Capital

Another barrier faced by Latino entrepreneurs in our sample is access to capital, with 41% of participants listing it as the second biggest limitation to growing their businesses. Lindsey Navarro also commented on this topic, stating that the most common request she has at El Centro is access to capital. Legal barriers can make it difficult to access capital, as one participant specifically mentioned that she could not go to the bank for a loan because she was undocumented. Moreover, entrepreneurs in the markets expressed challenges in finding larger and more permanent locations for their businesses due to a lack of knowledge about local real estate and financial management. Managing finances was a challenge for 24% of participants, who mentioned

24 having issues allocating and controlling financial resources in their businesses.

Furthermore, our survey asked participants about the types of bank accounts used for their businesses. Only 32% of participants had both a personal and business account to manage their businesses separately from their personal finances. Figure 24 shows the percentages of participants who have either a personal or a business bank account, both, or neither.

Bank Account 4% 17%

No 32% Only personal Both Only busines s

47%

Fig.24. Survey Question “What type of bank account do you have?”

As shown on Figure 24, most participants only have a personal bank account to manage their businesses. Additionally, 17% of participants do not have any type of bank account. These responses indicate a lack of adequate financial management. Entrepreneurs could be miscalculating expenses and the net income generated by the business. As a result, they are facing challenges in the ability to manage their existing financial resources to grow their businesses.

Time and Personal Issues

In our survey, 26% of participants indicated time and personal issues as a barrier to growing their business. Within this category people mentioned having to take care of children, personal health issues, and gender- based discrimination as specific limitations. Several participants indicated that working another job in addition to running their own business limited the growth of their business.

Lack of Business Knowledge

A lack of business knowledge can also create a barrier to growing one’s business, as 19% said a lack of business knowledge was one of the biggest limitations to growing their business. In some cases, this may be related to the language barrier, as some participants mentioned that there were not enough Spanish-language resources to learn more about businesses. Participants listed licensing, tax law, legal regulations and marketing as areas in which they lacked knowledge and wanted to learn more. For example, one participant explained she had all the paperwork that she thought was necessary for her business; however, she did not really understand what

25 any of the documents meant. A friend of hers helped her fill out forms to obtain the document. The document was the registration of her business as a limited liability company, LLC, which she did not understand.

Our survey asked participants to identify their level of knowledge in tax, accounting, and legal matters related to their business. Out of the total, 34% expressed feeling not familiar at all with tax and accounting matters involving their businesses and 23% expressed limited knowledge. Only 34% expressed feeling familiar or very familiar with these topics. We obtained similar responses when asking participants their knowledge on regulations and legal matters regarding their business. The survey responses show that 38% felt not familiar at all and 19% expressed having limited knowledge. Only 30% felt familiar or very familiar with legal implications concerning their businesses. Figure 25 and Figure 26 below illustrate these statistics.

Tax & Accounting Knowledge Regulatory and Legal Knowledge 11% 21%

34% 38% 19%

13%

13% 9%

23% 19% Not familiar at all Not familiar at all Limited knowledge Limited knowledge Somewhat familiar Somewhat familiar Familiar Familiar Very familiar Very familiar

Fig.25 & Fig.26 “How familiar are you with tax & accounting/ regulation and legal matters of the business?

Other questions in the survey also show a lack of business knowledge among our participants. About 62% of participants did not have an LLC, and, from those participants, 69% did not know what it was. Out of 29 who had not registered their businesses as an LLC, only 14% said they did not want to. Everyone else expressed interest after being explained the advantages of an LLC. Figure 27 and Figure 28 below illustrate these statistics.

26 Business is LLC Interest in LLC 21% Yes Yes 38% 43% No No

Don't know 14% Don't what it is know 65% what it is

19% Fig.27 & Fig.28 “Is your business an LLC/do you have interest in registering it as an LLC?”

Similarly, 51% of participants indicated they did not have a city licensing. From this group, 71% expressed interest in a city licensing. Figure 29 and Figure 30 shows the responses to this survey question.

9% City Licensing Interest in City Licensing

4%

40% 25% Yes Yes No No Not n eeded Uns ure 51% 71%

Fig.29 & Fig.30 “Do you have city licensing/do you have interest in getting it?”

Although the LLC and city licensing questions did not directly address business knowledge, the high percentage of participants unaware of the meaning of an LLC further demonstrates a lack of business acumen. In a similar way, the high percentage of interest in a city licensing could indicate a lack of knowledge on how to obtain it. Some participants expressed being interested in a city licensing but not understanding the requirements or the process to obtain it.

A lack of business knowledge could also be studied by analyzing the complexity of the accounting system utilized in a business. The survey results show that 41% of participants had a paper system of collecting receipts and writing down earnings and expenses. Furthermore, 30% did not have any written system in place. Some participants commented they would approximate sales and keep numbers in their head. Only 23% of participants had a digital system in place, like Excel or QuickBooks, and 6% hired an accountant. Overall, 71% of participants did not have in place any digital accounting system that can better assist in keeping records of their businesses, as shown in Figure 31.

27 Accounting System 6%

30% 23% None Paper Digital Bookkeeper

41%

Fig.31. “What type of accounting system do you use for your business?”

The surveys taken in English were more likely to identify more established accounting systems (digital systems) and more knowledge in the legal and accounting matters of the businesses. This finding presents more evidence on the correlation between the language barrier with business knowledge and resources. Our findings indeed show a relation between speaking English and having more business knowledge, resources, and more established systems.

Are Latino Business Owners Accessing Capital or Technical Assistance? Our survey found that 79% of respondents had not received assistance from any local or national organizations that offer help to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Only 19% had received help from organizations, those being El Centro, the Urban League, Q, New Corp, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (HCC). Notably, all but one of those who said that they had worked with organizations were referrals from the HCC or El Centro. Figure 32 illustrates the survey responses regarding this question.

28 Worked with Local Support Organizations 2% 19%

Yes

No

Prefer not to answer

79%

Fig.32. “ Have you worked with organizations in New Orleans that offer business support?”

Lindsey expressed her concern with a lack of local organizations that support certain stages of entrepreneurship, specifically the pre-seed stage, when entrepreneurs have only developed their business idea; “There are Latinos who want to become entrepreneurs but find themselves not having the support or the tools to succeed as an entrepreneur in New Orleans.”.

What are Latino Entrepreneurs’ Perceptions on Business and Capital Resources? This report also aims to understand what the perspectives of Latino entrepreneurs are regarding business and capital resources. Perceptions on capital and technical assistance may be influenced by cultural attitudes. Throughout our survey, participants also expressed a wariness of taking out loans, illustrated in Figure 33 and Figure 34 below.

Business Loans Interest in Business Loans

2% Yes Want it 36% No 38% Do not Prefer not want it to answer 62% 62%

Fig.33 & Fig.34: Have you ever borrowed money? Would you like to?

29 As shown in Figure 33 and 34, only 36% had taken out a loan. Of those who received a loan, 42% received it from a friend or family member, while 29% took one out from a bank and 29% received one from a non-profit. 62% of respondents who had not taken out a loan did not want to. The remaining 38% who had not taken out a loan wanted to but were uncertain where to finance it. We suspect this wariness is related to their cultural perception of debt and loans. Mariana Montero, Executive Director of Golden Change Inc., commented, “The Latino perspective is that a good customer is one who pays in cash. We have the mindset that if I do not have the money, I am not going to buy it. However, the good customer is in reality the one who pays in credit, who borrows and pays little by little, building credit. That mentality, we do not have it.”

Furthermore, throughout the surveying period, many expressed hesitancy and skepticism towards the researchers and other resource providers. Several expressed they did not want to work with the government at all; it was necessary to clarify that Fund 17 was not related to the government. Three participants explicitly said during the survey that they did not want to receive resources or assistance from the government, while several others said that they were reluctant to register their business because they did not want to deal with the government.

As Fund 17 is a mission-driven organization , it was necessary to reiterate the programming and goals of Fund 17 in detail for community members to feel comfortable talking about their businesses with us. After weeks of outreach, researchers were able to build trust with many of the people at the markets and several expressed interest in working with Fund 17 in the future. One participant, who owns a cleaning service, even reached out to Fund 17’s office to inquire about programs after completing the survey.

Latino entrepreneurs may not be reaching out for business support in New Orleans because they were not accustomed to receiving support for their businesses in their home countries. The survey responses show that foreign-born participants did not receive assistance in their home countries. For example, 70% of participants who had businesses in their birth country did not receive any type of business support there. Only 15% had support from banks and 10% received support from family members. However, none of the participants received assistance from non-profits or the government. Figure 35 below summarizes the participant responses.

30 Did you receive business support in your home country?

5%

10%

No 15% Bank support Family support Prefer not to answer

70%

Fig.35. “Did you receive business support in your home country?”

As observed on Figure 35, the majority of participants that opened a business in their home countries did not receive any type of business support. This finding could indicate that some Latino entrepreneurs do not think they can find resources in New Orleans, as they were not familiar with it in their home countries. Their cultural perception of business assistance could be creating a limitation for Latino entrepreneurs to reach out for support to existing community partners.

What is Their Desired Level of Business Growth? Participating entrepreneurs demonstrated varying levels of perceived success. In the survey, success was self- defined, as researchers were asked to select their level of success from a scale created by the surveyors. As Figure 36 illustrates, 11% said they were struggling, 53% said they could do better and that there was room for improvement, 30% had met their main business goals, 8% said their business was very successful. Notably, none of the referrals from El Centro or HCC said their business was struggling.

31 Perception on Business Success

2% 8% 11% A lot of difficulties

Room for improvement

Relatively succesful

30% Very succesful

Prefer not to answer

49%

Fig.36.”How successful do you see your business?

Survey responses show that Latino entrepreneurs do want to grow their businesses. Only two percent responded they did not want to see their businesses grow. Commonly cited motivations for business growth were an interest in quitting other jobs, a need for more earnings and an interest in moving to a new location.

What is the Main Reason for Latino Entrepreneurs to Start Their Business? We aimed to understand the main reasons why Latinos in the New Orleans community start businesses. Participants were asked to select among a list of options the main reasons why they originally started their businesses. Out of all participants, 51% selected passion as a main reason. They expressed feeling passionate about having their own businesses; 53% of participants also identified financial needs to play an important role in opening their businesses. Specifically, 30% of participants expressed being employed but not generating enough money, while 23% expressed being unemployed. Also, 20% of participants identified being employed but unhappy as a reason to start their business. Figure 37, below, summarizes the responses to this survey question.

32 Reasons to Start a Business 30

25

20

15

10

5

0 Unemployed Employed but Employed but did Pass ion Personal/ Family Other unhappy not generate Problems enough

Fig.37. ”Why did you start your business?” in number of responses

As observed from the survey responses, Latino entrepreneurs are characterized by a passion towards entrepreneurship. Some participants mentioned that a motivation to start their business was the desire to be their own bosses. This result can be supported by our conversations with community leaders. Mariana Montero mentioned Latinos are always known for their entrepreneurial efforts; “A Latino is an entrepreneur, a visionary.”

In the same way, businesses and entrepreneurship is seen as an alternative to generate enough financial resources. Nearly half of participants considered their businesses their full-time jobs, which could be interpreted as an indicator that their businesses represent an important source of income for them and their families.

What Are the Most Popular Advertising Channels Among Latino Business Owners? Word of mouth and social media are the most popular advertising strategies used by Latino entrepreneurs, based on our survey results. Participants were asked to identify the advertising channels used for their business; 81% mentioned word of mouth, followed by social media with 75%. Less common, some participants mentioned using flyers, email, and radio to advertise their businesses. The graph below, Figure 38, summarizes the survey responses.

33 Advertising Channels Used

Billboards

Newspapers/magazines

Flyers distributed to houses

Cards

TV

Networking

Radio

Email

Flyers in public places

Mouth

Social media

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Fig.38. ”What type of advertising do you use for your business?”

As some of our business owners have businesses in community markets, like Algiers and Westbank Flea Market, they mentioned that having their businesses there ensures customer flow that does not necessarily come to the market knowing about their business.

Facebook shows to be an important social media resource, as daily news and shows are shared with the community on this platform. For example, Jambalaya News Louisiana hosts daily shows that approximately a thousand people watch daily. Other organizations, like Nuestra Voz, and El Centro, also shared their community events through this platform. Mariana Montero commented, “Everyone, even the new members of the community that are undocumented immigrants have access to the internet. Social media is really effective in the Latino community.”

How Do Culture and Other Personal Experiences Play into Their Experiences As Entrepreneurs? Culture can play a key role in how Latino business owners conduct their businesses. More than 50% of entrepreneurs who were born outside of the Continental United States had a business in their home country, bringing that culture with them to New Orleans. As analyzed before, 68% of participants who had businesses in their home countries did not receive any type of support there. Of the ones that received support, only 42% received support from institutions like banks. None expressed receiving support from organizations or other community partners. Most support was received from friends and family. It could be interpreted that Latino entrepreneurs who had businesses in their home countries are not used to receiving support from local

34 organizations and, therefore, are not seeking support and reaching out to community leaders in New Orleans.

Lindsey Navarro, founder of El Centro, finds a common perspective on business education among Latino entrepreneurs. She sees how people sometimes do not see the value of educating themselves outside of their business. Some people do not want to sacrifice time spent in the business to learn about doing business because they do not want to lose potential sales. However, they do not realize that with more business skills they might be able to make up for those lost potential clients and even attract more.

As previously mentioned, the cultural perception on lending and borrowing also impacts Latino businesses. Through our conversations with participants and community leaders, it was observed the bad connotation of credit and borrowing in the Latino culture. We also found during our surveys that multiple participants mentioned family involvement in their businesses. Some business owners received unpaid or paid help from their families; others co-owned their businesses with their spouses. Other participants mentioned having family, or friends, lend them money for their business.

It is important to note that our sample is not randomized so the findings cannot be generalized and assumed to represent the entire Latino business community in New Orleans. However, as a result of our qualitative and quantitative data collected and significant interactions with the community, these findings are meant to provide insights into potential needs of Latino businesses. These findings provide evidence of the need for business assistance tailored to Latino entrepreneurs and they serve as a guide for local organizations to design more adequate programming for this community.

35 Section 7. Research Challenges

Our research team faced important challenges when connecting with the community and gathering data for this report. As researchers represented Fund 17, an organization new to the Latino community, there was skepticism from community members. Some community members showed little interest in the project. Some did not want to answer questions about income and licensing, which they viewed as sensitive information, and others did not trust the research team enough to take the survey.

We were also challenged by a lack of response from community partners. Certain community leaders were not responsive to our multiple attempts to communicate and connect with them. Some organizations could not work with us for multiple reasons such as confidentiality. This issue limited the scope of our community outreach and the additional qualitative information that could have been obtained through interviews with community leaders.

As the survey asked for the opinion of participants, responses were subjective and may not necessarily reflect the reality of the businesses surveyed. A lack of business knowledge on the part of participants could have affected the accuracy of the findings. Some participants were not really sure how much income their businesses generated and answered with doubt regarding how many employees they had. This problem was especially observed in industries with unsteady cash flows. Some business owners did not consider their work a business and did not view themselves as entrepreneurs. It was important to adjust the language and use terminology as “self-employed” to connect with Latino entrepreneurs.

Time constraints were another challenge, especially when surveying at the markets, which were only open on weekends. The Algiers market closed due to weather conditions; during big events, such as Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest, few people visited the markets. When the markets were experiencing high customer flow, vendors and customers mentioned being too busy to talk to the research team. The geographic dispersion of locations around the New Orleans Metropolitan Area made it difficult for the three surveyors on the team to get a truly representative sample.

36 Section 8. Opportunities and Recommendations

Many participants expressed a need for support for their businesses and the desire to work with organizations that would support them in growing their businesses. There is opportunity for organizations to develop new programming targeted towards Latino entrepreneurs in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Due to the geographical spread of this community, which includes various neighborhoods within New Orleans and in neighboring parishes, it is important that organizations provide outreach and services that are accessible to people throughout the area.

As identified in the previous section, language barrier is a significant challenge for Latino entrepreneurs. Providing and marketing more resources in Spanish, including legal and financial documents, educational materials, and business workshops, would allow members of this community who are not comfortable speaking and understanding English to access more resources and obtain business knowledge. Organizations could communicate and work with city and regional government agencies that regulate businesses to market government resources in Spanish.

It is also vital that programming for Latino entrepreneurs covers all types of business. This not only means addressing the needs of businesses in a variety of industries, but also in different business stages. There is a need for community partners to offer programs specific to every business stage including the pre-business stage of converting an idea into a tangible project.

The complexity of the business landscape for Latino entrepreneurs needs cooperation of various non-profits, community organizations, business and governmental initiatives to fully address the issues faced by this community. For organizations who have not previously worked with the Latino community, our experiences suggest that they must do significant outreach and be transparent with the community in order to build a trusting relationship. Partnering with organizations who are already more established among the Latino business community would likely help in this matter. We also noticed that some organizations offered similar programming; they could join efforts and enhance communication to host together their similar workshops and individually offer different programs to the community.

As many of our respondents had businesses in the Algiers and Westbank markets, changes in those sites could greatly benefit that community of entrepreneurs. Multiple business owners in those markets expressed how they wanted to see better and broader marketing of the markets and wished that they were open throughout the week. In the case of the Algiers market specifically, improving the infrastructure and organization of the space would make the market more accessible to a variety of clients and would enable businesses to remain open during rain and heat.

Analyzing resources available in comparable cities, like Atlanta, we identified additional opportunities for organizations to support Hispanic entrepreneurship. The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce offers a health insurance plan, partnering with Blue Cross Blue Shield to provide health insurance for small business owners with at least two employees27 Organizations could partner with health insurance companies and financial institutions to design micro financing alternatives and other business resources for the community.

28 GHCC. “Georgia Hispanic Chamber SMART Plan” Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Available at: https:// ghcc.org/georgia-hispanic-chamber-smart-plan/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2019].

37 Conclusions

Our survey results enable us to reexamine our hypotheses formulated at the beginning of this project. Due to the size and selection of our sample, we cannot claim to reject or support with certainty any of the hypotheses regarding the entire population of Latino entrepreneurs in New Orleans; however, we can use our data to highlight trends and commonalities among the people that we surveyed and develop recommendations for the New Orleans community based on our conclusions.

i. Language is the main barrier for Latino businesses to grow: Language was mentioned throughout many of our surveys as a difficulty for Latino business owners. For those who did not have well-developed English language skills, language may serve as a barrier to connecting with new clients, formalizing their business, accessing resources, and learning more about best practices for their business. While a lack of business knowledge and financial resources were often cited by business owners as significant barriers, they were, in many cases, due to the language barrier, which limits the ability of entrepreneurs who cannot speak English from accessing educational and financial opportunities. ii. Most Latinos have had businesses in their home countries, or their families did: Of the entrepreneurs we surveyed, 53.6% of those born outside the continental US had a business in their home countries. Several respondents said that their current business is a continuation of what they did in their home country. While slightly more than half of our sample had businesses in their home country, the limited size and scope of our sample makes it impossible to reject or confirm our hypothesis for the larger population of Latino entrepreneurs in New Orleans. iii. The customer base is mainly Hispanic: We did not directly ask participants if their customers were mostly Hispanic, but we can infer the makeup of their customer base through other questions on the survey. We found that all but one respondent spoke Spanish proficiently or as their native language. Moreover, 51% used mostly Spanish with clients and 28% used Spanish and English. Of those that said they used both, two-thirds said they used Spanish more. It is also important to note that businesses located in the Westbank and the Algiers Flea Markets tended to have more Spanish-speaking clients than those surveyed via referrals. From these results, we can conclude that within these markets, business is conducted primarily in Spanish and that throughout New Orleans, Latino entrepreneurs serve a variety of customers, including other members of the Latino community. iv. Latino entrepreneurs and business owners are not aware of resources available for their businesses: Again, we did not ask participants directly about their awareness of business resources. When asked if they had worked with any local or national organizations, very few had worked with anyone and those that had were mostly referrals from El Centro and HCC. We found that when introducing ourselves and explaining our project, most were people not familiar with Fund 17 or El Centro. There was greater familiarity with CCANO and HCC, who have been working with this community for a longer time. Although they may know the resources that are available, many Latino entrepreneurs suggested a reluctance to use them, especially if they did not feel confident speaking English, were not born in the United States, or had an unregistered business.

38 This report concludes that while some local organizations have already established themselves within the Latino community, many Latino entrepreneurs do not have access to business resources that are suitable to them and their needs. If actors within the New Orleans community wish to engage with and support Latino entrepreneurs, significant outreach and Spanish-language programming will be necessary to develop a trusting and productive relationship.

From these results, we can begin to understand the implications of our research and look to what comes next. Our key findings and suggestions can be used as guidelines to design business support programming tailored to the Latino community. Communication and cooperation from community partners is necessary to adequately design these programs and meet specific needs of Latino business owners, including the ones we have identified in this report.

Further research is needed on the Latino community in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, with a larger scope than the one from this report. Periodic research and monitoring is important to understand the changing conditions and needs of this community. Further research would allow community stakeholders to better tailor their programs and resources to suit these needs and goals of the Latino community and would enable them to better collaborate with one another. This report can also serve as a starting point for research into other minorities in New Orleans where business owners struggle to grow.

39 Acknowledgements to our Partners

We want to thank and acknowledge everyone who collaborated in and supported this project.

Faculty and Staff at Tulane Universitywho supported our project through departamental grants and academic advising. We want to thank and acknowledge especially:

☐ The NewComb Tulane College for awarding our project $2,000 through the Dean’s Grant.

☐ The Center for Public Service for awarding our project the Community Engaged Research Award for $2,000.

☐ Antonio Bojanic, Economics Professor at Tulane University, who acted as an academic advisor for our research team during the research and writing stages of the project.

El Centro Inc who supported our team by connecting us to their network of entrepreneurs and to other community partners in the city. We were able to advertise our project during El Centro’s events and talked directly to attendees. El Centro also shared social media content about our project and helped us distribute flyers. Lindsey Navarro provided important insight into the Latino business community through interviews and multiple interactions with the team during this research.

The Refresh Project of Broad Community Connections, who collaborated with our research team distributing marketing materials in its network.

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana who allowed us to talk about our project and collect survey information at a number of their events, also referring participants to us.

Westbank Flea Market and the Algiers Flea Market who welcomed our team to survey and advertise our project to customers and vendors.

The Latino Forum and La Voz de la Comunidad who invited us to their monthly events for us to share our project details and marketing materials with community leaders attending the forum.

Jambalaya News Louisiana who invited us to their morning radio show En Broma o En Serio, allowing us to share the goals and details of our project with the Latino community in New Orleans.

Volunteer surveyors: Alejandra Guzmán, Mónica Hurtarte, Natalie Coburn, and Carla Serrano who volunteered their time on the weekend and helped the Community Research team survey at the Westbank and the Algiers Flea Markets by driving, handing out flyers, talking to potential participants, and taking additional survey notes.

Survey Participants who volunteered their time to help us collect key data about for this project. Without their participation, this report and this project would have not been possible.

40