Posted on 08/22/2005 8:37:24 PM PDT by bayourod
Milwaukee hosts a U.S. Small Business Administration program next month that economists consider the sort of catalyst that is essential to rebuild the nation's distressed communities and inner cities.
The one-day Business Matchmaking forum on Sept. 14, which systematically pairs procurement executives from dozens of big corporations such as American Airlines and FedEx with scores of small businesses meeting SBA qualifications, coincides with the national convention of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which takes place this year in Milwaukee and dovetails with the Hispanic group's pro-business agenda.
"If you want to do business with Hispanics, this will be the premier event," said Michael Barrera, national president of Hispanic business group. The annual convention runs from Sept. 14 - 17.
Barrera favorably compared the SBA program to "speed dating." While he celebrates the convention's convergence with the program, SBA officials say its matchmaking events are open to any small businesses, regardless of the owners' race or creed.
Executives at small businesses register in advance at the SBA's BusinessMatchmaking.com Web site. They describe their products, services and objectives but also must meet criteria set by both government agencies and private-sector supplier standards.
Meanwhile, big Fortune 500 companies also register, filling out information on their procurement needs. Government agencies that buy from small businesses also routinely register at Matchmaking events along with the private companies.
Hewlett-Packard Co., which co-sponsors the program, designed the software that pairs buyers and sellers and sets up appointments in advance between suitably paired small businesses and big companies. All the appointments will take place at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee on Sept. 14. Some businesses are expected to set up multiple meetings in the same day.
The SBA cannot guarantee that small businesses will leave Milwaukee with any new orders. But the agency does boast that it has set up 27,000 appointments for small businesses in the two years since it launched its matchmaking initiative. Milwaukee's matchmaking session will be the fourth this year. In June, the SBA held a two-day event in Pasadena, Calif., which followed forums in Nashville and Washington, D.C.
Urban activists who focus on efforts to revive inner city economies increasingly concentrate on the natural entrepreneurial energies of minorities who live in those communities. The main challenge, these economists argue, is for those small businesses to grow to a sufficient scale so that they can catalyze commerce and incubate jobs. From Boston to Chicago, similar efforts have helped develop minority companies, often with only patchy success.
"It's an innovative way of looking at the way businesses use connections in the city in order to rebuild the city itself," said Sonja Koehler, program director at CEOs for Cities, a Chicago-based network of urban development leaders.
The challenge of bolstering start-up businesses has become more urgent as the government cuts job-retraining budgets and other forms of urban aid. The Small Business Administration, for example, has seen its budget cut every year since 2001, with its lending appropriations chopped by more than half.
Milwaukee's share of federal community development block grant money fell by $3.4 million in the last five years, to $19.6 million. The Private Industry Council, Milwaukee County's work force development board, is absorbing a 32% cut in its federal funding this year and has scrapped more than 30 positions.
Helping drive the trend in favor of minority entrepreneurs, however, are consumer demographics. Big corporations that are mindful of their image increasingly look to minority vendors to help elevate their presence among minority consumers.
Nationally, Hispanics boast an estimated $700 billion each year in consumer purchasing power, according to the Hispanic Chamber. The figure excludes revenue from undocumented workers.
Milwaukee's Hispanic population, at 12% of the city's total, roughly mirrors the 13% national average. Milwaukee's Hispanic community has grown by more 100% in the past 10 years.
That is one reason why a roster of major corporations has lined up for the Milwaukee matchmaking event. The SBA said they include Ford Motor Co., FedEx, General Motors Corp. and CBS Broadcasting. Local companies include Master Lock, Midwest Airlines, Oshkosh Truck Corp., Harley-Davidson and the Marshall & Ilsley Corp. banking group.
SD: This one's all yours!
It's all you....
maybe Bayourod would like to meet a nice Nigerian girl? What did the "half a dozen other types" entail again?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1449544/posts?page=72#72
Now, this is a curious statement. How do you calculate that, considering that many Hispanics (a) have only a fraction of Hispanic blood in them, and (b) have non-Hispanic surnames (and maybe have lighter skin, so it's not "obvious").
And since this figure "excludes revenue from undocumented workers," then how is this an argument in favor of allowing illegal aliens in the US to work?
El ping
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