Starting a business as a Hispanic in the US
The American dream for many people is to start a business of their own and this is especially true for Hispanics. Hispanics are far more likely than other Americans to start their own business. Admittedly this is in part because their career prospects would otherwise be limited but the fact remains that there are now many successful Hispanic businesses in the US.
There is some good news when it comes to starting a business as a Hispanic in the US, they are starting them at a much faster rate than the national average. There is as major trend towards business ownership on the part of the Hispanic community as they are doing at about three times the rate as other groups. There seems to be a realization that the best way to get ahead is for them to go into business for themselves so as soon as they have saved enough money that is exactly what many of them are doing.
In most ways running a business as a Hispanic owner is no different than it is for any other business owner but there are some unique features that are mainly the result of the challenges that they face when it comes to starting a business. A good example of this is that Hispanic owned businesses are far more likely to export their products than other business owners. The main reason for this is that they are seriously under represented when it comes to business to business sales in the United States. The vast majority of sales for Hispanic owned businesses are either direct to customers or over seas. Clearly these owners have found a way to make the best of a bad situation but it is something that needs to change.
The other big issue that Hispanics face when starting a business is that many of them have no experience in running a business. This is a direct result of the fact that they are under represented in management at large companies. With no chance to work in management most Hispanics who start a business do so with no experience running one. Really one of the main reasons that they do start a business is that their career prospects tend to be limited when they work for somebody else. This does tend to make it harder to get a business up and running.
One of the reasons that a lack of experience is a problem for Hispanic business owners is that it makes it more difficult to secure financing. One of the things that banks look for is experience on the part of the management team. Since most Hispanics are unable to get this they find that arranging financing early in the project is a challenge. This is starting to change however as the government is introducing programs to make funding available specifically for Hispanics to start a business.