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Hispanic Entrepreneurs Latino
By Melissa Cantor - One hundred reasons why Hispanic business is thriving.
Two million and counting. That’s how many Hispanic-owned companies there are in the United States, a number experts estimate will hit eight million within the next 10 years. Women are a big part of the reason Hispanic entrepreneurship is thriving: Latinas owned nearly half a million businesses as of 2002, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research.
Hispanic-owned firms are not only growing in numbers—we’re making inroads in an ever-increasing range of industries: Companies such as Olga Martinez’s Allright Diversified Services in Fresno, California, are building our roads; entrepreneurs like Anthony Camargo of Anthony Nak in Austin, Texas, and Omar Torres of OPUS7 in New Jersey are designing the clothes and jewelry we wear; in Virginia, Dennis Garcia of Potomac Management Group heads one of the fastest-growing companies providing technology support for homeland security; pollster Sergio Bendixen of Bendixen & Associates in Miami is tracking the views of Hispanics nationwide.
These are just some of the faces behind the numbers. But success is not measured in numbers alone. In choosing those companies to feature in our first annual list of Latino business leadership, we focused not just on revenue but on innovation, growth, and the quality of the products or services offered, as well as on intangibles that directly affect our communities: During the worst economic downturn in decades, many business owners chose not to cut staff, even at the expense of reduced revenue, keeping countless families working.
Finally, this list is a work in progress. For reasons of time and space, many companies that undoubtedly merit inclusion do not appear in this year’s list. To those we offer our apologies and extend an invitation to write to us. Claim your place. Tell us your stories. Be counted among the top Hispanic entrepreneurs.
February 12, 2005 10:50 AM