News and Articles

Growing Hispanic community impacting business

Published February 27, 2009

 By Sherri Dauskurdas
Associate Editor, The Business Ledger

The Hispanic population is growing rapidly, and census figures estimate that by 2025, Hispanics in Illinois will make up nearly 17 percent of the state’s population, a surge of more than 1.2 million people since 1995.

With that growth comes a demand for Hispanic businesses, as second and third generation families choose products and services that complement their culture.

Adrian Soto sees this shift first-hand. His parents were immigrants and he, like many other young Hispanic professionals, had the opportunity to go to grow up here, attend college and, in turn, has adapted to an English-speaking business environment. It is a demographic that is growing both in numbers, and in economic power.

And while the consumer tendency of Hispanic culture is to be extremely brand-loyal, these young professionals handle their business decisions a little differently, Soto said, seeking opportunity wherever it may lie.

“What I see in my generation is that we are more open-minded about partnering up with other organizations,” said Soto, director of the Entrepreneurship Center of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “As business owners, we are more open to different types of capital. The older generation doesn’t want to give anything away. They don’t see that as an option.

“But we are taking advantage of the shift that is going on. We can swim in the water of corporate America, and that is opening doors of opportunity.”

It is also an opportunity for those businesses outside the Hispanic community, if they are savvy enough to take it, Soto said.

“We are seeing companies that kind of ‘get it’. They see us not just as consumers, but as suppliers and vendors and partners,” said Soto. “The companies that want reach out and build wealth in our community and build capacity in our businesses are going to be successful reaching us. Those who see us strictly from a consumer point of view will lag behind.”

As for entrepreneurship, Soto said the 45,000 Hispanic-run businesses in Illinois are suffering many of the same hardships as the greater business community, as a lack of capital leads to profit loss, job loss and general management struggles.

“Access to capital is huge right now. Lots of companies are scaling back and that gives opportunities for wise companies to go after market share. But that takes extra capital, and that’s not very accessible right now,” Soto said.

He and his colleagues at the Hispanic Chamber are doing their best to help out. There are business grants of $5,000 available to healthy organizations that show potential. The Chamber partners with Deloitte and Touche to run a management academy for members, and Soto and others leverage their corporate contacts in the business community to create partnerships for Hispanic business owners.

“There is a lot of IT growth in the Hispanic community, and we are anticipating growth in construction and in health care,” Soto said.

But the food industry, once a stronghold in Hispanic business, is faltering.

“Food manufacturing is hit or miss. We see a lot of counseling requests, and they are really in need of assistance,” Soto said.

However, there are many successes as well. One of the veterans of the Hispanic business community is restaurateur and chef Emilio Gervilla.

Owner of three award-winning tapas restaurants in the Chicago area, Gervilla is a Spanish immigrant who came to the United States in 1973. He spent most of the 1980s at various restaurants for the Lettuce Entertain You Restaurant Group, and opened Chicago's first Tapas Bar and Restaurant, Café Ba Ba Reeba as chef.

In 1988, Gervilla took the step to open his own Emilio's Tapas Bar Restaurant in Hillside. Locations in Lincoln Park and Streeterville would follow.

“After Emilio came home and announced proudly, he had purchased a restaurant across from a cemetery, my heart sank,” said his wife and co-owner Anne Marie Gervilla. Spanish-style cuisine was still an unknown in the suburban market.

“One of the most horrifying moments, as we redecorated the restaurant ourselves, is when people started to just stop by and ask “what are tapas?” and “where is Spain?’ I felt we were doomed from the beginning, but we plugged along day by day.”  

That persistence, coupled with a confidence in the concept and her husband’s abilities, led her to begin educating her clientele about the food, and its origins.

“At this point I started an education program (should have put it on the menu) that included just where in the world Spain was, and a bit about the culture and loving people.  In time, I learned a lot from the guests about their ancestors and stories of Spain!  It was wonderful!”

The cultural connection forged at the Emilio’s restaurants is one of the most important components of their success, second only to the food.

It is similar cultural connections that organizations in the greater business world are seeking to forge with the Hispanic community.

Travel is one area. Illinois is responding to the growing number of Hispanics going online by developing a new and innovative Spanish Web site, www.disfrutaillinois.com, which will help Hispanic travelers explore Illinois. The site is part of the IBOT’s Hispanic campaign, "¡Illinois. Vive la Emoción!" (Illinois. Live the Emotion!), and assists visitors from the very beginning planning stages to the end booking phase.

In addition to events of universal appeal, the Web site features uniquely Hispanic cultural events, such as museums, festivals and parades. Creators hope the cultural focus coupled with the Spanish language will entice travelers from this growing market.

To reach the burgeoning Hispanic market for education, colleges are beginning to promote their degree programs to a more diverse student body.

At National-Louis University, it has been a consistent goal to reach communities that don’t have the greatest access to higher education. Much of the Hispanic community falls into this category, said Chris Multhauf, executive dean of the College of Management and Business.

“Three to four years ago, there was rising concern about the rapid population growth, compared to other groups, and how many had a lower level of educational attainment,” Multhauf said.

It was determined that issues of access and educational goals precipitated the need for a program tailored to the communities unique needs.

“The Latino community is the most rapidly growing portion of the undergraduate student body. It is a community that is very interested in pragmatic education,” he said. “We also began to understand the important role of community based organizations in the Hispanic culture.”

National-Louis counseled with community groups in the Pilsen neighborhood, a predominantly Latino neighborhood. After discussing economic concerns and the dual need for community and business leaders, the university partnered with El Valor, a non-profit, community-based organization, to offer an MBA program in Pilsen.

“We are continually working to focus on the special needs of this community,” Multhauf said. Class projects, case studies and other graduate work often use local businesses as partners, so students benefit from a learning experience to which they can relate, and the community prospers from the assistance.

Additionally, the Pilsen campus has led Multhauf and others at NLU to more fully understand the entrepreneurial mix at Hispanic businesses.

“There is a lot of grassroots entrepreneurial activity in the Pilsen community,” he said. “Traditionally, they are family-run, and the men are hands-on, while the women are running the business side of things. This has translated to our programs at El Valor, where 70 percent of our students are women.”

MBA programs, Multhauf said, are traditionally dominated by men.
There are 15 graduates and 30 students in the program now, with 30 new students entering in the fall. Multhauf credits most of the program’s success to El Valor.

“In this community, you have to build trust, he said. “Educationally, we are a team. But, they are Fred Astaire and we are Ginger Rogers. They are recruiting the students and filling the community need. We are just a tactic.”

And as higher education trains Hispanics to be business and community leaders, and organizations like the chamber and others mentor, guide and assist their endeavors, the economic power of the Hispanic demographic builds alongside its population.

“The word “Hispanic” has changed over the years and is now more of a cultural connotation of any one that speaks Spanish,” Gervilla said. “First and second generation Spanish-speaking business owners are tough.  They are used to hard work, are kind, friendly and loving.  I think those qualities will continue (with the next generation) and the future looks bright.”