by Olga Camargo & Juan C. Avila

The most recent financial crisis brought tremendous economic pain to our community. The engine of our nation’s job creation, the business community, was brought to its knees and the chain of events that followed left people without jobs and some without homes. The scars in our community are still fresh with empty iconic buildings in Little Village on 26th Street constant reminders of the economic devastation suffered. While we are in the midst of an economic recovery, we must embrace and act on the most important lesson taught by the economic crisis: the crucial need for financial literacy, in order to begin rebuilding wealth.

This lesson is of particular relevance to Latino business owners who are at the center of our community’s economic growth and who not only bring innovation to the marketplace but also lead their employees. We’ve learned through our work with business clients that they take this lesson to heart. They’ve also expressed that they need access to the right financial information. With that premise in mind, we decided to write this column, which will cover topics ranging from basic financial information, to investing, to retirement, to best practices being carried out by employers to attract and retain talent. We will share objective information that will enable business owners to make better-informed financial decisions to better weather future economic storms.

In 2011 a Forbes article entitled, “Latino-Owned Businesses: Leading the Recovery” noted that Latino entrepreneurs were benefiting our national economy. Their fast-paced growth during a 10-year period was more than twice the national average and the trend was expected to continue for another ten years. To put this into perspective, Latino businesses are forecast “…to increase their total revenue contribution to the economy by 8% annually...,” from 2005 thru 2015, which is threefold the average for all businesses. It’s clear that Latino businesses are thriving and that’s the good news!

The bad news is that the majority of business owners continue to neglect their personal finances. Establishing a retirement plan allows some business owners to build a nest egg, save money on taxes, and shelter assets from most creditors (although alimony, child support, and federal taxes can be collected from such plans).

Business leaders that place a priority on their personal finances are also placing importance on investments in the workplace available to employees through retirement programs. Those same employers advocate the crucial need of financial literacy to their employees. Employees recognize their employers’ commitment to their financial well-being and that increases their employer loyalty.

So why aren’t more business owners taking advantage of this good business practice? Business owners are often too busy running their companies and don’t have time to spare. Many have been consumed with activities focused more on securing capital for their business and neglected their personal finances in the process. That said, some business owners were completely wiped out and left with nothing. The key today is for business owners to simultaneously prioritize both building their business and personal finances, and seeking appropriate professional advice.

About Toroso Investments, LLC

Juan C. Avila and Olga Camargo are Managing Partners with Toroso Investments, LLC. This article is
distributed for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal, tax,
accounting or investment advice. While Mr. Avila and Ms. Camargo have gathered the information
presented from sources that they believe to be reliable, they cannot guarantee the accuracy or
completeness of the information presented. Any opinions express in this article are those of Mr. Avila
and/or Ms. Camargo solely and do not represent the opinions of Toroso Investments, LLC. Furthermore,
the views, forecasts, and opinions expressed in this article are as of the original date of publication,
generally, but not necessarily, the date indicated; are subject to change without notice; may not come to
pass; and do not represent the recommendation or offer of any particular security, strategy or investment.
Neither Mr. Avila nor Ms. Camargo has any obligation to provide revised opinions in the event of changed
circumstances . All investment strategies and investments involve risk of loss. Nothing within this article
should be construed as a guarantee of any specific outcome or profit and none of Mr. Avila, Ms. Camargo
or Toroso Investments, LLC take any responsibility for any loss or damage arising due to any decision
relating to investments taken by you based on any statements, graphs, data, and/or information contained
in this article. Visit Toroso Investments>> http://www.torosoinv.com

Networking is perhaps one of the most valuable career-building skills a person can develop. When it comes to fleshing out your professional contacts, one of the best ways to improve your network is to introduce them to each other.

As advice blog The Art of Manliness explains, most people tend to network with the idea of building their own contact list and finding opportunities for themselves. By connecting your contacts with each other, everybody wins: READ MORE

Alejandra Castillo is the first Latina to head the Department of Commerce's Minority Development Business Agency. MBDA's aim is to help minority owned businesses gain government contracts, partner with government contractors and gain access to capital.

Castillo said the efforts are not "altruism" but a recognition that the fabric of the country is changing dramatically and that for the U.S. to remain globally competitive, it has to help grow minority businesses. In a meeting with Hispanic media, Castillo emphasized what minority business owners should know about the agency:

1. The government spends $1 trillion buying products and services, and the MDBA is trying to ensure more minority businesses can be suppliers of those products and services. Castillo said many Latinos have businesses that are sufficient to sustain the family but may have opportunity to expand to larger businesses. READ MORE

In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the role that "connectors” play in social epidemics. According to Gladwell, connectors aren’t just people who know a lot of people; they’re people with a knack for making friends and acquaintances wherever they go.

When trying to get their new businesses off the ground, most entrepreneurs would love their startups to become social epidemics. To be successful, they have to play the part of the connector and form relationships with the right people who can help them spread their message.

Building your tribe of potential clients, partners and mentors can be tough if you’re not a natural networker, but it’s not impossible. Here are three of the most valuable takeaways I’ve learned about building more meaningful relationships: READ MORE

Hispanic travel in the United States is growing at a faster rate than the general market and has an estimated annual economic impact of more than $56 billion. While travel and tourism in the U.S. have taken huge hits in recent years because of high unemployment and rising gas prices, Hispanics still continue with their family trips, spending more money per trip than the general population.

On average, Hispanics spend $785 per person on a trip while the general population spends $708 per person. Plus, Hispanics live in large households. Based on the latest Census, the average household for Hispanics is 3.6 compared to 2.4 for whites. It is also estimated that 51 percent of Hispanic households have children in the household, compared with 38 percent of the general population. And of those, 42 percent of Hispanic households have children under 8 years old, compared with 38 percent overall. READ MORE

One of the hottest trends in the Hispanic marketing industry is targeting “biculturals,” people who are equally comfortable navigating in two distinct cultures. The term is especially popular in describing second- and third-generation Latinos in the United States.

This group—which tends to skew younger than the rest of the population—is just as comfortable enjoying the cultural traditions of the United States as they are partaking in the ones passed down to them by their immigrant parents and grandparents. They have no problem shopping at Trader Joe’s for tofu and frozen yogurt and then traveling to a Mexican market for carne asada and fresh tortillas. READ MORE

For many people, simply walking into a room full of strangers can be terrifying—let alone one packed with potentially valuable work contacts … and maybe even a future boss.

But since savvy networking can be one of the best moves you can make for your career, it’s time to learn how to fearlessly bust through the doors of any work event—and own it.

That’s why we challenged three networking veterans to divulge the clever opening lines that will enable you to strike up a conversation with just about anyone, whether you’re mingling with hundreds of people at a convention center or a more intimate group at an after-work mixer. READ MORE

"Mama always knows best!" is a quote that every young mom remembers while growing up. Moms, young and old, often turn to their own mothers (and extended family) for advice and now Kellogg's(R) is extending that community by bringing Latina moms together with Dias Grandiosos.

Kellogg's is taking a fresh approach to reaching and connecting with Hispanic families through stories about food, family and culture from real Latina moms. The digital age is inspiring moms to look for family advice online just as often as they do offline, and Kellogg's(R) is answering that call with Dias Grandiosos, a new digital platform featuring recipes, tips, articles, and original content designed for Latinas and their families. Dias Grandiosos is a unique online community that focuses on empowering and inspiring Hispanic women by bringing them joy and optimism to their everyday moments.

With 80 percent of Latinas using the internet to inform their purchases[1], moms are constantly looking for additional resources to help in the decision-making process. Whether it is a new breakfast recipe or advice on how to convince kids to eat healthier, Dias Grandiosos hosts a wealth of information, making it easy for families to get recipes, inspiration, and solutions to make today and everyday great. READ MORE

The University of California has offered freshman admission to more in-state Latino students than white students for the first time, a change that reflects the state’s shifting demographics.

Fall 2014 admissions data reported by the Los Angeles Times showed that 28.8 percent of California residents accepted to one of nine UC campuses were Latino, bumping white applicants as the second most accepted group and increasing Latino acceptances by nearly a thousand from the previous year. At 36.2 percent, Asian Americans still make up the largest ethnic group among accepted students.

The trend mirrors the group’s growth statewide, as Governor Jerry Brown’s latest budget summary forecasted Latinos would surpass whites as the state’s largest single ethnic group this spring. READ MORE

Why do some groups continue to cling to the American Dream in spite of the political polemics about people abandoning opportunities to better themselves because of the often touted income-distribution problem? This complex question can be answered in one word: faith.

A recent poll conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Virginia's Miller Center found that Hispanics in America, as a whole, have greater faith in their ability to achieve a better standard of living for themselves than whites and African Americans. READ MORE

People often have the perception that networking is only relevant to entrepreneurs who are looking to win new business. But I have long been of the opinion that whether you're a business owner, a middle manager, or an employee just starting your career, networking should be a big part of your professional life.

If you are serious about progressing your career then you need to be proactive. Scouring recruitment websites and job portals are a crucial part of job searches, but a significant percentage of vacancies aren't advertised. By connecting with the right people, you can find out about opportunities that you may otherwise have missed. READ MORE

Tough Latina women make up about eight percent of the U.S. population and their numbers are growing, they made up only two percent of the scientists and engineers working in those professions in 2010, according to a report from the National Science Foundation.

Luz Rivas, whose love of computers at an early age changed the course of her life, is determined to increase these numbers. She believes the interest and the confidence to get into technology and science has to start early. So after attending top schools and working in big companies, Rivas has gone back to her old working-class neighborhood of Pacoima in Los Angeles, California and set up an after-school program, DIY Girls. Its aim is to get more Hispanic young women into this career trayectory. READ MORE

La organización Gift of Hope se anotó otro éxito en la comunidad latina de Chicago al cumplir la meta de recaudar 24 “Becas por la Esperanza” para jóvenes latinos este pasado 13 de abril, 2014. El compromiso de Raiza Mendoza, Gerente de Asuntos Hispanos para la organización, llenó de moda y subió la temperatura de la ciudad de los vientos con las tendencias primavera/verano 2014 de la colección “Caracas” de Eva by Evelyn Swimwear. Presentes estuvieron representantes de algunas de las organizaciones comunitarias y educativas que recibieron estas becas gracias a los fondos recaudados por “A Summer Filled with Hope”. De izquierda a derecha enfrente: Kevin Cmunt, Presidente y CEO de Gift of Hope, Raiza Mendoza, Gerente de Asuntos Hispanos para Gift of Hope.

Gift of Hope scored a huge success with the Latino community by raising funds for 24 “Scholarships for Hope” in support of Latino education this past Sunday, April 13, 2014. The commitment of Gift of Hope and of Raiza Mendoza, Manager of Hispanic Affairs for Gift of Hope with Chicago’s Hispanic community shown brightly and heated things up at Sunday’s event which featured original Spring/Summer “Caracas” 2014 Swimwear collection by Eva by Evelyn Swimwear. The event was attended by various community and education organization representatives who were granted scholarship dollars raised at “A Summer Filled with Hope”. Photographed from left to right up front: Kevin Cmunt, President/CEO de Gift of Hope and Raiza Mendoza, Manager of Hispanic Affairs for Gift of Hope.

Cuban-American Barb Mayo describes a tanda like this: "It's like a no-interest loan with your friends." Mayo had never heard of tandas growing up, and it wasn't until she started working in sales for a cable company in Southern California that she was introduced to the concept.

"I worked with a bunch of Mexican women and they were like, 'Hey Barb do you want to do a tanda?' And I was like, 'What is a tanda?' — and they explained it to me."

Here's an example of how a tanda works: Ten friends, family or co-workers get together, and each agrees to give $100 every two weeks to the group's organizer. One person ends up with the whole pot at the end of the month: $2,000. This goes on for 10 months until everyone gets the pot. READ MORE

The beer is ready for dry hopping. Diego Benitez unscrews the bar clamps that keep a massive metal lid fastened to the top of one of his brewery's handmade fermenting vessels.

As he pries up the lid's rubber lip, breaking a pressure seal that for the last week has kept the fermenting brew isolated from the air outside, Benitez talks about his years growing up in Mexico City, the son of an Italian and a Spaniard who met there and started a window installation business; how he traveled to Europe to visit his relatives every summer and loved discovering new countries and cultures; how his parents made wine in their closet and how, after he came to the United States in 1999 to attend Caltech, he couldn't help but do the same. READ MORE

Are you discounting social media as a way to land a job? Or are you relying 100 percent on LinkedIn to help you create your digital footprint? If so, you’re making a mistake. Research shows employers benefit from using social media to attract candidates. The Society for Human Resource Management's 2013 survey, Social Networking Websites and Recruiting/Selection, found 77 percent of organizations use social networking sites to recruit potential job candidates.

They also found 69 percent of organizations use social networking tools to target and recruit candidates with specific skill sets, 67 percent use social networking to increase employer brand and recognition and 57 percent use it to allow potential candidates to easily contact their organization about employment. READ MORE

The least expensive yet most effective marketing method for building your business is networking. This is especially true if you do business locally.

Many business owners say they don’t like networking or say it’s not effective marketing. Usually, this is because they are unfamiliar with networking or their results timing expectations are unrealistic.
Even with reservations about the success of networking, most business owners will gain value from networking by following a few guidelines.

Following are 10 tips for ensuring networking success.

1. Choosing Networking Groups – Not all groups of people are the right fit. Choosing groups with the same interests or groups that are potential clients is best. There are many potential groups to choose from, such as: women’s and men’s organizations, various associations, Chambers of Commerce and special interest groups, to name a few. READ MORE

Landing a new job requires a lot more than just finding openings and applying to them.

To help job seekers get hired as quickly as possible, LinkedIn analyzed a group of more than 4,000 "super" job seekers, defined as LinkedIn members who viewed a job at a particular company and then joined that company within three months. The study examined what those successful job seekers were doing on LinkedIn during those three months of job hunting. Here are seven tips gleaned from the study:

Add new skills to your profile. Add relevant skills to your profile so recruiters looking for candidates with your background can find you. More than 90 percent of the people who found a job within three months had five or more skills listed on their profile. READ MORE

The success of a Hispanic marketing campaign relies on a series of controllable and uncontrollable factors that will determine the end result. However, there is one particular element that most marketing professionals underestimate all the time: strategic planning specifically for the Hispanic audience.

Most of the time, Hispanic marketing efforts are executed as a literal translation of a company’s Anglo marketing. They don’t take into consideration cultural nuances, brand perception or current market research on the diverse Hispanic segments.

Sometimes decisions are made based on personal opinions from Hispanic employees within an organization. Perhaps they listen to or read specific Hispanic media or know what media outlet offers the cheapest rate, yet they don’t have the proper understanding of the target audience reach. READ MORE

QUE: Gift of Hope, Red de Donantes de Órganos y Tejidos trae el verano a Chicago con su 2° evento anual A Summer Filled with Hope, para recaudar fondos en beneficio de Becas por la Esperanza. Por segundo año consecutivo Evelyn Amador, fundadora de Eva By Evelyn Swimwear comparte el compromiso de Gift of Hope de ser parte de todo lo bueno para la comunidad Latina, apoyando el futuro de nuestros estudiantes con becas universitarias.

“Nuestros estudiantes Latinos necesitan sentir el apoyo de su comunidad, y A Summer Filled with Hope nos da la oportunidad perfecta de unirnos para darles el ejemplo y demostrarles que ellos pueden lograr sus metas a través de esfuerzo, disciplina y dedicación, reforzando así nuestro futuro”, expresó Raiza Mendoza, Gerente de Asuntos Hispanos de Gift of Hope.

Para muchos jóvenes latinos, una educación al nivel universitaria parece inalcanzable, por razones financieras. Este año A Summer Filled with Hope se ha unido a la comunidad empresarial, artística y gastronómica de Chicago, quienes han demostrado su gran apoyo a Becas por la Esperanza y su compromiso al futuro de nuestra comunidad. Todos los fondos recaudados de la subasta serán destinados a Becas por la Esperanza.

CUANDO: Domingo, 13 de abril - 3:00pm-5:30pm

DONDE:    Society Art Gallery (2140 W. Fulton St. Chicago, IL 60612) – Estacionamiento gratis disponible en calles aledañas.

QUIEN:     Gift of Hope, Red de Donantes de Órganos y Tejidos

               Raiza Mendoza, Gerente de Asuntos Hispanos de Gift of Hope

                   Evelyn Amador, Fundadora y Diseñadora de Eva by Evelyn Swimwear

                   David Miranda, Maestro de Ceremonias, Univision Chicago

                   Nikole Suarez, Presentadora de Noticias, Hoy Mundo Fox

COSTO:    $35 por anticipado/$45 en la puerta. Boletos de venta en - http://goo.gl/lypFOC

RSVP:       Favor de confirmar su presencia vía correo electrónico a: sonia@sayhitopaco.com

                   Teléfono: 312-281-2164. Medios de comunicación requerirán pase de prensa.

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