Mentorship isn’t just a feel-good concept in the world of business — it’s a strategic advantage with measurable impact. Whether you’re starting your first venture or scaling an existing small business, connecting with experienced entrepreneurs can accelerate your progress, boost your resilience, and improve your odds of long-term success. Today, evidence from multiple studies and industry reports highlights why mentoring matters for entrepreneurs and the economy as a whole.
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South Florida—especially the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach corridor—has matured into a big-economy region with multiple “startup-speed” demand engines: record tourism, a logistics-and-trade flywheel, rapid population churn, and a globally connected, bilingual consumer base. If you’re looking for a place where you can validate ideas fast, sell across cultures, and scale through partnerships, Miami and its neighboring counties are unusually fertile.
Below is a practical, opportunity-focus
In today’s economy, relying on a single income stream is no longer the norm. Rising living costs, job uncertainty, and the growth of digital platforms have made side hustles one of the most practical ways to increase income, build skills, and create long-term financial security.
Entrepreneur recently highlighted dozens of ways people are earning extra money on the side, ranging from online freelancing to local services and digital products. The message is clear: side income is no longer optiona
Chicago’s Latino business community is one of the city’s most dynamic and rapidly growing economic forces. Latino entrepreneurs contribute significantly to local jobs, community vibrancy, and the broader economy — yet even as their influence expands, challenges around equity and proportional representation persist.
A Growing Business Landscape
Recent reporting highlights that there are more than 140,000 Latino-owned businesses across Chicago and the state of Illinois, generating a Latino GDP exc
In the U.S. economic landscape, Latino entrepreneurs stand out as one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing segments of business ownership. Fueled by resilience, innovation, and community impact, Latino-owned businesses are driving job creation, revenue growth, and new market development across the country. Yet despite this progress, persistent structural challenges—especially in access to capital and fair contracting—limit the full potential of these enterprises.
A Rapidly Growing Force in A
As Christmas approaches, storefronts along Main Street begin to glow with lights, window displays, and the unmistakable energy of the holiday season. Behind those windows are not faceless corporations, but neighbors, families, and entrepreneurs who power our local economy year-round. Choosing to shop local during the holidays is more than a seasonal trend—it’s a meaningful investment in the communities we call home.
The Heart of Our Communities Lives on Main Street
Local businesses are the ba
For many professionals, entrepreneurship represents freedom — the ability to control your schedule, create something meaningful, and build long-term wealth. But behind every success story are countless lessons learned through preparation, persistence, and planning. Whether you’re starting a small business, launching a side hustle, or transitioning from corporate life, taking the entrepreneurial route requires clear-eyed consideration of the risks, rewards, and realities.
1. Know Your “Why”
Befo
Yesterday, the U.S. Federal Reserve made a quiet but meaningful shift in policy. For the first time since December 2024, the Fed trimmed its benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, lowering the target range to 4.00%–4.25%. The move signals a new phase of monetary policy, one aimed at stabilizing a cooling labor market rather than fighting runaway inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that while inflation remains above the 2% target, the greater risk now is a slowdown
Hispanic American entrepreneurs have long played a pivotal role in shaping the U.S. economy, creating businesses that both serve their communities and drive national growth. From neighborhood barbershops and restaurants to multimillion-dollar enterprises, Hispanic entrepreneurship has been a story of creativity, determination, and cultural pride.
Historical Foundations and Trailblazers
The history of Hispanic entrepreneurship in the U.S. is filled with pioneers who overcame systemic barriers to
Latino entrepreneurs are one of the fastest-growing groups of business owners in the United States, yet they remain severely underfunded. Despite representing a large share of new business formation, Latino founders receive less than 2% of venture capital funding. Latina women are even more underrepresented, receiving less than 0.1%.
At the same time, Latino-owned businesses are growing faster than the national average. From 2019 to 2022, Latino businesses expanded at a median annual growth rat
Running a growing business is exciting, but it also comes with risks that could disrupt operations or lead to financial losses. Business insurance helps protect companies from unexpected events like accidents, lawsuits, or property damage, allowing them to focus on growth. We’ll explain why business insurance is essential for growing your company and highlight the types of coverage every company should consider. READ MORE AT CORN ON THE JOB
According to a December 2023 report from the U.S Chamber of Commerce, despite headwinds from high inflation and a tight labor market, small business confidence was up at year-end and remains steady after the first quarter of 2024.
And that is good news for business owners, including the more than 600,000 Hispanic small business owners in Florida. The Sunshine State ranks as the second highest in the number of Hispanic small business owners.. READ MORE AT YAHOO FINANCE
The fastest growing Hispanic food company in the country, based in Central Texas, is helping empower and support Latino communities across the U.S. This year, Siete Family Foods is awarding a total of $300,000 to Latino-owned food and beverage establishments across the country, marking its biggest distribution to date. READ MORE AT MYSANANTONIO
The holiday season is upon us and, amid the juggle of gatherings with family and friends, it’s always good to reach out to clients as well. Showing gratitude to your clients during the holidays is a great way to keep connections strong.
Many real estate leaders across the country express their appreciation through cards, gifts and events for their agents, clients, neighbors and communities. They spread joy through their gestures large and small and provide community support where they can.
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National Hispanic Heritage Month is annually celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture and the achievements of the United States. As the Hispanic population continues to grow in Florida, we take a look at how state, county and local communities are working to integrate and celebrate this growing population. VIEW VIDEO DISCUSSION AT SPECTRUM NEWS 13
As the U.S. population has become more diverse, so has ownership of the nation’s businesses. There were more Hispanic-owned businesses overall and more minority-owned businesses in various sectors in 2020 than a decade earlier, according to the Census Bureau’s 2021 Annual Business Survey (ABS).
The diversity of business owners mirrors the changing profile of the nation’s population. The 2020 Census found that the population of nearly all race and ethnicity groups in the United States had grown
Over the last decade and a half, Latinos have created companies faster than all other demographic groups in the U.S. These companies are younger and consequently smaller than the average business. However, when compared to white-owned businesses, they grow revenues and create jobs at faster rates for all Americans, not just Latinos. If U.S. Latinos were a country, it would be the fifth largest GDP in the world, growing faster than the U.S. economy. READ MORE AT STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSIN
“They’re very resilient. They wish for growth: they’re very ambitious, even in difficult times.” That’s Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga, associate director of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI) and lead author of SLEI’s latest State of Latino Entrepreneurship report.
According to SLEI, Latino business owners have for many years been outpacing their peers in terms of revenue and payroll growth. Annual growth rates in revenue and payroll were higher every year for Latino-owned business
Startups with a Latino founder received just 2.1% of the nation’s venture capital in 2021, according to LatinxVC, a nonprofit focused on increasing venture capital investment. Accelerators for Hispanic entrepreneurs can provide opportunities to connect with other business leaders, investors and industry experts. READ MORE AT TAMPA BAY TIMES
Even before Claire Risoli decided to open up her own restaurant, she knew she would call it Pocha. “Pocha was something that I was called growing up that I hated,” she said. “It means Americanized Mexican girl, and for me, it always made me feel like I wasn’t enough.”
Latinos like Risoli account for 52% of all new employer businesses, according to the 2022 Latino Donor Collaborative U.S. Latino GDP report. The study also measured U.S. Latinos’ contributions to the economy known as the gross dom
