Our Latino Business Ecosystem in 2020

By Angela Garcia Director of Business Development

Early in 2020 we at Compañía were facilitating many discussions around our city about how Latinos have become the fastest growing small business owners across the U.S., and how Chattanooga, in the last 10 years, has experienced this phenomenon.

For foreign professionals, continuing their careers when relocating is sometimes not a viable option so entering the entrepreneurial path is the only other way to go.

Latinos are oriented towards starting businesses and are doing it at a significant rate. If we examine the different economic areas in our city we can easily identify where these businesses are growing.

A recent study from Stanford University shows that over the past 10 years, the number of Latino business owners grew 34%, compared to 1% for all business owners in the United States.

The growing success of Latino small business owners comes as Latinos are increasingly becoming an economic force in the U.S. The same Stanford study from early 2020 found Latino-owned businesses contributed about $500 billion to the economy in annual sales and employed more than 3 million people.

When the coronavirus hit, small business owners were forced to navigate new territory and make difficult decisions – fully moving operations online, reducing staff or quickly creating new revenue streams.

Were these businesses ready to face this situation and make a realistic transition?

Navigating a new normality with limited resources drove Latino entrepreneurs to be among most small business owners directly impacted by the economic fallout from COVID-19.