Casa Brasil, a Brazilian restaurant in Pittsburgh, crowdfunded $90,450 to grow their restaurant with Honeycomb Credit
This Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to focus on the benefits that Latinx-owned businesses bring into our communities. They’re creating jobs, innovating exciting products, and creating welcoming third places in the neighborhoods they exist in.
So, how can we support Latinx entrepreneurs in their endeavours? Read on to learn more about why it’s important to invest in Latinx-owned businesses, and three easy ways you can support businesses in your community today.
Latinx-owned businesses are making more vibrant, financially-empowered communities every day
Which is why it’s necessary to support them while we can. Learn more about how you can support small businesses in your neighborhood by exploring live Honeycomb crowdfunding campaigns, and find out how you can become a small business investor with us!
Why it’s important to invest in Latinx-owned businesses
We explored in a recent blog post many different reasons why Latinx-owned businesses deserve our support.
Not only are Latinx-owned businesses pillars of their communities and keys to revitalization, they also are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States. Latinx entrepreneurs are also demographically young, meaning they’re also bringing long-standing vibrancy into their communities.
Furthermore, Latinx-owned businesses face many challenges, especially when it comes to accessing financing for their growth. They have low rates of approval from banks, through no fault of their own except that small business financing through banks is dwindling.
How to support and invest in Latinx-owned businesses
Now that you know it’s important to support Latinx-owned businesses, how can you do so? Here are some really easy ways you can become an ally to these businesses, through your dollars, your endorsement, and your investment!
These tips hold true for minority-owned businesses of all shades, including Black-owned businesses, LGBTQ+-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, and veteran-owned businesses.
Become a customer of a Latinx-owned Business
One of the easiest ways to support Latinx-owned businesses is to buy from them! Do a bit of research in your hometown and see if there are any businesses that you can support.
You can do this by doing a quick Google search, or you can find a directory for Latinx-owned businesses. There are local directories like this one by the PIttsburgh Hispanic Development Center or nationally focused ones such as Latin Businesses.
During Hispanic Heritage Month, you might want to see if there are any cultural events happening around your area. Maybe it’s a festival, a block party, or some other kind of event. Chances are that the host organization is also including some Latinx-owned small businesses as vendors or partners. This could be a great way of connecting with the culture and supporting Latinx-owned businesses at the same time!
Spread the word about Latinx-owned businesses
If you’ve found a Latinx-owned business that you really love, why not share it with the world? Word of mouth is so powerful to small businesses of all kinds, and Latinx-owned businesses can certainly benefit from it.
Post on your social media when you go out to eat at a Latinx-owned restaurant, tell your friends about the coffee shop, plant nursery, or whatever small business you found on one of those directories we told you about.
At Honeycomb, we like to talk about the small businesses we go to as much as the next person - check out this blog post on some of our team’s favorite Latinx-owned businesses across the country!
Invest in Latinx-owned businesses
Another way you can support Latinx-owned businesses in a way that also benefits you is by investing in them!
Remember how we were talking about the obstacles that Latinx entrepreneurs face in getting funding for their businesses? What if there was a way that you could help?
While you could invest in the more traditional sense, such as becoming an equity investor in a Latinx-owned business (which is pretty risky and usually requires that you have a great relationship with the business owner), a really simple way of investing in a Latinx-owned small business is by participating in a Honeycomb crowdfunding campaign!
Crowdfunding is a way of raising capital for a small business that allows business owners to take in small amounts of cash from many sources - such as their family, friends and capital. It’s a great way of getting funding, especially when traditional financing doesn’t work out.
However, some Latinx business owners might feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of crowdfunding, not wanting to ask for handouts from their community.
In a blog post, crowdfunding consultant Gerry Maravilla writes, “As a Mexican-American independent filmmaker coming from a working class background, crowdfunding initially made me feel incredibly vulnerable and went against my idea of what it meant to be successful.... I came to understand crowdfunding as a method of fundraising that places your community and audience first.”
Additionally, there are methods of crowdfunding that can allow the entrepreneur to give back just as much as they are raising money from their community. Loan crowdfunding platforms like Honeycomb Credit allow small business owners to pay back their investors plus interest. This allows them to contribute to building their communities’ wealth while also getting the capital they need to grow.
One of our most recent campaigns was with Tonic Coffee, a Latina-owned boutique coffee shop in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood owned by Stephanie Nicolaas. Stephanie raised $30,000 towards her storefront’s buildout thanks to the community of investors who invested in her!
You have the power to shape your communities by investing in Latinx-owned small businesses
So why not use your influence and vote with your wallet? Find out more about how regular people are supporting small businesses in their neighborhoods by investing in them with Honeycomb Credit.
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