Latino business group launches in Ogden; Latina entrepreneurs complete training
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- Participants in a program geared to Latina entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs attend a graduation ceremony in Ogden on Thursday, June 15, 2023. The Suazo Business Center of Ogden helped organize the DreamBuilders program.
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- Juan Pascua, left, executive director of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Mitchel Garsz-Garcia, Northern Utah director of the group, photographed on Thursday, June 15, 2023. They were at a relaunch of the group held at El Paisa Grill in Ogden.
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- Participants in a program geared to Latina entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs attend a graduation ceremony in Ogden on Thursday, June 15, 2023. The Suazo Business Center of Ogden helped organize the DreamBuilders program.
OGDEN — A statewide organization formed to help Latino business operators is reestablishing itself in Northern Utah after a hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reps from the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce held a reopening ceremony on Thursday in Ogden, aiming to get the word out that the organization is back. Moreover, the Hispanic chamber has absorbed Utah’s American Latino Chamber of Commerce — another organization meant to help the Latino business community — which boosters hope will augment synergies.
“Literally, we’re going to be able to help out so much better,” said Mitchel Garsz-Garcia, Northern Utah director of the Hispanic chamber. He had helped lead the American Latino chamber before the merger and together the two joined groups have a database of 40,000 entrepreneurs.
About two months ago, the revamped organization launched in Salt Lake City and Garsz-Garcia said plans are afoot to open a branch in Provo. “We’re not going to stop there, we’re going to keep on going,” he said.
Separately, the Suazo Business Center in Ogden held a ceremony this week to honor 16 entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs who completed a new training initiative geared to Latinas, the DreamBuilders program. Suazo and the Hispanic chamber, though both geared to Latino entrepreneurs, are distinct organizations and their activities were organized and held separately.
“I’m very proud of everyone,” said Flor Lopez, outreach coordinator at Suazo’s Ogden office, which helped organize the DreamBuilders training program here. Three of the 16 women already have businesses they’re getting off the ground while the other 13 have business plans they’re putting together.
Suazo President and Chief Executive Officer Silvia Castro said the program aims to showcase Latina entrepreneurs. “Latinas are the fastest-growing single demographic in the country in terms of small business development and economic empowerment. In Utah, this needs to be celebrated and we are proud to lead our community on this front,” she said.
Ogden’s population is about a third Latino, figuring in the initiatives geared to Latino entrepreneurs. Indeed, Juan Pascua, executive director of the Hispanic chamber, said the group’s main goal is to help Latino business operators, help others wanting to start businesses and connect Latino business operators with the broader business community.
Statewide, he estimates there are 25,000 Latino-owned businesses, big and small, while Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce numbers indicate more potential as time passes. “Almost one in five Utah students are Latino, according to state education data, making them the second-largest demographic group after white students,” reads a chamber informational sheet.
Chuck Leonhardt, president of the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, was on hand for Thursday’s relaunch here of the Hispanic chamber, held at El Paisa Grill. The Hispanic chamber first launched in 1991 but scaled back operations during the COVID-19 pandemic before the relaunch.
“Any sort of support we can get for businesses of Weber County is good,” Leonhardt said. “I’m really glad they’re here to help build that community. It’s a great partnership. We love that they’re here.”
Garsz-Garcia noted that most businesses opened by minorities ultimately fail and the chamber aims to counter the trend. The Ogden office is housed for now at Weber State University’s Community Education Center at 2605 Monroe Blvd., he said. Educational offerings focused on various facets of running a business will be a central offering.
“We are here to help them in every step of the way,” Garsz-Garcia said, singling out people “who have a great idea and need a little help.”
NAIL SALON, BAKERY, FOOD TRUCK
As for the Suazo event, Lopez said the participants in the 10-week DreamBuilders progam, offered for free in partnership with the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, came from a geographic area ranging from Ogden north to Logan. Officials from Suazo — headquartered in Salt Lake City and operating in Ogden out of 2036 Lincoln Ave., room 105 — hope to repeat the program.
Program topics ranged from registering a business and getting the proper permits to marketing, accounting and managing employees. Three of the 16 participants have businesses — a nail salon, a bakery, a food truck — while the others are in varied stages of launching.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Suazo Business Center are distinct organizations and their events were held separately. Comments from Silvia Castro, who heads Suazo, were also added.
