Can Latino-Owned Businesses Find Common Cause Before The Election?

National Support Latino Business Day goes digital today. Why that’s a good thing

Since the pandemic arrived in the US — and people began to take the threat seriously — practically every kind of organization I work with has been forced or inspired to shift to a digital engagement strategy. businesses, NGOs, schools, government agencies, political organizations — all have been forced to consider the challenges and opportunities of virtual conferencing. 

One of the key limits: finding ways to make the digital experience engaging. Already we are seeing great innovation in this area, particularly in the world of live entertainment which needs to continue providing great experiences or perish. The main opportunity: to stretch behind the four ways of a convention hall and engage people who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to attend the event.

The Virtually Distributed LOB Ecosystem

I have experience informally advising producers of events — including the consortium of leaders and sponsors of National Latino Business Day (NLBD), which will be conducted live today via Facebook Live today — and there’s a growing consensus. While lacking in the tchotchke and free tequila department (I’ve had one too many at similar gatherings), virtual events can be far better designed to engage the virtually distributed LOB ecosystem. 

And what is the LOB ecosystem? According to today’s press release, NLBD has recruited a diverse group of partners supporting LOBs including city mayors, “local chambers, The Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program, Small Business Majority, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Amplify Latinx, MXDC, We Are All Human, Momento Latino, Latino Business Action Network, Friends of the American Latino Museum, and others, along with support from partner agencies Captura Group and Team Friday.” Some of these organizations are national in presence. Others are local. Together, they have the clout to represent, support, and advocate for collective LOB interests throughout the US at practically every level.

Common problem before common cause

“The long-term goal for National Latino Business Day is the general recognition of their contribution to the American economy. In the short term, however, they can jumpstart the process by helping to get out the vote in November.”

In the headline, I hinted about a common cause for LOBs. I believe that digitally engaging the ecosystem can help. But, as I have noted at many storytelling workshops, in order to find a common pause there needs to be a common problem. NLBD sums up the problem this way: “While Latinos are the fastest growing group of small business owners, our community has also been hit disproportionately by COVID-19. According to the Washington Post, there has been a 32 percent decrease of Latino entrepreneurs from February to April... and nearly two-thirds reported they will be out of business in six months.” 

One of NLPD’s partners, Mark Madrid — CEO of the Latino Business Action Network, which, in a research and education collaboration with Stanford  University supports The Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship — views the problem through a wider lens. In annual reports, LBAN has documented the seemingly unstoppable growth of LOBs, tempered by the challenges LOBs face in “scaling” (growing) their businesses. In 2018, as I reported here, LBAN projected a 1.47 trillion opportunity gap that supporters of LBOs might join together to close.  But with the expansion of the virtually distributed LOB ecosystem, and NLPD, Madrid remains optimistic.

“This is our collective opportunity to show fellow Americans, through actions—and not just words—just how much we appreciate our Hispanic business owners across our 50 states and Puerto Rico,” says Madrid. “And when we do, juntos, our actions on September 14th, will send a message loud and clear to our Latinx entrepreneurs, many of whom are fighting for their business lives. The message is, 'we are with you'.”

And in Madrid’s eyes, that’s the common cause, the resolution to the conflict in the increasingly relevant LOB which is a story not just about equity but about economic power. And political power. The timing of today’s event — just one day before the launch of Hispanic Heritage Month — is fortuitous. It comes at a time when Latinos are more ready to flex their muscles to influence the outcome of elections at the national, state, and local levels. Puerto Ricans in Florida, for example, might be the one remaining group to determine the presidency. The long-term goal for NLPD is the general recognition of their contribution to the American economy. In the short term, however, they can jumpstart the process by helping to get out the vote in November.