| Chicago Calls on BIC to Help Small Business |
On February 16, 2010, the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) announced three initiatives to support small and Hispanic-owned businesses. One of the initiatives is the Chicago launch of the Hispanic BIC website. In addition to promoting HispanicBIC.org through the city’s web portal, the city will place a Hispanic BIC branded kiosk inside the BACP Business Assistance Center, giving entrepreneurs access to local business and financial resources and demographic data.
The announcement was made at a press conference attended by city officials, Hispanic business leaders, Western Union officials and Hispanic BIC Founder Sal Gomez. Norma Reyes, Chicago’s Commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, stated, "By leveraging partnerships with non-profit agencies and the private sector, we can strengthen our business communities to help them grow and prosper." The other initiatives in Chicago’s plan include free small business workshops and the Small Business Solution Station, a free one-on-one counseling program. See more details at BACP’s site or call Efrat Stein at 312-744-5365. The BIC is proud to partner with Chicago in providing free resources to Hispanic entrepreneurs to ensure their dream of a successful business. |
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| Phoenix Minority Business Forum Largest One Yet |
The BIC kicked off its 2101 Business Form series on 2/23/10 in Phoenix, Arizona. More than 125 small business owners, minority leaders, corporate and city leaders attended the event. Topics included search engine optimization, how to best seek funding, protecting your business assets and trends in federal procurement. We would like to thank our local partners, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Asociación Latina de Arizona and Mujeres Latina de Exito as well as our Founding Sponsor Western Union and our Platinum Sponsor State Farm for their support. We also thank our panelists, Yolie Aleman-Rodriguez, State Farm Agent; Lupe Gomez, Sonoran Bank; Lisa Urias, Urias Communications and Shivani Dubey of the Small Business Administration. |
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| Next Forum in Georgia! |
 The BIC Form Series goes South to conduct its next Business Forum in Atlanta. The Forum will be held on Thursday, April 8th from 3pm-7pm at the Latin American Association - Atlanta Center. For more information, please visit www.hispanicbic.org or www.blackbic.org. |
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| BIC Partners with State Farm Insurance |
The BIC is proud to welcome our new Platinum Sponsor, State Farm Insurance. State Farm will support the national series of Minority Business Forums and will provide much needed content on the websites’ “Getting Insurance “section. State Farm has a long history of cultivating agents from a representative variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, as well as developing a solid roster of minority suppliers. One of the leading companies in the business property and liability insurance field, State Farm also offers surety bonds, workers compensation, and even business loans through State Farm Bank. Latina Style magazine has repeatedly selected State Farm as one of the top “50 companies for Latinas to Work for”. Additionally, Hispanic Business Magazine has recognized State Farm as a leader in the Hispanic community by being named in their Diversity Elite 60 companies (2009, 2008) For more information please visit State Farm’s website. |
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| This Newsletter Brought to You by ... Coca-Cola™ |
Beginning with this March 2010 edition, the BIC is proud to present our new official newsletter sponsor, Coca-Cola™. It is an honor to be associated with such a well-respected brand that has built global recognition over the past 100-plus years and has been a true friend and partner to the Hispanic community. From the mystery of Classic Coke’s™ secret formula to its over 70 varieties of drinks, Coke™ is a true American icon and one of the leading companies in the world.
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| Comerica Bank Sponsors Local Hispanic Business Forum |
 We are pleased add Comerica Bank as one of our sponsors for our Minority Business Forums. Comerica Incorporated is a multi-faceted corporation with an abiding sense of community headquartered in Dallas, TX. Comerica is strategically aligned into three major business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. In 2009, DiversityInc ranked Comerica No. 30 on its 2009 Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. In addition, Comerica has been cited by DiversityInc for its commitment to supplier diversity, ranking No. 5, up from No. 6 in 2008, on its list of the Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity. For more information please visit Comerica Bank’s website. |
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| Meet Our Partners |
The National Black Business Information Clearinghouse (www.BlackBic.org), launched in January 2010, would like to thank its first network partners: The Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce and the Minority Business RoundTable (MBRT). The Hispanic BIC has also added new partners, the Georgia Hispanic Chamber, Central Washington Hispanic Chamber, Latina Chamber of Denver, Puerto Rican Chamber of Illinois, Cicero Area Project, Asociación Latina de Arizona, Mujeres Latina de Exito and the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber.
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| BIC Offices Moved |
The National Business Information Clearinghouse offices have moved. Please make a note of our current address: 1125 17th Street, Suite 2450, Denver, Colorado 80202. The telephone numbers remain the same. |
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BIC researchers added over 45 local business resources in the St. Louis, Missouri metro area in January. This 