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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2000)
October 4, 2000 Page CU - N¿itiöHili Minority Business Week- (Ctye sportiani» ©beeruer All Sides Gain When Minority Entrepreneurs Open Inner-City Franchises (ANS) - While businesses tend to avoid low-income ur ban neighborhoods in favor of more affluent m arkets, the densely populated inner city is actually a profitable place to set up shop. This is the case being made by a Chicago initiative that sees such underserved neighbor hoods as an untapped market, and aims to revitalize urban com m unities by linking up franchisers with minority entre preneurs in low-income and working-class neighborhoods. So far, Connections for Com m unity O w nership, a jo in t project of the Center for Neigh borhood Technology, Chicago United and the Hispanic Hous ing Development Corp., has signed up six franchise compa nies and 12 entrepreneur candi dates. “We are trying to address the idea of neighborhood mar ketplaces so people don’t have to travel out o f the city to shop,” said Marshia Jackson, real estate development officer for Connections for Community Ownership. The project has a number of goals, said Jackson. First is to offer new entrepreneurs help with investing their start-up businesses through a $2 mil lion subordinated loan fund, and to increase minority business ownership and retail services in underserved neighborhoods. Another goal is to locate these businesses in clusters near public transportation to improve accessibility and re duce a reliance on cars. “The goals are environm ental as well,” Jackson said. According to Jackson, it’s a myth that the best place to loj cate a business is in wealthy suburban shopping malls. “That looks like the place to be, su- Las+ Chance Summer Cleanup Carpel & (Jlphoslery cleaning Martin Cleaning Service ft $ Carpet cleaning: I Hall Free and Pre-Spray Traffic Area • Vacuum $5.00 each area • Stairs $1.50 Ea. Upholstery Cleaning • Sofa under 6 ft. $69.00 * Ottoman $20 . Sofa over 6 ft. $79.00 - $99.00 * Dining Chair $20 • Loveseat $49.00 * Chair $24.00 • Recliner $29.00-$49.00 •Sectional $69.00-$ 119.00 Additional Services Auto * Boat R. V. 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One study found spending power per acre in one upper- m iddle-class C hi cago neighborhood was $193,000, com pared with an inner- city neighborhood at $518,000 per acre, Jackson said. The organization has signed up six franchise com pa nies so far: Kid to Kid, a quality con signment shop with children’s clothes and gear; Fantastic Sam’s, a beauty sa lon; Gold C oast Dog, a gourmet hot d o g /h a m b u rg e r fast-food re s ta u rant; PostNet Inter national, a mailing, copying and small- business services; PartyLand, a party supply store, and Cottman Transmission, an auto repair shop. “These are fran chises that have typically worked in suburban markets,” Jackson said. “They have not been tried in urban markets. These compa nies have stepped outside the box a little bit.” Twelve people have qualified for the chance of getting a loan said, adding that she hopes to have one of the candidates with a loan in hand by the end of the year. By next year, Jackson hopes to have a pool of 20 to 25 franchise companies that candidates can choose from “And we would like to be opening two businesses a month,” she said. for a franchise, so far. There have not been more candidates be cause of the up-front cash re quired to qualify for the loan. To qualify, franchise candidates must put up 10 percent of their own money - as high as $ 10,000 to $30,000 in cash. “That has limited our pool of possible entrepreneurs," Jackson B illy R eed ’ s R estmjrawt t B ar ) II» ) M fcT THE STAKVAHV W ltv $ 2 3 ,0 0 0 tow ards school fo r p a rt-tim e em ployees FORTUNE voted UPS one of the 50 Best Companies for Asians, Blacks & Hispanics. FORBES hailed UPS "Company of the Year." UNITED UZAY recognized UPS as the world s largest contributor. BLACK ENTERPRISES named Cal Darden, Senior Vice President of West Coast Operations, one of the Top 50 Blacks in Corporate America. 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