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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2004)
September 29. 2004 JJnrtlanb (Observer M E D W eek Page B9 Spotlight on Emerging Local Entrepreneurs continued from H7 ing the property and negotiating transaction details for C & M M otors’ purchase and renova tion o f a location on N ortheast M artin L uther King Boulevard for use as a vehicle repair shop. “ W e very m uch value our partnership with the Hispanic C ham ber in assisting these com panies,” said PDC Executive D irector Don M azziotti. “It is a partnership we w ould like to replicate w ith other m inority C ham bers in the city.” “W ithout the Portland D evel opm ent C o m m issio n ’s a ssis tance, we w ould not be able to be in b usiness and grow as quickly as we have,” said Erik E sparza, ow ner o f LanPaciftc. “T he staff and program s have m ade our small business dream a reality.” Finance tools used to assist the com panies included E co nom ic D evelopm ent Finance and Real Estate loans; the Q ual ity Jobs Program ; Econom ic Opportunity Fund and deferment loan program s. C ascadia R e volving Fund also provided a I i mited am ount o f funds for E xo dus Spa transaction. B usiness Finance loans are deployed to assist both start-up and existing businesses. D e pending on the types o f loan products, funds support expan sion. acquisition and rehabilita tion o f com m ercial buildings, tenant im provem ents, w orking c a p ita l an d e q u ip m e n t p u r ch ases. T he Q uality Jobs Program and Economic Opportunity Fund are program s designed to stim u late investm ent and jo b grow th in urban renew al areas. Loan program s are designed to assist new and existing small businesses, cityw ide. The pri mary objective is to provide fi nancing to bridge the gap be tw een project cost and private financing. Additional objectives o f the program are to assist in the creation o f w ealth within the econom ically distressed co m m unities, increase credit-w or thiness o f m arginal clients so they can attain private sector financing and increase m inority and w om en ow nership o f busi nesses. P D C ’sdeferred loan program is designed to assist sm all busi nesses to encourage jo b grow th in business start-ups and expan sions, to revitalize neighborhoods and to build com m unity wealth piioto by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver Exodus Spa Owner Esmeralda Caldera (center) chats about services her b u sin e ss provides with clients Lene Johnson (left) and Angelia Warren. The sp a expanded with financial help from the Portland D evelopm ent C om m ission and technical a ssista n c e from the Metropolitan Hispanic Chamber o f Commerce. w ithin urban renew al areas. M ore inform ation is available online at w w w .pdc.us/business o rb y calling 503-823-3321. W HAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESSFUL? W c would not ask i f we did not have th e solution. Minority Relations Evaluated Automakers’ challenged on business opportunities (A P ) — T h e R ev. Je sse Jack so n ’s civil rights organiza tion will spend the next few m onths scrutinizing U.S. auto m anufacturers' relations with minorities, who Jackson and oth ers say are being left out o f lucrative business opportunities. Jackson said his Rainbow / PU SH A utom otive Project will conduct an extensive review o f policies and practices at 18 com panies that make cars and trucks in the U nited States, including D etro it’s Big T hree and the top Japanese m anufacturers. The group will exam ine things such as the num ber o f minority em ployees and dealers and how m uch the com panies spend with m inority-ow ned parts suppliers and advertisers. T he results are expected to be released in Janu ary. “O ne o f our challenges is to get the im ports to play by the sam e rules as the hom egrow n c o m p a n ie s ,” J a c k s o n sa id . “They w ant to m arket tow ard the black A m erican, but their boards are in their native lands. ... W e’ve bought shares o f stock in these corporations with the express purpose o f having ac cess to shareholder m eetings and to take our case to that level.” C om panies such as T oyota M otor Corp, and H onda M otor C o ., J a p a n ’s tw o la r g e s t autom akers, build a variety of new vehicles in the United States and count on the U.S. market for a large part o f their profits. Official sa t Toyota and Honda said their com panies are co m m itted todi versity and inclusion and to m eeting targets set in those areas. Bu, Jackson and others say the foreign “tran sp lan ts” lag G eneral M otors C orp.. Ford M otorC o. and D aintlerChrysler A G 'sC h ry slerG ro u p in provid ing jo b s, contracts and dealer- ship o p tio n s to m inorities. T o y o ta spokesm an X avier D om inicis said the num ber o f ethnic m inority em ployees at T o y o ta 's U .S. o p eratio n has risen 26 percent since 2000. from 30 in 1998 to 51. S pokesw om en at G M and Ford, the nation’s tw o largest autom akers, said their percent a g e s o f m in o r ity - o w n e d dealerships are roughly 6 per cent and 6.7 percent, respec tively. W illiam F. Pickard, chairm an and ch ief executive o f Detroit- based G lobal A utom otive A lli ance LLC, a m inority supplier that had about $300 m illion in sales last year, said 90 percent Rev. J e s s e Jackson Sr. o f his business com es from the Roughly one-fifth o f the U.S. Big Three. m anagem ent team is an ethnic “ I’m not bashing the trans m inority, he said. plants," he said. “1 w ould love to O f the 1,400 T o y o ta and do more business with Honda L exus dealers in the U nited and T oyota — and wilI do it one States, 5.7 percent are ow ned day — but we are w here we by an ethnic minority, Dominicis a r e .... T h a t’s a plea to tell your said, noting that the autom aker barber, yourdoctor, your m inis was on track to meet a goal o f ter and your friends and col establishing a m inim um o f 50 leagues that they should buy new minority-owned dealerships cars and trucks from those com by 2011. panies that afford us business At H onda, the percentage o f opportunity.” Jackson and the m in o r ity - o w n e d d e a le r s is N ational A ssociation o f M inor slightly low er — 4 percent — ity A utom obile D ealers have but spokesm an Jeffrey Smith said th e y 'd like to see at least 15 said the num ber o f m inority- continued on page M 2 ow ned dealerships has grow n City o f Portland and M ultnom ah County offer program s and opportunities to assist M /W /ESB firm s m eet their business goals in various program s: MWESB Program Technical Assistance Program Sheltered Market Program Workforce Hiring and Training Program Learn m ore about the various program s by contacting: ,4? City of Portland Bureau of Purchases ■ Teresa Bliven or Loretta Young, 503-823-6855 www.portlandonline/omf/purchasing Multnomah County MWESB Program ■ Lisa W illiam s, M W ESB O utreach Specialist, 503-988-5111 X22596 www.multcopurch.org MINORITY ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT WEEK MINORITY BUSINESS: The «»A Join us at the 2004 Business Opportunity Fair! If you are a small business from Oregon or SW Washington wanting to pursue business opportunities with large organizations in our region, this event is one that you should attend! Oct. 1,2004 I Oregon Convention Center 8 a .m .-4 p.m. For more information and to register online: www.oregon.feb.gov/mboc Attend the awards luncheon showcasing outstanding minority owned businesses in Oregon and Southwest Washington. This year's keynote speaker is Bob Garcia, Economic Development Director of the Confederated Tribes o, Coos, lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. Thank you to our sponsors SPONSORS SAFEWAY © l+ ■*!’*•••«<• r<M> «»*• & L iL * <AISM PfRMANFNTF hoMedby M B O C E ?/!
