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
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