The Arizona Hispanic Chamber has a new president and for the first time she’s a female --- taking over the reigns of the organization. Monica Villalobos has served as the VP of Marketing and operations at the Chamber --- but now she has a new vision for the organization. I had a chance to talk with her about her short term and long term goals and what’s the most exciting part of her new job.
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| NEW AZHCC PRESIDENT MONICA VILLALOBOS |
A NEW ERA AT THE CHAMBER
For Monica Villalobos, becoming President of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber isn’t about breaking barriers as a Hispanic woman. It’s about being the right person for the job. She told me that the AZHCC isn’t a political organization. They don’t take political stances. Their only goal is to help Hispanic businesses grow and provide them with the tools they need to thrive.
"Arizona is a small business state. 98 percent of jobs come from small business. So, we really need to help them scale and grow. Right now, we’re facing the perfect storm in Arizona. That’s about minority owned business making significantly less than non-minority owned businesses in average annual revenues. So the Arizona Hispanic Chamber is all about those minority owned businesses scaled through finding contracts, financing and job creation," said Villalobos.
When it comes to bridging that gap --- Villalobos says there’s a long way to go --- but strength in numbers is what will help.
" Right now Hispanic purchasing power in the state of Arizona is right around 50 billion dollars. So it’s significant, our small businesses are about 15 billion in annual revenue. But there’s a gap though in annual revenue. We know that minority owned businesses are making on average $110,000 in annual revenue and non-minority owned businesses are making about $500,000 in annual revenue. That gap accounts for 36 billion dollars in Arizona’s economy because they’re not scaling," said Villalobos.
AZHCC is helping businesses scale by connecting them with key stakeholders from across the state.
"We have an investment relationship with 76 of 90 the fortune 2,000 companies in the state. We are able to take those funds and put them back into small business and help them find those contracts. That’s really the biggest opportunity for Arizona --- is how do we match buyers and suppliers. For us, it’s how do we take those 76 corporate partners that have invested in the Chamber and connect them with those 500,000 small businesses in Arizona. We want to make sure that those businesses that want to get started, or those individuals that have an idea, or someone that has a home-based business and may not consider themselves an entrepreneur --- that we help them launch their businesses. We know that the fastest growing segment of businesses in Arizona are Latina owned businesses. They grew by 116 percent between 2007 and 2015. What we’re find is that these women are legitimizing their businesses. They may have had a business from home or done a service and they’re legitimizing that now --- and we’re helping them do that," said Villalobos.
RESOURCES FOR HISPANIC BUSINESSES
The Chamber recently partnered with the BBB and moved into their Ignite building. The facility offers networking spaces, access to the Chamber’s marketing and development staff and capital funding sources.
"We also operate the Minority Business DevelopmentAgency. This is a federal government office that’s housed here. We operate the only one in Arizona and they are one of the top performing centers," said Villalobos.
On September 20th the AZHCC will release their annual DATOS report. A sort of report card on the health, contributions and growth of the Hispanic market in Arizona. Villalobos says that’s always a big day.
"When you come in as a small business the first thing we do is asses your needs. Most people need connections. But we also offer market intelligence. Our DATOS institute products are known throughout the state to really provide marketing information so small business can make smart decisions. But it also helps our corporate partners. It helps them with their marketing strategy and advise them with responsible and reliable and relevant information on the market place," said Villalobos.
Despite the enormous work it takes to run the AZHCC, Villalobos says she’s excited for this next chapter.
"I’ve served with the Arizona Hispanic Chamber for 7 years. I have an affection for the organization. I believe in the mission and the work that we do. For me as an entrepreneur, as a business woman I am excited about representing those minority businesses that represent our state," said Villalobos.
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