Fremont auto repair shop noted as key example ---

Small businesses are key to economic recovery, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which has recently strengthened its focus on Hispanic-owned businesses in the Bay Area and nationally. A new report by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy finds that small businesses employ 55 million workers nationwide, nearly half – 49.1 percent – of the private-sector labor force. In total, the country’s 27.8 million small businesses now represent 99.7 percent of all employers in the United States.

 
Hispanic Business magazine has calculated that, “Hispanic companies in the U.S. combined for a total revenue of $37.8 billion in 2011.”

“We know that Hispanic businesses and consumers are now one of the great engines driving the nation’s economy,” said Elizabeth Echols, SBA Regional Administrator, whose office is located in San Francisco. Echols’ comment was part of a speech she gave at a recent event of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Alameda County.

In the Bay Area, the SBA has begun marketing its services more aggressively to Hispanic-owned small business owners and entrepreneurs.

“Our regional outreach will emphasize underserved markets, youth entrepreneurship and emerging industry sectors like environmental business and energy conservation,” said Echols, who summed up the SBA’s mission: ‘Ensuring that more small business owners and entrepreneurs have the access and opportunity they need to turn great business ideas into viable and successful businesses.’

She shared a current success story of a Hispanic small business that the SBA has worked with in the East Bay.

“David Guttierez and his wife Ylma didn’t know they would be opening their Maaco Auto Body and Paint Collision Center franchise – located in South Grimmer Blvd in Fremont - at the beginning of a recession, but they have persevered and have succeeded in growing every year since they opened in 2008.  They now have nine employees and 2012 was their best year to date -- eclipsing $1 million in gross revenue.

David has been able to take his life-long passion for cars and auto industry knowledge, coupled with the help of the SBA to become a successful, award-winning Hispanic business owner.

During the company’s early stages, SBA guaranteed a 7(a) working capital loan. These funds helped him to manage his inventory and cash flow. In addition to capital, David and Ylma have benefited from the counseling provided by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center.

This is what local economic development in Alameda County is all about and we are proud to be a partner in this process.”

Since 2009, SBA has supported more than 12,000 loans worth $4.4 billion to Hispanic-owned small businesses, with nearly $1 billion in lending in 2012 alone. Over the same period, SBA has trained and counseled more than 532,000 Hispanic-owned small businesses through its network of district and field offices, and resource partner network, including Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers and SCORE. SBA also has helped Hispanic-owned businesses secure $32.7 billion of prime contracts from the federal government, providing a major revenue base.

SBA approved more than $45 million in lending to Hispanic-owned small businesses in the San Francisco District in its most recent fiscal year.