{"id":2657,"date":"2015-02-09T00:30:41","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T00:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/166.62.41.2\/~holaamericanews\/2015\/02\/09\/everyone-can-be-an-entrepreneur-and-more-lessons-learned-at-the-mini-immigrant-entrepreneurs-summit\/"},"modified":"2015-02-09T00:30:41","modified_gmt":"2015-02-09T00:30:41","slug":"everyone-can-be-an-entrepreneur-and-more-lessons-learned-at-the-mini-immigrant-entrepreneurs-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/everyone-can-be-an-entrepreneur-and-more-lessons-learned-at-the-mini-immigrant-entrepreneurs-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cEveryone can be an entrepreneur,\u201d and more lessons learned at the mini Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cTodo concepto comienza con un sue\u00f1o.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Every (business) concept starts with a dream.<\/span><\/p>

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\n

That was the message from Victor Oyervides, a Latino community liaison for ISU extension and outreach and the director of the West Liberty Chamber of commerce, when he addressed the audience at the Mini Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit (IES) in Cedar Rapids Tuesday January 20. He proceeded to lay out a step-by-step guide to help make the dream a reality.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cMy passion is to simplify entrepreneurship for immigrants. My passion is to help immigrants succeed in any area,\u201d Oyervides said.<\/p>\n

The IES has produced a day-long event in Central Iowa since 2008, and recently expanded across the state with the half-day mini summits. The Cedar Rapids session also included a speech from Chad Simmons, executive director of Diversity Focus and IES\u2019 2014 immigrant champion, and a workshop on financial statements from Ying Sa, founder of the IES and Community CPA.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness is a learned skill. It\u2019s not anybody\u2019s smarter than any other, it\u2019s knowing how to move through the system,\u201d Sa said. \u201cEveryone can be an entrepreneur \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter where you come from or what you\u2019re doing today.\u201d<\/p>

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Simmons, who has been involved with initiatives like the TEAM Centered Workplace concept, spoke on the importance of welcoming diverse populations to Iowa and making our communities feel like home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the American dream \u2013 so you can build something not only for you, not only for your family, but for your community,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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For immigrants who have that dream, often the biggest challenge can be knowing where to start.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve talked about capital and other things \u2013 but these are issues everyone faces,\u201d Oyervides said. \u201cThe biggest issue I see is, how do they educate, how do they empower themselves, how do they equip.\u201d<\/p>

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Traditional resources might not always work for immigrant entrepreneurs, he said. For example, he cited a study from the SBA that found that Latino founders used smaller amounts of startup capital than other founders, which might mean they are operating smaller-scale businesses. He also noted that many programs dedicated to helping minorities and immigrants tend to be grant-funded, and may only last for a few years without long-term leadership.<\/p>\n

Then, there is the language barrier. As Oyervides reacted to the audience, he started giving more and more of his presentation in Spanish.<\/p>\n

His advice to the business community is to invite and mentor immigrant entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be a mentor to an immigrant will have a big impact \u2013 like an explosion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republished with permission \u00a9 2015 Iowa SourceMedia Group, Cedar Rapids, Iowa<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah Binder Courtesy of WeCreateHere.net<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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