Negocios Now

www.negociosnow.com NegociosNow when Latinas succeed, we all succeed Chicago United knows that As part of the Latinas in Business issue, Gloria Castillo, president of Chicago United, agreed to an excluisve interview with Negocios Now By Clemente Nicado Latina businesses are one of the fastest-growing minority business segments. What can Chicago United do to help fulfill their remarkable potential, and how does that benefit Chicago overall? Chicago United helps both corpo- rations and small businesses maxi- mize their resources and succeed, to the benefit of the entire Chicago eco- nomy. Latinas are, of course, a key resource. Chicago United helps busi- nesses of all sizes utilize and grow the talents of Latinas so they can reach their full potential and deve- lop into seasoned senior-level exe- cutives. That requires corporations to become culturally competent so that they un-derstand that each individual may approach leadership from a different perspective. Leaders today may look like me whereas that might not have been true 20 years ago. It's about changing corporate mind-sets as to how they view lea- dership; recognizing the varied skills and talents of leaders; and realizing how those skills and talents are ex- pressed within different cultures. The second part as it fits into our vision is obviously with entrepreneu- rial Latinas. Clearly Latinas are star- ting businesses at a very fast pace. The challenge is that many such busines- ses are essentially self-employment enterprises. They are not created Gloria Castillo is president of Chicago United, an advocacy organization that brings together diverse senior business leaders to advance multiracial leadership development to increase parity in economic opportunity for people of color in the Chicago area. Under her leadership, Chicago United has expanded its pro- grams, which include the annual Changing Color of Leadership Conference and Bridge Awards dinner, the Busi-ness Leaders of Color publication, and The Five Forward Initiative. Prior to joining Chicago United, she spent more than 20 years as president of promo-tional products firm Monarch Marketing Group. She has been recognized for her advocacy on behalf of minority- and women-owned enterprises. She has received the prestigious Minority Small Business Cham- pion of the Year award from the Small Business Administration June 2008 and was awarded the 2006 Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency. with the vision of launching a cor- poration with a business model that can be sustained over a long period of time and with a value proposition that is going to move them forward, help them grow, or allow them to become employers rather than just self-employed. So, the challenge is for these companies to think about scale. What is their business going to offer that is unique? How will they capi- talize on that? How can they build a business that will create jobs with good benefits and create wealth so that they become truly sustain-able businesses. The founders should also have an exit plan You can't be in busi- ness forever, you don't want to be 90-years-old and running the busi- ness, and so you're look-ing to create a business with its own unique value. If you choose to turn it over to your sons and daughters that's great, but if you want to sell it and move on, will it have its own intrinsic value? I think that's a new message for many His- panic entrepreneurs, who started out thinking about their business as small but then began to think really big. What is the most critical step toward helping Hispanics succeed in the greater business world? It means that attention must be paid to two different obstacles: the larger, societal issue, and the other is individual. The larger obstacle, the societal obstacle, is education. We are not attaining the levels of educa- tion as an entire population that we need to if we're going to succeed. We have to focus on ensuring that our students are not just finishing high school but that they are going on to an associate's degree, a four-year baccalaure-ate degree or a master's degree. We need to support our kids as a society because that is what will change the profile of wealth in the Latino community and breed suc- cess. Now, on an individual basis, if I'm looking for a job today, I'm looking for a corporation that clearly has a range of diversity in its senior leadership. Tangible confirmation of an opportunity for advancement demonstrates that they have a com- mitment to inclusion and that the commitment that they have is not that they have two of these and three of those — you know, counting heads. It's really about understan- ding that the way I approach a pro- blem, and that the way I understand the world, is going to bring value to the company. Individually, the ques- tion is: how do I utilize my talents and where do I fit in? You need to look for a place that welcomes your perspective, but then you've got to seize control of your own advance- ment whether through continuing education or assuring that you are well situated and thought of within the corporation. I think in that regard, sometimes the obstacles are Septiembre 2011 21 Brian Morowczynski inside the corporation, but someti- mes the obstacle is that we don't see how to leverage what we're doing so that other people recognize it. We may tend to put our noses to the grindstone, to work hard and hope other people notice us. Well, they won't, you've got to tell them: look I did this great stuff. Having had an exceptional relationship with both small and medium-sized minority busi-nesses and corporations in the past years, what do you think is the principal obstacle confronting Hispanics see- king to rise in the business world? Primarily, we have to achieve certain levels of educational attain- ment. If we do not achieve the levels of education that will be required for the jobs that will be available 20 years from now, we will be a drag on the economy. We will be the ones who require social services and support. We will not build the wealth and we will build a perma- nent underclass. It's up to us to deci- de. It's up to us to achieve. Chicago United is well-known for its different programs aimed at hel- ping minority companies, programs such as the annual Changing Color of Leadership Confer-ence and the Bridge Awards dinner and the Five Forward Initiative. How do these programs help the Hispanic busi- ness community? Corporations have a large pre- sence here in Chicago. Whether they have their head-quarters here or they have a large footprint here, they create economic vitality. It's the multiplier effect. If you give me $1 in salary, I'm going to pay my rent. I'm going to get my car fixed. I'm going to go to the drycleaners. I'm going to go to the local restaurant. All of this necessity creates economic acti- vity. Five Forward is all about saying to corpo-rations, 'Develop minority Go to page 22

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