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SALT LAKE CITY — A nonprofit that helps develop primarily Spanish-speaking Utah businesses is offering $5,000 to their clients with the best idea for entrepreneurial development.
Suazo Business Center is celebrating its 15th year helping low- to moderate-income families — primarily ethnic minorities — grow their businesses by offering an extra boost.
"The $5,000 is going straight to just a small business," said Silvia Castro, executive director of the Suazo Business Center. "It could be used for anything related to that business. … Something that will help them grow."
For the majority of the people they help, Castro said, Suazo Center clients are small businesses, owned by Hispanic families. Some have traveled from South and Central America — immigrants and refugees that may not understand some of the intricacies of starting a business in the U.S.
"We have seen everything," she said. "We have had people from Venezuela, because of the unrest going on there. We have seen (people from) Mexico because it's the majority country, when it comes to Latinos here."
Castro said they have also helped refugees from Somalia hoping to start a business in Utah. However, their services are not just limited to immigrants or Spanish speakers.
"We help people open up, but also stay in business," Castro said. "But what we like to see is that they stay in business. Everybody would like to open up a business, but the hard part is staying in business."
The Suazo Center, between 2012 and 2017, helped start 1,005 companies, according to numbers provided by the nonprofit. During that six-year period, the Suazo Center said 1,645 jobs were created by the companies advised.
On average, the nonprofit reports advising 168 companies a year. Cumulatively, the companies they help grow earn about $6.1 million on average, according to the Suazo Center's numbers.
"Everybody would like to open up a business, but the hard part is staying in business." — Silvia Castro, Suazo Business Center
"We have two tracks, we have the start-up track and we have the growth track," Castro said.
Each are six-month long courses, usually held at night, covering business planning, marketing, financial statements and other lessons.
"Now, with the kids coming in, we're seeing a lot more online technology," Castro said. "They want to talk about apps — there's a lot more social media marketing."
After a $50 registration fee, the program costs $80 per month for six months. However, once a business owner completes the course, they will receive $350 back, Castro said.
"So this ends up being $180 for six months," she said.
Five business professionals teach the courses at the Suazo Center, Castro said. The Suazo Center, at 960 W. 1700 South in Salt Lake City, offers classes and workshops primarily in Spanish, but they are expanding their English offerings.
"We're getting a lot more Latinos who don't speak Spanish," she said. "The second generation, they may understand it but they're used to learning in English."
The Suazo Center earns its name from the late Utah lawmaker Pete Suazo. The late U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah provided "support" to the center, which opened their doors publicly in 2003.
The nonprofit is accepting submissions for the entrepreneurship challenge until Aug. 15, available to past or current clients that have been in business for at least a year.
