12 April 2006

Hispanic-Owned Business Booming in the United States

Census figures show Hispanic firms growing three times faster than average

Signs point to Hispanic businesses at a mall in Chamblee, Georgia, March 21, 2006.

By Scott Miller
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States are growing three times faster than the national average for all firms and generating more than $200 billion in annual revenue, according to a new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The bureau's March 21 Survey of Business Owners: Hispanic-Owned Firms: 2002 indicated that the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States grew 31 percent between 1997 and 2002 to nearly 1.6 million.  Those firms generated about $222 billion in revenue in 2002 -- the most recent year for which data are available.

Three in 10 Hispanic-owned firms were engaged in construction and other services, and 44 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms were owned by people of Mexican origin, according to the Census Bureau's 2002 data.  The report also found that retail and wholesale trade accounted for 36 percent of Hispanic-owned business revenue and that there were 29,184 Hispanic owned firms with revenue of $1 million or more in 2002.

In an interview with the Washington File, Census official Roberto R. Ramirez said that the emergence of Hispanic-owned business mirrors the growth of the Hispanic population in the United States.

“The growth of Hispanic businesses corresponds closely with the growth of the Hispanic population which now stands at 41 million,” he said.  “So the emergence of the Hispanic businesses should not be surprising.”

Between July 2001 and July 2004, Ramirez noted, the U.S. Hispanic population grew by approximately 16 percent, more than three times faster than the overall population. 

ONE FIRM’S SUCCESS STORY

One Hispanic-owned business that reflects both the Hispanic business boom and the expanding Hispanic market is Latinvox, an advertising agency and business consultancy that helps clients find strategies for reaching Hispanic consumers.

Latinvox was founded in 2002 by Roberto Ramos and Susan Jaramillo.  Ramos was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States in 1988. Jaramillo was born in Venezuela and grew up in both the United States and the Andean nation.

The New York-based company’s first projects included work for MTV and Coca Cola during the height of the 2002 Latin music explosion in the United States.  The challenge, Ramos told the Washington File, was to find a message that would resonate with Hispanic youth.

As a result of their success in these and other efforts, Latinvox’s business has grown more than 100 percent in the last four years and the company has worked with additional clients including Regatta USA, Sesame Street and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The company also has added an office in California and is about to open an office in Miami.

The next step for Latinvox, Ramos said, is to help Latin American companies the U.S. Hispanic market as a springboard to reaching the U.S. market more broadly.

In an interview with the Washington File, Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington-based Council of the Americas, pointed out that the emergence of Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States should also have an impact on Latin American markets and enhance U.S. ties to Latin America. 

“As U.S. Hispanics further establish their business presence in this country, their success will filter back to their country of origin,” he said.  “This will strengthen the economic links between the U.S. Hispanic market and the rest of the hemisphere creating a strong entrepreneurial group and a wider base of intellectual capital in the Western Hemisphere."

The full text of the report (PDF, 631 pages) is available on the Census Bureau Web site.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)