There are over 160 Latino owned businesses in the Greater Lansing Area including about 35 Mexican restaurants. The purpose of the organization is to create conversation about the business owners needs and perhaps identify resources that are available to businesses themselves. The hope is to not only identify those Latino owned businesses but to recognize them in a way that promotes them to the community.
One of the ideas that came up was that when a business opened, why not celebrate with a Grand Opening? Not only invite the community, but also other business owners.
That being said, next September, the Northside Barber Shop will be celebrating 15 years in business. So perhaps we could plan an Open House celebrating the Anniversary? Once again, invite the community, but supporting other businesses not only helps them, but also can be reciprocated from amongst the group.
Make no mistake, there is no budget as say a Business Association might have. But, word of mouth and social media gives us all a chance to help spread the word making the general public aware of new and existing businesses.
Bottom line is that we need a Business Association to not only promote our businesses but to also bring resources and even strategies into running our businesses. At this point, Cafecito Caliente will take the lead and run it under our umbrella with the goal of eventually spinning it off into its own entity. The framework is still being worked on and no membership fees will be collected until it can be run outside of Cafecito Caliente. For more information please contact Sein Paul Benavides at seinpaul65@gmail.com
