By Michael L. Barrera,
USHCC President & CEO

With the holidays behind us, Hispanic business owners can once again redirect their attention to the state of economic growth for the small business owner. Thankfully, the forecast for small business is strong, and with that, job creation for the U.S. will remain steady.
As we ended 2007, we did so cringing to headlines about the subprime mortgage crisis and the looming credit crunch. The good news is the Federal Reserve Board and financial analysts agree that it will not get any harder for small businesses to get loans. The positive outlook for both jobs and capital spending are partly related to the unprecedented care small businesses have shown in their spending plans. As a result, the financial analysts estimate a growth of 200,000 jobs per month or more, pushing the jobless rate to the 4- to 4.5-percent range. The economy will also benefit from the increase in the number of Hispanic-owned businesses to an estimated 2.7 million, generating more than $388 billion in annual revenue. The reality is, however, that an estimated 541,000 firms will go out of business this year, and more than 94 percent of those companies will have 20 workers or less. This number is quite startling when we realize that small and disadvantaged businesses create 60 to 80 percent of new U.S. jobs annually, and are also responsible for the majority of job losses each year. Before the holidays, we called the 2008 presidential candidates to task on their lack of attention to small business needs. In comparison, presidential front-runners in 2004 courted small-business owners through targeted campaigns in battleground and swing states. Business-focused agenda items in the last presidential election included less regulation, tax relief, lower healthcare costs, and litigation reform. As the fastest growing business segment in the country, Hispanic business owners are a large indicator to the economic stability of the U.S. Quite bluntly, if the Hispanic small business community falters, the small business community overall is weakened. If the overall small business community fails, the U.S. economy fails.
Through 2008, we will continue to meet with key business influencers and presidential candidates to ensure that the Hispanic business agenda is addressed. We also will continue to remind them that Hispanics in the U.S. are opening businesses at a rate that is three times as fast as the national average. The 2008 presidential candidates cannot continue to ignore small business, particularly the Hispanic business community. As an organization that understands and represents the interests and concerns of Hispanic-owned businesses, USHCC is committed to continued work with the 2008 presidential candidates and Corporate America. As a major generator of jobs, the Hispanic small business community is an increasingly larger part the backbone of America and a strong factor in the economic growth and stability of the U.S. economy. We are not looking for a handout, we are looking for a handshake.