Latino business owners in Beaverton face challenges as their ...

Beaverton's Latino population surged by 40 percent over the past decade, according to the 2012 U.S. Census. The number of businesses owned by Latinos has likewise grown.

Those owners face unique challenges, say experts in business counseling. Latino business owners often don't know how to ask for help because of language and cultural barriers, said Malcolm Boswell, one of two Spanish-speaking analysts for WorkSource Oregon, a statewide organization that connects workers and businesses with job resources.

Recent immigrants may have limited English language skills and be unfamiliar with complex paperwork such as loans or taxes. Some distrust government and withdraw from public resources for fear that their immigration status may be threatened, Boswell said.

Local businesses illustrate the range of Latino business experience. Some, such as Sunset Cleaning Services and Gloria's Secret Cafe, struggle to reach the next step of success. Others, such as Bruce International, have overcome barriers and now mentor other businesses.

When Arturo Gutierrez, 50-year-old owner of Sunset Cleaning, first thought about opening a cleaning business, he knew he needed help, he said. He reached out to the Portland-based Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber, a nonprofit that offers bilingual, one-on-one business counseling for free.

"We're kind of reserved," said Gutierrez, who was born in Mexico and later moved to Los Angeles, then Beaverton. "It's the way our culture is. We don't like to ask. The Metropolitan Chamber, they know our culture."

Chamber president Gale Castillo said it's crucial to consider the Latino culture's focus on family when helping business owners. For example, she said, many entrepreneurs expect to support their children and grandchildren financially. "You have to take that into account in business planning," Castillo said.

The nonprofit chamber's staff advised Gutierrez on his business plan and designed a brochure for his 2003 launch. Gutierrez runs the company from home and sends his staff to clean, dust, mop and vacuum small offices, homes and apartment complexes in the Portland area. He landed the 214-unit Atwater Place condos on Portland's waterfront as one of his biggest accounts, he said.

Over the years, Gutierrez turned to the chamber to hash out other challenges: how much to pay his employees, contracts with other companies and references for places to buy cleaning supplies.

When his business peaked in 2008, he had eight full-time employees, Gutierrez said. After the economy tanked, he laid off six employees.

"We keep positive even though right now is not the best," Gutierrez said. "There are challenges, but it's worth it."

Gloria Vargas, owner of Gloria's Secret Cafe on Southwest Broadway Street in Beaverton's Old Town, is among the city's prominent Latino business owners. In 1993, she moved from El Salvador to Beaverton, where she sold homemade salsa and tamales at the Beaverton Farmers Market. She soon expanded to Zupan's and New Seasons markets.

After more than a decade of success, Vargas has trouble figuring out how to expand beyond the middle ground. Her acclaimed Salvadoran dishes are popular, but without money, capital or staff -- she cooks, waits tables and manages the business alone -- she's unsure how to grow the company without wearing herself out, she said.

When the swine flu scare of 2009 forced her to pull her chicken and pork tamales from grocery stores, the restaurant became her main source of income, she said. She worked long days, often up to 14 hours.

"For me, I'm going around in circles," Vargas said.

Her dream is to be like Elephants Delicatessen in Portland: a takeout deli, restaurant and catering business. She considered turning to Mercy Corps, which has a center for women business owners, or SCORE, a nonprofit that provides free business advice. But she's too busy trying to keep up, she said. "It's like, when do I have the time to see these people," she said.

Melissa Meyer, owner of 13-year-old Bruce International, understands the challenges of making a business self-sustaining.

Meyer's mother, Jenny Barbier Bruce, was born in Guatemala. Barbier Bruce, a language interpreter, ran a language school at the World Trade Center in Portland. In 1999, she founded Bruce International, which works with American companies that want to expand into foreign markets, that serves as translators and teaches language and culture. About five years later, Meyer took over the company.

Meyer said she sometimes faced prejudice because of her ethnicity. "Most people think that you came from an uneducated area," Meyer said. "When people say Hispanic, they think indigenous farmworkers."

Meyer, however, continued to push the quality of her company's services. Gradually, her business grew. Over the past decade, Meyer said, the company has doubled its revenue and gained clients around the world. Her staff has worked with clients, such as Nike and Starbucks, that wanted to enter Asian markets and has helped them learn new languages and cultures, she said.

Meyer said she embraced her ethnic identity and sought to help other businesses. She gradually expanded the company and had it state-certified for government contracts as both a Women Business Enterprise and a Minority Business Enterprise.

She joined the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber and the Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce, a network of small businesses, and helped with the 40th anniversary of Centro Cultural de Washington County, a nonprofit social service and education agency.

"I look to help the communities that I came from," Meyer said. "It's important that we honor heritage."

-- Dominique Fong

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2012/01/latino_business_owners_in_beav.html

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