In celebration of Caribbean American Heritage Month, local chambers of commerce on Thursday, urged small businesses to engage and take advantage of their services, to help in meeting their business goals.
As part of a week-long celebration of town hall meetings, expos and business seminars, panelists – Guenet Gittens-Roberts, President of Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida; Gail Rayos, President Asian-American Chamber of Commerce and Elda Rivera, Marketing & Sales Coordinator, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida – each highlighted their respective chambers’ roles and underscored their commitment to providing members with the skills needed to be successful business leaders.
“The Caribbean is a very diverse region and we work very closely with other chambers…. to connect our members, so that they might benefit from a raft of networking opportunities,” Gittens-Roberts said.
While the various chambers provide a diverse range of offerings, Rivera said, “every organization can’t be everything to everyone” and the Hispanic Chamber seeks to guide small business leaders to where the resources are located. In this connection, she referenced the Orlando-based National Entrepreneurship Center, a “shared facility,” which takes a collaborative approach to small business development.
“The Center leverages the resources and skills of other organizations to support local entrepreneurs,” she added.
Noting that the Asian-American community is the fastest growing in Central Florida, Rayos pointed out that more than one-quarter of their members are of non-Asian background.
“We are open to members of all backgrounds – everyone wants to have insights and to benefit from greater networking opportunities,” she said.
Asked what are some of the biggest needs of small businesses, the view was shared that lack of access to capital and support for obtaining certification as minority suppliers, topped the list. Panelists said too, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the processes that must be undertaken in establishing a small business.
All agreed that developing great relationships, particularly with clients, is one of the most important things for growing a small business.
Today’s session, ‘Business Development & Networking with Minority Chambers in Florida,’ held at Orlando Fashion Square Mall, was moderated by Karen Fortune, Secretary, Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.
