Mentors help Latinas become entrepreneurs – Better chances for success with some guidance

The number of Latina-owned businesses in Arizona grew 58.3 percent between 1997 and 2002.

And those new companies will only continue to fuel the growth in Latina entrepreneurship, as their owners become mentors for other Hispanic women, said Loui Olivas, who researches Hispanic business trends at Arizona State University, where he is assistant vice president for academic affairs.

Yvette Armendariz
The Arizona Republic

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1011sbwomen11.html

"They see it’s OK to go into business. It’s OK to be an entrepreneur," Olivas said.

Having mentors gives a company a better chance at success, according to a recent study by the Center for Women’s Business Research.

"Clearly, mentoring and training can provide important tools for women engaged in launching new ventures or nurturing high-growth businesses," said Myra M. Hart, chairwoman for the research center, in a statement. With mentors, "one can learn how to be an entrepreneur."

Having mentors helps build self-confidence, she said.

Arizona Latinas have found the inspiration for starting their business in many places. Here are some of their stories:

• Annette Alvarez, chief executive officer of Phoenix-based Alvarez Inc., was inspired to start a business after a career in politics. She had worked for Gov. Fife Symington’s administration as a policy adviser on Mexico. With that experience, she was approached to become a consultant for CEMEX USA.

"It wasn’t anything I planned. I just knew instinctively this would be a great choice for my future," she said.

She took on the challenge, and started her company.

Her parents and Ivan Makil, past president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, are her mentors.

From her father, she learned compassion for people and how to advocate for others. Her mother taught her to respect others.

And Makil taught her to balance life and spirituality in business.

"He also helped me to trust myself again and to overcome any fears about taking those risks that are necessary to be successful," Alvarez said.

• Carmen Bermudez, chairman and chief executive officer of Mission Management & Trust Co. in Tucson, found her main inspiration in her aunt, Camen Venegas Livesay, who took on non-traditional female jobs, such as operating a locomotive.

"She had been quite a sky-breaker. I don’t call it a ceiling, because it’s too limited," Bermudez said.

That example would ultimately inspire Bermudez to take risks necessary to be an entrepreneur.

"I never saw obstacles. I saw them as opportunities," she said.

Bermudez had helped her husband, Tom Feeney, build an asset-management company in California and saw her opportunity to start her own company. She noticed deficiencies in trust services and knew she could do better.

With her husband’s encouragement, she decided to leave the highly regulated state of California and planted herself in Tucson to start Mission in 1994. Now she manages $500 million in assets.

"It’s a matter of confidence and believing in yourself," Bermudez said.

• Rosa Cantor, president and chief executive officer of Mesa-based Creative Human Resources Concepts, saw a niche, so she ventured into business in 1997.

"There was a need for a company that could provide full staffing services in the fast-paced defense industry," she said.

Her business hit $11.5 million in sales last year, and is expected to grow to $12 million this year.

"Having the support of our community, business acquaintances and many friends allowed for this business to become what it is today," she said.

She also points to her mentors, who taught her to believe in herself and her talent. They include Sky Harbor International Airport’s acting aviation director, David Cavazos, and Bank One/JPMorgan Chase & Co. executives Ruben Ramos, who oversees community development, and Lupe Barto, who oversees supplier diversity.