How Verizon Business Is Fostering Opportunities for Hispanic SMBs

Aparna Khurjekar, Chief Revenue Officer, Business Markets and SaaS, Verizon. — Verizon

Why it issues:Hispanic-owned small companies make up near 14% of all small companies, and that quantity is rising quickly.Hispanic small companies are outpacing the nationwide common by way of adoption of recent applied sciences and digital instruments.Access to funding and personal loans are among the many prime considerations of Hispanic enterprise house owners.When Verizon Business needed to extend its help of, and outreach to, Hispanic small enterprise house owners, it began by studying extra about their considerations, challenges, and enterprise selections.
It found, amongst different issues, that Hispanic small enterprise house owners are faster to undertake new applied sciences, are working digital-first companies, and record discovering funding as one in every of their prime considerations.
Verizon Business is specializing in Hispanic small companies right now as a result of they’re one of many fastest-growing teams, at slightly below 14% of all small companies and face particular challenges, Aparna Khurjekar, Chief Revenue Officer, Business Markets and SaaS at Verizon, advised CO—.
“We needed to ensure we had been understanding the distinctiveness that was pervasive by way of the Hispanic SMB neighborhood, and ensure we had been encouraging them,” Khurjekar mentioned.
Verizon responded to these findings with a program that mixed grants for Hispanic small companies with programs and mentorship on how companies can enhance their digital assets.
[Read: Hispanic App Entrepreneurs Find Success Filling Market Void for Culturally Authentic Content]
Boosting Hispanic small enterprise ‘management and differentiation by way of digital’
In April, Verizon Business awarded $10,000 grants to 25 Hispanic small companies throughout the nation as a part of its ongoing small enterprise grants and training program.
In order to use for the grants, enterprise house owners needed to full at the very least two on-line programs or different types of teaching supplied by way of the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready program.
The purpose of the Digital Ready tutorial programs and mentoring is to present small enterprise house owners details about methods they will compete with the large manufacturers, Khurjekar mentioned.
“We know that small companies represent over 99.9% of U.S. companies. Sixty % of the workforce comes from them, over 45% of our GDP is tied to them. They have the identical set of challenges and alternatives as each different enterprise,” she mentioned.
“They’ve received clients who’re trying for newer methods to attach and [are] getting increasingly more demanding,” she mentioned. At the identical time, they’re vying for the identical staff as large companies, and “whereas doing all of that, they’ve to distinguish on their merchandise and do it effectively,” Khurjekar mentioned.
While serving more and more demanding clients is tough to do even for the largest firms, “for a small enterprise it’s all of the tougher as a result of what they don’t have is the deep pockets,” she mentioned.
“That’s the place we wish to are available and assist them perceive what it means to be not simply maintaining, however extending their management and differentiating by way of digital,” Khurjekar mentioned.

We needed to ensure we had been understanding the distinctiveness that was pervasive by way of the Hispanic SMB neighborhood, and ensure we had been encouraging them.

Aparna Khurjekar, Chief Revenue Officer, Business Markets and SaaS, Verizon

Key insights on Hispanic SMBs’ digital playbook
As a part of its outreach to Hispanic small enterprise house owners, Verizon Business surveyed 500 Hispanic small enterprise house owners throughout the nation and reported on the findings. Among the important thing findings within the report
had been:Over the previous 12 months, practically half of Hispanic small companies have transitioned to a digital-first operation.Nearly three out of 4 (74%) of Hispanic small companies have leveraged digital instruments and know-how to earn a living over the previous three years.More than one-third (41%) have used new applied sciences to deal with a employee scarcity.Nearly two-thirds (65%) are involved about cyber safety for digital transactions.The majority mentioned they want further IT help to implement new applied sciences and practice staff to make use of them.Three-fourths mentioned they want help find and making use of for personal mortgage choices.[Read: Why Amazon, Google, and Other Big Businesses Have Launched Accelerators to Help Minority-Owned Startups]
‘Technology and digital instruments are the one means you’ll be able to maintain a lower-cost and a differentiated mannequin’
An particularly encouraging takeaway from the report, Khurjekar mentioned, was that Hispanic small enterprise house owners “are means over the nationwide common by way of adoption of digital instruments and know-how.”
“It’s purely needs-driven,” she mentioned. “Technology and digital instruments are the one means you’ll be able to maintain a lower-cost and differentiated mannequin,” she mentioned.
Verizon affords all small enterprise house owners a possibility to make use of its shops for free as enterprise useful resource facilities the place they will get professional recommendation about including digital instruments.
“We have opened up all of our accomplice shops and direct-channel shops with our tele-salespeople and discipline salespeople to be working with these small and medium-sized companies and offering them [with] deep know-how,” Khurjekar mentioned.

Mia Thorn, proper, and chef accomplice Dameon Deworken at their restaurant, Cruz Kitchen and Taps. — Cruz Kitchen and Taps

Grants and programs designed to get entrepreneurs and enterprise house owners ‘digital prepared’
The $10,000 grants to Hispanic small companies had been designed for use to improve know-how, develop advertising and marketing efforts, or to assist cowl different operational prices.
One of the recipients, Mia Thorn, Co-founder of the Cruz Kitchen & Taps
restaurant in Santa Cruz, California, mentioned the grant was a much-needed profit after a tough winter that made it needed for her to ramp up her efforts to succeed in new clients.
Thorn began the restaurant with chef Daemon DeWorken in early 2022. Thorn, who continues to be working as an oncology nurse whereas working the restaurant, mentioned she realized in regards to the Verizon grants by way of a area people of ladies enterprise house owners and ladies of shade enterprise house owners.
Thorn appreciated the truth that Verizon required her to take two of its free on-line lessons on rising a small enterprise—with subjects from funding to social media advertising and marketing—so as to have the ability to apply for the grant.
“They had been actually actually good lessons,” she mentioned. She selected a category about using search engine marketing, and one about advertising and marketing.
“That’s the title of my sport proper now – simply attempting to ensure folks know who we’re and what sort of vibe, ambiance they will anticipate once they stroll by way of our door,” Thorn mentioned.
The lessons additionally weren’t gross sales pitches for Verizon services, Thorn mentioned. “I felt prefer it was type of geared towards me, my age group,” and different first-time entrepreneurs, mentioned Thorn.
Khurjekar mentioned the programs had been particularly designed to offer helpful data. “Our focus was extra round the way you get ‘digital prepared’ as an SMB,” she mentioned.
CO— goals to deliver you inspiration from main revered consultants. However, earlier than making any enterprise choice, you must seek the advice of knowledgeable who can advise you primarily based in your particular person scenario.

CO—is dedicated to serving to you begin, run and develop your small enterprise. Learn extra about the advantages of small enterprise membership within the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, right here.

CO— Exclusives: Insider Strategies
How the buzziest manufacturers and hottest startups are fixing right now’s greatest enterprise challenges. CO— brings you recommendation from startup founders and prime executives for thriving in a brand new world.

Subscribe to our publication, Midnight Oil

Expert enterprise recommendation, information, and traits, delivered weekly

By signing up you conform to the CO—
Privacy Policy. You can decide out anytime.

Published July 26, 2023

https://www.uschamber.com/co/good-company/the-leap/verizon-businesss-fosters-opportunities-for-hispanic-smbs