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The Chicago area’s Latino population is becoming an increasingly vital contributor to the local economy, disputing a perception that Latinos tend to take more than they contribute to society, a new report claims.

And with the Latino population expected to provide 25 percent of the Chicago metropolitan area’s total workforce by 2015, the city’s future prosperity may well hinge on whether Latinos thrive, according to the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies report titled “The State of Latino Chicago 2010: The New Equation.”

“In economically trying times, with many looking for a scapegoat for our region’s fiscal woes, the Institute for Latino Studies once and for all refutes the notion that Latinos are socio-economic drains,” said Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Chicago-based Latino Policy Forum. “Investing in Latinos offers a sound return on investment, helping shape our strong, shared future as a region.”

The report — based on the most recently available U.S. Census data as well as local, state and federal reports for the city, Cook and the collar counties — is set to be released Wednesday.

Against a backdrop of a country divided and confused over immigration policy, the report’s authors set out to find out just how much Latinos contribute to the local economy — and take from local government coffers.

“I was suspecting that Latinos were actually costing more than what they were contributing, and they were not,” said the report’s lead author, Prof. Juan Carlos Guzman. READ MORE

As someone who worked on the State Farm account for a few years, I view the company’s latest concept with more than a casual interest. The company with the familiar “Like a good neighbor…” jingle is about to launch an entirely new retail idea smack dab in the middle of my neighborhood in Lakeview. And at least at a first glance, I think they’re on to something good that more in the insurance industry might want to take a closer look at doing themselves.

State Farm Next Door opens August 1st and the concept is a more open, casual community space that offers free Wi-Fi and coffee (via its Next Door Cafe) as well as personalized coaching/small group classes on financial matters that range from paying off student loans to learning how to budget your finances.

This may not seem like a huge departure from the typical agent office, but it is. Here’s why. For a long time, State Farm talked about the fact that their agents live in the same community as their customers. Which is normal. But even though you can continuously say, “We live where you live,” there’s nothing quite like actually demonstrating it visibly by being more of a central hub.

Plus, there will be no actual insurance sold at State Farm Next Door so they aren’t cannibalizing their own agents’ efforts by selling policies here. There will be financial consultants and all the services at Next Door are free. Personally, I think the latter part of that sentence is important for bringing down some barriers among younger people who would normally walk on by because they don’t see the point in planning when they don’t even have the funds to pay for ongoing classes.

Stepping out of the “Auto/Home/Life” rate rut.

Let’s be honest. You first walk into or call State Farm, Allstate, Farmer’s, etc. because you have a need for auto, home or life insurance. You need to get covered, you compare rates, you buy. You don’t like your rate after a while? You look around, you compare again, you buy.

Fighting a branding battle based on rates doesn’t benefit State Farm. I never thought it has. It’s territory that Geico and Progressive have owned quite well for years. Even when State Farm talks about the dangers of “cut-rate car insurance,” they’re still planting the seed of shopping based on rates and playing into the hands of their competitors.READ MORE

In my experience working with Fortune 500 companies, I have found 10 reasons why management teams fail to capture a significant share of Hispanic consumers.

1. There is no company-wide alignment on making the Hispanic market a strategic initiative

Halfhearted efforts result in failure because they lack the rigor and discipline applied to every other aspect of the company’s business. For example, when entering an emerging market for the first time, a company conducts qualitative research to uncover customer insights that leads to innovative new products and services, followed by quantitative research to confirm, clarify and measure results.

This is routine practice when deploying a high impact go-to market strategy in an emerging market, yet many U.S. companies today cannot get their minds around an emerging market within their own borders.

2. Companies fail to allocate a minimum level of resources including budgets, people and time

Making this a “nice to have” budget item won’t work.

3. Companies fail to treat Hispanics as a true emerging market

Many Fortune 500 multinationals have invested wisely in pursuing business in Brazil, Russia, India, and China – markets with large populations, growing economies and consumers starving for western products and services. Yet they ignore the U.S. Hispanic market, which will soon become one of the 10 largest economies in the world.

According to the U.S. Census, Hispanic purchasing power will exceed $1.5 trillion by 2015 – only nine economies in the world are larger. If Hispanic-America were a nation, it would be a member of the G-20. In fact, Hispanic-America's purchasing power per capita (at $20, 400) exceeds that of each of the four BRIC countries – Russia ($15,900), Brazil (10,800), China ($7,600) and India ($3,500).

That is an emerging market worth pursuing. READ MORE

Hispanics are poorer—much poorer—thanks in part to the recession that took jobs and homes, according to a Pew Hispanic poll. The study, which analyzed 2010 census numbers, reveals that the median wealth of Latino households plummeted 66 percent from 2005 to 2009, the biggest drop of any racial or ethnic group. Asians’ dropped 54 percent and African Americans’ wealth dropped by 53 percent. Whites’ wealth fell by just 16 percent. The precipitous declines constitute the biggest wealth disparities recorded since the Census Bureau began collecting the figures 25 years ago. The biggest reason for the Hispanic figures: the housing market bust, in which many Latinos, whose median net worth was due to home equity in 2005 by almost two thirds, lost their homes. READ MORE

Latinos in the United States have been betting on the numbers – their numbers.

In the last three decades, I've heard politicos, academics, activists and others boast that a swelling population would eventually bring the Latino community power and respect.

They include President Barack Obama, who just last month told a group of Latino online journalists gathered at the White House that he was confident that he'd see a competitive Hispanic candidate running for president during his lifetime.

"Just look at the demographics," Obama said. "With numbers comes political power."

Not necessarily, Mr. President.

The assumption has been that, at some point, the Latino population would become so large and its influence on everything from business to sports to food to pop culture would be so profound that it would be impossible to ignore.

However, Latinos have learned that – given a continued scarcity in law, business, media, academia, publishing, entertainment and other professions – nothing is impossible. If someone wants to ignore you, they will. And in a country that still defines racial and ethnic relations in terms of black and white, those who fit into neither category are often ignored.

In the case of Latinos, this is no easy trick. The 2010 census revealed that there are 50 million Latinos living in the United States, spread throughout all 50 states. They constitute 16 percent of the U.S. population and account for more than half of the growth of the country's total population over the last 10 years. READ MORE

Smartphone users now outnumber users of more basic mobile phones within the national adult population, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Nearly every major demographic group—men and women, younger and middle-aged adults, urban and rural residents, the wealthy and the less well-off—experienced a notable uptick in smartphone penetration over the last year, and blacks and Latinos are leading the way.

African-Americans and Latinos overall adoption of smartphone rates in 2011 was higher than the national average: smartphone penetration is 49% in each case, just higher than the national average of 46%.

Usage of smartphones as a primary internet access device is highest among several groups with relatively low rates of traditional internet and broadband adoption—for example, those with no college experience as well as those with relatively low income levels, according to a Pew report published last year.

“The reason for that, many say, is simple: It’s the most affordable way to get onto the information superhighway,” Jamilah King wrote in a story published on Colorlines.com last year. A couple hundred dollars for an Android and a data plan is much less than $1,000 for a laptop computer and broadband connection. READ MORE

ALTHOUGH the word “upfront” is English rather than Spanish, the broadcast networks and cable channels that aim programming at Hispanic viewers are again increasing their presence during the annual television upfront week.

There are nine presentations scheduled this week to brief advertisers on programming plans for the 2012-13 season (and yes, also woo them with shrimp and adult beverages). Last May, during the upfront week that preceded the 2011-12 season, there were five such presentations.

The reason for the higher profile this upfront week is the growing interest among advertisers in reaching Hispanic consumers in light of the results of the 2010 census, which found that the Hispanic population had surpassed the 50 million mark. More demand among advertisers to reach Spanish-speaking consumers — and those acculturated Hispanics who are bilingual or speak English — means more efforts by media companies to sell commercial time during shows those consumers watch. READ MORE

The era of the Hispanic homebuyer is upon us, according to the 2011 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report released by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). The 36-page document offers an analysis of data on the Hispanic homebuyer market and points to youth, birth rates, household formation, rising purchasing power, labor trends, educational achievements and desire as key indicators that will make Latinos a major purchase force in the first-time homebuyer market.

“Despite recent losses suffered by Hispanics during the housing crisis, young Latino families that were unaffected by foreclosure or lost home values are ready to enter the market,” said Carmen Mercado, president of the 20,000-member group. “When they do, they will have an exponential impact on housing sales.”

According to the report, demographic forces are aligning with Latinos poised to take center stage as a mega force in housing. Latinos filled 1.4 million or 60 percent of the 2.3 million jobs added to the economy in 2011, are expected to account for 40 percent of the estimated 12 million new households over the next 10 years, and their collective purchasing power is expected to jump 50 percent by 2016 – just four short years from now. READ MORE

Plus Three recently conducted a survey of social networking sites to determine the growth of this valuable media tool for Latinos. Among the more interesting findings, actress and singer Selena Gomez has passed a significant milestone on Facebook by surpassing Barack Obama with 22.5 million fans. A total of 32 Latino celebrities are among the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages, the survey finds.

"Latino Facebook users grew 167% compared to 21% among non-Hispanics from April 2010 to April 2011 according to comScore," said Juan Proano, President, Plus Three. " Latinos are using Facebook to stay connected with family and friends and to stay connected with their identity. Any organization that wants to stay in touch with a Latino audience will need to focus its outreach on using Facebook and social media in order to stay relevant today".

The triple digit growth provides the strongest indicator yet that Latinos are rapidly adopting Facebook and social media to connect with family and friends but also to advance common interests, issues, grassroots movements and social causes.

Plus Three surveyed the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages and found 32 Latino celebrities among the top 1,000. Only three Latinos broke into the top 100. Shakira was the top Latina celebrity with 35 million fans and ranked number eight on the overall list followed by Selena Gomez at number thirty-five and Enrique Iglesias at number forty-eight.

The Latinos with at least 2 million Facebook fans are mostly singers, athletes, and comedians. Athletes from the World Cup and Reggaeton artists dominated the list. Latino celebrities on the list include Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Lionel Messi, Ricardo Kaka, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, and Carlos Santana. READ MORE

In a rundown shopping center along Rancho Drive in the heart of the Las Vegas Valley there’s a tiny shop that sells herbal products for recent immigrants. It offers traditional village remedies for stomach ailments, head colds and achy backs.

The familiar Mexican and Central American brands lack the stylish packaging of popular American products. One of the more memorable products is found in a row of boxes that feature an image of an attractive couple who apparently need help to consummate their special moment. A pair of older men at the front counter look warily upon a gringo who wanders into the shop and clearly knows little Spanish, the preferred language of business in this shop.

Less than a quarter mile south sits a bright, antiseptic Walgreens. Many of the customers visiting this place will never pass through the doors of the nearby chain store. Hispanic marketing specialist Miguel Barrientos says thousands of immigrants will drive past that beacon to aging Americans in pursuit of the familiar cures.

Indeed, as with any group of people, Hispanic customers gravitate to businesses where they feel respected, understood, appreciated, valued. We rarely recognize such personal dynamics in our daily business transactions, but they are a centerpiece of our commercial decisions. READ MORE

With the much anticipated release of the 2010 U.S. Census data, it is time for businesses and franchises to gear up for the new customer demographic adjustments that will inevitably follow. The biggest news to emerge thus far is the rapidly expanding Latino population, estimated to have become a trillion-dollar customer base in the 10 years since the previous census was taken.

As with any demographic, the Hispanic population in the United States has its own unique preferences and cultures when it comes to shopping and, more importantly, when deciding where to spend their money. Learning more about this expanding base of customers is absolutely crucial to the continued success of franchisees nationwide.

General demographic information

It is not new news per se that the Latino population is rapidly expanding in Southwestern region of the United States, but some interesting information indicates that even States that have not typically been considered to have large Hispanic populations are seeing immense increases. Oklahoma, for example, saw their Latino population increase by upwards of eighty percent in the last ten years. This is why it is so crucial to review the census for customer base information - the facts may be surprising and ignoring the needs of this huge population is to ignore an equally sized business opportunity.

So, exactly how big is this opportunity? Experts expect to see the United States Latino population to surpass the fifty million mark, effectively making the U.S. Hispanic population larger than the entire population of States such as California, Texas, or New York. Texas is a wonderful microcosm for what the business climate might look like for franchisees with surges in their State Hispanic population. Latinos have contributed over seventy percent of Texas's overall population growth and ninety-five percent of all children born in the State. Given the data, this is clearly a trend that will not be slowing down any time soon.

Seize the opportunity
With a fresh and hungry new demographic now in the mix the question remains: How can franchisees ensure that they are prepared to cater to the consumer needs of this group? As always is the case with a franchise, not everything is discretionary. There is already an accepted business model in place, as well as specific requirements that franchisees must meet such as store design or product branding. Some things are just simply out of the owner's control. However, that need not dictate the decision whether or not to pursue the Latino market. Those who dismiss this market will fall behind the ball and sales figures will reflect that. Latinos are simply too large a market these days to be ignored. READ MORE

Latinos represent more than 30 percent of Arizona’s population and bring more than $31 billion to the state’s economy, according to a recent study by Arizona’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, reports Maritza Lizeth Félix for Prensa Hispana. The report, “Datos: Focus on Arizona’s Hispanic Market 2010,” finds that Latina women have become an economic engine in the state. The study does not include the economic impact of undocumented immigrants.

In Numbers
$31.3 billion – the buying power of Latinos in Arizona
$47.9 billion – the amount Latinos are expected to spend in 2013
$951 billion – Latino buying power in the U.S., not including Puerto Ricans, whose buying power is estimated at $50 billion
63% of Arizona’s Latino population lives in Maricopa County
42% of the residents of Phoenix are Latino
1 in 4 children born in the U.S. in 2008 was of Hispanic descent READ MORE

Latino business leaders recognizes a New York congressman for his work in breaking down trade barriers between the United States and Latin American countries at a dinner featuring embassy representatives from 13 countries.

Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Scripps Howard Foundation Wire - Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., received an award from Hispanic entrepreneurs for supporting laws dealing with trade agreements with Latin American countries and drug policies affecting the region.

The Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosted a dinner Friday to honor Engel's work as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs' subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. Diplomatic delegations from 13 countries, mostly from Latin America, attended the dinner held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

"We are giving this award for first time to honor people who help Latinos' businesses to grow, and we chose Congressman Engel for his work in facilitating trade between Latin American countries and United Sates," Angela Franco, president of GWHCC, said.

Engel's initiatives have been aimed at promoting trade preferences with some Andean countries, allocating funds for Haiti's reconstruction and convening an independent commission to evaluate U.S. programs and policies to reduce the drug supply and demand in the Western Hemisphere. READ MORE

For the better part of a decade, Vamos Marketing was everything Frank Garza hoped it would be.

He'd started small, in 2003, launching his fledgling promotional products firm shortly after completing a dual undergraduate-graduate degree program at the University of Texas. As he cobbled together an increasingly diverse list of clients around Central Texas, his business started rolling. He brought on a full-time employee, freeing him up to focus on clients.

He started to think about building a sales force, too, but ultimately decided against it.

"I was content with where I was at," Garza said.

But that changed last year. With Vamos approaching its 10th year in business — and now generating about a half-million dollars in annual sales — Garza has started to think about what the company could become. He wants to add a new division or two, bring on more employees and put processes in place that would help build the value of his business in case he ever decides to sell it.

"I'm hitting 10 years (and) I have a good reputation in town," he said from his office in Southeast Austin. "So if there's a good opportunity to try to grow it, it's now."

As the Texas and Austin populations skew increasingly Hispanic during the next several decades, the growth of Vamos Marketing and the thousands of other Hispanic-owned businesses here and around the state could become an increasingly vital source of new jobs and income — both for the Hispanic community and for the economy at large. READ MORE

ShareDiscussDownloadThe buying power of Latinos in the U.S. has more than doubled in the last 10 years. That economic clout grew even during the most recent recession. But many businesses are still learning how to tap into the Latino market.

The intersection of cultures was recently on display at a business expo in Kennewick, Washington. Jessica Robinson followed one small business owner as he tried to make a good impression.

Let’s face it. There are certain things that most people are willing to do without in an economic downturn.

Dale Haven: “My name is Dale Haven. I do custom ice sculpturing.”

Ice sculptures might be one of those things.

Dale Haven: “Cinderella castles, swans, Honda emblems, I’ve done swans, hearts with fifteens in them. I’ve done fifteens with their names in them.”

Fifteens. That’s the category where Dale Haven has been seeing serious growth. The “fifteens” are for 15th birthdays, which is when Latina girls traditionally throw a quinceañera celebration.

It’s like a debutante ball the size of a wedding, complete with a big cake, fancy dresses, music, and yes, sometimes ice sculptures.

That’s what brings Haven and his glass-like carvimgs to this recent Latino Business Expo -- to meet potential customers.

Dale Haven: “So is this your baby?”

Glenda Moreno: “My oldest one yeah. They’re already ‘Look mom, look mom, look what you can do for my quinceañera!’”

Dale Haven: “¡Sí!”

Haven has learned a few phrases in Spanish for these occasions. Like this one, to describe his work.

Dale Haven: “Mucho bonita.” READ MORE

It's a great place to have more members of La Raza--especially if you can couchsurf with 'em for vacation.

According to U.S. Census demographic data released Thursday, Hawaii's Latino population grew 37.8 percent from 2000 to 2010.

When New York City-born Puerto Rican José Villa arrived in Hawaii 25 years ago, there were few fellow Latinos. But when Villa and his wife traveled across the islands last year encouraging Latinos to participate in the Census. They found pockets of Hispanic culture from Spanish Mass in Kona to Argentine-owned coffee shops on Maui.

"I've seen it grow from almost no community presence," he said. "The Hispanic community here is an emerging market."

According to the Census, there were 120,842 Hispanics in 2010, up from 87,699 in 2000. READ MORE

A decade after Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez helped Latin music explode into the mainstream, Latina chefs are doing the same for food.

From Food Network’s Marcela Valladolid and Evette Rios on ABC’s “The Chew’’ to uber-restaurateur Michelle Bernstein and cookbook author Lourdes Castro, these senoritas are proving to be the new face in cooking — especially on television.

The stereotype of Latina mothers living in the kitchen makes sense to these Latina chefs.

“We all grew up around mom in the kitchen, that’s just how it was,’’ said Bernstein, who is of Latin and Jewish descent and runs Sra. Martinez and Michy’s restaurants in Miami. “And maybe that just better represents what Latin food is, coming from the momma.’’

“It speaks to Latinas,’’ said Lisa Navarrete, a spokeswoman for The National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization based in Washington. “You have a lot of talented women, very personable, very telegenic, who are also great cooks.’’

Like music, food is a gateway to people learning about another culture, she said. And in this case, one that is expanding. Hispanics are the fastest growing population in the country, accounting for 50 million people, or 1 in 6 Americans.

Also fueling the rise of Latina chefs is the fact that Latin cuisine is no longer considered “exotic’’ or difficult to cook. More people today are comfortable cooking at home with ethnic ingredients such as jalapenos and cilantro, or marinating meats with Cuban mojo or chimichurri. READ MORE