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U.S. small businesses in general are still in recovery mode from the effects of Covid-19; however, new research from the Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) shows Latino businesses are playing an important role in the U.S. economy through business ownership and job creation. READ MORE AT FORBES

Latinos in the U.S. and Latin Americans are more likely than others to reconsider the workplace after the pandemic, Marina writes. Two-thirds of Latinos polled in Microsoft’s  say they are now much more conscious about prioritizing health over their work when it comes to going to the office, and 60% say they are considering changing jobs in response. READ MORE AT AXIOS

Although Latinos and other people of color are avid moviegoers, they are deeply underrepresented on-screen, two recent reports show. The big picture: The first year of the pandemic ravaged the movie industry, with a 72% drop in ticket sales, but research shows that Latino, Black and Asian Americans helped keep it afloat. READ MORE AT AXIOS

Jefa-Owned (owned by a Latina Boss), a national visibility campaign under PepsiCo's Juntos Crecemos platform, calls upon Latinas in the food and beverage sector to apply for the Juntos Crecemos Hispanic Digital & Delivery Program, an eight-week personalized business building program.

To mark the launch, PepsiCo leaders joined Latina business owners for the Nasdaq Opening Bell Ceremony, where they unveiled the first-ever Jefa-Owned neon sign, designed by PepsiCo. READ MORE AT CISION

While the pandemic shook the personal finances of millions of people, Hispanics seem to have learned the lesson of saving for an uncertain future and not overspending.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents say they learned how much credit cards really cost looking at interest rates and fees. The respondents added that they now not only look for low interest rate cards, but also cut back on their use and pay more than the minimum payment each month. READ MORE AT BELATINA

A new study finds many Latino parents are hoping their children make better choices with their money than they did. Only 51 percent of Latinos would want their children to make the same financial decisions (saving, investing, and budgeting) that they did.

A recent survey of 2,000 Americans between 18 and 41, half of whom identify as Latino, found that non-Latino respondents were much more likely to want their children to learn from and model their own money habits (76% vs. 51%). READ MORE AT STUDYFINDS

Right now, Latinas earn $.57for every dollar a non-Hispanic man makes, which adds up to thousands of dollars lost in wages a year — and more than a million over a lifetime. That means even Latinas who work full-time and year-round may never catch up to their male counterparts. HEAR CONVERSATION ON NPR

Across the United States, Latino homeownership is expanding at a record pace, with younger buyers fueling much of the increase, data show. The rise is altering the real estate landscape in many pockets of the country and making this demographic a growing force in the sharply rising housing market. READ MORE AT THE WASHINGTON POST

In 2018, the Census Bureau projected that in 2060, Hispanic people will comprise 27.5% of the total population, with 111 million Hispanic individuals residing in the United States.

Hispanic people are the largest minority in the United States. Only Mexico has a larger Hispanic population than the United States. READ MORE AT KTVZ NEWS

Women make great contributions to STEM every day, and most organizations acknowledge this. In fact, 85 percent of organizations believe that a diverse and inclusive organization is crucial to encouraging different perspectives and ideas, and powering innovation. Yet, women remain underrepresented, particularly in top executive roles, and although organizations are setting ambitious diversity strategies, they often fall short. READ MORE AT TECHNOLOGY NETWORKS

Economies across the globe face a double-headed threat: record levels of unemployment and towering public debt. Over the past two years, many western governments' response to one has come at the cost of the other; furlough schemes and stimulus cheques have left government balance sheets looking worryingly red.

It’s time to take a more aggressive approach. READ MORE AT THE HILL

Just 18.7% of all businesses in the US are minority-owned, despite ethnic and racial minorities making up 40% of the population. For entrepreneurs of colour who face systemic barriers like a lack of funding, choosing the right location to start or scale a business is important. 

If you’re a startup owner of colour looking for funding, resources and support, these top 10 cities are worth relocating to, a JobSage report reveals. READ MORE AT BUSINESS CHIEF

The Chicago Film Office, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) developed a 8-week hands-on skill-based program in partnership with local production, costumes, and camera industry unions and post-production.

The 25 students selected to participate have begun attending virtual and onsite instruction. Each participant is developing specific skill sets in production, editing, accounting, hair/make-up, costumes, grip, lighting, camera and many more industry pathways. A few students have also had the opportunity to work on the set of local productions, shadowing working professionals. One of those students is Jane Georges. A resident artist of the Chicago Art Department in Pilsen. Jane is a student in our set decorator pathway. She receives regular instruction at Big City Sets onsite at MK Studios provided by I.A.T.S.E. Local 476 - Chicago Studio Mechanics union trainers. Jim Hartnett Jr. 476 Training Coordinator says, "The students participating in the ChicagoMade program are displaying a strong desire to learn and work in our industry, and the instructors have all made mention of their positive attitudes and willingness to learn."

Brianna Cokley and Jubril Adeagbo are also ChicagoMade students who have participated in an onset production utilizing their new camera skills during pre-production on a new episodic series from FX. Brianna and Jubril also contributed to the preparation and shooting of a TV commercial. Over the last four weeks both students attended on-site classes at equipment rental houses - Keslow Camera and Panavision Chicago, instructed by International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600 trainers. Peter Kuttner, a Chicago-based Local 600 camera technician with over 45 years of feature and TV experience acts as a liaison between IATSE Local 600 and the ChicagoMade program. “ChicagoMade has been a longtime coming. As a lifelong Chicagoan, I am proud that my city sees the need to diversify our workforce in a very real way by paving a path to employment.”

As graduation approaches, students are preparing for upcoming internships and employment opportunities. The Chicago Film Office is coordinating partnerships with independent filmmakers as well as big budget studio productions like Netflix, NBC, and Disney starting this Spring.

The ChicagoMade program is managed by XD Technology Industry. A 10 year old latino owned MBE firm that has been responsible for delivering innovative workforce development solutions in the form of sustainable skill-based programs. Aimed at servicing the economic development needs of local residents throughout Chicago’s under-resourced neighborhoods. XD Tech CEO Xavier Hernandez states “Our goal is to transform this region's TV and Film industry into one of America’s most competitive sectors by 2025.” For more information and partnership connections please visit www.xdtechindustry.com/

Transforming ideas into reality is one of the most fulfilling things that a small business person does. However, it’s not enough to just have an idea and start a business. To succeed in the long term, you need to put in the work to make your basic brand story thrive through the equally important elements of strategy and execution. READ MORE AT BUSINESS2COMMUNITY

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) today welcomes 96 Black and Latino founders and CEOs to the 2022 cohort of the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network (EAN). A national business accelerator, EAN is a comprehensive, executive program designed to elevate emerging and established Black- and Latino-owned companies through access to resources, networks and one-on-one mentoring. This marks the second full cohort of EAN participants, after the program officially launched in January 2021. READ MORE AT CISION

Applications for new businesses rose 20 percent last year, after languishing for a decade. Many newly minted founders attribute it to the pandemic.

“People have become disaffected with what they’re doing, and might as well do the thing they've been wanting to do for a while,” says Stewart Thornhill, executive director of the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan. Some people who were furloughed or laid off near the start of the pandemic became entrepreneurs out of necessity. Others took stock of their good-enough jobs and decided they could do something better. READ MORE AT WIRED

With dramatic growth in the U.S. Hispanic population, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses is growing faster than in other ethnic groups. And Latino entrepreneurs are going far beyond the sterotypical blue-collar industries like restaruants, hospitality and construction.

A January report from Stanford University concluded that Latino-owned businesses with employees are more likely than their white-owned counterparts to be technology innovators. The study found that 19% of Latino-owned firms develop and sell a tech or software product, compared to 14% of white-owned firms. READ MORE AT GBH

Latinos in the fight against climate change will gather this week during a virtual summit highlighting the community’s growing environmental activism. By the numbers: 81% of Latinos in the U.S. consider addressing global climate change a priority, compared to 67% of non-Hispanics, according to a Pew Research Center poll. READ MORE AT AXIOS

While Latino-owned businesses are growing at a much faster rate than any other business segment in the country, they continue to face greater barriers to financing and report lower than average revenue per company than white-owned companies, according to new data released last week.

On Friday (January 28), the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI) released its seventh annual research report, State of Latino Entrepreneurship, exploring the impact, challenges, and opportunities of the fastest growing business segment in the U.S. economy. READ MORE AT POETS AND QUANTS

Average annual revenue for Latino-owned businesses ($258,251) in 2020-21 was $82,535, lower than their revenues the previous year ($340,787), a 24.2% decline, according to the annual Biz2Credit Latino-Owned Business Study. The analysis also found that average annual revenue for Latino-owned businesses was $45,435 greater than for non-Latino-owned companies ($212,816).

However, despite some superior performance measures, the funding rate for Latino-owned companies was 34.5%, slightly lower than the funding rate for non-Latino-owned firms 36.6% in 2020-21. Further, average loan size for Latino-owned companies was $47,031, compared to $81,156 for non-Latino-owned firms in 2020-21. READ MORE AT FORBES