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When he was 15, an immigration raid at a Japanese flower nursery turned Arturo Flores’s life around.

The owners needed a new group of workers to replace the ones removed by immigration officials, and Mr. Flores landed a job cutting flowers. He slowly worked his way up to packaging and delivering them. In the mid-1980s he got a call from two businessmen looking to start their own cut-flower business. They asked him to manage deliveries and distribution.

Today Mr. Flores, 50, is the president of Central California Flower Growers in Watsonville, a distributor in Santa Cruz County that sells more than 100 varieties of flowers and other plants. READ MORE

Increasing workers’ earning power and offering Hispanic-owned companies easier access to funding that can be used for growth can help improve the social and economic status of Latinos in the United States and across Latin America, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim says.

In a speech at the annual conference of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders, Slim spoke on how to better the plight of Hispanic workers and Latino-owned businesses.

Slim, ranked by Forbes magazine as the world’s second-richest person, with an estimated net worth of $72 billion, suggested establishing investment firms dedicated to working with small- and medium-size Latino businesses.

He also said that following recent economic crises, countries need to focus on strengthening the middle class as well as health care and education. READ MORE

Maricela Vazquez, Meteorologist Telemundo Chicago

Maricela Vazquez of Telemundo Chicago to moderate the Sales & Entrepreneurship Networking Forum this Tuesday, August 19 at Vertigo Sky Lounge Chicago. 

Maricela joined the Telemundo Team in January 2011; she is the first and only Spanish speaking Latina Meteorologist in the Chicago Spanish Media. Ms. Vazquez is a member of American Meteorological Society and a member of the National Weather Association, two of the most recognized organizations for weather.

Maricela recently received the seal of approval from the National Weather Association. To be granted such distinction, Vázquez went through a rigorous process that lasted almost a year. She is the only Latina meteorologist in Chicago with the NWA seal. Maricela’s passion for meteorology has achieved a certification in “severe weather watch” by the Dupage County Internal Safety department, in collaboration with the National Weather Service. Maricela has international experience as she served as entertainment reporter in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Maricela is an Emmy Award winner; she has a passion for news, a passion for her work and a passion for education. You will often see Maricela in the classrooms visiting schools, giving workshops and meeting the community. She is a role model for our young Latinas and an advocate for education.

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The teenager crossed her fingers. The dark pellet was supposed to levitate. Like magic, it floated an inch into the air.

Cruz Alvarado, 16, smiled. Her science experiment worked. The pellet, a superconductor Cruz created, rose when the professor poured liquid nitrogen near it.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Alvarado, a junior at Meadowcreek High School in Gwinnett County, said afterward. On this day Alvarado was the one conducting the test, but she’s part of an experiment, too, one designed to get more Hispanic students interested in science, math, engineering and technology, taught in what are called STEM courses.

Across the state and nationally, educators and politicians from President Obama to Gov. Nathan Deal have talked about the need for students versed in those fields because they’re high-income professions and industries that are producing more jobs. READ MORE

Politicians and pundits have long been talking about the new non-white majority in the United States, and especially about the growing numbers and clout of Hispanic-Americans. As of the 2011 census, around 52 million Americans called themselves Hispanic, about 17 percent of the population — but their influence is even greater.

Whether first-generation Americans, immigrants or members of families with deep roots on this side of the border, Hispanics are shaping discussion and policy on everything from immigration reform to gay marriage. They're the swing in more and more swing states. READ MORE

While most Americans remain fairly in the dark about bitcoin, tech-savvy Hispanics are at the forefront of fandom for the digital currency, according to a survey .

Just 8 percent of whites polled by Morning Consult said they know "a lot," while 53 percent said they know "nothing at all" or "not much" about bitcoin. That compares with 21 percent of Hispanics who say they know a lot, and 42 percent who say they are likely to use bitcoin, against 24 percent of whites.

Figuring out why the cryptocurrency is so popular among Latinos is a little tricky.

Pew Research has found that remittances from the U.S. to Latin America are the largest among any group, but that doesn't provide a complete answer to bitcoin's popularity. READ MORE

Yai Vargas, National Marketing Manager, Latino Market, New York Life Insurance Co.

Yai Vargas is the National Latino Marketing Manager for New York Life. Charged with implementing strategic marketing and recruiting initiatives, Yai currently travels to 40 cities around the US where she drives local community initiatives promoting financial literacy and planning for the Latino community. Yai has corporate and agency experience in the diversity, public relations and multi-cultural communications industries.

Prior to joining New York Life, Yai was Diversity Manager at the United States Tennis Association, the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. She managed organizational relationships, outreach within minority communities including LGBT, African American, Asian, and the disabled while developing a robust Hispanic strategy in efforts to grow the game and promote inclusion.

Yai also spent time as Senior Account Executive at Arcos Communications, an integrated multi-cultural public relations agency; Yai managed client initiatives by educating Spanish-speaking communities nationwide on programs for clients such as Pfizer and Prudential Financial. Her career began working within corporate communications and public relations at Mercedes-Benz USA where she focused on philanthropy, media reporting, journalist relations, product launches and event planning.

Yai holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Joseph DeLaGarza, Senior Business Counselor, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Joseph DeLaGarza is the Senior Business Counselor for the MBDA Business Center - Chicago (Chicago MBC), operated by the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council in partnership with the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In this role, he assists Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) in obtaining certification as an MBE, connecting to Fortune 500 companies in order to sell their goods and services, exporting to other countries and identifying financing opportunities to expand their business or refinance existing debt.

Mr. DeLaGarza has had a passion for working with and assisting entrepreneurs grow or start their companies since 2001. Joseph’s extensive experience across various segments has equipped him with the unique ability to comprehend and assist in a wide variety of business challenges in order to derive solutions. Joseph DeLaGarza is the former Vice President of Client Relations at Quantum Capital Investments (QCI), where he assisted individuals and companies in selecting the best investments for their short and long-term financial goals. Prior to joining QCI, he worked as the Director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he provided one-on-one business consulting, loan packaging, business plan preparation and seminar training to entrepreneurs. He also served as an advisor/senior consultant for the Entrepreneurial Student Teams Program in which UIC student consulting teams assisted entrepreneurs in solving real business issues.

Joseph DeLaGarza received his Bachelor of Science in Finance at DePaul University and completed his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in International Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been an active member of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and was a two-time scholarship award recipient in 2004 and 2005. In May 2005, Mr. DeLaGarza graduated from a one-year leadership program, Metropolitan Leadership Institute, which provides training to emerging leaders that are Hispanic Professionals and have an interest in public leadership. In 2002 and 2003, he served as President of DePaul’s Hispanic Alumni Association (HAA), an organization that provides alumni with leadership, professional and career development opportunities.

Joseph has been an active participant in the business community through his leadership within planning committees and speaking engagements. He has also volunteered on numerous occasions to speak at events motivating the Latino youth to pursue higher education. Additionally, Mr. DeLaGarza has also volunteered for organizations and programs such as Tax Assistance, Junior Achievement, and the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Karla Mina, Broker Consultant, Coldwell Banker, TV & Radio Host

A real estate professional since 2005, Karla always looks out for the best interest of her clients. She has attained a strong track record in her business because she focuses on building long-term relationships with everyone she works with. For Karla, she feels the only way to have a successful real estate transaction is to look at the clients’ big picture. She takes everything into consideration. From location, to surrounding schools to finances, she’s always thinking about the long term implications of each of her client’s real estate investments.

Education

After graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor marketing from Purdue University, Karla started her career at the assignment desk for Telemundo, Channel 44. She researched story ideas and gave assignments to reporters, but soon after decided to pursue marketing full time. She worked at Leo Burnett on high-level clients like Kelloggs, focusing on 17 Million dollar marketing budgets. She built marketing strategies and gained a great deal of insight into the world of marketing, experience still very valuable today. Her first experience with real estate came when she purchased a two flat building to rent out as a landlord/investor. It wasn’t long before she realized real estate was a perfect fit.

Personal Background

A Chicago resident since 1988, Karla has extensive neighborhood knowledge. Although she works all over Chicago, she focuses her business on Garfield Ridge, Bridgeport, Canaryville, Old Irving, Avondale, Portage Park, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Bucktown, West Humboldt Park, Wicker Park, Rogers Park, Andersonville and even surrounding suburbs like Parkridge, Naperville, & Elmhurst. When not focused on her business, Karla enjoys volunteering. She is active on WTTW Channel 11 Community Advisory Board supporting learning programs for children, and she is a board member in the Chicago Association of Realtors Young Professionals Network and is a National Association of Hispanic Realtors representative.

In her personal time, Karla enjoys traveling and has been to many countries all over the world. Originally from Honduras, her passion for travel began when she studied Journalism in Madrid, Spain. Today, she and her family live in Chicago’s Old Irving neighborhood, but go out exploring the world whenever possible!

Click here to view Karla's full bio

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If you want to advance your career, you know the standard advice: Go to networking events! But attending an unfamiliar event (with unfamiliar attendees) can be intimidating, so much so that many of us shy away from attending altogether. With a few tips and tricks, you can confidently approach networking events and make career-lifting connections:

Do your homework. Some event organizers will share a guest list in advance. If so, search attendees’ LinkedIn profiles to scout out whom you’d like to meet. READ MORE

I opened two different yet similar emails this morning. The first dealt with a “Speed Networking” site promoting its services. The second email was promoting a “Networking Seminar” that uses a formulaic approach to networking similar to the typical funnel approach to sales.

What struck me about these emails was the focus on numbers. Has networking become the replacement for the old sales mantra of having to make cold calls?

When I started selling more than 30 years ago, my leaders drilled into me that sales is a numbers game. If you make 100 calls, 10 will give you an appointment. READ MORE

Mobile technologies are helping Hispanic-owned businesses improve productivity, client service and communications with employees, the president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said.

Javier Palomarez said that, according to a recent USHCC-sponsored survey taken among 513 Hispanic companies, 82 percent of respondents said that greater productivity could be attributed to the use of those devices, while 62 percent said they help grow their businesses.

"We always suspected that the Latino community uses technology more than the average white consumer, but the study has found that such is not just the case with Hispanic consumers, but also among the Hispanic business segment," Palomarez said in a statement to.. READ MORE

An ice-cold Corona with a slice of lime is what often comes to mind with Hispanic beers. But a growing cadre of Latino brew masters is working to change that.

Among them is Juan Camilo, a 28 year old Dominican-American entrepreneur who two years ago turned his beer brewing hobby into a full-fledged business. He quit his job on Wall Street and, with a home-made recipe and a passion for beer, opened the Dyckman Beer Company, hailed as New York City's first Latino-owned brewery.

Camilo, who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic but grew up in upper Manhattan and the Bronx, plans to produce a line of beer that captures the essence, culture and flavors of New York's Latino neighborhoods. READ MORE

Is it really a "sales presentation" if no one is listening?

As a prospect in front of salespeople, I do not always listen to what is being said. It would be naive to assume that we hold a prospect's attention 100 percent of the time. However, every salesperson can improve his or her presentation.

Here are some general tips to help you get better:

1. Establish rapport. Before you start talking about your product or service, be sure you have connected as a human being with your prospect. It is so much easier to say no to someone you have no connection with. Once you have found something in common with your prospect, you can begin talking about your product or service. READ MORE

"I want to build beautiful things the world wants to use." So said an application to an internship program with Girls Who Code, a national group that encourages young women to consider careers in computer science.

Lots of women want to code, design, and be part of the communications/Internet/Web/mobile world. So do lots of people from all sorts of racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.

Problem: That world is a male shop. A white male shop. Always has been.

As a report released Wednesday by Twitter Inc. makes clear, the tech workplace is not diverse. It's predominantly male and predominantly white, though significantly Asian.

Twitter says its non-tech staff is pretty much 50-50. But then, overall staff is 70 percent male, leadership is 79 percent, and the tech staff is 90 percent. Nine guys for every lady. Which is, by the way, the ratio for the entire U.S. tech workforce. READ MORE

Many decision makers struggling to increase sales and stay ahead of their competition don’t understand how impactful the Hispanic market could be for their businesses.

Some executives feel that since they haven’t done any outreach in the past and they have low market penetration, it’s not necessary to invest in this target audience. However, Hispanics are emerging as a powerhouse of economic influence.

The success of any business will depend on how open-minded executives are in reacting to market challenges and trends, finding new opportunities and embracing new audiences. For example, a combination of innovation, creativity and adaptable leadership made companies like Apple and Starbucks who they are today. READ MORE

When it comes to securing a job in the current labor market, the adage of "it's all about who you know" especially rings true.

Networking is a big part of securing a job and advancing a career, which is why networking and connecting with other professionals should be happening all the time.

At the end of July, LinkedIn released its new LinkedIn Profile on Mobile, which redesigned the way its mobile app displays users' profiles. READ MORE

It may not come as a surprise that Hispanics like to travel just as much as anyone else.

But hotel and airline companies should take note that Latinos not only tend to fly more frequently than non-Hispanics, they also spend more money on their vacations, according to a new survey by Think Now research.

“Regardless of income, Hispanics spend more money on average than non-Hispanics on domestic vacations, due at least in part to the fact that they are more likely to fly and because they have larger families,” the online survey, which was conducted between February and May of this year, reported. READ MORE

Being Latino means being part of a rich, diverse culture. Or does it? Some Latinos feel removed from their peers because of their skin color, language ability, or mixed-race heritage. Others have faced criticism for holding political views at odds with the Hispanic mainstream. In fact, many Latinos know all too well what it is like not to fit in with their own community.

“Most people believe that all Latinos look like the stereotypical Puerto Rican or Mexican,” said Mirna Martinez-Santiago, 43, a New York attorney. “I am from Honduras. I am black, racially, but I identify as Latina.” READ MORE

Most people attend networking events to gain something: job leads, referrals, exposure, connections, opportunities to grow their business. Having organized more than 50 networking events over the past 10 years, I’ve seen plenty of these people leave disappointed, dismissing networking as a complete waste of time.

But I’ve also seen the opposite. I’ve seen people walk out with a handful of business cards feeling happy, inspired and excited. The major difference between these two groups of people is this: the people who leave on a high note are those who attend with just one goal in mind — to figure out how they can help others in the room.

True networking occurs when there’s an understanding that everyone in the room has equal value. READ MORE

Hispanics have an appetite, and with an estimated purchasing power of $1.5 trillion by 2015, they are an important audience that grocery chains should not ignore.

Hispanics are spending more frequently on groceries and shopping perishables than other consumer groups in the United States, according to the Nielsen report “Fresh View of Hispanic Consumers.”

Fresh food is the cornerstone of Hispanic grocery shopping, as Hispanics spend $175 more on fresh foods per year than the national average. Fresh food ingredients and home cooking also are central to Hispanic culture, and 75 percent of Hispanic families have a traditional sit-down meal every day, based on the report “The Why Behind The Buy” from Acosta Sales & Marketing and Univision Communications. READ MORE

If you've been following the program, then you know we have a very deep interest in technology - how it's created, how it's used and how it affects the country. We've been particularly interested in groups that haven't had as much access to this vital area. In our "Women in Tech" and "Blacks in Tech" series on Twitter and on the radio, we've been able to experience in real-time the impact of so called minorities and women are making on this country's science and technology engine. And I think it is fair to say the engagement we generated close to 200 million impressions on Twitter demonstrates incredible appetite for knowledge about the contributions of these thought-leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists. And as our program winds down, you know our last program is August first, we wanted to touch base on some of these important issues a least one more time. So we've called upon Ben Jealous. He is the former president and CEO of the NAACP. He recently joined Kaper Capital. It is a Bay Area group that invests in social-impact tech startups. READ MORE