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It’s officially the merry-making season, and small-business owners are likely going to spend some time over the next month at holiday parties.

“As a professional, you have the opportunity to either enjoy yourself by throwing caution to the wind, or the opportunity to work on enhancing your professionalism by building your network for new business,” said Sharon Hill, an author, certified etiquette trainer and president of Sharon Hill International, a motivational and educational speaking business in Chapel Hill.

Here are Hill’s tips for celebrating while networking. READ MORE

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Time is running out. Network with 10 of Chicago's most prominent Latino organizations this Thursday. 

Participating organizations: 
* Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE) 
* Illinois Hispanic Nurses Association 
* Mujeres Latinas en Accion 
* Mujeres de HACE 
* Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement 
* Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers 
* National Latino Education Institute 
* IAHSE - Illinois Association of Hispanic State Employees 
* LULAB - Loyola University Latino Alumni Board 

Time is running out. Secure your ticket today!

http://professionals-holiday.eventbrite.com

Most managers accept that employers benefit from a diverse workforce, but the notion had been hard to prove or quantify - until the arrival of new US research.

The research provides compelling evidence that diversity unlocks innovation and drives market growth - a finding that should intensify efforts to ensure that executive ranks both embody and embrace the power of differences.

In this research, which rests on a nationally representative survey of 1,800 professionals, 40 case studies and numerous focus groups and interviews, we scrutinised two kinds of diversity: inherent and acquired. Inherent diversity involves traits you are born with, such as gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. READ MORE

If you’re not trying to sell your products to Hispanics, you’re missing out.

After all, Hispanic buying power in Florida more than doubled from $104.8 billion in 2010 to $212.8 billion in 2012, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth.

But you have to know what you’re doing before you reach out to a new market.
With that in mind, I asked Hernan Tagliani, president of The Group Advertising in Orlando and author of a business blog about the Hispanic market, READ MORE

In an effort to boost its appeal to Latina fashionistas, Macy's says it has signed a multi-year agreement with Thalia for an exclusive women's fashion brand. The new brand, called Thalía Sodi, is scheduled to launch in 300 Macy's stores and on macys.com in Spring 2015. The line is expected to include dresses, tops, pants, shoes and jewelry.

Earlier this year, Macy's also partnered with the megastar, naming her (along with the animated Dora the Explorer) as an Icon of Style for 2013, and she appeared at Macy's events around the country, linked to its Hispanic Heritage month celebrations. READ MORE

Tucson-born book editor René Alegría sees his adopted hometown of Manhattan as a hotbed of ideas and trends. But he believes the biggest influence on U.S. culture will be Latinas along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In the 2010 Census, Latina mothers accounted for 56 percent of the country’s growth.

Inspired by women like his grandmother — who guided her children to be professionals although she was born in Mexico and never mastered English — he launched Mamiverse, a bilingual website and content provider geared toward women and mothers.

The site features advice columns, stories, entertainment, self-help articles, food and sports, written by best-selling authors such as Alisa Valdes.

“We are at a point in which Latino families, Latino kids, are the future of this country,” Alegría said. “If you educate and empower a Latina mother, you educate and empower an entire family.” READ MORE

Actress Eva Longoria has funded a new study in conjunction with the University of California-Los Angeles in an effort to shed more light on barriers preventing Latinas pursuing higher education.
Through her Eva Longoria Foundation, Longoria commissioned a report titled “Making Education Work for Latinas in the U.S.,” for which researchers examined factors contributing to and affecting Latinas’ educational success.
“We were frustrated to primarily find analysis of what does not work for Latinas, and we wanted to find out what does,” Longoria said in a statement. “The findings from this study will help us fine-tune our education work, and we hope others will use this research to support Latina achievement.” READ MORE

Magazine companies are increasingly shifting their attention to the surging Hispanic community in the U.S. and their impressive buying power.

In the last 10 months, Hearst, Conde Nast and Time Inc. have introduced or strengthened English-language magazines and inserts aimed at Latinas, a growing demographic that marketers are eager to reach. Ad spending on Hispanic media climbed 11% to $7.9 billion in 2012, according to Ad Age's Hispanic Fact Pack, faster than the general market.

But the vast majority of the spending in Hispanic media -- $5.8 billion -- is flowing to TV. And digital media seems to be siphoning off what's left for print magazines, where spending last year shrunk 19.5% to $294 million. READ MORE

A couple of months ago, I got an email from Jesse Martinez — a devoted and tireless leader of Latino entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley — asking me to speak at a leadership summit. He also asked me what I wanted to speak about.

A great question, because while I have spoken at many events like this, my interest in Latinos in business has evolved. Or should I say: Latinos in business have evolved, and so have my views.

There was a time when I used to speak about the special assets that Latinos bring to startups, particularly in the world of social technology. Now I like to talk about the category itself — Latino entrepreneurship — because the category itself has special value. READ MORE

The Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers (SHPE), the leading national organization aimed at motivating Hispanics to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), hosted a successful conference drawing more than 5,000 to Indianapolis, Indiana for a four-day technical conference.

The four-day event took place October 30 – November 3 and successfully achieved:

-- Bringing together more than 500 middle and high school students to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) for an all-day Pre-College Symposium event aimed at inspiring youths with hands on science and math activities.
-- Introducing nearly 3,000 college students to Fortune 500 companies at the annual Career Fair & Graduate School Expo.
-- Bringing more than 200 companies to recruit Hispanic talent for STEM related jobs and internships.
-- Hosting an executive roundtable with CEOs and industry leaders on solutions to increase college graduate rates among Hispanic students in STEM.
-- Offering corporate tours and technical workshops for professionals and students, networking events, motivational luncheons and seminars to arm college students with professional life skills. READ MORE

It is well-known that the buying power of Latinos has increased six times since 1990 –from $212 billion to an estimated $1.2 trillion in 2013– and the Hispanic population grew an estimated 43 percent between 2000 and 2013, rising from 35.3 million to over 52 million.

However, the growth of Hispanic businesses continues to be unnoticed by many mainstream corporations as well as the general public, even to members of the Latino community. Large Hispanic companies are achieving considerable revenues and becoming important contenders in their industries.

The following are the largest Latino companies in revenues across the country, according to HispanicBusiness.com Top 500 Hispanic Business 2013. READ MORE

Hispanic-owned businesses are continuing to drive U.S. economic growth, with more than 3.16 million companies nationwide – up nearly 40 percent since 2007 despite a tough economy, according to a study by Geoscape International Inc. and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The West South Central region, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, saw a 43 percent expansion in the number of Hispanic-owned businesses between 2007 and 2013. The region was surpassed only by the East South Central at 59 percent growth – including the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi – and the South Atlantic – the Southeastern seaboard – at 52 percent. READ MORE

The World Bank, with the latest edition of its report "Doing Business," has confirmed what economists and investors already knew: Chile is the best country in Latin America to do business. The South American powerhouse was the highest-scoring country of the region, clocking in at 34 out of 189 nations surveyed.

Furthermore, Chile has advanced 19 positions in the last four years, strengthening its role as Latin America's most welcoming economy and one of the best 40 countries to do business in the world. The rise of Chile can be explained by its open laws on enterprising and starting companies, which can be done in a day, and its trade policies. As one of the countries in the world with the most free trade agreements, it has few obstacles to imports and exports. READ MORE

Veronica Rodriguez, Director, Student Leadership & Development, Northeastern IL University
Gamma Phi Omega

Veronica Rodriguez received her bachelor’s degree in History and her M.Ed. in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago.  She has been a Greek Advisor for over 10 years between University of Illinois at Chicago and now Northeastern Illinois University where she is the Director of Student Leadership Development.

Veronica has been a member of Gamma Phi Omega International Sorority Inc. since 1997.  She served on the National Board for a combined 12 years, holding  a multiple of positions including National President.

She is currently serving on the executive board of the newly chartered alumnae colony in the Northwest Suburbs.

Sonia Olivo, Entrepreneur & Insurance/Financial Services Agent, State Farm
Sigma Lambda Gamma

Sonia Olivo has over 10 years of experience in the insurance and financial services arena and is now a State Farm Agent located in Northlake, IL since 2006.  Educating and providing knowledge of need based products to clients is a central focus to Sonia’s business and she has relied on referrals from existing customers to help grow her business.  With 5 fully bilingual team members, Sonia is now one of the Chicagoland’s top Agents.  Sonia provides services surrounding all insurance products from Auto, Home, Life, and Health, but also helps with those products many are unfamiliar with such as Banking and Mutual Funds.  Born and raised in Chicago’s south side, Sonia holds a Bachelors and Masters degree from DePaul University in Sociology and Latin American/Latino Studies.  Since becoming an agent, Sonia has qualified for multiple sales and travel award recognitions. 

Ana Serafin, Communications Manager, Goose Island Beer Co., Editor at TravelingLatina.com
Alpha Psi Lambda

Ana Serafin, an active alumni for Alpha Psi Lambda, obtained her bachelor's degree in Communications at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Upon graduation, she started her career in public relations where she worked for consumer product brands such as Aeromexico, MillerCoors, Wrigley Jr. Co., Nintendo, Walmart, among others. Recently, she obtained her M.A. in Advertising and Public Relations at DePaul University and is currently working at Goose Island Beer Company as their Communications Manager. In addition, she is an award winning travel blogger; she documents her travel experiences via www.TravelingLatina.com

Angel Garcia, Attorney, Garcia Law Group
Omega Delta

Angel has worked on numerous local, state and national campaigns. In addition to his work with the Chicago Young Republicans, Angel also has served as President of The John Marshall Law School Federalist Society and Chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Cook County. Angel has also been a political commentator on various local and national networks. Angel currently serves as a statewide commissioner for the Illinois Latino Family Commission. 

Angel has a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School and is an MBA from the Brennan School of Business.  He worked for a futures exchange for over a decade. Today he practices law for his own firm, with a focus on criminal defense.

Ennedy Rivera, Attorney, Wysocki & Smith
Sigma Lambda Gamma

Ennedy Rivera is a litigator with the law office of Wysocki & Smith, a Lake County general practice law firm, where she specializes in immigration, civil and federal litigation. Mrs. Rivera is born and raised in Waukegan and has dedicated herself to assuring that Latinos have a prevalent voice in Lake County. Her dedication to the Latino community shines through her leadership as board President for the YWCA of Lake County, board member of the Lake County Community Foundation (sister organization to the Chicago Community Trust), as well as a the first Latina board member of Vista Health Hospital. In addition, she serves as commissioner for the Illinois State Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the Waukegan Public Schools and City of Waukegan. Recently she received the honor of being sworn as a Special Prosecutor for the Lake County States Attorney's office case review panel which oversees wrongful conviction cases.  

Ms. Rivera is life-long resident of Lake County and has earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in Pre-Medicine and Spanish. She holds her law degree from DePaul University and has been sworn before the U.S. Supreme Court.

This Friday. Don't miss out. Secure your ticket today!

I've never been the sort of person who is good at making small talk, especially in a room packed full of strangers.

But a key part of my job is getting out into the world and meeting people, conducting interviews and building up contacts - so it's a good job I'm a fast learner.

Here's a few key tips I've picked up along the way.

Show up early

Arriving in a crowded room full of people already talking at a flat-out rate can make networking extra-intimidating. Getting there early gives you the chance to check out the lay of the land and find somebody who isn't already engaged in conversation. READ MORE

There is a widely held belief that women are generally better than men at developing and maintaining relationships.

But many women seem unable to transfer those skills to the business world, where the same activity is commonly called "networking".

"Part of the cause is that women value authenticity in relationships," says Deborah Gillis, chief operating officer for Catalyst, a women's business research and advocacy group.

"Sometimes the notion of meeting someone and then looking to them for help, or advice, or contacts in business, often feels just a little uncomfortable. Men seem to do it much more naturally."

Experts have various explanations as to why this might be, but they are agreed on one important point - informal networks are critical to success, and more women need to learn how to benefit from them.

"Women need to think about networking as a business skill," says Ms Gillis. READ MORE

Since its birth, rock music has been a sort of boys club with young men at the microphone in far greater frequency than women. That said, there are a few stand-out Latinas who can rock with the best of the guys and we want to celebrate them as they’re few and far between. Let’s take a moment to learn about the Latinas leaving a mark in rock music.

Andrea Echeverri

Andrea Echeverri is the lead singer of the Colombian rock band Aterciopelados. She rocks out hard in Spanish with her bandmates Mauricio Montenegro (guitar), Camilo Velazquez (drums), Hector Buitrago (bass guitar) and Urian Sarmiento (percussion). Aterciopelados, which in English means The Velvety, won a Latin Grammy Award in 2001 for Best Alternative Music Album for “Oye” and in 2007 a Latin Grammy Award for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group with Vocal for their album “Gozo Poderoso.” READ MORE

At the forefront of this new effort is UC Berkeley’s Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), where Director Harley Shaiken is providing the channel with access to CLAS events and promoting interviews with its affiliated faculty in fields that include political science, history, economics, law, architecture, business, public health, public policy and art.

The pioneering initiative is Univision’s first arrangement with a university in the United States. The network chose to collaborate with CLAS because of the center’s outstanding program, affiliated faculty and students. Univision is providing a full tuition scholarship for a UC Berkeley graduate student, who will work on Fusion projects from an office at the center. READ MORE

So much is changing so fast in Latino media. What began with the launch of FOX News Latino in 2010 created a booming new ethnic media market, as Huffington Post, NBC, CNN, ESPN, and others quickly followed suit. Late last month, Univision joined ABC News to launch the most significant investment in Latino media to-date: Fusion, a 24-hour cable news channel with a target audience of English-speaking Hispanic millennials.

During the early years of this decade young Latinos have been arriving motivated and succeeding quickly in American newsrooms. It is now up to the rising class of young newsroom Latinos to keep moving in and moving up as mentors and facilitators for others. While there is still a lot of work to do, below are 13 top young Latinos in American newsrooms (listed alphabetically by first name) who are leading the way. READ MORE

For the last nine years, Santiago and Margarita have run a popular neighborhood eatery for home-style Latino cooking in Philadelphia. Millions of Latino-owned small businesses like theirs are playing an increasingly critical role in rebuilding local economies and bringing vibrancy back to urban and rural neighborhoods. Between 2002 and 2007, the number of Latino-owned small businesses grew to 2.3 million, an increase of 43.7%; non-Latino small businesses grew in number by only 14.5% in the same period.

More recent studies estimate that there are now 3.2 million Latino-owned firms in the U.S. With annual revenues from these businesses projected to increase from $345 billion in 2007 to $486 billion in 2013, this trend is a promising sign for Latino entrepreneurs and their communities. READ MORE

Born in Vienna in 1909, Peter Drucker had a childhood marked in large part by seriousness and sorrow.

As a boy, he was included in the weekly salons that his father and mother held with writers, musicians, economists, mathematicians and physicians. Playtime this was not. Meanwhile, World War I took a terribly heavy toll. Drucker and his friends “taught ourselves to read by scanning the casualty lists and the obituaries with the big black borders, looking for names we knew, names of people we loved and missed,” he later recalled.

Still, the mirth missing in Drucker’s early years wouldn’t have prevented him from admiring the savvy exhibited by the toy maker Mattel as it tries to boost sales this holiday season for its array of brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price. READ MORE