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The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, may have sung, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”

Annie Menchaca-Bratton was an early female Latina military enlistee. Enlarge
But it was Tina Menchaca of Toledo who told her 19-year-old daughter, Annie, “A woman is just as strong, and can do anything she wants to do.”

At a time when women joining the military was still a rarity, Annie Menchaca took her mother’s advice to heart and joined the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing in 1978 — the first Latina to enlist there.

During her 35-year career she’s served in Panama, Kuwait, Japan, and Turkey, just to name a few places.

“Latinas in the military?” says the now 54-year-old Senior Master Sgt. Annie Menchaca-Bratton, who plans to retire in December. “There were hardly any women, period.

“It’s still very much a man’s world, but the opportunity for women now is remarkable. The military is still trying to learn to accommodate us. We’re still the minority.”

That’s changing. From 1973 to 2010, the number of active-duty enlisted women in the military has grown from about 42,000 to 167,000, according to a study by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about issues and trends shaping America and the world. READ MORE

Break rooms in McDonald’s restaurants across the country are being transformed into classrooms—part of a grand workforce-training experiment that is showing how investments in the future of your workforce can pay significant dividends, even for a corporate giant.

A few years ago, local owners of McDonald’s franchises realized that some of their most promising workers, particularly Latinos, were hitting a roadblock in their advancement because they were lacking in English-language skills. Some restaurant owners publicized English as Second Language classes in their area, while others offered to pay expenses, but participation and results were spotty.

So Betsy Clark, McDonald’s director of education strategies, set out to find a language-training model that could be deployed successfully at McDonald’s locations nationally. After consulting with ESL experts around the country, she helped design and launch English Under the Arches, a language-acquisition program tailored for franchise owners and their employees. READ MORE

Bob Unanue, president of Goya Foods Inc., may be the country's most understated chief of a $1 billion business.

The 59-year-old executive from Wyckoff, N.J., shuns big titles. "We don't use CEO," he said over dinner at a Manhattan restaurant. Afterward, he rushed back across the Hudson River to join the night-shift workers' Memorial Day weekend barbecue at Goya's headquarters in Secaucus, N.J.

Mr. Unanue's common touch contrasts with Goya's lofty financials. It is the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S., with more than $1 billion in revenue, and the 23rd-largest privately held company in the area, according to Crain's. READ MORE

Do you think Tiffany & Co, BMW, Ralph Lauren, Private Banking, AMEX Platinum or The Ritz when you think of Latinos? If not, you may be allowing stereotypes to limit your ability to tap into a segment growing faster than any other within the luxury and upscale categories.

While previous research has already revealed a vibrant luxury market with Hispanics earning $110,000+ (which is growing 8 percent faster than the rest, reporting 221 percent growth in the last decade), the sweet spot has now been revealed by a new study challenging conventional thinking: "America’s New Upscale Segment: Latinos!

The study by AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing, in partnership with Nielsen and Santiago Solutions, is placing the spotlight on the ‘brown elephant’ in the room represented by Latinos. READ MORE

A new study by the National Women's Law Center has revealed that minimum wage may be affecting the wage gap that exists between men and women.

According to NBC Latino, the study shows that the average gender wage gap in states where minimum wage is above the federally mandated $7.25 per hour is actually lower than in states that meet the $7.25 criteria.

“The gap in wages has moved at a snail’s pace—shrinking only 18 cents in five decades and remaining stagnant for the last decade,” said National Women's Law Center Co-President Marcia D. Greenberger. “And for women of color, the wage gap is even worse. Equal pay is not an abstract principle for women and their families.” READ MORE

Forbes published their list of the top 100 most powerful and influential women in the world. This list consists of woman with economic and influential power, from entrepreneurs to political activists, Latino women having a strong presence in the business magazine's list.

The list is ranked based on "dollars, media momentum and impact," according to the publication. There are many women who have been part of this list, such as Oprah Winfrey and Hilary Clinton for example, on more than one occasion. But it seems that the Latina power is growing across the globe. Even having the second most powerful woman, Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff. These women are not only financially powerful, they are also philanthropists and role models for everyone, not only Latinos, to follow.

Starting of the list, number 95 is, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Bundchen does not stop at being one of the worlds most beautiful women. She is also one of the wealthiest. The Brazilian has several endorsement deals, including Chanel and David Yurman. She is also a U.N. ambassador and works along side Al Gore in the endevours to create a more enviromentally sound world. READ MORE

At some point this summer, the largest population group in California will quietly shift from white to Hispanic, the first time since California became a state in 1850.

By 2020, Hispanics will represent almost 41 percent of the population, with nearly 2 million more Hispanics than whites - and topping 1 million Hispanics in five counties, according to new projections by the California Department of Finance.

By 2030, Latinos will be by far the largest group in the workforce, age of 25 to 64, with 9.6 million people, compared to 7.2 million whites and 3.1 million Asians. And by 2060, nearly half of all Californians will be Latinos.

This long-building demographic change in California will not only change the face of the state - but also change the face of its businesses.

Generations of Latinos have come to California for the same reasons that generations of whites, blacks and Asians have come here - for the chance to pursue what we now call the American Dream. READ MORE

Lease to Own:

An arrangement where a company enters into a lease agreement with an owner that gives the company the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the real estate leased at a predefined price and time. More often than not, a portion of the total rental payment goes toward paying down the value of the item leased in the event that the renter wishes to exercise the option.

These are great options for companies that want to own real estate but cannot obtain traditional financing. It is wise to understand your risks involved with any investment, and your specific investment strategy.

Questions or comments about this post? Call or email me

Edgar Cervantes|Associate Broker

JBS Commercial Real Estate                       

2777 Finley Road, Suite 12|Downers Grove, IL 60515

O 312.462.1021|F 312.462.4423                                  

edgar@jbscre.com|www.jbscre.com

According to a new study conducted by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA), Latinos that make above $50,000 a year are becoming a larger market segment and will most likely shape important consumption patterns in the overall U.S. marketplace.

The study found that in 2012, close to 15 million Latinos who earn between $50,000 and $100,000 a year represented over a quarter of the Hispanic population in the United States.

The study says, promisingly, that this number is expected to double by 2015.The Latino segment alone now has a spending capacity of about half a billion dollars, or 37 percent, of the $1.3 billion that the entire Latino population spend annually in the United States.

The study, "America's New Upscale Segment: Latinos," was designed by AHAA in collaboration with Nielsen and was presented by experts Reni Díaz and Carlos Santiago. READ MORE

Latinos aren’t the happiest bunch. According to a Harris Poll survey of 2,345 Americans, Hispanics fared the worst when it comes to cheerfulness. Just 28 percent of those surveyed said that they were “very happy,” which is down 35 percent from 2011.

The survey was conducted online between April 10 and 15, 2013 by Harris Interactive, a market research firm headquartered in New York, New York.

Besides Latinos, other groups to have reported lessened happiness are African-Americans (their percentage went down from 44 percent to 36 percent) and anyone earning less than $50,000 a year (from 33 to 29 percent). Of course, we can’t talk about unhappiness without mention college graduates, who are faced with a roughed-up job market. READ MORE

Shopping has always been a family experience for me, whether I was heading out with my grandparents or my mother, with my boyfriend, or with my kids.

As a child in central California, I loved going to the weekly flea-markets with my grandparents. In my family, it was called "la ramada," a word I believe we used because of the covered, open-sided stalls that lined the rows of the dirt field. These days were exciting: There were samples being given out by the farmers; there was music blaring from the vendors' booths.

When I moved to Mexico after college, I spent six out of seven days at work. On my days off, my boyfriend and I looked forward to going shopping together. The tianguis that sprouted weekly in our neighborhood was much like the "ramada" experience of my childhood. The weekend trip to the big-box store was not that different: We'd either go to La Ley, Gigante or maybe Wal-Mart. Rather than been seen as a chore, it was fun.

In the stores, there almost always were "edecanes," young women offering samples of anything from crackers and cookies to cheese and tequila. Often, there was a DJ loudly playing banda music, with more pretty girls on hand to pass out balloons or to spin a lottery wheel to give away branded prizes.

I was reminded of all this when I spotted this article on the growing movement to capture the hearts and wallets of Hispanic consumers: PYMNTS.com Mobile, Social And Loyalty Savvy: Keys To Encouraging Hispanic Spending

If you read Gustavo Arellano's column Ask a Mexican, you may remember seeing a reader ask why Mexicans get dressed up and head out as whole families to go to the swap meet. From personal experience, I'd say it's because we see it as family time. Often it's something we do on a Sunday, maybe after church or before we go to some other family event. It's an outing for us, not a chore. It's time that we take advantage of, an opportunity for entertainment (and a budget- and family-friendly outing at that!) and time to spend together.

I hope retailers will catch onto this as they look to reach out to the Latino community. I sure miss those samples of cheese and tequila.

Lou Sandoval is co-founder/co-owner of Karma Yacht Sales, the Lake Michigan Beneteau dealership based in Chicago. It’s a full-service dealership offering new-boat sales, brokerage and service.

Sandoval, 48, is on the board of the Yacht Brokers Association of America and he is vice chairman of the diversity committee of the Recreational Boating Leadership Council. He is a board member at the Chicago Yacht Club and chairman of the venerable Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.

Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Sandoval fell in love with boating while earning a sailing merit badge at the Owassippe Scout Camp in Michigan. He credits Scouting for giving him foundational exposure to the sport of sailing, which among other activities shaped his love for outdoor recreation.

Sandoval’s early professional career in the biomedical industry took him to the Pacific Northwest, where he sailed Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. He was later transferred to Miami, where sailing year-round became the norm for this transplanted Northerner and he became more deeply involved in the racing circuit.

Sandoval moved back to Chicago in 1997 and jumped headfirst into the sailing community by purchasing his first sailboat — a 27-foot 1978 AMF Paceship — with two friends and his brother. He joined the Chicago Yacht Club and joined many of its committees in order to help promote club membership and the sport of sailing.

In 2000 Sandoval and two boat partners purchased their first new boat — a 2000 Beneteau First 33.7 — and named it Karma. He’s now on his third Beneteau, his second First 36.7. He races it in the largest one-design fleet in North America, one that Karma Yacht Sales helped build on Lake Michigan.

“I am as passionate about the brand as the first day I learned about it,” he says. READ MORE

* Article courtesy of Trade Only Today

Marketers see the potential to grow their brands through targeting the Hispanic demographic, but stressed that the focus can’t be solely on soccer, but must include other sports, depending on the geographic region. During a discussion at the 2013 Intersport Activation Summit entitled, “The Shifting Paradigm of Hispanic Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Activation,” panelists talked about not only appealing to the Hispanic market, but also knowing the market. The panel was moderated by Michael Rodriguez, senior vice president of incito!, a division of Intersport.

ESPN Deportes GM Lino Garcia said, “Soccer is a big big driver in sports for Hispanics. Two-thirds of the U.S. Hispanic population is Mexican; their number one sport is soccer. South Americans, their number one sport is soccer. However, when you look at the Caribbean and their top sports, soccer is not even one of them. It’s baseball, basketball, NFL. You can’t get the whole marketplace if you’re only focusing on soccer. There is a lot of diversity within the Hispanic market. There’s diversity in terms of geography. While soccer is a big driver, it’s not the only way.” READ MORE

As part of its Thought Leadership strategy to provide in-depth understanding of the diversity of the Hispanic market, AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing explores the Upscale Latino segment as part of its research series released during the AHAA 2013 Conference. The study revealed that this viable and sophisticated market boasts 40 percent of Hispanic Spending Power, lives in a world of cultural duality, and provides lifetime value and upside opportunities for many high-end and luxury brands. The most influential segment since the baby boomers, Upscale Hispanics will drive shifts in category consideration, purchasing behavior and brand relationship.

In alliance with Nielsen, AHAA conducted a comprehensive study on Hispanic households earning $50-100K annual income dissecting demographics, lifestyle, financial and investment behavior, purchasing habits, media consumption and technological adoption. At the direction of AHAA, this preliminary meta-study mined Nielsen's responder data, including P$ycle, Homescan, and Nielsen People Meter .

Young, urban and connected

In 2012, Upscale Latinos accounted for 29 percent, or 15 million, of the U.S. Hispanic population – that figure is expected to double by 2050. Younger than Upscale Non-Hispanic Whites (33 years old compared to 39 years old), they are living active lifestyles, often with young families – in fact, 85 percent of Upscale Hispanics having a household size of three or more, compared to 65 percent of Upscale Non-Hispanics. READ MORE

The White House, in conjunction with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, hosted the country’s top Hispanic business leaders on Wednesday for the first-ever “Hispanic Business Leaders Forum” to discuss jobs and economic topics, specifically the role Latino communities play in the economy.

The event was attended by high level administration officials including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew; Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; Todd Park, U.S. chief technology officer; and Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the president.

Following the forum, several participants spoke with reporters about how the decision to assemble the nation’s top Hispanic business leaders demonstrates the administration’s commitment to hearing input from the Latino community on the state of the economy. READ MORE

The profile of Target's customers is changing as the nation's Latino population surges.

"Digitally connected, time-pressured, savvy moms who are increasingly Hispanic" is how Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel describes the retailer's typical customer.

Target wants to retain other key customer groups, from millennials to aging Baby Boomers. But Steinhafel said Hispanics are a critical market for the company. They are the biggest and fastest growing minority group in the U.S, comprised of Latin American immigrants and their offspring, as well as Latinos whose families have been in the country for generations.

Large retailers like Target are working hard to win the loyalty and purchasing power of those more than 50 million consumers, particularly in states like Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Colorado, where more than a fifth of the population is Hispanic. READ MORE >> MPR story on Target's outreach to Hispanic consumers

The under-representation of Hispanic girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers is a challenge being tackled locally.

#Community partners, like Whitman College and the local chapter of the American Association of University Women, are supporting the Garrison Middle School Space Project.

#Answering why Latinas are lacking in STEM fields is trickier to explain.

#“Just in general, girls don’t choose math and science, and Latina girls really don’t,” said Diana Erickson, former bilingual coordinator for Walla Walla Public Schools.

#“I don’t think it has anything to do with intelligence,” Erickson said. “I think it has to do with perhaps roles that we play in life, the male and female gender roles.

#“I think that up to a certain point in school girls are as excited in math and science. And then it just kind of changes.”

#Erickson and her husband, Bill Erickson, are volunteers with the Latino Club at Walla Walla High School. The Ericksons also established a Hispanic Youth Exploring Engineering and Sciences camp that will mark its third summer this year.

#For about the last eight years, the Ericksons have taken teams of Hispanic youths to compete in the Bonneville Power Administration Regional Science Bowl in Portland. READ MORE

As a child, I don’t remember having a conversation with either of my parents about finances. The handful of lessons came from watching my parents. I was seven when they bought our first home for $80,000. It was a very modest two-bedroom on a small acreage. I know my father wanted something he could pay off in a few years. He wasn’t a fan of owing money for a long period of time. I also remember him putting a huge down payment on a Custom Craft van for our annual road trips and paying it off quickly. I got the message loud and clear; mortgages are not good. I don’t know if his motivations were financial independence or lack of trust in any institution that had his money. READ MORE

"Jenny from the Block" wants the block to buy Verizon phones from her.

Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez on Wednesday announced she's opening a chain of 15 cellphone stores and a website under the Viva Movil brand. The aim is to sell Verizon phones and services to Latinos.

The first store will open in New York on June 15, with others following in Los Angeles and Miami. The stores will have bilingual staff and provide a "culturally relevant shopping experience," Viva Movil said.

Viva Movil will be an authorized Verizon reseller, with the same prices and plans as regular Verizon stores. READ MORE