Feeling entrepreneurial?
Everyone knows the internet is great for businesses, but some business owners might be a little intimidated by the prospect of building a webpage, getting exposure, and just figuring out the technical details. In fact, 58 percent of businesses in the U.S. still do not have a web presence, and that statistic is only higher in the Latino business community. Well, one group is hoping to make it easier to get your business online with its own social network and tools for building businesses online.
Called the "Hispanic Chamber of E-commerce," the San Diego, California-based internet site and trade group is run by Tayde Aburto, who wants to make it easier for Latino business owners to launch their businesses online. In fact, the Hispanic Chamber of E-commerce (or HISCEC) is just beginning a new initiative, simply called "Get Hispanic Businesses Online," which Aburto hope will be a success when it's complete, with a goal of getting 100,000 new Hispanic-owned businesses up and running on the internet.
HISCEC will provide web presence-building tools and marketing help for the cost of membership. "The Hispanic Chamber of E-commerce offers internet marketing services that help to promote businesses in a way that's out-of-the-box creatively and in tempo with today's marketplace. We want to foster the adoption of Internet business tools to help Hispanic-owned businesses to become more competitive," said Aburto. "We do it using a user-friendly platform with a private social network, E-Commerce and marketing tools."
Members get a business page with a blog and virtual store, which is an online marketplace with a professional directory, business directory, which acts as a private social network between Hispanic-owned businesses that become members with HISCEC. The goal is to build relationships that grow possible customer bases, as well as simply increasing the number of Latino-owned business online. "Simply put, our organization is all about securing relationships that increase sales, business' competitiveness and create a healthy bottom line for everyone involved," added Aburto. The initiative coincides with the onset of Hispanic Heritage Month, though its unclear whether the timing is intentional or when the initiative is expected to reach its goal. The Hispanic Chamber of E-commerce is a for-profit group, and membership costs about $100 per year.