Latin business expo brings unity to Latino businessowners

MICHIANA -- The Latin Business Expo appeared in its sixth iteration today, and its organizer, Yolo Lopez DeMarco made some changes to the event to make an even bigger impact.

Lopez leads Yolo Vox, a bilingual marketing service. She says the best time to start a business is when there's a need, or when you're passionate about it. Her goal is to help new business owners avoid the runaround and get connected to the right resources and people right away. Despite the hardships currently facing the Latino community, Lopez wants business owners to be unified and grow.

"We are celebrating the contribution that not only the Latino community brings as business owners to Elkhart, Goshen, South Bend, Mishawaka, but we're also celebrating the unity of connecting the Hispanic community with the broader American community, because we need that." Lopez says. "This isn't about segregating Hispanics from another culture. This is actually about being intentional and bringing more unity, more connections in both languages, in all the languages possibles. We always welcome everybody. This is a bilingual conference or event, so we always have those opportunities for anybody that wants to come."

5 speakers shared their thoughts at the luncheon, and 15 vendors held an open house before and after lunch so patrons could connect with them and owners could troubleshoot. A key point discussed by Goshen mayor Gina Leichy was what transitions a small business from trying to survive to being able to grow.

"Creating a community network of support." Was Mayor Leichy's answer. "And local government plays an important role in that. We need to make sure we're communicating with people that this is a place that you can go, you're welcome, were here to help you. And that's what the city of Goshen has been doing for a long time and we intend to continue doing throughout this economic climate. What I hear from the Latino community is [there's] a sense of concern, and that makes it harder to do business. When you're just concerned about family members' general safety, it makes it harder to grow. It puts you back in survival mode."

Leichty is a former small business owner, so she wants to make sure there's a strong connection between the Hispanic community and the local government. As Goshen's Latino population increases, she says she's there to provide support, and wants people to feel safe, because growth bodes well for everyone.