Study shows Latino-owned Businesses are Thriving

The growth and future of Latin-owned businesses continue to look bright, according to a new report on Latino entrepreneurship from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. 

The school’s 7th annual report once again showed that Latin-owned businesses have weathered economic and COVID-related storms and outperformed white-owned companies in several categories. 

“Latino entrepreneurs have shown their resilience over the past year, with many growing their companies organically and opening businesses in a variety of industries,” Marlene Orozco, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative (SLEI), said.

Among the highlights of the group’s findings were:

• Firm & Employee Growth: The number of Latino-owned employer firms has grown 35% in the last ten years compared to 4.5% growth among white-owned firms. In addition, Latino-owned businesses are increasing their number of employees at a dramatically faster rate than white-owned employer businesses (55% vs. 8% since 2007).
  
• Tech Focus: Latino-owned businesses are as likely as white-owned businesses to be in the technology industry.
  
• Career Advancement: Latino business owners are more likely to provide opportunities for the growth and advancement of their employees than White business owners.
  
• COVID Bright Spots: Latino-owned businesses are more likely to make proactive, strategic business changes to mitigate the negative challenges of the pandemic.

For the past seven years, SLEI has collected survey data from Latino-owned businesses across the country. The latest report is the largest survey to date, with 15,000 business owners surveyed, including 7,500 Latino-owned employer businesses, and 7,500 non-Latino, white-owned employer businesses.

“Our goal in collecting this survey data is to demystify any preconceived notions we have about Latino-owned businesses, illustrating that these are viable, prominent workplaces that are growing our nation’s workforce exponentially,” added Orozco.

The report’s results and trends were presented virtually at the 2022 State of Latino Entrepreneurship Forum. Speakers included Orozco, Stanford Graduate School of Business Dean Jonathan Levin, and U.S. Administrator of the Small Business Administration Isabella Casillas Guzman.  A number of Latino entrepreneurs from the latest survey also discussed the report’s findings and their implications for the future of Latino entrepreneurship.

To view the entire forum recording, visit: https://youtu.be/XWfn_O5dH08. To view the published research report, go to  https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/state-latino-entrepreneurship-2021.