Multicultural Business Owners: The Overlooked Market?

South Hackensack, NJ
April 7, 2012
E-Tech April Newsletter
by Peg North Pnorth@EthnicTechnologies.com

NY Times (front page): Moving to the U.S., prospering, immigrant entrepreneurs attain considerable affluence
Bloomberg: Immigrants key and majority of small businesses in NYC
Forbes: Latino-Owned Businesses leading the recover – revenue jump an astonishing 55%

These, and other recent news stories, show how key immigrant business owners are to the U.S. recovery. Entrepreneurship is important; it spurs innovation, employment and economic growth. It is estimated that immigrants/multiculturals, create businesses at 2-3 times the average rate. Some start as SOHOs (small office, home office) which grow into larger businesses, categorized by SIC codes, with many employees and sizable sales volumes. Small or large these business owners have money, can be active, generous donors, heart-beats of communities; they maybe “cash transactors” and are often overlooked.

A study by Duke University, University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University found that immigrants founded almost 52% of Silicon Valley startups launched from 1995 to 2005. A quarter of the patents filed during the same period came from immigrants.

It is worth noting that over 50%, of Gen Y (age 18-34) - many of whom are multicultural - plan to start a business.

Some of these hardy business owners’ characteristics are:

• Optimism, “Nothing to lose” attitude, willingness to take risks, resilient; serial entrepreneurs, even starting several businesses simultaneously


• Desire to collaborate, “we are all in this together”; families working together


• Sense of adventure; let’s try something new; they have guts


• Respect and love for family and community; consistent, loyal donors to charity when “they have made it”


• Reverence for education; self-taught and techno-savvy


• Cash transactors – underserved by the traditional financials

Add the predisposition for hard work and you have a formula for success. Being successful, they may also have a taste for luxury homes, goods, services, travel, clothing, jewlery and cars.

The major U.S. growth in the past has come from immigration; now multicultural birth rates are driving growth. Unless you are Native American, your family came from “away”. Immigrants form a vibrant part of the U.S. culture. Can you imagine the New York City police without the Irish? Hope, risk taking, hard work and optimism are baked into the immigrant DNA. Some more detail on these groups:

Hispanic-owned firms: As Hispanics form an increasing percentage of the U.S. population; young growing Hispanic families are the majorities in some areas. More than 90 % of Hispanic firms are concentrated in 20 states. 70 % are concentrated in 4 states.

The number of Hispanic-owned businesses is expected to grow 41.8 % in the next six years to 4.3 million, with total revenues surging 39 % to more than $539 billion, according to estimates by HispanTelligence.

African Americans are also growing in business population. In some areas, African Americans outnumber Hispanics. Inspirational public figures provide powerful examples of those African Americans who succeeded by seeing a need and filling it. African Americans outnumber other groups in SOHO (small office, home office) businesses, sometimes related to elder and childcare.

Asian-Indian businesses are a major engine of growth in computers, the hospitality industry, and the medical/physician sector, according to the Survey of Business Owners, (2007 US Census Bureau). They are responsible for an estimated $152 billion in revenue in the U.S. Asian Indian businesses are located in the commercial heart of America.

Koreans often had few choices. Their arrival in larger numbers in the Eastern U.S. (post 1965 - when the Immigration Act of 1965 removed quotas based on national origin) coincided with a sharp decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs and service jobs were already filled. However at the same time of the major Korean immigration, many European immigrant small business owners were retiring and selling their stores. Koreans brought with them the help of the kye, or a rotating credit association. Other immigrant groups have similar community driven financial tools.

A Korean kye consists of a group who pool their funds on a regular basis. Taking turns, each member is entitled to the entire pot until all members have had their chance. Many join for both social and business purposes.

Many of these multicultural businesses are customer centric, with an ethnic flavor, in community locations. SIC codes, location, size of company; number of employees, gender are some of the selects that are helpful in research and marketing. Multicultural business owners are vibrant, smart, hardworking and ambitious. Their numbers are growing as their populations grow. They often are the heartbeats of communities and they respond, especially well, when marketed to with respect and “in culture”. They also love American brands, goods and services.

Part myth, part reality, the promise and dream of a better life are what unite us all. It helps us look to tomorrow, rather than wallow in the problems of today.

For more Information Contact Peg North at 203-400-1056

Achievements in Black History

South Hackensack, NJ
February 1, 2012
E-Tech May Newsletter
by Candace Kennedy candace@ethnictechnologies.com

With the celebration of Martin Luther King’s 83rd birthday on Monday January 16th and the coming to the end of the third year of office for our first black president, E-Tech would like to honor all those who contributed to African American History achievements.

The 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States marked a defining moment in both American and World history. This historic event was another step toward Martin Luther King’s dream of a more equitable society. Throughout Black History Month we remember how Black American leaders of all kinds helped to bring our Nation together.

History of Black History

In February, the nation joins Black Americans in celebrating their rich culture, heritage, and contributions to the American lifestyle during Black History Month. Black History Month began as “Negro History Week” in 1926 which was established by Carter G. Woodson and was expanded to a month long celebration in 1976. Woodson is said to have chosen the second week in February for the celebration to honor the birthdays of Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and editor, and Abraham Lincoln.

The scope to which Blacks have contributed to American life can be witnessed at even the most fundamental levels: Garrett Morgan invented the first Traffic Signal (1923); Lewis Latimer invented the Carbon Filament used in Light Bulbs (1882); Richard Spikes invented the Automatic Gear Shift (1932) and Lydia O. Newman invented the Hair Brush (1898). Today, Black Americans are still achieving firsts in politics, education and business: Condoleezza Rice was the first Black Woman to serve as US Secretary of State; President Barack Obama was the first African American President of the Harvard Law Review and was the first African American to run for the Democratic Party's Presidential Candidacy; and Robert Johnson, owner of Black Entertainment Television, became the first Black Billionaire in 2001.

The Black Consumer Market

There are 42 million African Americans and they comprise 13.6 percent of the U.S. population down from 14.8 percent of the population in 2000. African Americans became the nation’s second-largest minority group in the first decade of the 21st century. The African American population exceeded 500,000 in 15 states. They are the largest minority group in 24 states, compared with 20 states in which Hispanics were the largest minority group.

The Black population is younger than the rest of the U.S population. In 2011 the median age of the Black population was 41 compared to the general U.S. population at nearly 45. In addition, females represent a greater percentage of the Black population in the United States. While the Black American median household income is lower than the U.S. average, the percentage of Black American households with an income of $50,000.00 or more grew 13.5% between 2003 and 2010, compared with 8.4% for the total U.S. households.

According to the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth, the buying power of Black Americans was $895 Billion in 2010 and estimates the buying power in 2012 to reach $1.1 trillion. In that same year, the US Census Bureau estimated the number of Black residents at 40.7 million, comprising 13.5% of the total US population. The number of Black-owned businesses was 1.8 million in 2010, a 58% increase since 1997 and Black businesses generated revenues of $92.7 Billion that year. Black Americans are also gaining ground in education. In 2010, 18% of Black Americans held Bachelor Degrees and 1.7 million held advanced degrees (Master’s, J.D., M.D. PhD).

As this group becomes more educated and their median household income increases, they will have greater control of the consumer marketplace. Black Americans are attracted to companies that represent their lifestyle with targeted messages and images. It is the responsibility of marketers to attract and maintain a relationship with the Black consumer.

“Black folk are not just dark-skinned white people. Marketers who consciously establish a relationship with this lucrative yet underserved market, by better understanding the African-American culture, mindset, attitude, behavior and lifestyle, will reap significant long-term rewards from a loyal, influential, increasingly affluent customer base.”
-Herbert Kemp, Founder & CEO of What is Black about IT? LLC

>>>>>TIDBITS<<<<<

LOCATION
More than half of black Americans live in the South.
New York had the largest black population of any state as of July 1, 2010 (3.6 million); Georgia had the largest numeric increase since July 1, 2007 (67,500). The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of blacks (56 percent), followed by Mississippi (38 percent).

Cook County, Ill. (Chicago’s county) had the largest black population of any county (1.4 million), and Orleans Parish, La. (New Orleans’ county) had the largest numeric increase since July 1, 2007 (16,000). Claiborne County, Miss. -- on the Louisiana border --had the highest percentage of blacks in the nation (84 percent).

Seventy-seven counties were majority-black or African-American; all were in the South.

More than half of black American (53 percent) rent their homes—that’s the largest percentage of renters among the races in the U.S.

GENDER
There are more women than men.

Households: Nearly one out of every three black households (29 percent) are headed by a single woman, the highest percentage of female-headed households in the U.S.

MARRIAGE
Nearly half have never married, the highest percentage for all racial groups. Only 30 percent of blacks are now married.

MONEY
Black median family income was just over $34,000 in 2010, the lowest in the United States of any racial group. A single black woman with children earned a median annual income of $25,958.

No surprise then that one out of five black families lives in poverty. More than 40 percent of black families headed by a single mom are poor.

From 1974 to 2004, the median income fell 12% for Black men while rising 75% for Black women.

IMMIGRANTS
Only 3 million African Americans are immigrants. Of that number, nearly two-thirds were born in Latin America, the other one-third of the immigrants were born in Africa.

Only 7 percent of us speak a language other than English.

MILITARY
Number of black military veterans in the United States in 2010: 2.3 million. More military veterans are black than any other minority group.

Ethnic Technologies, LLC -- African American Insight
Ethnic Technologies, LLC is the platinum standard in multicultural marketing. The result of over 40 years of continuous ethnic, religious and language preference research, E-Tech allows clients to segment their database by ethnicity, religion, language preference and Hispanic country of origin more accurately and comprehensively than any other approach. E-Tech incorporates a unique approach for identifying the different African American Consumers. After identifying by their specific names, E-Tech does a neighborhood analysis using multi-sourced information compiled from our research team. From that data, E-Tech is able to accurately identify the African American individuals’ Country of Origin. The incorporation of Enhanced Neighborhood Analytics (ENA) technology in E-Tech Version 8.0 establishes a new and unprecedented level of granularity and completeness in the ethnic marketing industry. Clients also benefit from and acquire ethnic mailing, telemarketing and email lists for both the United States and Canada. The analytics department at E-TECH offers ethnic data appending services and mapping to provide businesses with an overview of new and existing markets.

E-Tech ® and The EthniCenter ® are registered trademarks of Ethnic Technologies, LLC. www.ethnictechnologies.com

First and foremost HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!

South Hackensack, NJ
December 15, 2011
December 2011 Newsletter

BOUNE FESTE
BOAS FESTAS
HYVAA JOULOOA
GOD JUL
MEILLENURS VOEUX
FROHE FESTTAGE
FELICES FIESTAS
PRETTIGE FEESTDAGEN
FELIZ NATAL
NADOLIG LLAWEN
WESOLYCH SWAIT BOZEGO NARODZENIA
MELE KALIKIMAKA
FELIZ NAVID
ADNOLLAIG SHONA DHUIT
SEASONS GREETINGS

During the Holiday Season more than ever, our thoughts turn to those who have made our progress possible. And in this Spirit we say simply but sincerely, no matter what language you may speak THANK YOU and we wish all of you a HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON and a NEW YEAR of health, happiness and prosperity.

All the best from the team at Ethnic Technologies


With the release of our new E-Tech 8.0 Ethnic Encoding software and the release of G-Tech 3.2 Gender Encoding software in Early 2012 this could not be a more exciting year coming up in 2012 for Ethnic Technologies and our Partners. The research, time and effort put into the development assures you that E-Tech 8.0 is bar none the most accurate product in the marketplace for identifying the multicultural markets and individuals.
Multicultural Marketing and Ethnicity is our passion here and we look forward to helping all of our clients and partners achieve the results they expect from the Global Leaders in Ethnic Data Enhancements.

“Our Success is your Success”

WISHING A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON TO ALL!