Minority Small Business Owners in Seattle Ask for Mentorship and Technical Assistance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2024
PRESS CONTACT
Emily Fuder: efuder@nationalace.org
Minority Small Business Owners in Seattle Ask for Mentorship and Technical Assistance
Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho shared opportunities for minority small business owners to get mentors via the Port NextGen program to meet primes and subcontractors
[May 2, 2024, Seattle, Washington] – The National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE), alongside affiliate partner, the Filipino Chamber of the Pacific Northwest hosted an AAPISTRONG Small Business Roundtable for minority small business owners to discuss the current state of business in Seattle.
These roundtables are an open forum for minority small business owners in the United States to connect with policymakers, corporate partners, and community members to find solutions for the barriers facing minority-owned small businesses today. The Seattle event is National ACE’s 8th roundtable this year. With over 45 attendees, participants discussed the unique challenges facing Seattle’s residents and small business owners.
Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson reiterated her commitment to small business owners, who make up 95% of all businesses in her city. After 2 ½ years of the pandemic, Bellevue has lost over 200 of their small businesses to economic challenges. “I was admiring the businesses as I watched them pivot through the challenges. We did what we had to do to survive.” At the end of 2023, Bellevue had returned to 95% of pre-pandemic visitors.
The meeting showed how far access has come for minority small businesses and examined the gaps still present for owners today. “I started my own business with only $250 in Fremont 20 years ago, and capital wasn’t available for me. I was undocumented, an immigrant, I didn’t look good to the banks,” shared Beto Yarce, Small Business Administration (SBA) Regional Administrator, Region X-Serving Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho. Yarce encouraged small business owners to seek mentorship and work with the resources offered through the SBA such as the lender match tool to connect to funding.
One of the challenges raised by the attendees was bidding on federal contracts. Grace Mae Perez, CEO of Delivery Network, who works in the transportation and logistics industry said, “We can’t bid or compete because the capacity is so beyond us. There’s no funding to get our feet wet, and we wait for months to get connected to help.” Tamara Harris, another small business owner, shared she was struggling with bidding costs and estimates and that she turns down bid offers five times a week. Seattle Port Commissioner Sam Cho addressed Harris and Perez, sharing the reimbursement program for bidding costs at the port for minority owned firms. “The supply chain is fragmented and data is siloed. Our supply chain is stuck in the past, and it’s an issue across all ports,” said Commissioner Cho.
Minority certification provides small business owners with a jumping off point for opportunities and growth. Rocky Fong, Vice President of Community and Business Development at JPMorgan Chase, shared that getting certified can allow small business owners to become suppliers and subcontractors with corporations as well as the federal government.
National ACE offers the Capital Readiness Program to further support small business owners seeking funding to grow their business. Through the Minority Business Development Agency, National ACE is providing one-on-one business coaching with little to no wait time for appointments. Clients can expect to get support with their financial documents, business plan, and applying for funding from certified lenders. “We have helped over 200 AAPI small businesses with our one on one coaching,” said National ACE Vice President of Programs and Marketing Emily Fuder. “And we are going to connect AAPI small businesses to over $14M in funding this year through our programs.” Business owners can learn more at https://www.nationalace.org/capital-readiness-program.
###
About National ACE:
National ACE’s mission is to serve as a strong advocate of AAPI business interests and positive change on all issues that enhance and advance the goals and aspirations of AAPI business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders. National ACE strives to do this by supporting and promoting issues that impact the AAPI business community, improving the economic development and economic impact of the AAPI community, advancing coalitions, enhancing community building, and fostering the next generation of AAPI entrepreneurs and executives. National ACE provides a unified voice for the business interests of AAPIs nationally. Learn more at www.nationalace.org or www.aapistrong.com.
About Filipino Chamber of the Pacific Northwest:
FCCPNW’s mission is to empower Filipino American and underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest by fostering innovation, providing resources, and creating opportunities for economic success both locally and globally. They aim for a future where Filipino American and underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest lead the way in innovation and business success, locally and globally, promoting economic growth for their communities.