Page 7 - BusinessWest Macrh 6, 2023

adding that the business was nonetheless able to thrive at that location, and thanks to $75,000 in ARPA funding secured from the city, he and Elizabeth were able to move into needed larger quarters just up the road, at 133 State St.
The LEDC has provided assistance at many critical junc- tures, he said, including direction on how to secure ARPA funding from the city of Springfield.
This work in progress is just one of many that the LEDC has become involved with, through technical assistance and coaching, a mini-grant, or both. And it’s just one example of how this agency is trying to change Main Street, or State Street, in this case, by helping more people get into business and put their signs on buildings.
Bermudez isn’t there yet, but he’s moving in the right direction, thanks to many different kinds of support from the LEDC.
As noted earlier, he received a grant that he used to buy equipment that made an immediate impact on his venture, which specializes in video promotion, business presentations and advertising, animation, event photography, and more.
But it has been the coaching, and the connections the LEDC has helped him make, that have been even more impactful, he went on, citing not only the Mercy project, but also a contract in Holyoke to teach video production to young people as just a few examples of how the LEDC has been able to help him seize opportunities.
“They have a great team there, and a forward-looking atti- tude to help Latino small businesses,” he said, adding that that are dozens of coaches, each with a specific niche, that can help individuals like himself not only create a business plan, but execute it.
Gilberto Amador, president and CEO of the Mass 2 Miami Consulting Group, is one of those coaches. He told Business- West he and other coaches at the LEDC act as a support net- work for new and emerging businesses.
He said the process starts with an hour-long meeting at which a game plan is developed for creating momentum and
forward progress.
“They leave that meeting knowing what we need to work
on,” Amador said, stressing the ‘we’ part of that equation, while emphasizing that the business owner needs to take ownership of the next steps and is held accountable for stay- ing on the set course. “Maybe it’s a business plan, because many people are working on their business but they don’t have a business plan, or it could be marketing ... whatever needs to be worked on.
“Sometimes it’s cash flow,” he went on. “You talk to them about cash flow and how their business functions, how they have to pay themselves from their business finances of their business, how to separate business from personal ... these are things that a lot of business owners are not aware of or they haven’t been doing, and it’s very important for us to shed some light on these kinds of things so that these become more pro- ductive, and successful, businesses in our community.”
Bright Ideas
Amador described this work as very rewarding, espe- cially as he sees small-business owners, such as Bermudez, Vasquez, and the Arroyos, take important steps forward and put their ventures on more solid footing.
“Part of being a business coach is really seeing the success of some of the businesses that are coming in,” he said. “They work so hard every day to do what they have to do ... and we help them articulate what it is that they want to do and lay out the steps to get there. That’s where the rubber meets the road, and I love working with them because you get to see those lightbulbs go on.”
Turning on more of these lightbulbs is the unofficial mis- sion at the LEDC, which has been busy handing out grants in recent weeks and will continue to do through the course of the year.
But that’s just part of the story. The other, much bigger part is helping these individuals get on a path to success, and stay on that path. BW
“They work so hard every day to do what they have to do ... and we help them articulate what it is that they want to do and lay out the steps to get there.”
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