Page 6 - BusinessWest October 17, 2022

went on. “We will do a needs assess- ment and make sure every business gets whatever they need, from where they’re starting their journey with us.”
Melendez concurred. “We want to make sure that, whether it’s a small business making $3 million or a micro- business making $300,000 or an entre- preneur just starting up, they all have access to the same resources; that’s
the fairness,” he said. “In January of 2020, Joe Biden said it’s not fair that some people get to pick up the phone and talk to a lawyer or an HR profes- sional or someone to guide them in a workers’ comp claim, and other people don’t. This is us ensuring that our com-
munity — and I want to define our community as this whole community; anyone can come to the LEDC — has access to resources.”
As for the microgrants, made pos- sible by federal ARPA funds awarded to Springfield and funneled to the LEDC, Melendez said there have already been more than 125 applications for such grants, and he expects that number to go much higher in the weeks to come.
BusinessWest recently sat down with Melendez and several of the coaches that are part of the LEDC to get some perspective on how this unique agency will work, how it will address stated goals, and, perhaps most importantly,
how it will measure success.
The quick answer, as we’ll see, is
that there will be many ways to do just that.
Getting Down to Business
It’s called the ‘imposter syndrome,’ and most business owners and profes- sionals are by now quite familiar with that phrase.
It connotes persistent feelings that one isn’t ... well, entirely comfortable in their own skin, professionally, and not fully credentialed, either literally or figuratively, to be worthy of the title on their business card.
Dr. Edna Rodriguez, director of
Behavioral Health at Mercy Medical Center, one of the coaches at the LEDC (and one of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty honorees for 2022), said that many within the minority community fall victim to imposter syndrome.
“Many doubt if we have the level
of skill, the ideas, and the tools ... they struggle with confidence and knowing that that they can do and achieve the things they are good at,” she explained. “And that can really create a lot of anxiety and other issues that can defi- nitely impact the mental health of an individual.”
And that’s just one of the matters she addresses with those she counsels as a mental-wellness coach for the LEDC.
“Our culture is beautiful and color- ful and very integrated, but with that comes a lot of burden, especially when we’re talking about taking on every- thing that happens both at work and to home,” she noted. “Often, our Latino folks find a hard time managing stress and taking care of their physical and mental health, especially when they’re
“We want to make sure that, whether it’s a small business making $3 million or a microbusiness making $300,000 or an entrepreneur just starting up, they all have access to the same resources.”
in the role of being a business owner. “So my role is to individually help
people understand how they can care for themselves, how they can find bal- ance, and how to communicate their needs in an assertive way to both the people around them and the people who can help them,” she went on. “Sometimes it’s hard to just take that first step and open up and seek help.”
Helping business owners — and, again, especially those within the Latino community — cope with such issues is just one of the many focal points of the LEDC, which grew out of the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce and continues and expands upon its work, Melendez said.
And its model is unique, he went on, both in what it offers and that the services it provides are free.
“We want this to be free to the com- munity, and I’m committed to that,” he said, adding that the LEDC was created to provide critical coaching and insight to business owners and aspiring entre- preneurs who may otherwise not be able to access such expertise.
Which brings him back to those tours he mentioned at the top and the comments from those who take them.
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OCTOBER 17, 2022 FEATURE
BusinessWest