Page 8 - BusinessWest October 17, 2022

The facilities at the Latino Economic Development Council include space for meetings and community functions.
they consider fair, they can come to me and we can broker it to other banks and other vendors to see what other opportunities we can get them.”
His work is an example of how the LEDC will work to provide guidance where and when it’s needed, and fill in gaps — in service, opportunities, and knowledge. And the coaches gathered around the conference room table at the LEDC said there are many such gaps, especially when it comes to the intricacies of running a business or simply taking an idea and transforming it into a business.
There are the basics — writing a business plan, deciding on a busi-
ness classification, obtaining a doing- business-as certificate, and more, said Melendez, and coaches can help with all that. But then, there are the day- to-day, year-to-year matters, such as training staff, creating a culture, and handling HR matters. And the LEDC’s coaches can assist in these areas as well.
Amador, a serial entrepreneur him- self but also an educator, said he’s been working with entrepreneurs for many years now and understands that many need help not only with their business, but with balancing business and life.
“I want to be able to give back when it comes to development of business and entrepreneurship, teaching those basics, and helping people fine-tune their plans and the steps they need to take to become viable businesses in the community,” he told BusinessWest, adding that one of these basics is sim- ple financial literacy.
“A lot of them have ideas for starting a business, but they don’t realize that the financial piece is very important,” he said. “What does your profit-and- loss statement mean? What does you balance sheet mean? What is your cash
“I want to be able to give back when it comes to development of business and entrepreneurship, teaching those basics, and helping people fine-tune their plans and the steps they need to take to become viable businesses in the community.”
flow? There are things that many in this [Latino] community don’t understand about business because we’ve been doing it a certain way, and we need
to change that thought process. If we learn about investment and if we learn about how numbers work, then that makes it easier.”
While some coaching is broad in scope, it can also be specialized in its nature as well. Such is the case with Hernandez, who brings his experience in owning a restaurant, and in present- ing Latin cuisine, to the forefront, and leads by example while also coaching others.
“I brought something different to the table and raised the bar with it,” he said of his eatery, located on Boston Road in Springfield. “A lot of people took notice, and you’re beginning to see where other restaurants are begin-
LEDC
Continued on page 43
Staff Photo
Celebrate the 2022 Healthcare Heroes!
Helen Caulton-Harris
City of Springfield
ServiceNet’s Enrichment Center & Strive Clinic and Its Partners at Springfield College & UMass Amherst
Mark Paglia
MiraVista Behavioral Health Center
Addiction Consult Service at Holyoke Medical Center
Dr. Philip Glynn
Mercy Medical Center
Dr. Sundeep Shukla
Baystate Noble Hospital
Dr. Paul Pirraglia
Baystate Health
Elaine Marieb Center
for Nursing and Engineering Innovation
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
$85 pp, tables available
Event:October27,2022 5:30p.m. TheLogCabin,Holyoke Visit businesswest.com/healthcareheroes to reserve your seat!
PRESENTING SPONSORS:
PARTNER SPONSORS:
HEALTHCARE
HEROES
OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
A Program of BusinessWest and Healthcare News
8
OCTOBER 17, 2022
FEATURE
BusinessWest