Hispanic League in Forsyth County launches survey to support business owners, entrepreneurs

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) – The Hispanic League has hosted cultural events, awarded scholarships and connected the Hispanic community to resources for more than three decades. Now the nonprofit wants to expand its services to better support those who are trying to start or who are currently running businesses.

The organization founded its PyMEs committee to do the work. PyMEs stands for “pequenas y medianas empresas,” a Spanish phrase that in English means small and medium-sized businesses. It used a grant from The Winston-Salem Foundation to create a survey to gather firsthand perspectives and personal feedback. Iris Cole is the co-chair of the PyMEs committee. She says the goal is to learn what business owners and entrepreneurs need to be successful.

“What we’re hoping to understand is specifically what their needs are, whether they’re needing support in marketing, whether they’re needing support in finding space, whether they’re needing help in guiding them to find investments,” Cole said. “We don’t know what that is yet.”

Gabriel Bottazzi helped make sure the survey was asking the right questions. As the manager of a primary care clinic that serves the Hispanic community, he knows the challenges business owners and entrepreneurs face.

“When we started eight years ago we had to figure out a lot of things, right? From where to get this permit to where to pay the taxes,” Bottazzi said. “When you come to a new place you have to figure it out and there’s not really a map.”

PyMEs committee co-chair Karla Mounts says the Hispanic League is hoping to get as many responses as possible so they can create an accurate network of resources.

“We’re very excited that we can be more thoughtful through this process understanding the small businesses and what they need,” Mounts said. “And then we can be a resource to map the resources that are existing or the ones that are not and how can we be better to make a very successful community.”

Respondents from all industries can answer questions online through Feb. 10. The survey is available in English and Spanish and takes just 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Answers will stay confidential.

Take the Hispanic League PyMEs survey here

The PyMEs committee hopes once the data is analyzed, it will lead to partnerships that will serve these businesses and the greater Forsyth County economy.

“We have to focus on the Hispanic community, it is a real integral part of our community,” Cole said. “We’re in businesses, we’re in schools, we’re in our community and it’s really important.”

You can learn more about how to support the Hispanic League online.