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Concepción Jiménez cleaned valley houses for a living, a job she ended after 20 years in Phoenix. Decades of experience in the cleaning industry have allowed her to build her client base.
But she officially founded her own cleaning business in 2011. It wasn’t in 2022. According to Jimenez, 47, thanks to the Fuerza Local Latino Business Acceleration Program offered by Local First Arizona.
She was one of 45 Valley entrepreneurs honored Wednesday night at the Versailles Event Center in Merivale. Jimenez, along with other business owners from Maryvale, South Phoenix and Mesa, graduated from the six-month incubator program.
Fuerza’s Local Accelerator provides free training and resources to Latino small business owners in Arizona and teaches in Spanish. It aligns with the mission of Local First Arizona, which aims to grow the local economy by supporting local entrepreneurs.
“We’re so excited – all these entrepreneurs had six months of preparation and we helped them get ready to grow their businesses,” said Monica Garcia, senior manager of small business development at Local First Arizona. We have entrepreneurs from all walks of life like food, jewelry, construction, bakers – well, all kinds of industries graduating from the course. Imagine the contribution we are making to the state of Arizona.
During the program, participants will learn the fundamentals of running a business and gradually develop advanced skills to grow their businesses, creating a solid foundation for achieving their short- and long-term goals. All classes are taught by experts and subject matter experts.
More than 800 graduates
Local First Arizona has graduated more than 800 Latino entrepreneurs throughout Arizona through the Fuerza Local Program since 2013. A similar incubator focused on raising black business owners, called We Rise, launched in 2020 and has since graduated more than 40 leaders.
The goal is to build an inclusive and sustainable economy in Arizona, supporting entrepreneurs of color. The programs aim to end long-standing racial wealth gaps and unfair banking and lending practices by connecting Latino and Black business owners with mentors, customers, the community and sources of capital.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these graduates. Their hard work and dedication inspires everyone,” said Kimber Lanning, CEO of Local First Arizona. “(The program) is helping to shape the future in rural and urban Arizona. Congratulations to all of these amazing business owners.”
A second Fuerza local graduation is set to take place in Sedona, where Latino entrepreneurs in Sedona and Cottonwood will be celebrated Friday at the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
According to the latest report from the US Census, there are 7,359,197 residents in Arizona, of which 32.3% are Hispanic or Latino.
In the year In 2018, there were more than 610,000 businesses in Arizona, of which more than 112,000 were Latino-owned. These companies employ more than 101,000 people, according to a report by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency.
Finding tools to help them grow
When presented with the opportunity, Jimenez was undecided about signing up for the program. She asked herself: “If I clean the house, why should I take classes? What am I supposed to learn?”
Phoenix-based Cone Cleaning LLC was born out of that speed booster program.
“I was surprised by the teacher I met. I’m very grateful because he was very patient with me. He helped me a lot with things I didn’t know and needed for my company,” said Jimenez.
Luis Antonio Fuentes Olmos owns Tacos Monkey near 22nd and Campbell streets in Phoenix. With his tacos, he shares his family’s Mexican cooking — a fusion of Guerrero, Baja California and Sonora cuisine.
He dreamed of taking his small business to the next level and decided to enroll in Fuerza’s local program.
“I’m selling original stuff that we’ve made ourselves, and they’ve taught us that there’s a Latino community here that we can work with and if we put our minds to it, we can do great things,” Funetes said. .
Another graduate, Luz Murillo, has lived in Peoria for more than two decades after immigrating to Arizona from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. She sells homemade desserts and has started hosting parties through her business DessertsLu.
“My concern for continuing to grow is what motivated me to sign up,” she says. “I had projects, proposals and I limited myself because I needed permits, permissions.” Murillo, 37, said the program’s instructors helped her figure it all out.
In 2023, she will celebrate two years of owning and growing her Peoria-based business.
