Immigrant and refugee business owners each employ an average of 6- 20 employees in their businesses and generate significant revenue with 37.2% making $100,000 to $250,000 annually. However, despite their resiliency and strong diversity, immigrant and refugee business owners experience a greater number of challenges than nonimmigrant owners.
Welcoming Plan Goals
Support immigrant and refugee entrepreneurship by increasing access and awareness of financial assistance programs and products to grow and expand businesses.
Improve awareness of and accessibility to public transportation options and broaden outreach to multilingual communities.
Expand staffing opportunities and support for small businesses.
Welcoming City Strategies
Aid in establishing relationships between banking and credit institutions.
Provide seminars in working with investors.
Share knowledge of how public transportation functions.
Extend public transportation’s reach to more areas of the city.
Provide more accessible and affordable parking for customers and employees.
Provide technical assistance in areas such as marketing, sales, minority certifications and other general business needs by connecting with Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs).
Provide opportunities to hire more individuals who share similar demographics.
Increase access to networking and community support.
Make city and county resources and programs more accessible by presenting materials and information in multiple languages