Calidad y Confianza (Quality & Trust):
Latino Entrepreneurship in North Carolina
and Beyond
David Griffith
Ricardo Contreras & Ed Kissam
with the research assistance of:
Anna Garcia, Brianna Mullis,
and Juan Pablo Servín
Brief History of Latino Settlement in
North Carolina
Latino settlement traces its origins to changes in
Texas & Florida agriculture and rural communities
of the 1960s.
– Mechanization of cotton & sugar beets changed migrant
itineraries.
– Texas-based Latino families moved into Florida
agriculture and, during summer, moved up the Eastern
Seaboard (Cindy Hahamovich).
– Latino migrant crews gradually replaced AfricanAmerican and Caribbean migrant crews.
1986 IRCA legalizes 1.7 million SAWs, initiated
rapid growth of Latinos in “new destinations”
Early Phases of Latino Settlement
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1980s: Some settlement of single males out of
agriculture and into food processing.
1986-1990: Legalization of SAWs stimulates
increased information exchange across border;
elaboration of linkages among coyotes, raiteros,
and labor contractors.
1987-1994: Primarily single males, but women
and children joining young men; beginning of
movement into other economic sectors
(construction, landscaping, fast food, etc.)
Late 1980s- early 1990s: first Latino
businesses founded (1993 in our study).
Later Phases of Latino Settlement
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1994-1999: Further growth of women and
children = more contact with schools, health care
centers, churches, etc. Increased demand for
native foods, health care products.
2000: Census figures show 400+% jump in NC
Latino Population.
2000-2006: Steady growth and expansion of
Latino population & elaboration of business
presence.
2007-present: Increased ICE raids, surveillance,
and partnerships; economic contraction
(particularly in construction); some Latino
businesses have been forced to close.
Current Study: 2008-2010
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USDA Community Development Initiative
Concentrated in 4 NC Counties: Duplin, Henderson,
Johnston, and Wilkes.
Work also going on in 3 to 4 communities in Iowa
(Marshalltown, Columbus Junction, West Liberty, and
Postville).
Early, related work in Pitt County: inventory with Ricardo
Contreras (funded by ECU).
Cultural Mapping/ inventories of Latino businesses by
county (attempt to contact 90-100% of businesses).
Follow-up interviews with sub-sample.
Develop business training curriculum.
Goal: Strengthen network of Latino businesses and its
relation to business services & institutions (e.g. credit
unions, Chambers of Commerce, universities & colleges).
Types of Businesses Encountered
as of May 31, 2009 (n=98)
Grocery/ Variety Stores (“Tiendas”), many
with restaurants or food services—40%
 Restaurants/ Taquerías, Bakeries, or other
food specialties—26%
 Services (tax services, beauty salons,
packaging)—13%
 Clothing stores—8%*
 Other (auto mechanics/sales, music
stores, book stores, etc.)—13%
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*many Tiendas sell clothing as well.
Venues of Latino Businesses
Flea markets (food stalls, some clothing,
refreshments)
 Downtown streets of small rural
communities (e.g. Faison)
 Clustered into strip malls within close
proximity of Latino neighborhoods/ trailer
parks (often 2-3 close to one another)
 Individual Homes (e.g. packing lunches,
making cakes, food for sale at
construction sites)
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Origins of Business Owners (and
customer base)
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Not much clustering of business owners by region of origin,
reflecting the variety of networks represented in North Carolina.
Mexico: Veracruz, Guerrero, Michoacán, Puebla, Guanajuato,
Jalisco, Morelos, Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Mexico DF,
Zacatecas, Durango, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, Sinaloa [no single
sending state dominates]
Honduras: El Colón, La Ceiba, Tegucigalpa, Atlanitida, Tela
Guatemala
El Salvador: San Salvador, La Union
Argentina
Venezuela (and Palestine to Venezuela)
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
United States (married to Latino co-owners)
Customers: All states of Mexico, Central America, South America,
United States, Africa, and Asia.
Latino Businesses
Business Establishment Process
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Most funded with owner savings or from loans
from family members; few use financial
institutions beyond personal credit cards.
Many business owners had little to no formal
business training or experience, but a few come
from highly entrepreneurial families.
Several have experience working in other parts of
the U.S. prior to coming to NC
Some depend on the work of other family
members to keep the business running.
Most have expanded from more modest origins to
larger, more diverse operations, paying attention
to customers’ desires.
General Observations
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Many businesses offer a variety of goods and
services (e.g. operating restaurant and grocery
store with billiard tables and wire transfer
services).
Business names often reflect origins of business
owners (e.g. Tienda La Michoacana).
Businesses are as likely to be owned/ operated
by women as by men.
While businesses are owner-operated/ managed,
few rely exclusively on family for staffing needs;
hence, they are a source of employment for the
Latino community.
Restaurants often cater either to Latinos or to
Anglos (Tex-Mex), although some overlap.
Typology of Goods and Services,
part 1
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Home country food products (e.g. baked goods,
cactus, spices, specialty cut and spiced meats)
Migration industry products (e.g. wire transfers,
phone cards, packaging services, travel services
to Mexico/ Central America)
Latino entertainment/ educational services (e.g.
local bands, dish antennae installation, books,
billiards, game rooms)
Nostalgia products (tortillas, special Honduran
red beans, home country CDs/DVDs)
Products related to work (income tax services,
box lunches, food sold at worksites)
Typology of Goods and Services,
part 2
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Products related to Latino ceremonial life
(baptism/wedding clothing, votive candles, Virgin
de Guadalupe images)
Health & beauty products (beauty salon services,
medicines, perfumes, herbal treatments)
Retail products (e.g. from Sam’s Club/ Wal-Mart)
that are repackaged in Latino cultural settings.
Products requiring trust, common cultural
background, or specific communication (mechanic
services, legalization document services,
translation services, native health care)
Other Goods & Services Provided
to Assist Local Latino Population
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Flyers, information for migrant farm workers (clinics,
Telemon, migrant education)
Information about other Latino businesses, particularly
those run out of homes or vehicles (making cakes for
quinceañeras/ bodas, tax services)
Information about U.S.-owned businesses (lawyers, satellite
dish networks)
Information about local events relevant to Latinos (Latino
bands/ concerts, visits from the consulate, Latino fiestas/
summits)
Housing information: rentals, sales,
Transportation information: auto sales, bus routes, etc.
Gatekeeper information: which physicians, translation
services, etc. are the most trusted
Problems Latino Businesses Face
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Number 1: Economic contraction, particularly in construction
(construction jobs down from 477,000 in 2007 to 239,000 in
December, 2008—7.6%, or around 20,000 jobs—were lost in the
last half of 2008).
Return to agriculture from construction among some Latinos has
meant changing from year-round to seasonal residence; during
winter, many move to Florida.
Increased raids on packing plants have led some employers to fire
undocumented Latinos.
Increased ICE surveillance and ICE-local law enforcement
partnerships (in some cases watching Latino businesses) has led
to reduced mobility within communities.
Security/ robberies/ break-ins occasionally a problem (dealing
with large amounts of cash from money transfers) and in some
cases in less secure locations (isolated country settings, strip
malls in poor sections of towns).
Locations occasionally a problem: seeking low rent, they often end
up in locations that are somewhat off the beaten track.
Importance of Calidad (Quality)
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Many redundant goods and services, with most
tiendas, for example, selling the same products
as others (and as Food Lion, Wal-Mart) and
providing the same or similar services.
Hence, providing quality goods and services is
important.
Two senses of quality:
– Quality product in the sense of produced with care, fine
ingredients, etc. (e.g. pan, tortillas, or trusted wire
transfer services)
– Qualitatively distinct or unique: specialty products from
home or offered in Tienda with specialty goods/ services
from home country, offered from someone who also
helps organize soccer tournaments, offered with general
advice regarding getting along in a foreign land…
Importance of confianza (trust)
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Trust important to a population that is partially in the
shadows: Latino households/ families rarely include only
one status, but usually a mix of documented and
undocumented.
Creation of spaces of trust is critical to the development of
social capital (networks that can be marshaled for
economic, political, and other purposes).
Creating trust is critical to establishing and maintaining a
client base.
Trust can be a form of credit in the absence of credit from
financial institutions (for both customers needing temporary
credit and owners seeking loans from family, friends).
Trusting relationships include relations between business
owners and customers, between owners and suppliers,
among owners for advice, and among customers.
General Importance of Latino
Businesses to the Latino Community
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Expanding confianza among the Latino population
generally, as well as providing quality products.
Offering culturally comfortable spaces for
gathering & information exchange.
Providing spaces of resistance to ICE, abusive
employers, etc.
Participating in the formation of soccer leagues/
sponsoring teams.
Bridging immigrants’ community/ state-based (or
paisano) networks (bridging social capital).
Bridging immigrant and native community
networks.
Future Directions
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Development of business courses tailored to Latino
business owners or future owners.
Targeting fully bilingual youth through civic engagement
research to become leaders, in business and civic life (e.g.
Jovenes Latinos en Acción).
Developing/ expanding business services and products:
– Latino Credit Union
– Mountain Biz Works: non-profit in Hendersonville dedicated to
training and financing small business (works with Latino
clients).
– Transfercel: new card developed by UCLA researchers in
conjunction with microfinancers in Mexico that works with cell
phones to assist with money transfers and other financial
transactions.
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Developing/ expanding networks of institutions available to
assist Latino business owners (e.g. AMEXCAN, Community
Colleges, Universities)
Thanks To
The NC Latino Business Community
East Carolina University
AMEXCAN
Juvencio Rocha Peralta
US Department of Agriculture
Aguirre Division of JBS International