>> Support for "NJ Biz Beat with remote -- with Raven Samara."

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♪ >> This is "NJ Biz Beat with Raven Santana."

Raven: Hello.

I am Raven Santana.

Thank you for joining me.

New Jersey is home to close to 2 million Hispanic people, that is more than 20% of the population.

Latinos and Latinas are crucial to New Jersey's economic development, owning more than 120,000 businesses in the Garden State.

We are in the middle of celebrating Hispanic Heritage month.

We are highlighting the Hispanic business community and how they contribute to our state's economy.

Many of the state's Hispanic businesses are supported by the statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

I sat down with the group's's vice president of corporate and entrepreneurial programs to discuss the needs of the Hispanic business community.

We know that the road to the American dream can be lengthy and it can be tough.

Especially for Hispanic entrepreneurs.

You have made it your mission to make that road easier.

And really, to help so many Latinos create generational wealth.

Tell me how you are doing.

>> Hyper see all of the programming from its inception, to the greatest, to the sponsorship opportunities come into the curriculum, to the coaching.

We have two great programs.

One that is in its 10th year, we are excited about that.

It is a 14 week course.

The purpose of that course is that it is free for the entrepreneurs, we take them through a journey, 14 weeks, a hybrid program.

Some classes are in person -- I'm sorry, one class is in person, and the rest are virtual.

They go through one-week marketing, one-week operations, one-week accounting, access to capital.

By the end, they will have the tools and resources to help scale their businesses.

It is an amazing program.

There is a coaching component to it.

If you participate, you participate on the sessions, participate in the classroom settings, you have an opportunity for coaching.

There is an assessment that you sit down with one of our coaches, and they will go through what are your strengths and weaknesses.

At the end, they will get assigned a specific coach, whether it is in HR, sales and marketing.

By the end, they will have a couple coaching hours and hold them accountable for them to make those changes and implement them.

And we have the let's program, the Latina entrepreneurship training series.

It is in its fifth year.

It started during the pandemic.

It was in person, the pandemic happened, had a pit to virtual.

The last few years have been virtual.

The last year was our first year that was hybrid, where we had -- for the most part virtual, but we had an in person session.

The purpose of that is to have Latina entrepreneurs come in.

It is an eight week course.

It helps them empower them, helps them motivate, and help them scale their businesses.

Is the same concept where there is an assessment done by the -- by one of our coaches.

Those are the strengths, areas of improvement.

From there, we will get assigned a specific coach.

They hold them echo double to make those changes.

.

It is an amazing program.

Last year we graduated about 40 plus graduates.

It was a very lengthy application process where you start with 100 plus applications.

We sit down with a large portion of those applicants, screen the process, and from there, we select the final 40 plus for the class.

Raven: We know training and mentorship is key.

For a lot of young entrepreneurs.

Here's the thing, despite support like that, and growth, I still feel like hurdles remain.

Especially for Hispanic entrepreneurs.

What do you feel like now is the biggest challenge for them?

Jairo: I think a lot of barriers exist.

I agree 100%.

We are all about access to capital, access to new market, access to network and knowledge.

We constantly put programming out, such as what we partnered with PSE&G for the certifications.

The reason why they partnered with us is to help us encourage our business owners to get certified, and under those certifications, and being registered as a diverse supplier, they can apply for some of these government contracts.

That is one example.

Another example is we have partnered with the ND JDA for the Small Business ready program, shout out to them.

The purpose of that is we train the entrepreneurs, it is like a seven week course, by the end, they will have the tools and resources to get bonded.

By being bonded on top of being insured, you have the opportunity to bid or be a subcontractor for these government contracts.

The key to the barrier is to have access to knowledge, and having that programming.

Myself, first gen college grad, the only one with a doctorate at the moment.

I am all about education.

I think it is all about having that access to knowledge, is the key to my success and everyone's success.

Raven: For Hispanic entrepreneurs who are watching, what would be three key points you would give them?

Whether that is for funding, networking, any type of guidance.

Jairo: I would say join the chamber, one.

In two, for any business owner, with a unique capital or whether it is a grant, have some sort of business plan.

Without a business plan, you will not go anywhere.

Raven: Right.

Jairo: I would say that is that.

The third piece is again, joining a networking group or a peer networking group so you can network and really connect with folks that are like-minded and your buyer purse on or your ideal market as well.

Raven: Information is power.

And you are definitely giving power to so many entrepreneurs, especially those who are Hispanic.

Thank you for empowering the Latino community.

And thank you for joining me on "NJ Biz Beat."

Jairo: thank you for your time.

Raven: We can't talk about the Hispanic business community without highlighting its wealth of delicious and successful restaurants.

Puerto Rican food, Dominican food, Mexican food.

The choices can be endless.

We went with Puerto Rican food, and visited Tiffany Crone in union.

She runs a popular restaurant that actually started as a food truck about a decade ago.

I spoke to Tiffany about the challenges of starting a business as a Latina, how she has expanded her business and her favorite thing to make on the menu.

Tiffany, it looks good.

It smells good, and I know both food here to taste good.

Do you feel that you manifested this?

Tiffany: Yes.

In a way, I definitely did.

I always wanted to own my own business.

I was working in the restaurant industry, bartending, waitressing, managing, so I always wanted to incorporate a food truck.

In my future.

I did not realize I wanted to do Puerto Rican food until me and my family had a family party and I saw a whole pig roast disappear in 20 minutes.

Everybody gobbled it up.

I said, Puerto Rican food truck.

It has to be.

Raven: Tell me more about the name of the business and what is your specialty?

Tiffany: the name comes from lec hon, meaning a whole pig roast.

Negron is my family's name.

His last name, I wanted to pay homage to our family name.

In bringing it full-circle because when I was -- before I was born, my father had his own Puerto Rican café in the 1980's.

My mom was pregnant with me, gave him the open made him like, this is too much.

It is beautiful to me that it came full-circle for him.

He is not here today, but he helps out on the food truck.

.

He works at the restaurant.

He makes food.

It was paying homage to him and my dream and his dream coming together.

Raven: When I look at the menu, you have a number of traditional Puerto Rican cuisine.

But you also makes at up with modern stuff.

You have disco fries.

Tell me a little bit about what works for you as a business owner.

Tiffany: top seller is the roasted pork with the yellow rice and the green pigeon peas.

That sells every single day.

Then I also created some creations of mine.

A blissful thing about owning a restaurant is you get to be creative.

I created the lechon disco fries, the lechon Berger.

Raven: You make it look easy.

But we are here also to talk about some of the challenges, especially as a Latina.

Tiffany: as a business owner, the challenges are keeping up with what is going on in the world.

Recently, everyone knows the cost of living has increased so much.

That is why when I did start the food truck, I thought of a food truck instead of jumping into a restaurant, because it is more economical.

Getting funds as a business owner is very difficult.

Banks don't want to lend you money.

It is a risky business.

Being new, being back in 2012, 2013 when we started the food truck, it was not known yet in New Jersey.

It was considered risky.

I cannot get a loan anywhere.

We started out with a food truck and worked our way up to a restaurant.

Raven: What changed?

What really changed to help you establish this storefront?

Tiffany: I got help from family.

They helped me out with a loan.

Also, I took the food truck out six days a week.

We went all over New Jersey.

We were doing farmers markets, private catering's, we were doing big food truck festivals and events.

We did not stop.

We were nonstop.

Every single day.

That is really what helped us, for a whole year, we were building and renovating this restaurant.

That is what helped us in getting the word out, because we were traveling all over New Jersey.

That is the beautiful thing about having a food truck first.

If your plans are, like our plans, to open up a brick-and-mortar, your food truck your advertisement on wheels.

Raven: We know that your business is doing amazing.

Do you still bring out the truck?

Tiffany: Food truck season is April to November.

We do different festivals all over New Jersey on the weekends.

We also have a street tent when we are double booked.

We do street fairs, other.

Fares with our food tent.

.

.

We also have a lunch truck that sells already prepared foods to local businesses like car dealerships in different office buildings, two times a week.

Raven: Do you want to expand?

Tiffany: An bartender for 10 years, I would love to have a liquor license.

I would love people to have the full experience of having salsa nights, music, entertainment, different drinks.

More vibrant, more of a sit down.

Raven: What is your favorite thing to make?

Tiffany: My favorite thing to make, because it was my Dope -- my most difficult to learn, the rice.

I love cooking in general.

Whether it is making a sandwich.

I have a whole team.

This is not just me.

.

I have a great team.

When they get busy, and they need help, I jump right in there.

Raven: Thank you so much for having me.

Tiffany: Thank you for coming.

I really appreciate it.

Raven: There are more than 500 thousand Hispanic homeowners in New Jersey, according to the urban Institute.

This week, we met with two Latino developers who are trying to give back to their Hispanic community through housing development.

Daniel Maribel and Brenly Tolan Tino are two developers who have international dreams.

He started their development company after competing with each other as brokers.

Now, their mission is to transform communities, especially Hispanic communities, through construction that includes affordable housing.

I spoke to Daniel and Brenly at one of their properties.

This is gorgeous.

>> Thank you.

Raven: I know this is not what it looked like when you first started this.

Tell me about this property, where are we?

>> This particular area is called Jersey City Heights.

This used to be dilapidated, deeply to step -- deeply distressed.

We took on, renovated, used to be an Airbnb.

Now there are going to be three homeowners living here.

Raven: What I find most intriguing about both of you is your age, your background, and your drive.

As two Latinos, developing, investing in property, what does that look like now?

Is that challenging?

Because we were making it look easy.

Daniel: When we started, we were 22 years old.

We started at a brokerage.

We were actually competitors, trying to rent apartments and get properties.

Eventually, it made sense to pursue the same goal.

We decided to get into real estate development, mainly for impact we could have, compared to what we were doing on the brokerage side.

As two Latinos starting off at the age of 22, it was an uphill battle.

Won, your age.

Two, we are first generation.

Our parents are not taking out a second loan on the house that they own.

Our parents to not have a house.

We had to rely on our network, and as Latinos, sometimes your network is also first generation.

What we ended up doing was getting a lot of our clients from when we were brokers to invest with us.

Raven: Tell me more about your company.

Tell me the name, what does it mean, how did you come up with that name?

Daniel: We came up with the name because we wanted to do everything with meaning from the beginning.

The name meant a lot.

NUIC, Northern United international corp. Northern is a direction.

We always wanted to go in a positive direction, like stockmarket chart.

Raven: I like that.

Daniel: North into the right that is how we got the n. The u is united.

International, we have big ambitions.

We wanted to go everywhere, we want to be around the world at some point.

Raven: Since starting the company, how many properties have you redeveloped?

Brenly: We have done over 20 and time flies.

It feels like we just started the other day.

And it hasn't.

It has been a long, long journey.

Renovations and building and the development, takes a long time.

Raven: We talked about your age especially.

Now you are getting into bigger investments.

Is it natural for someone to be taken back when the two of you show up?

And do you feel like that has worked for or against you as Latinos?

Daniel:Daniel: We have been able to establish ourselves, create a track record.

Now when we meet people, it is not that much of an obstacle anymore.

Raven: You are not just helping Latinos own something.

You are doing it in communities populated by Latinos.

Was that something that you -- that was very important to you?

Brenly: Danny and I were lucky that from the very beginning, we knew we wanted to impact neighborhoods through real estate.

We used the brokerage experience and the renovation to eventually get into development.

Throughout the process, we did realize that the best way to create impact is through these communities, which happen to be Hispanics and Latinos, and different mixes of races.

Those are the best areas where you can make the best impact.

Because we are Latinos, like Danny said earlier, I think it did help.

Because they CS as one of them.

Raven: What is the goal come 2024?

Daniel: We have been designated as developer for a project here in Jersey City.

Our neighborhood.

We have been designated to build a five-story, 43 apartment building here in Jersey City.

Raven: Is this your biggest project?

Daniel:Daniel: This is our biggest project to date.

It is exciting.

We are doing 10% affordable.

We have retail on the ground floor.

As Brenly was mentioning, the purpose of our company is to transform.

The project is in one of the most deeply distressed commercial corridors in Jersey City.

Raven: Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Brenly: Thank you for having a spare thank you for the opportunity.

We are excited to be here, and we are cited for the future.

Raven: I'm excited to see what you guys do next.

Hispanic men and women are proving to be an economic engine in this country, leading the way with the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the U.S.

Despite their economic contributions, many Hispanic families struggle to create generational wealth.

I sat down with an advisor to discuss investment advice and why it is harder for these families to create generational wealth.

Sylvia, we know navigating the Plex cities of funding can and has stopped Hispanic owned businesses from even getting started.

How do we get Latinos to invest?

Sylvia: I think it is around education.

I really think it is so important to educate the Latinos.

Historically, they are all about taking care of the kids, the elders.

I think it is just educating them on how important it is to start saving today so they can take care of themselves for their future, and for the future of their children.

Raven: When we think about Hispanic entrepreneurs, Latinos, are they less likely to save, invest then other groups?

Sylvia: That is a great question.

Historically, yes.

We have seen an improvement.

Over the last, I would say 20 years, we are seeing homeownership among the Latinos which is fantastic to see.

We want to continue to increase that.

As well as teaching them the importance of saving for their retirement and their future.

Raven: What types of investments do you recommend for Latinos that are new to investing or do not have a lot of money?

Sylvia: First of all, I would always start by saying we never feel like we have enough to invest, or it always feels like it is tight.

.

Every little bit helps.

Educating them around starting to save.

And I think again, saving away for their retirement, for their future, is important.

If there are children involved, setting of college savings plans and putting a little away for the kids, is incredibly important for the Latinos.

Raven: I could not agree more.

It is incredibly important, but for many people, it can be difficult.

If you don't know or no one give you guidance on how to save money, how then are you able to build generational wealth?

Knowledge is power.

What is the best way to obtain that power?

Sylvia: I think there are a lot of financial professionals out there that are really amazing tools.

It is a great place to start.

We all know what we do every day, but if we are not doing it on a daily basis, it is hard to get started.

I think by reaching out and connecting with an advisor and talking about what matters most, their family, their goals, their fears, I think they could be guided and it is a great way to start saving for their future.

Raven: For people who are watching, what if an opportunity does not exist?

We talk about reaching for opportunities, looking for them, networking.

What if that opportunity is not there?

Then what do you do?

Sylvia: I think there is a lot of literature out there.

I think it is going onto the Internet and reading and learning about different ways to get started.

There really is a lot of information.

And I think too, when they are learning of making it a family affair, not just being isolated, but getting the children in the family involved is key.

Raven: We know there has been a lot of growth and support.

We know there are Latinos now saving for retirement, creating generational wealth.

What do you think, in your expertise, still remains the biggest hurdle for so many?

Sylvia: I think it is fear.

The fear of saving, the fear of not understanding how the markets work, and thinking that they could lose their money.

I think if there is a way to reach out and work with somebody who is a financial advisor, they could just kind of educate on ways to create strategies and portfolios that certainly will have ups and downs with the market, but overall, and having long-term time horizon, how it will help them reach their goals.

Raven: Definitely having a plan is the way to go.

Thank you for joining me on "NJ Business Beat."

Before we leave you, here is a look at the top headlines in the business world this week.

We begin with the end.

The end of the writers strike.

After nearly 150 days, film and TV writers struck a deal with major Hollywood studios to end the strike.

.

Writers are calling the new contract a huge win.

They successfully fought for a 12% pay increase over three years.

Increase streaming residuals, transparency in how studios track performance, and viewership as well as limitations on the use of artificial intelligence.

Writers Guild also secured mandatory staffing requirements and guaranteed 10 weeks of work during the development of a series.

A major reminder for anyone with student loans, Federal student loan payments will resume October 1.

Payments have been on hold for more than three years after Congress passed the CARES act in March 2020, to help borrowers during the pandemic.

There are currently more than one million borrowers in New Jersey who owe a total of $44 billion in student loans.

Hours who will not be able to afford those payments can enrollment the Biden administration's income driven program for a temporary forbearance.

The Education Department will not report those who failed to make payments to credit bureaus, but interest will still accrue.

New Jersey joins the Federal Trade Commission to take on Amazon.

The FTC and his 17 states are suing the company for allegedly inflating pricing -- pricing and stifling competition.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon abused its power to illegally maintain a monopoly on the market, leading to higher prices and poorer quality items being sold.

The FTC argues third-party sellers who rely on Amazon to stay in business are forced into so-called pay to play fees that eventually get passed on to their customers.

Amazon argues its practices have spurred competition, and innovation in the market.

New Jersey is getting millions of dollars to upgrade its broken unemployment insurance system.

Congressman Bill Pascrell announced $11 million from American rescue plan funds will be sent to the New Jersey Department of Labor and workforce develop.

During the pandemic, thousands of residents complained of widespread delays, confusing forms, and minimal customer support when trying to access unemployment funds.

The money will also be used to better defend against fraud and make the unemployment system easier to navigate and maintain.

That does it for us this week.

Remember to subscribe to our NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel, to get alerted when we post new episodes and clips.

Next week, we hit the books and look into New Jersey's higher education system.

From financial struggles for college to financial planning for your future college kids.

Thanks for watching.

And we will see you next weekend.

>> Support for "NJ Biz Beat with Raven Santana" provided by NJMEP.

Supporting manufacturing and jobs.

Made in New Jersey manufacturing date, October 6, in freehold, New Jersey.

It AFC cars, awards, and networking.

Registration online at njmep.

org.

♪