Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration from mid-September to mid-October and recognizes the history, culture, achievements and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. This blog post highlights the mission and work at the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce in a Q&A format with information provided by Janet Hilario, the State Outreach Coordinator for the organization.

Tell us about the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce. What is its mission?

“Founded in 2003, the Dane County Latino Chamber of Commerce, now the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce, represents Wisconsin’s Latino and non-Latino business community. Our mission is to assist and promote the interests of our members and the community through programs, certifications, classes, and access to capital that impacts economic growth in Latino business entrepreneurship and expansion in Wisconsin.”

What services do you offer?

“The Chamber focuses on horizontal and vertical markets through business accelerator programs. We also provide specialized advice to Latinos who want to create or expand their businesses. All of these outreach and engagement activities are across the state. We visit different counties to promote our services and have excellent coverage and acceptance, and we carry out all these activities in our native language, Spanish.”

What geographic location do you serve?

“The Chamber of Commerce initially focused on Dane County, covering the cities of Madison, Sun Prairie, Fitchburg, Middleton, etc. Starting in 2020, with the arrival of COVID-19, the scope of our service offering changed, and we started a state expansion project called LEAD Tour. We began to visit the most representative cities outside the county, such as Green Bay, Eau Claire, Wausau, Beloit, Whitewater, Janesville, etc., with excellent results. Today we have participants from more than 26 counties in Wisconsin in our programs.”

How do you identify businesses that need services? What is the process for connecting with businesses?

“The Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce has a variety of programs and services. Identifying each potential participant depends on what the entrepreneurs or business owners seek. It starts with an initial evaluation of needs through informative sessions on what we offer with our social networks, website, workshops, and radio show. A fundamental element in this process is to carry out a one-to-one assessment to clarify what the individual or company needs, after which we can determine what we can offer them.”

What are the benefits of serving businesses across the state?

“Overall, expanding business development services across the state can contribute to growth, stability, and competitive positioning for businesses. As the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce, we have the ability to replicate successful programs and services across the state, providing opportunities to entrepreneurs or offering values preposition to different counties, allowing to the businesses increase the customer bases, increasing revenue and market share through networking opportunities for the Latino community.”

What are the challenges of serving such a large area?

“Expanding business development services around the state offers numerous benefits and presents challenges. We must be highly organized and establish appropriate lines of communication. Access to technology is essential since the formats of the programs and services to be offered must be in hybrid formats: virtual and in-person, which adds a component of the level of participants needed. Personnel management and having local staff at strategic points are essential to providing local assistance and developing strategic alliances with organizations that contribute efficiently to disseminating and using support facilities for deploying programs and services. In the last two years, the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce has gained a lot of experience in administrative and program management that sets us up for success in the expansion process.”

Are there any events or news you would like to share? 

“The FUTURO program started this month with seven participants from the Green Bay area. TU EMPRESA will begin on September 25, and the final exam for certification in ServSafe is scheduled for September 29.”

How can businesses connect with the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce?

Visit our offices:

5262 Anton Dr.

Fitchburg, WI 53719

2701 Larsen Rd.

Green Bay, WI 54303

Call us:

608-712-3522

Connect with us online:

Website: www.lccwi.org

Facebook: @WisconsinLLC

Instagram: @wilatinochamber

LinkedIn: Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce