Three surveys are being conduceted for the AHCC: Hispanic Business owners, Hispanic Enrepreneurs, and for Community Stakeholders. Each of the surveys are available below (click on the link to download the PDF file).
323 Center Street, Suite 1300, Little Rock, AR 72201
Why is the Arkansas Hispanic Chamber Conducting Surveys? The founders of the Hispanic Chamber recognize that in order for a Hispanic Chamber to be useful to the Central Arkansas community, it is necessary to undertake a feasibility study. In order for the Arkansas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to be relevant in meeting the needs of small Hispanic businesses, its mission and services must be directed by a legitimate feasibility study and business plan.
Although some support for Hispanic businesses already exists in central Arkansas, many of the current business development services that do exist either do not provide support in Spanish (either materials or Spanish-speaking staff), are so overloaded that they cannot assist the emerging Spanish business community, or do not have the density of staff to assist the small and micro businesses which represent much of the Hispanic business community. Often these services are hard to find and difficult to access, even by those businesses aware of their existence. Currently, according to the U.S. Census, there are 717 Hispanic-owned small businesses in the Little Rock area, and over 2,000 statewide. These numbers are over four years old, and many assert that the margin of error (some 14%) is so great that the numbers cannot be accurate. Regardless, 15 new Hispanic-owned businesses opened in 2005, with the primary growth being in construction. This growth is projected not only to continue but to increase over the course of the next few years. The Arkansas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hopes to offer services and support geared towards mentoring these burgeoning Hispanic business owners.
Why are the survey important? Your information, ideas, and recommendations will help shape the work and future membership profile of the Hispanic Chamber. There may be several particular services that the group could take on, but it needs current data to drive its initial strategic planning.
This survey will help the Greater Little Rock Hispanic Chamber of Commerce determine the kinds of services the Hispanic business community most needs and how a Hispanic Chamber could provide the most important assistance. It is also important that the Hispanic Chamber connect with key city and state agencies and the LR Regional Chamber to increase the productivity, assets, and resiliency of the growing Hispanic community. The Hispanic Chamber will work hard to complement the good work already being done by other agencies, so the various surveys are critical to identifying gaps and avoiding duplicative efforts.
Ideally, a strong and connected Hispanic Chamber will build the economic base in central Arkansas by helping Hispanic business owners to become an integral part of that base.
How long will it take to complete it? The survey should take no more than 15-20 minutes of your time to complete.
What will the Arkansas Hispanic Chamber do with the information? Each survey will be confidential; the information will be kept on file in the office. The Hispanic Chamber and its consultants will tabulate all responses and use the data to generate a snapshot of issues, trends, and recommendations and ultimately will use the data to create a mission statement and business plan.
The mission statement, general recommendations, graphs, and basic maps of where current Hispanic businesses are located will be available on the AHCC website once the survey and analysis is complete.
