WEST ALLIS, Wisc. — Many businesses often rely on word of mouth to grow but when a big event like the Republican National Convention (RNC) comes to town, that growth can't happen fast enough.
“When we start thinking about what is a strong economic engine for prosperity for the entire southeastern Wisconsin region, Latinos are a big part of that equation,” said Nancy Hernandez, President of Hispanic Collaborative.
That's where the work of the Hispanic Collaborative comes in.
It uses tools like Mercado MKE to elevate Latino voices in the community.
“We're pretty good at supporting each other. And now we just feel that it's time to, you know, for us to be known, in every single market and every single demographic,” said Adrian Hernandez, Manager, Mercado MKE.
The digital platform serves as a one-stop-shop to find Latino-owned businesses, like Piece of Love Cake Shop in West Allis.
“It does change the business. I feel other than that, I also like connecting with them and I got so much knowledge from them as well,” said Ana Gonzalez.
Piece of Love’s owner Ana Gonzalez says the platform has given her business a big boost in the last three years and it’s given her the confidence to submit her bakery as a potential vendor for next year’s Republican National Convention.
“I think like politics aside, I think it's just like a great opportunity for Latino businesses or any businesses in general,” said Gonzalez. “There's so many people like, how do we feed all those people? And then it's like, you know, us as small businesses like, we can do that and kind of take that opportunity and give them and show them what we can do.”
Hernandez says the work her team is doing now will not only help as we near the convention, but for years to come.
“The stronger that we can support our community now and put many of our households in better educational positions, better sound economic footing, than that is more strength for the entire region overall, from what's powering our prosperity,” said Hernandez.
To check out Mercado MKE, click here.
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