EDASC's Latino Business Expansion Retention Program

The position as the Director of the LBRE Program was created by a grant from Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED) in May 2004.  The program has also received support from Skagit Valley College and, since June 1, 2009, the Washington State University Small Business Development Center.  Since January of 2009, in conjunction with our advisory board, we have updated and re-crafted the LBRE Mission, Vision and Strategy Statements, based on the realities of the program and the current state of our economy. LBRE Mission: Provide one-on-one business counseling and broad-based support for Latino entrepreneurs and business owners for start-ups and business expansion.  Our customized bilingual approach focuses on building bridges with the local community through cultural awareness and collaborative educational opportunities. We do this by advocating for our clients, providing access to capital, business education aimed at financial/cultural literacy, and support with strategic planning, marketing, resource awareness and networking. LBRE Vision: LBRE helps Latino owned businesses build strong relationships, gain access to collaborative educational opportunities, learn, grow, and expand so that they can provide more jobs and assure that Northwest Washington is home to a strong, vibrant, network-savvy Latino Business community that encourages the retention and expansion of Latino enterprises in Skagit, Island, San Juan and Whatcom counties. LBRE Strategies:

1. Providing services to clients:  Provide individualized business counseling to Latino business owners and entrepreneurs so they are able to access resources and capital for the expansion and retention of their businesses.
2. Latino networking and referral base:  Facilitate the creation of an activated network of Latino business owners and professionals (i.e. attorneys, accountants, academics) thus enabling access to collaborative educational opportunities and community events.
3. Marketing of LBRE Program:  Maintain a highly visible community profile through promotions and community activities in order to assure ongoing funding support of the LBRE program.

 In March of 2009, two new loans were granted to Latino businesses by the Skagit Council of Governments, one of $4000 to a “Lonchera” and the other to a construction company for $8600, bringing the grand total of loans granted to $2,010,100.  To date, the businesses having received these loans are varied and include the following areas: automotive, newspaper, restaurant, a Mexican grocery store, construction, an import company, a painting company, insurance and a health care facility. Between January 1 and June 30, 2009, Diana Morelli has counseled more than 40 new clients.  During the same period, she has also given major presentations to entities such as Las Américas Business Center, Bank of America, The Small Business Development Centers, three separate groups of Latino entrepreneurs and an ESL class at Skagit Valley College and to the Washington Latino Business Association.  She has also been interviewed on Estela Olguin’s KSVR Radio show.

Email Diana using our Contact Us page for more information.

This document was printed from The Economic Development Association of Skagit County's website, www.skagit.org, on Tuesday, September 7, 2010.