“If you have a dream, you need to pursuit it. You can achieve anything you want,” said a micro-entrepreneur in Spanish. Her heartfelt words were translated into English by one of two interpreters at the Sunnyside neighborhood meeting of Mercado de Suenos, or Market of Dreams, on Wednesday evening, February 27.
Mercado de Suenos is the new name for a community-supported marketplace and micro-entrepreneurship center that has been in the works for over four years. The microbusiness incubator is putting together artisans, craftspersons, food producers and independent construction contractors with business development experts. Many partners are coming together to open a storefront on Fourth Street where micro businesses can collectively sell in one marketplace and share tools for business empowerment. JP Morgan Chase Foundation recently awarded $30,000 seed money for the endeavor.
“The vision started four years ago with residents of the neighborhood, business owners and people who wanted to see changes for the better,” explained Irene Montano of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association to the group of about 20 hopeful men and women micro-entrepreneurs. “We wanted the people in the neighborhood to grow economically. We did a study with NACET and went door to door and talked to 150 residents. We saw single- and two-parent families that were barely making it. We noticed that they were knitting, selling tamales, doing mechanics.”
The 2011 Sunnyside Neighborhood Micro-Entrepreneurship Feasibility Study was a result of the door-to-door interviews. The study showed that 80 percent of Sunnyside interviewees were in business, and 67 percent of those felt their business needs were not met by their current facilities. Businesspeople reported that they would use a business center located in the Sunnyside neighborhood for sharing capital costs of equipment and or clerical services. They also showed high interest in business seminars and classes. Most fit the definition of a micro entrepreneur, which is the owner of a small business that has fewer than five employees and has startup costs of less than $35,000 and annual revenue of less than $100,000. NACET concluded that there was a clear need for the services offered by a micro-business center within Sunnyside.
“We want to help everybody flourish,” continued Montano. “Then it was talk, talk, talk. But now we are doing something about it. This is the next step.”
The next step is the Mercado de Suenos community-supported, multi-cultural marketplace that includes the micro entrepreneurship center. “I got involved with this during a conference on economic growth at NAU last year,” explained Patrick Pfeifer, chief technical officer of Roots, a composting business, who is helping entrepreneurs connect with Mercado de Suenos. “Coral [Evans] shared with me what was happening in Sunnyside. That’s when we merged the ideas of entrepreneurship and a marketplace. Since then, we’ve been holding these meetings and talking to understand the needs and the resources and how to link those together.”
Pfeifer, after receiving a master’s degree in sustainable communities from Northern Arizona University last year, also works to connect resources at NAU, NACET and other organizations with grassroots interests. Three of the business partners, the Sustainable Economic Development Initiative (SEDI), Coconino County and Small Business Development Center (SBDC) were at the meeting to share information about their programs.
“We want to help you reach your dreams,” stressed Eric Marcus of SEDI, who handed out instructions for applying for micro loans. “Your dream isn’t just your dream. Seeing your dreams accomplished builds hope in your children and your neighbors. And then all of a sudden it turns everything around. … We’re in the business of helping your dreams come true. One of the best ways to create jobs in the community is to help create small business. More than 66 percent of jobs in the U.S. come from small businesses.”
One of SEDI’s major initiatives this year is “Dollars for Dreams,” a community-supported micro-lending program. The micro loan program provides smaller amounts of up to $5,000 in financing and helps micro-entrepreneurs establish and learn about credit.
Janet Regner, director of Coconino County Community Service Department, spoke with the crowd about the business empowerment tools offered right in the neighborhood at the county offices on King Street. “The Basic Business Empowerment classes start Sept. 13. The goal of this eight-week workshop is that everyone comes out with a business plan,” she said. Regner explained that participants in the intensive program work closely with Bret Carpenter, business analyst at the Small Business Development Center located at Coconino Community College on Fourth Street.
“This is a team effort of over 20 organizations that have come together to serve an underserved segment of the community,” said Carpenter. “Pieces and versions have been after it for years, but we’ve never had this kind of coalition behind it before. It combines a multicultural market with business mentors, the university and many other business resources.”
After the meeting, Tabiola Villalobos said with a smile, “This opportunity is excellent for me.” Villalobos owns Dos Hermanos, a retail business. “My first business was difficult to start; I couldn’t speak English at first.” Now she puts the American Dream into action by starting her second business of selling blankets, comforters and other household goods to help send her two sons to college. FBN