I’m a young Latino entrepreneur, professional and family man who enjoys every single thing I do. I’m very passionate about e-business and the Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce. I believe in what the HISCEC represents and means for the small business community.
Members of the HISCEC, family and friends have motivated us to keep working hard for what we believe in and are passionate about even when things have gotten hectic. We have had to overcome several challenges alone because we decided to go “solo” with our projects. That means NO investors, no third parties, etc. and lots of hours of hard work. If you are an entrepreneur you get the picture:
– Party weekends: Gone
– Unwind when you get home from your “full-time” job: Gone
– Traveling: Gone
– Fine dinning: Gone
– Hobbies: Gone
– Lots of sacrifices…My wife and I already have a baby and we haven’t even been able to take a honey-moon yet!
But, I’m very passionate about what I do. I’m passionate about the Internet and what it represents for business. I don’t regret anything about the path I have chosen.
Several experienced consultants have told us that Hispanic business owners are not ready to start conducting business online. I completely disagree with that idea. After dozens of face-to-face meetings with Hispanic business owners, I have come to the conclusion that a lot of them are ready to start utilizing the Internet as a business tool. The problem is, that some of them don’t know where to start, what to do and how they can implement a successful e-business strategy. I was in a similar situation a few years ago. At that time, I didn’t know where to go to ask for help so I ended up doing a lot of research on my own, decided to start a Master’s in Marketing and got connected with professionals who were making a living out of their e-businesses.
Late 2006, we decided to create an online business association for business owners interested in utilizing different Internet tools to grow their businesses. On April 23, 2008 the website of the Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce was born. A few hours after the site was live, some contacts of mine joined the network. In April 2010, we have 927 members and 609 businesses listed in HISCEC’s business directory. On May 17, 2010 we are planning to launch HISCEC V.3 with a very powerful platform that will allow us to provide the services that we wanted to from the very beginning.
We are also behind the organization of the 2010 Hispanic Business Showcase (http://www.hbshowcase.com). A two-day business-to-business expo that will be held on September 10-11 at the San Diego Convention Center. I can’t tell you how excited I am about that project.
Please invite business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals that you know to join our network. Together we can foster economic development and make a difference in our community. We hope you can join us at the Expo in September.
Have a nice week.
Tu amigo,
Tayde
