Bricia and Paulina’s conversation with Neilsen’s Stacie M De Armas was full of so much awesome information about the economic power that of Latinas-- we are really out here making names for ourselves, ladies! According to Stacie’s 2017 Latina 2.0 report all female owned businesses grew 27% in the last 5 years, but Latina businesses grew by 87%, during the same period! More often than not Latina entrepreneurs are creating their own businesses out of necessity, because they are excluded from the traditional workforce or simply because their earning capabilities are capped.
In 2016 the total buying power of the Hispanic market was estimated at $1.4 trillion, so why are Latinos still not seen as general market? And why are we still fighting over the 6% or 8% of the total marketing/advertising dollars set aside for “multicultural market”? The answer is plain old backward thinking and the lack of importance placed on Latinos in the US. But in a time when our livelihoods and safety are in jeopardy shouldn’t we expect more from the companies that need Latino money to stay afloat? As Stacie tells us, the answer is “yes” we should reward brands “that stand up and with us on important social issues.” But how do we know which brands care and which are just trying to fake their way into our bank accounts? Stacie reminds us that not only are Latinas trend setters, but they influence the way others spend as well. Here are 4 easy ways we can totally use our influence and our brand loyalty to support the Latino community.
Examine a brand’s track record
There are plenty of companies out there that profit off Latinos but refuse to stand up for us, hire us, pay us fairly and reach us authentically. A good rule of thumb is asking yourself if you would donate money to that company based on its values and actions.
Flex the power of your dollar
Whether it’s chick-fil-a’s homophobia, Home Depot’s CEO Trump endorsement, or American auto companies lobbying for fewer environmental restrictions, we’ve all got to decide what we stand for and what we’re willing to put up with. Are you cool supporting homophobia? Do you want to make someone who doesn’t care about Latinos lives richer? Are you ok with a company that puts profits over the air you and your children breathe? The first step is recognizing the power of our dollar and using it to not only demand more, but to let companies know that shady business practices and negative “isms” won’t be tolerated. According to the Latina 2.0 report, Latinos control $1.4 trillion, that’s powerful!
Is the messaging created for and by Latinas?
Conversations about diversity and inclusion as well as the #MeToo movement have shone a light on how pervasive all forms of discrimination and abuse against women are. The biggest takeaway is that the need for female representation in every professional field is needed because the alternative is toxic. We’ve all seen these totally off base and sometimes offensive ad campaigns (*cough cough* Pepsi) where it’s clear that there wasn’t a single person of color in the room when decisions were made. If you see something off you can always write a letter, start a petition, tweet them, but ultimately we should make it known with our wallets that unless people like us are in the decision making room, we won’t buy it!
Buy from Latina owned businesses
The absolute easiest way to empower Latinas is to buy from them directly. In the last 5 years over 682,000, Latina-run businesses have sprouted up but statistically very few are be able to grow and scale up due to lack of resources. Putting money back into the Latina community means helping families like yours put food on the table and hopefully creating more jobs for Latinas in the future.
For more info on Latina businesses you can read Stacie’s report here and for the full convo tune into Episode 157!
