50 Pinoy businesses expected to attend
LOS ANGELES – Around 50 Filipino businesses are expected to join the 14th Annual Asian Small Business Expo on September 21, Saturday, at the Almansor Court Conference Center in Alhambra.
This was confirmed to the Asian Journal by Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) executive director Joel Jacinto on Wednesday, September 11, at the Expo’s kick-off held at the US Bank branch on Olympic and Figueroa.
SIPA is one of five community organizations that collaboratively worked on organizing the Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program (API SBP) – a community service program that assists in the development of small and micro-businesses among low-income immigrants in Los Angeles, particularly focusing on Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Filipino entrepreneurs.
Since 1999, the API SBI has helped hundreds of Filipino entrepreneurs reach their potential, Jacinto said. The SIPA executive director also said that entrepreneurship is “who we are.”
Jacinto recounted the success story of the owners of The Park’s Finest, a restaurant on Temple Street that is run by former students of SIPA’s Entrepreneural Training Program.
The Park’s Finest is a barbecue and Pinoy food fusion joint that has grown a cult following after it was featured in Guy’s Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Drives on The Food Network.
Jacinto said that The Park’s Finest is a great example of what’s in store for business owners and entrepreneurs when they enroll themselves into training opportunities that will help them do the best that they can.
Aside from SIPA, the four other community organizations that comprise the API SBP are the Chinatown Service Center, Koreatown Youth & Community Center, Little Tokyo Service Center CDC, and Thai Community Development Center.
“There’s a misconception that Filipinos are not small businesses owners,” Jacinto said. “So our job is to encourage these entrepreneurs to come forward and get assistance, and learn what’s available for them in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.”
At the Expo, participants will be able to learn about all the people, businesses, and institutions that work with API SBP: banks, financial management services, insurance companies, payroll processing companies, and small business administration firms, among other things. SIPA’s businesses counselors will also be onsite at the Expo to accommodate the needs of Filipino businesses.
“It’s like a tiangge, you can find everything there that you need for your small business,” Jacinto said.
He also said that the Expo is also a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to expand their network.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek September 18 – 20, 2013 Sec A pg.1)
