Expanding your business: learning from others

On June 20, 2023, the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosted a series of panels during its annual Closing the Gap Conference. The panels discussed multiple topics related to entrepreneurship and operation of a business, including the resources and institutions available to help a burgeoning business.

During this particular session, representatives from each business support organization gave insight into their own group and the services they provided.

The panel was comprised of several business insiders, including Iola Harper, a senior executive vice president with The Enterprise Center; Yael Tacher, a program manager with the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Josué Figueroa, Vice President and Senior Business Banking Consultant with Chase Bank; and Jamie Shanker, the director of programs at the Temple University Small Business Development Center.

The session was moderated by Lenin Agudo, the director of the Small Business Development Center at Widener University.

The Enterprise Center provides business advisory services, equity funds to invest in diverse entrepreneur owned companies, and has interest in developing communities surrounding commercial corridors.

Harper was keen to stress that the language used by business advisors is key, such as with the term "business advisory services" being the same as "technical assistance" only that the former is more palatable to businesses seeking assistance.