Project centered around Latino small businesses launches in Phoenix

PHOENIX — The Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) launched a project focusing on Latino small business growth on Thursday.

LAZOS aims to bring Latino small business owners together while also becoming more civically engaged politically and economically.

“The Arizona true small business doesn’t have the voice at the Legislature or the city at the same level as bigger businesses,” LUCHA co-director Tomas Robles said. “The overall goal of getting LAZOS off the ground and getting organizations and businesses to be part of it is civic engagement.

“To not just lobby for yourself as a small business but also to be able to have a voice when there are issues going on in the community.”

Arizona describes a small business as an entity that has 500 employees or less. Small business owner Ana Maria Escobedo and LAZOS feels the definition of a small business limits other owners who are nowhere close to that number.

“LAZOS is going to be a resource that’s going to make us feel like we have a spot at the table,” Escobedo, who runs a business with 15 employees, said. “A lot of times we get shunned just because we’re not big enough and the people in office don’t believe that we have as much impact as maybe a bigger, what they consider small business which is 500 people.

“This will help us amplify our voice.”

With a big Latino presence in the state, Escobedo added that LAZOS will be a resource for small business owners to come together to better the community.

While LAZOS aims to help connect small business owners, it’s also helping them better understand the ins and outs of running a business.

“Finally it’s about educating,” Robles said of the reasons to start LAZOS. “Educating small businesses on how the political process works, not just at the state but at the city level. From everything from zoning to taxes to advertising and so forth.”

As it stands, LAZOS has a beginning committee of six small business owners. Robles hopes that with the launch that number will rise.

“We hope to recruit 300 small businesses to join as membership businesses to the LAZOS membership,” Robles said.

For business owners like Escobedo, the project was a long time coming.

“[LAZOS] is something that is very necessary,” Escobedo said. “A lot of our upcoming business owners, a lot of them are younger millennials and Latinos so we want to start to lay that foundation so they have the path to success.”

To learn more on LAZOS, visit the projects website, here.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino contributed to this report. 

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