3 min read May 2023 – Invest: spoke with Mercedes Young, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay, to discuss how a broad embrace of diversity has augmented the rapid growth of the city and region and why the opportunities must be equitable. “There isn’t a single building, business or city in Florida that doesn’t have brown hands building it up,” she said.
How is the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce getting the word out about business development in Tampa Bay?
Tampa is a growing metropolitan region, which means opportunity for every community area. We’re looking to develop our own Silicon Valley here, with major investments coming in. For our part, we highlight businesses through our amazing and experienced media team. Our website is a great hub where people can get legal templates for partnership and subcontractor agreements and letters of intent. We are talking about thousands of dollars’ worth of resources, and a plethora of documents that can position a business to win. We also have a business literacy class so people can learn how to write proposals and prepare documents on their own.
One of the most exciting things we’re doing, and one of my favorite activities, are the deep dives we conduct with local businesses, providing behind-the-scenes access, tutorials and interviews that we post on TikTok and LinkedIn. It’s been an enjoyable and energizing way to engage businesses and also expose them to a wider audience. On the flip side, it’s giving more people insights about the great businesses that are a part of our Chamber.
What are some of the Chamber initiatives that you are most excited about?
I have one of the strongest boards I’ve ever served. We are especially hands-on with healthcare, including our health committee with Moffitt Cancer Center, a partnership with Publix to provide services to the LGBTQ community and an initiative with local Indigenous peoples to sell organic sundries like herbs and spices at local events. One of our board members is the founder of Youth Enterprise Services (YES), which trains young people aged 14 to 24 in how to develop and plan their own business, from the creative process to the daily operations of paying bills and budgeting.
We want the experience for our members and community to be tangible, not just abstract conversations. We don’t do traditional networking events but prefer speed networking that can bring hundreds of companies together and connect them in literally minutes. We partner with three other chambers of commerce for this event and it has been a huge success across multiple counties. Additionally, we have representatives from the county and city on our board. With that validation, we are able to do much more business with counties in the region.
How is the Chamber espousing diversity in the business landscape?
What we’ve been able to do with diversity in this city is historic. If you look at federal government data, diversity in business is still just 6%. In Tampa Bay, we’ve grown that diversity from 10% to 50% in a matter of 10 years. This is vital because it gives more people a seat at the table and provides more segments of the community a louder voice in the decision-making. And this has nothing to do with race but rather the passion and professionalism these residents can bring to the business ecosystem. Having a talented and creative service is something you can consciously cultivate, so it shouldn’t be held up because of race. Capacity and talent should not be measured by something we have no control over. At the end of the day, when we have to deliver services, people don’t care how you look, they care about the quality.
What is the benefit of the Chamber to its members?
When it comes to members, the more the merrier. We are inclusive for the entire brown community, not just Hispanics, because there is power in numbers. If there are companies that struggle to meet diversity and inclusion needs, we can consult to connect them with the right people and resources. People of color are here and they are not going anywhere. There isn’t a single building, business, or city in Florida that doesn’t have brown hands building it up. All of our new services came from the community voice — I just ask questions. We have gotten phenomenal responses from members about what they’re looking for to grow their business. We have a program that provides tangible financial support to businesses in need of upgrades or capacity. What members want is what they’re getting because they are the drivers of all our great ideas and initiatives.
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