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¡AVANZANDO JUNTAS! ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM FOR LATINA WOMEN

We inspire, empower and educate Latina women to promote their personal and economic growth.

The program, ¡Avanzando Juntas!, which has offices in the cities of Atlanta and Dalton, Georgia, offers a space where Latina women can develop their interests, skills, and talents to undertake in the development of micro-businesses or acquire new skills to secure better employment. We support and educate Latina women to establish their businesses, obtain financial resources, and acquire new tools to move forward.

We are part of the creation and growth of small businesses offering tools and resources that enable women to advance in their businesses:

Where to start?

To register for the course: Planifica tu Negocio, you MUST take two introductory classes. The classes are: ¿Estás lista para iniciar tu negocio? and Presupuesto y Crédito. These two classes are offered once a month, at various times, for your convenience.

The program has deep Latin roots and was created with funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation in 2014.

The Avanzando Juntas program has impacted over 10,000 women since 2014

Avanzando Juntas Components

1. Introductory Classes

(Prerequisit for Planifica tu Negocio Course)
Monthly classes where the entrepreneurs learn:

✔️Value Proposition
✔️ Financial Literacy

2. Incubadora

A) Planifica tu Negocio
B) Digitaliza Tu Negocio

“Planifica tu negocio” teaches the fundamentals for a successful business. In”Digitaliza Tu Negocio” you will learn digital solutions to increase online presence and in the business market. At the each course, you will learn:

✔️ Business Plan
✔️ Cash Flow & Financial statements and more…
✔️ Building Social Media Presence
✔️ Online Selling
✔️ Marketing and more…

3. ACCIONA Business Center Accelerator

ACCIONA will assist with:

✔️ Marketing
✔️ Training
✔️ Access to capital
✔️ Networking
✔️ Upscale your business
✔️ Technical assistance
✔️ One-on-one mentorships

4. Business Ecosystem

A network of:

✔️ Organizations
✔️ Suppliers
✔️ Resources
✔️ Maximize Business Potential
✔️ Provide New Opportunities
✔️ Community Navigator Pilot Program

LATINA ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM IMPACT IN NUMBERS

Our services have impacted

0

Entrepeneurs

Latina Empowerment Conference

0

Approved
Grants

0

Financial
Orientations

0

50 Companies
Generate

0

more revenue (each year)

Events

Program Staff

Mónica Cucalón

Managing Director of Economic Empowerment

MCucalon@thelaa.org

Ernesto Gonzalez

Director of the Latina Entrepreneurship Program

EGonzalez@thelaa.org

Paola Cartay

Manager of the Latina’s Entrepreneurship Program

pcartay@thelaa.org

Gerardo López

Small Business Manager

glopez@thelaa.org

Natalia Carrizosa

Case Program Coordinator of the Digital in Business Program

ncarrizosa@thelaa.org

Karym Rodriguez

Case Program Coordinator of the Latina Entrepreneurship Program (Dalton)

krodriguez@thelaa.org

Locations

Are you ready to start your business?

Are you ready to make your dreams come true? Are you prepared to transform your business idea into a successful entrepreneurship? If your answer is yes, then it’s time to take the first step towards your future with our course: Planifica tu Negocio.

Before thinking about how to implement your project, you should ask yourself if you are ready to make your business idea successful and understand the value proposition that sets you apart from the competition.

It’s important to learn about how credit scores work in the United States and how to manage your family budget.

To register for the course: Planifica tu Negocio, you must take two introductory classes:

¿Estás lista para iniciar tu negocio? and Presupuesto y Crédito.

These two classes are offered once a month, at various times, for your convenience.

 Register now and take the first step on the path towards your dreams.

Avanzando Juntas

You completed the Introductory Classes? Now is the time to turn your dreams into reality by transforming your business idea into a dream come true.

By the end of the course, you will have in your hands the navigation map to create your business. You will learn to develop a business plan, cash flow, financial statements, and business registration, as well as the opportunity to network with a group of Latina Entrepreneurs.

This 8-week course is offered in Spanish.

Don’t wait for your dreams to find you. Chase them! This business course is offered four times a year, so save your spot in our next course offering and make the perfect blueprint [Brief creativo] of your dream business.

Register here to continue your journey towards your dreams.

You can choose your schedule to fit your availability. Our classes are on Wednesdays or Saturdays.

Digitaliza Tu Negocio

After Avanzando Juntas, the next step to get closer to achieving your dreams is to take your business to the digital world. Digitaliza Tu Negocio offers digital solutions to increase online presence and market business.

Now that you have your business up and running, you will have many responsibilities. For this reason, Digitaliza Tu Negocio helps you optimize your time by giving you the necessary tools to increase the visibility of your venture to more people with less effort.

In this course you will learn:

  • Digital Sales
  • “Sell without Selling”
  • Creation of a Digital Identity
  • Optimization of Social Networks
  • Fraud Prevention
  • How social networks can boost your business
  • Digital Strategy
  • Identification of business financing
  • Marketing Strategies
  • How to communicate with the Customer
  • Elements of your brand and the “voice”

Take the next step to grow your business and explode it in the digital world. This course will guide you on how to do it effectively and safely.

Register here and turn the business of your dreams into a digital reality.

ACCIONA is a Business Acceleration Center and collaborative space designed to help emerging Latina-owned businesses that have graduated from the ¡Avanzando Juntas! program. The Business Center is located at the Association’s headquarters in Atlanta. It includes office rentals and collaborative workspaces, mentorship, workshops, and other resources to take your business and your brand to the next level.

The new selection process will begin on August 1, 2023

Get closer to the end of your journey towards your dreams with ACCIONA. Click here to register or learn more about the program.

Microloans

The LAA provides program participants the tools and mentorship to ensure they have the capital they need to drive the success of their business forward. Since 2015, LAA has provided direct financial assistance in the form of microloans to over 40 entrepreneurs in the amount $103,619. Most notably, the LAA has a flawless repayment record, with no defaults. Currently, the LAA has 28 active microloans.

In 2022, the LAA began an SBA CNPP partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC). This partnership has allowed the LAA to provide an additional $104,500 in small business relief to 12 clients. In total LAA has provided $208.119 in small business relief to 52 clients. For more information, please contact Gerardo Lopez at GLopez@thelaa.org

We offer loans between $500 and $5,000 at low interest rates so you can start or grow your business. The business must be properly registered under Georgia laws. To apply for Microloans contact MCucalon@thelaa.org.

In addition, through the Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP) in collaboration with the SBA and IRC, we offer mentorship to help you gain access to loans, grants, and subsidies so that you can move forward with your business. For more information, please contact Gerardo Lopez at GLopez@thelaa.org

CNPP Benefits:

  • Guidance, workshops, trainings, conferences and networking sessions for businesses in Spanish.
  • Individual advice to gain access to capital through microcredits and local and national grants specialized in small businesses.
  • Education and technical assistance to increase knowledge and participation in SBA and IRC programs

Requirements to Join the CNPP

Business owner over 18 years old Resident of Georgia Active business registered for a year or more. Business Taxes for at least one year or more Updated and complete business plan (including the corresponding cash flow) Basic or intermediate level in English Women preferably graduated from the business course of the ¡Avanzando Juntas! program and/or from the ACCIONA Business Incubator.

Reach your dreams with CNPP. Register now and take your business to the next level. Let’s move forward together!

Proud Printing Partner

  • MARISOL A native of Puerto Rico, makes bar soap from scratch. In the fall 2015, she enrolled in the “Planifica tu Negocio” entrepreneurship course at the LAA and learned things she didn’t know about: market segmentation, a business budget, business plan and marketing with social media. The course, Marisol says, taught her step-by-step what to do and that allowed her to prioritize her expenses. “I changed my concept from beautiful soaps to salutary soaps,” says Marisol, who holds a 40-hour-a-week job to pay her bills. Marisol’s dream is to open a brick-and-mortar store together with her 20-year-old daughter. Together, the mother-daughter duo envisions a wellness venture where clients can get massages and spa-like treatments with their all-natural, homemade goods. “Creating things with my hands makes me happy,” Marisol says. “I’m totally loving making soaps.” Facebook: @humectasoaps Instagram: @humecta_soaps

  • REINA Reina Fierro’s flower shop has gone through many ups and downs since she acquired it in 2008. During a period of slow sales about a year ago, Reina, who had studied business administration in her native Venezuela, considered closing the shop. But then a friend told her about the LAA’s “Planifica tu Negocio” course for Latina entrepreneurs. Reina enrolled. The class changed everything for her. She became aware of resources at her disposal, including chambers of commerce, credit counseling agencies and other organizations that help small businesses. She switched to the QuickBooks software to keep track of her sales, inventory and expenses. She got better at managing her time better so she could focus more on social media and email marketing. But, most importantly, Reina concedes, the course made her feel better about herself, giving her the motivation to keep her shop open. “It’s time for me to do things differently,” she says. “I am not afraid to fail anymore.” Check out Reina Fierro’s flower shop at www.flowergardenatl.com

  • DIANA When she was studying microbiology in her native Colombia, Diana Loaiza dreamed of working in an environmental lab, protecting the oceans and caring for her natural surroundings. Diana took the LAA’s “Planifica tu Negocio” entrepreneurship course for Latina immigrants and she never looked back. Today she has an online business where she sells hand-crafted jewelry and accessories inspired by indigenous people in Colombia who live in the Putumayo region of the Amazon rainforest and other rural areas. “My target is women who like jewelry that is exclusive and exotic,” says Diana, who is a former model. “They want accessories that nobody else has.” One of the most valuable lessons from the “Planifica tu Negocio” course was how to calculate the value of each of the products she sells. She also learned how to compile and list her inventory. And she defined her target market. Diana spent hours on the Internet doing research to set up her business. She started selling on Etsy and she created her own website. Check out Diana Loaiza’s accessories at www.amazonianspirit.com Facebook: @AmazonianSpirit  Instagram: @amazonianspirit

  • Español