We are thrilled that Business Alianzas has had such a successful first year! We launched on February 7th, 2021 and we currently have 150 members of Business Alianzas as we head into renewals. If you are not a current member, you can register on our membership page.
www.businessalianzas.org/membership
Continued from a previous post: Reflection 2021: Changes & Challenges
Our clients kept calling. On day 2 and 3, we had six clients needing long-term consulting for growth. We let them know that we were still figuring it out and that our services were no longer pro bono. Every one of our clients supported us and let us know that we were worth whatever we needed to charge – they needed our help. That Friday I met with two colleagues/ mentors to brainstorm next steps. It was agreed that for now I would not fight to keep the MI Hispanic Contractors Association, but the need for an organization for ALL entrepreneurs was needed.
Business Alianzas was branded that Friday afternoon sitting at El Salpicón over a couple rounds of Modelo Especial. I bought the domains, registered the Facebook page, and registered with the State of Michigan. Lots of brainstorming, dozens of text messages over the weekend with my staff and partners led to the first iteration of what is now BusinessAlianzas.org – a small business membership organization and referral network that specializes in connecting Latinx businesses to resources and opportunities. Puente Cultural Integration, LLC is the umbrella company and continues to provide direct connections, consulting, coaching, and technical assistance to small businesses, nonprofits, banks, and governmental agencies. We relaunched multiple events and workshops series that had been halted including morning networking (Cafecito with Business Alianzas), Happy Hours (Cheers! with Business Alianzas), and reconnected with past partner sponsors such as Alliance Catholic Credit Union, Comerica Bank, Flagstar Bank, and Fifth Third Bank all of whom we hope to work with again in 2022.
We are proud of all we accomplished in 2021. Below you will find our Annual Report for Puente Cultural Integration and Business Alianzas.