July 16th, 2010
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Author: New U.S. Census data show a dramatic increase in the number of minority-owned businesses and the revenue they take in nationally – but a NewsBuzz analysis shows the increases were even greater in Wisconsin.
U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 Survey of Business Owners found that nationally, the number of minority-owned businesses grew 45.6 percent between 2002 and 2007. In Wisconsin, they grew at a slightly faster rate, 47.9 percent – but the revenue generated by minority-owned businesses in state rose much more quickly. It grew 76 percent, the ninth highest rate in the country (out of the 41 states that yielded enough data for consideration). The national average was 55.5 percent.
el rey plaza
The statistics for all Wisconsin’s businesses are less encouraging. The overall number of businesses in the state grew more slowly, just 10 percent during the five-year period, 39th lowest out of all 50 states. Overall revenue grew 29.8 percent, the 38th lowest rate.
Hispanic-owned businesses enjoyed the greatest boom in revenue during the period. In just five years, the money they brought in grew about $1.4 billion, a 140 percent increase, as the number of businesses rose by 1,875, which is a 50 percent increase.
Olivia Villareal, co-owner of Milwaukee’s El Rey chain of Mexican grocery stores, says the greatest concentration of Hispanic business in the state lies on the city’s South Side. Between 2002 and 2007, she says, “A lot of the businesses that started were small ones like travel agents, bakers, accountants and restaurants.”
The Census data ends before the onset of the Great Recession, but Villareal says the economic downturn didn’t hurt the Hispanic companies, often neighborhood businesses, as badly as it has some larger employers. “It did affect us some, but not as much,” she says.
The El Rey chain, which now has four stores and is co-owned by Olivia and Ernesto Villareal, began in 1978 when Ernesto and two brothers, Armando and Heriberto Villareal, opened the first store at 1023 S. 16th St. Since then, the company has grown to be one of the largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the state and employs about 325 people, 318 of whom are minorities, according to its website.
The number of businesses owned by African Americans in the state and their revenue also grew much faster than the national average. The Census survey found 4,590 new black-owned businesses in the state in 2007, a 68.7 percent increase over 2002, the 13th highest increase in black businesses measured in the nation. Revenue made by black businesses climbed by about $345 million, a 54 percent increase that was 18th highest in the country.
Curtis Harris, executive director of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Milwaukee, says he’s still reviewing the Census results to gauge their significance. African American-owned businesses, he says, “tend to be small, more mom-and-pop types.”
Small operations
Nationally, the survey found that most businesses were individual or family-run operations without paid employees, though the owners of such businesses certainly benefited from the revenue generated. Minority-owned businesses were even more likely to have no paid employees.
The states with the greatest concentrations of minority-owned businesses were Hawaii (57 percent of all businesses) and California (36 percent). In Wisconsin, according to the data, they make up about 6 percent of all businesses.
The NewsBuzz analysis also found that the number of businesses owned by women rose at a slower rate between 2002 and 2007 than in the rest of the country. The number of women-owned businesses in the state increased by about 8 percent. That was the 46th lowest rate out of all 50 states. Revenue by women-owned businesses increased by about 19 percent, 35th lowest in the country.
The means the share of Wisconsin businesses owned by women actually decreased during the period. It slid slightly from 26.5 percent in 2002 to 25.9 percent in 2007.
Asian-owned businesses made up about 1.6 percent of the state’s companies in 2007. Their numbers increased 38 percent between 2002 and 2007, 31st in the country, and their revenue grew 55 percent, 33rd.
How growth in Wisconsin businesses stacks up against other states
ALL BUSINESSES
New businesses – 39th (50 states)
New revenue – 38th (50 states)
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
New businesses – 46th (50 states)
New revenue – 35th (50 states)
MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESSES
New businesses – 21st (50 states)
New revenue – 9th (41 states)
BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES
New businesses – 13th (47 states)
New revenue – 18th (47 states)
HISPANIC-OWNED BUSINESSES
New businesses – 24th (49 states)
New revenue – 6th (49 states)
ASIAN-OWNED BUSINESSES
New businesses – 33rd (50 states)
New revenue – 31st (50 states)
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