Reflections On Ethnicity Bias In Business Lending And Securing My Financial Future + Conference Recap

This post about securing my financial future, and other lessons I learned during Hispanicize 2018, is part of a sponsored collaboration with Prudential and DiMe Media. However, all opinions expressed are my own and were not edited by any third party.

As a multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion expert, the issue of ethnicity bias in business lending is something I’ve known for a long time. However, learning that Latino business owners consider ethnicity bias one of the main barriers that limit -or even block- their access to opportunities really hits close to home. It made me reflect on the challenges I’ve faced in my efforts to secure my financial future.

When I decided to start my business almost six years ago, my lack of experience and lack of planning for my financial future were the main barriers I faced in my quest to succeed. My road to entrepreneurship was met with family tragedy, illness, and the worst financial crisis of my adult life. Throughout these years, I’ve grown and learned more about being an entrepreneur and feel more confident on my way to succeed. That being said, I’m aware that there is so much more I have to improve to secure my financial future.

That’s why I’m happy to be working with Prudential and have the opportunity to get advice, resources, and knowledge that will not only help me improve my financial future but that I also can share with all of you. During Hispanicize, I visited the Prudential booth daily and I was able to chat with Prudential representatives who gave me tips on how to get on the right track to ensure that my financial future will be on solid ground.

Along with experiencing ethnicity bias in business lending, the results from the research platform CulturIntel used by Prudential also showed that Latino business owners face two other main barriers: lack of access to capital and business opportunities. Those findings only highlighted the need for me to save and invest and protect my financial future at the same time I grow my business.

While the findings of the study are very real and impact the way we do business, talking to the financial advisors at the Prudential booth made me reflect on the challenges I’ve faced due to my own lack of financial knowledge and how taking action and asking the right financial professional for advice can go a long way.

I also received the results of Prudential’s newest study called “Americans and Money 2018: It’s Complicated”, and one of the insights of the research states that 49% of Latinos say they don’t understand how to save and invest appropriately for their situation. Like many of you, I also fall into that 49%, which made it clear that I have to empower myself by learning what’s necessary for me to save and invest consistently.

I came back home ready to take action and feeling hopeful about what I can achieve moving forward. It felt good to talk to people who are knowledgeable and told me what I needed to hear in order to move forward.

My Hispanicize 2018 Conference Recap

As you may have seen on my social channels, I had a blast during Hispanicize reconnecting with friends, learning and taking selfies with amazing creators who made the experience even sweeter. However, the highlight of the conference for me this year is the fact that for the first time I have the honor to be one of Prudential Financial Ambassadors for 2018. YAY!

Partnering with Prudential Financial is something that makes me think how life comes full circle, as this is a company I have trusted with my life insurance for over a decade. Being able to learn more from them and share new knowledge with all of you is a task that I take on with excitement and gratitude. Kicking off my year as an ambassador at Hispanicize in Miami, was definitely the cherry on top!

As if this amazing opportunity with Prudential wasn’t great enough, I was also a speaker on the panel “Diversity & Inclusion: Listen Up!” where I, along with a group of fellow influencers, discuss the challenges that diverse groups within the Latino community face on a daily basis, as well as the opportunities for all of us, as a community, to step up and be more inclusive and respectful of fellow Latinos.

Along with the personal highlights I experienced at the conference, there were favorite moments and panels that made this year’s conference a very special event for me.

Here are my top 5 moments of Hispanicize 2018

1. My top favorite event of the whole week was attending the Positive Impact Awards, where we witnessed a sample of our everyday heroes who choose to contribute and do the right thing in their communities. The Latinos who represent the best of our culture of solidarity, work ethic and sense of duty. Meeting former mayor of San Antonio, Julián Castro at the dinner and watching Fonseca in was pretty awesome, too.

2. Another great moment was the Latinovator Award to LeJuan James who showed he is really authentic and humble as he seems on social media. I was able to talk to him for a minute and later listen to the way we accepted the recognition. Meeting his mom I felt validation on the values at the core of my Latino way of parenting and congratulated her for a great job. Of course, we took a selfie!

3. Besides the conversation we had in my own panel, I also enjoyed the panel ‘Power And Responsibility of Mom Influencers in Today’s Social Generation,’ presented by Latina Moms. A group of amazing mom bloggers discussed one of the most important topics of this generation of moms: the effects of social media and screen time in small children and provided useful strategies and tools to guide our kids through childhood in a very connected time in history. I loved the personal stories of the panelists and the recommendations and ideas they shared with us.

   

4. The Latinovator Breakfast honoring Maria Celeste Arrarás was amazing! This was another one of the events made possible by Prudential and it was very exciting to me seeing her on the stage. As a journalist myself, the trajectory and career of Maria Celeste have been incredible to watch. It has made Latinas proud and it was a great moment listening to her stories and receiving a well-deserved honor.

5. Last, but not least, I like to highlight a panel that was part of the CMO & Diversity track: ‘The 7 Virtues: Making Brand Connection in Financial Services’. This was an amazing talk on the importance of storytelling and using social media to engage and reach people in a meaningful way. Colin McConnell, Senior Vice President and Chief Brand Officer for Prudential was the speaker and all who watched agreed it was an amazing one.

[dania]