321WebGuys is a locally based minority-owned business in Melbourne, Florida. As the job market in Brevard continues to grow, it is encouraging to see the trend of increasing numbers of Hispanic and minority-owned businesses.

BY SCOTT BLAKE - FLORIDA TODAY

A new Census Bureau report shows the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in Brevard County is growing fast. Yet experts say Hispanics still face barriers in achieving business success.

The number of Hispanic-owned businesses in Brevard grew from 841 in 1997 to 1,532 in 2002 -- an 82 percent increase, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. During that time, annual sales of local Hispanic businesses more than quadrupled from $69.8 million to $341.2 million, Census data shows.

Today, those numbers are likely much higher, as current estimates put the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in Brevard at almost 2,500, employing about 17,400 people, according to Fishkind & Associates, an economic-consulting firm in Orlando.

That includes businesspeople like Hector Velazquez, who opened a Mexican restaurant named Rancho Viejo on Palm Bay Road in Palm Bay three years ago that employs about 20 people. Velazquez, who owns restaurants in Oregon with relatives, was visiting a friend in Central Florida, and saw the Palm Bay area was ripe for such a business. He estimates about half of his customers are Hispanic.

"We were looking for places to open a restaurant, and we saw that there weren't many Hispanic restaurants around," Velazquez said.

Statistics show the Hispanic population in the seven-county Central Florida area, including Brevard, grew to about 549,000 in 2005 -- up 49 percent since 2000, with the largest group being Puerto Ricans. In Brevard, the Hispanic population has grown more than 30,900 -- a 41 percent increase during that period.

As Central Florida's Hispanic population has grown faster in recent years, more Hispanic-owned businesses have sprung up -- mostly single-person operations and others offering services primarily to Hispanics.

The growth of Hispanic business ownership shows the economy is becoming more diversified, economist Hank Fishkind said.

"I think the implications are positive," Fishkind said. "Worldwide, what you see is, when you have more participation by minorities in commerce, the more vibrant their economies are."

The growing number of Hispanic businesses reflects a national trend, especially in Central Florida, where Hispanics have moved in greater numbers in recent years from the Northeast, South Florida and other countries, data shows.

Researchers said increases in Hispanic business ownership show they are climbing the economic ladder, but they face some common pitfalls:

# Not working collectively to improve their standing as a group.

# Failure of government, universities and other institutions to adequately address Hispanic needs.

# High barriers to market entry, such as access to private equity funding and venture capital.

"Reflecting national Latino business trends, Puerto Rican businesses in Central Florida are forming at record pace, but not creating enough firms with solid employment and output growth track records to be competitive, standard-setting and world-class," according to a recent report by a team of researchers from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at the City University of New York.

In Brevard, a concern remains getting banks to provide enough loans to Hispanic businesspeople, said Sam Lopez, chairman of the Florida Puerto Rican/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Melbourne.

"One of the overriding issues is to be able to get loans to bankroll their businesses," said Lopez, whose chamber has grown to more than 200 members since being founded in 2002. "We see some of the banks not coming forth. There's a big gap there" in financing opportunities.

"Like every ethnic group that has come to America over the generations, (Hispanics) hold the dreams of tomorrow and the anxieties of today" said Vilma Quintana, vice president of community relations and partnerships for the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber hosted the Hispanic Summit this month at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando to highlight Central Florida's growing population of Hispanics and their impact on the economy, which is projected to grow from more than $16 billion a year today to $21 billion a year by 2008.

Tony Gonzalez, owner of O.T. Trans, an industrial equipment, supplies and services firm that employs 20 people in Melbourne, has noticed more Hispanics in the area since he started his business in 1993. He said having a larger Hispanic population is good for his company.

"I think it will benefit me greatly, because I know Hispanics like to do business with other Hispanics," Gonzalez said, adding that his firm doubled its sales in 2005 to $9 million.

Josefina Cardenas has been a local Realtor for 16 years, and she now plans to get a real estate broker's license and open her own business.

She said family obligations, rather than a lack of money, have kept her from starting her own firm.

"When I started in real estate, I was doing it part time, as my children were growing up," Cardenas said. "Now, they've grown up, and my husband and I are alone," so I have more time to work.

Contact Blake at 242-3644 or sblake@flatoday.net