SAN ANTONIO – The Maestro Entrepreneur Center is helping to grow small businesses with a creative learning environment and different programs.
“It is the goal of this organization to help small minorities, small-business owners and women,” said Wally Lafaiete, member of the Board of Directors said.
Lafaiete said this is an ideal location for his business.
“This is the perfect place for me to have my photography business because this is the place where I’m going to be meeting other business owners and I’m also going to be able to do things for the community,” Lafaiete said.
Lisa Andrade Gonima is following in her family’s footsteps.
“I can go back to when my grandfather first came to the U.S. My father, my mom -- I think there’s something in our blood. We want to work hard. We never want to stop growing,” Andrade Gonima said.
She continues to expand her family business.
“I think it starts with everything from the affordability of the rent, but not only that, the programming,” Andrade Gonima said.
The nonprofit business center is a collaborative partnership with the Maestro Leadership Foundation and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Hispanic Leadership Development Foundation.
“It’s a sense of pride for me to see a Hispanic business owner, but for San Antonio, a small-business owner, a woman business owner -- that’s what's really great about this community. We are welcoming to all,” Andrade Gonima said.
Today the center is hosting the San Antonio 2019 Hispanic Business Forum.
It starts at 8:30 a.m. and goes until 7:30 p.m.