|
Look for many alternatives
by Jean Wojtowicz, President
Cambridge Capital Management Corporation
Colin and Pat Garcia's road to success led partly through the Lynx Capital Corporation.
The Garcias operate Global Transport Logistics. Their 20 trucks help keep Indiana's economy in gear by delivering parts from manufacturers to assemblers, equipment for factory floors and medical shipments.
Global Transport is one way Colin Garcia is involved in Indiana. He found opportunity as he hoped, but his hard work helped create it. When he needed capital to expand his fleet, Lynx Capital was one of the few lenders that stepped in to help.
Lynx Capital is a privately owned company operated by Cambridge Capital Management that provides growth capital to minority owned businesses in Indiana. The company works with partner lenders if the project is outside central Indiana. Lynx's key advantage for borrowers is that it is willing to tailor loan pricing and structure to meet the needs of the applicant.
Lynx has emerged as a leading financier of minority owned firms in Indiana by investing $11.2 million in 56 companies since 1991.
But it is not the only entity supporting minority owned businesses. Many communities have financial resources and other services that support this segment of growing business.
For example, the Hispanic Business Council of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce matches Hispanic business owners with mentors who help them gain financing and solve other problems of starting and nurturing small companies.
The IBA promotes New Markets Tax Credits aimed at encouraging its members to lend to firms with minority ownership. Several IBA members have minority lending programs reflecting their local needs.
We don't have to look far to see evidence that Indiana is more culturally diverse than it once was. There are several blocks of Hispanic restaurants, mechanics, attorneys and many other types of business in most communities of any size. Asian immigrants are also building their own businesses. Lynx funds an interior decorating firm, d2p Design, owned and operated by Rebecca Denison-Schultz, a Cherokee Indian.
Other companies in the Lynx portfolio include Corbitt & Sons, an African-American owned contractor specializing , in a subterranean technique known as directional boring. Vectren and Citizens' Gas are two major customers.
And there is Hilton Publishing, started by Dr. Hilton Hudson when he noticed a lack of medical information published for African Americans and other minorities. Dr. Hudson, a cardiologist, has built the company's roster of more than 100 titles of books, magazines and DVDs on nearly every medical subject.
An argument can be made that Indiana was always more diverse than its image. The Ohio River and U.S. 40 were among the immigrant highways of their time, bringing Europeans, Africans and others whose presence is still felt in dozens of Hoosier communities.
New business financing programs are the latest way in which the state's business community is seeking to strengthen the foundation of our economy through diversity.
For lenders, the message is clear: there is a world of opportunity for you to help build your communities for decades to come. Sometime you just have to seek it out. Determine what resources you can identify to help your community become more cosmopolitan.
|
|
