How To Be An Ally Of The Latinx Business Community: A Conversation With Raul Alvarez
Raul Alvarez is a West Michigan native who grew up in Holland. He started his career in Lansing, working for the late U. S. Senator Carl Levin in his regional office, after graduating from Michigan State University. He relocated from Genesee County to Grand Rapids in 2010, to take a job. That led to him starting his own public relations, communications and marketing business, GTSD, in 2012. Through GTSD, he has served primarily Latinx clientele as one of the region’s only bilingual practitioners. In 2020, he joined Well Design Studio as Vice President of PR Strategies and Accounts.
He is also on the board of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The organization is dedicated to working with all members of the community to increase the economic advancement of Hispanic-owned businesses and to assist the professional growth of Hispanic business leaders.
Raul recently joined a meeting of the WMPRSA’s DEI Committee to discuss the challenges that face the local Latinx business community when it comes to communicating their messages, and how WMPRSA members can support their efforts.
What is your background as a communicator for the Latinx community?
An important part of my upbringing and my Mexican culture is to maintain the language, and that did help a lot in serving the Latinx community. What I found was that there was a desperate need for what I call connecting the dots and connecting people. In doing that, I put on what I call a public affairs hat, where I’m connecting clients with other parts of the community. What I found with my Latinx clients is that they weren’t just in need of PR support via media relations, marketing strategies and social media strategies, they were in need of many resources. I was able to help with connecting the dots. An example of a small Latinx business that I have helped is Tamales Mary, which I helped expand to Eastown and launch a food truck. The business was recently featured in MiBiz about how it is representative of the small-business Latinx community.
What is your role with the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce?
I’ve worked with the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for a number of years, and for the first few months, they were a client. When CEO Guillermo Cisneros took over in 2017, he asked me to join the board. As a board member, one of the things I'm helping them do is be a little more intentional with their marketing. The chamber has about 600 members and includes businesses from as far south as Paw Paw and as far north as Muskegon. Most of the members are in the Greater Grand Rapids area.
What are the goals of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in the area of communication and what’s the message they're trying to get out?
Anyone can join the chamber. The focus is on supporting the Latinx business community. There's a connection that we need to make, not just helping the small Latinx businesses but connecting them to other Latinx businesses so they can do business together and help each other grow. When we are talking about the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber, we're truly talking about the community at large. It’s about connecting the dots so Latinx businesses can collaborate and do business with larger ones, including those that are not Latinx businesses. In the past three years, the chamber has brought in more resources to members, whether that’s classes on financing and accounting or PR and marketing. The chamber is becoming very strategic about programming. We are also helping small Latinx businesses connect to resources in the community because they often don’t know what's available.
What are some of the challenges that the chamber and its members encounter in trying to get their message out?
Language and messaging can be a big challenge. The story that appeared in MiBiz, featuring Tamales Mary, was about three minority-owned businesses addressing their challenges, where they're headed and what inspires them to continue doing what they do. Mary Alvarez has done a lot of TV interviews and, initially, she didn't like doing them on her own because of her broken English. I said, “Mary, that is what's so appealing about you is you're telling the story on your own terms.” She's gotten really good at it. We did a Tamales Mary grand opening at Eastown and all three local television stations showed up for the event. I put Mary in front of the camera, and she did great. The MiBiz story was a little different because I knew the questions were going to be a little more intense than what she's used to, so I was on the call with Mary and helped her a little in understanding the questions. She had the advantage of having me there to help her. I think having that kind of assistance has an effect on whether a Latinx business is covered by the media and able to tell its story.
How can WMPRSA, made up of communications professionals across West Michigan, support the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber in its efforts to support and grow Latinx businesses?
My initial response is just to get to know the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber. Come to our events. Invite us to your events. We don't do enough of that collaboration piece, as a society or as a business community. When I say my favorite part of every day is connecting people and connecting dots, that's what I'm talking about. My point is, why aren't we working together and reaching out to each other more. That’s why I appreciate this opportunity.
Learn more about the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce here.
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