{"id":10476,"date":"2022-12-06T15:54:46","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T20:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/?p=10476"},"modified":"2022-12-06T15:59:11","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T20:59:11","slug":"finding-the-american-dream-in-rhode-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/finding-the-american-dream-in-rhode-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the American Dream in Rhode Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fullwidth\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American dream<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It\u2019s an inspiring fixture in our culture tethered to the belief that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">anyone <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">can achieve what they put their heart and mind to. While it may not always be the easiest path, for some, knowing their idea for a small business or vision for a better life is a possibility is enough to keep going. In fact, here in Rhode Island, there are many impressive instances of the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American Dream <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">coming to life.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meet three incredible individuals who worked with the RISBDC to start their <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American dream stories<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\"><b>Meet Javier Brown <\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Javier-Brown-O2J-Inc.-RISBDC.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[10476]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10478 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Javier-Brown-O2J-Inc.-RISBDC.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"340\" height=\"470\"><\/a>Twenty years ago, Javier Brown moved from Venezuela and nurtured his dream of starting a business. In his country, he was a professional, but when he moved to the U.S., he had to start over. Today, he is the proud owner of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/o2jinc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">O2J Inc<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an established company with long-term customers and a team of about a dozen employees.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Javier started working with the RISBDC about eight years ago to get his business idea off the ground. \u201cI met Manuel [Batlle] at the RISBDC while looking for help with where to start. We developed a great relationship, not because he&#8217;s also Hispanic, but because he&#8217;s an excellent professional and mentor.\u201d Javier continues to look ahead for new business growth opportunities with plans to get his own office building in Rhode Island in the next two years and continue to develop and support the community.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><b>Meet Gloria Chac\u00f3n <\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Gloria-Chaco\u0301n-RISBDC-Greenview-Tree-Services-.png\" rel=\"lightbox[10476]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10477 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Gloria-Chaco\u0301n-RISBDC-Greenview-Tree-Services--771x1024.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"299\" height=\"411\"><\/a>Originally from Guatemala, Gloria Chac\u00f3n came from a family of strong, business-savvy women. So, it\u2019s no surprise she followed in their footsteps and opened <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenviewtreeservice.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greenview Tree Service<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in 2017 while she was completing her bachelor\u2019s degree. Once her business started growing, she saw the potential of what it could become and quickly switched her degree focus, earning an MBA with a concentration in HR management.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI was lucky to meet Manuel [Batlle] at the RISBDC just a few months after I opened my business. He connected me to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">RI PTAC (Rhode Island Procurement Technical Assistance Center,) which guided me through the bidding process of government contracts<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Manuel taught me how to create a smart business plan, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">connected me with different<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">partnerships to get access to working capital<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u201d said Gloria. \u201cThe RISBDC team is always encouraging me to take the next step. It led me to win an enormous project with the city, which is the first time a minority woman won such a project in Providence!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Inspired by the culture of respect for the environment in her home country, Gloria started a program called \u201ctree for a tree\u201d where she offers her customers the option to plant a new tree in place of the one they help cut down or donate it to someone else. With her family\u2019s support behind her, Gloria\u2019s parents and husband feel they too are achieving the American Dream through her success. She remains excited for the future of her company and how it impacts her local community.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><b>Meet Juan Lantigua <\/b><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Juan-Lantigua-The-Family-Cake-Company-RISBDC.jpeg\" rel=\"lightbox[10476]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10479 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Juan-Lantigua-The-Family-Cake-Company-RISBDC.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Juan-Lantigua-The-Family-Cake-Company-RISBDC.jpeg 259w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/987\/Juan-Lantigua-The-Family-Cake-Company-RISBDC-200x300.jpeg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><\/a>In 2014, Juan Lantigua acted on an idea to start <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thefamilycakeco.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Family Cake Company<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. His wife, who was taking baking classes at the time, inspired him. They started selling to friends and family, and eventually, it blossomed into a full operation.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIn the beginning, we didn\u2019t have enough knowledge to deal with commercial loans or plan projections for our business. That\u2019s where the Rhode Island Small Business Center, along with Rhode Island Commerce, Hope &amp; Main, Community Investment Corporation, and Progreso Latino, helped us figure out where to start,\u201d said Juan. \u201cThe best part is all this help that gave us room to breathe was free!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Next year, Juan will move their wholesale operations to a new facility where they will expand their service area to include Massachusetts and Connecticut. He continues to work with his family, who make up 50% of the employees at The Family Cake Company, while the other half have become just like their own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rhode Island Small Business Development Center employs a dedicated, experienced, and knowledgeable staff of business counselors and administrators who can assist you in growing your business and achieving your own <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">American dream<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Register now for free, confidential business advice from our advisors <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.risbdc.org\/reg.aspx?mode=counsel&amp;center=14070&amp;subloc=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">here<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, call (401) 874-7232 to make a counseling appointment, or attend one of our free <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.risbdc.org\/Events.aspx?&amp;days=90\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">webinars<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The American dream. It\u2019s an inspiring fixture in our culture tethered to the belief that anyone can achieve what they put their heart and mind to. While it may not always be the easiest path, for some, knowing their idea for a small business or vision for a better life is a possibility is enough [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":701,"featured_media":10480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/701"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10476"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10484,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10476\/revisions\/10484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/risbdc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}