Prospera currently serves Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. In its first 30 years of service, Prospera provided consulting to more than 21,800 entrepreneurs and helped them create or retain more than 30,000 jobs.
Prospera is an economic development, nonprofit organization that empowers Hispanic entrepreneurs through training, support and resources so their businesses can grow and prosper.
As a Prospera client, you can receive assistance from in-house business consultants, subcontracted experts, workshop presenters, and volunteers from various industries who serve on advisory committees. Furthermore, Prospera offers access to a network of corporate sponsors, government funders, and financial institutions with a desire to support small and minority-owned businesses. Thanks to generous funders, Prospera does not charge clients for services.
The organization specializes in providing bilingual assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who want to establish or expand their business. Its service model was created by Hispanic entrepreneurs for Hispanic entrepreneurs, and includes four lines of service:
Prospera’s business development consultants assist both experienced and new business owner to identify needs, opportunities and resources to achieve greater success. They specialize in helping each Hispanic entrepreneur identify short and long-term needs of their existing or prospective business, offering solutions and resources. This sometimes means advising the client to not open a business that is not feasible and likely to fail or permanently damage the entrepreneur’s credit. This service could result in one exploratory meeting, or ongoing consulting support. It might include assistance with minority certification, business loans, business plan analysis and assessing the viability of a new business idea, among others.
Call Prospera today to schedule a meeting with a business development consultant. If your area isn’t listed below, call the administrative office at 407-413-8564.
Prospera offers ongoing business training in Spanish, for business owners to continue their entrepreneurial education and further develop skills to start, operate and grow their businesses. Seminars are open and free to the public. Topics include orientations for new entrepreneurs or businesses, and workshops on a variety of topics that are relevant to any new or experienced entrepreneur.
Start-up orientations provide vital information for initial stages, such as legal and tax structure, licenses and permits, state regulations and financing options. Workshops are presented by experts from different industries and specialties, on topics such as funding, accounting, marketing and pricing strategies, negotiation and sales, business planning, and more.
Prospera offers clients grants for subcontracted professional services to advance their businesses. Delivered by a network of authorized local providers—lawyers, accountants, graphic designers and more—these services are vetted for quality and prompt assistance, to meet the individual needs of each client.
Prospera offers clients guidance and support to access funding for their business from various sources. This may include credit improvement advice, introductions to potential lenders, loan application preparation for traditional and micro-loans, business plan development, or business concept presentations.
Prospera is a proud partner of Ascendus, Florida’s largest micro-lender, which provides financing starting as low $500 and up to $250,000 to small business entrepreneurs who do not qualify for a traditional bank loan due to poor or lack any credit history. For companies who are looking for more than $50,000, an SBA loan may be the best option. SBA loans are offered through private banks with an SBA guarantee. Commercial bank loans are generally available for existing companies who are seeking to expand their business. To qualify for commercial loans the company and owner(s) must have a good credit history and have a solid financial position.
