Susana Marino is the President and founder of the Northern Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NOVAHCC), where she dedicates her work to supporting the growth and prosperity of other Hispanic small and large businesses in northern Virginia.
Susana is a first-generation Latina, who moved to the United States in 1982, and has lived in California, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia since then. She was born in Venezuela and migrated to at the age of 18 to immerse herself in English as a second language in Chico State, California. Then she completed her bachelor’s degree in International Studies at the University of South Florida (located in Tampa) and her Master of Science in Management and Administration of Education Programs from Nova Southeastern University, which she obtained with cum-laude honors in 2012.
In 2013, she moved with her family to the Washington DC metro region after her husband accepted a job in Washington DC. Four years later, she decided to launch the NOVAHCC to “improve the level of services for Latino and other multi-ethnic businesses in Northern Virginia.”
Here are some of the chamber’s activities: “The goal of the chamber is to focus on delivering bottom-line results with [business-to-business or business-to-government] matchmaking, creating opportunities for economic growth through contracting with the private and public sector, access to capital, networking events, leadership training, and international trade missions developing import/export commerce to and from Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Susana also shared that a strong pillar of NOVAHCC is to “provide strategic workforce development to people who are currently under-employed and to assist U.S. Veterans with career transition.” Her oldest son is a former Sgt. in the US Marine Corps, and she understands the challenges members of the military can face when transitioning to the private sector.
Since August 2017, Susana has grown NOVAHCC’s membership by 65%. Her love of learning drives her curiosity and hard work. In her words, she’s a perpetual student. “These past three years, I been drinking from a fire hose. I learn about our member’s industry to connect our members with their target audience. That is the most critical goal of NOVAHCC.”
Susana told us the chamber’s difficulties have to do with capital. COVID-19 has hit the chamber industry pretty hard because their face to face events are “the bread and butter of every chamber.” Despite the difficulties, Susana and her team have used technology from the beginning, and they use it to advance their international agenda as well as their virtual procurement matchmaking. Earlier this month, they hosted a series of webinars to teach its members to use Google to improve their businesses. It is also important to note that chambers such as NOVAHCC did not receive financial assistance from the COVID-19 stimulus packages passed by Congress.
Susana’s Advice to Latinopreneurs:
Susana pointed out some of the differences between starting a business in the United States and starting a business in another country: “This is a capitalistic society, and starting a venture is hard work.” She continued by posing two questions any Latinopreneur should answer.
- What are you willing to give up to make money?
- What are you willing to give up to make time?
She advises not to start a company based solely on what you ‘love’ or ‘like.’ Instead, she recommends following these steps:
- Research the market and find a problem,
- Create a solution to the problem faster, better, and cheaper than the competition,
- Money after Covid19 didn’t evaporate; it just moved, so find the companies that are spending the money,
- Cater to the client’s need, not yours,
- Finally, start and treat your business as if you were to sell it in 4 or 5 years; otherwise, your business just becomes an expensive job.
Susana also took a moment to highlight that every solid business has a written business plan, as well as a proficient and experienced accountant and business attorney from the get-go.
Her work does not stop there. Susana is also a member of the Board of Directors for Virginia Career Works, appointed by Fairfax County Supervisor Sharron Bulova. As part of the board, she “oversees how the organization partners effectively with businesses and non-profit organizations in the Northern Virginia region to create strategic workforce development, best practices.”
We encourage our readers to visit NOVAHCC’s website and social media to learn more about their work and events, as well as share information about its services with people who could benefit from them.