“They want to contribute just like every other business, they want to pay taxes, they want to register, and they don’t want to get in trouble, they want to do everything right,” Olivo said. The program trains small-business owners on the ins and outs of starting and running a business, from finances and budgeting to planning for growth, according to Edgar Olivo, the director of the program.Īt the end of the program, each business will receive $1,000 to invest in their growth. The six-month-long program is for Spanish-speaking business-owners and is run by the Local First Arizona Foundation. Blanca Deloarte opened her own graphic design firm, Hypernova Design and Printing, about a year ago.Īt about 8 o’clock on a recent Tuesday night, 36 small-business owners were working their second shift of the day at the Fuerza Local business accelerator.