En este episodio abordamos las diferencias entre LLC (Compañía de Responsabilidad Limitada) y DBA (Haciendo Negocios Como). Un LLC ofrece una entidad legal separada que protege los activos personales del propietario de las responsabilidades comerciales, mientras que un DBA es un nombre comercial registrado que a menudo está vinculado al nombre y activos personales del propietario. Registrar un DBA en Texas implica acudir a la oficina del condado local, mientras que un LLC se puede registrar a nivel estatal a través de una base de datos.
Ambas opciones tienen ventajas y desventajas. Un LLC ofrece una mejor protección de los activos personales, pero puede ser más costoso de establecer, mientras que un DBA es más flexible pero deja al propietario personalmente responsable. Larissa aconseja consultar con profesionales para elegir la opción correcta y destaca la importancia de los contratos y el seguro, independientemente de la elección. Un LLC permite la transferencia del negocio, mientras que un DBA no. Además, presentar un negocio con un DBA a inversores puede ser menos atractivo debido al aumento de los riesgos de responsabilidad. La consideración cuidadosa y la investigación son esenciales antes de decidir entre LLC y DBA para un negocio.
Recordemos que es importante contar con buenos contratos y seguros, sin importar si el negocio es un LLC o un DBA. Es fundamental llevar un control de las finanzas y evitar mezclar los fondos comerciales y personales, ya que esto puede conducir a complicaciones legales y poner en riesgo el negocio.
AUSTIN, Texas (Dec. 14, 2023) – Austin Community Foundation (ACF) announced today $1.5 million in grant funding to organizations working to improve the economic mobility of Central Texans. The Foundation’s three strategic programs—The Black Fund, Hispanic Impact Fund, and Women’s Fund—each awarded $500,000 in unrestricted, general operating support to a total of 53 local nonprofits. This is the highest amount of funding awarded from ACF’s Community Impact programs.
“Austin Community Foundation’s strategic programs are data-driven and community-led, ensuring our efforts are not only well-informed but also deeply connected to the realities of the people we seek to serve,” said Elizabeth Peña, Director of Community Impact, Austin Community Foundation. “Through this grants process, we’re committed to equitable, transparent, and trust-based giving—building real opportunities for everyone who calls Central Texas home.”
The Black Fund granted to 25 Black-led and Black-serving nonprofits working to support the growth, economic mobility and wellness of Black people across five impact areas:
Arts, culture and preservation
Education
Health and wellness
Power building, organizing and advocacy
Wealth building
The Hispanic Impact Fund granted to 16 Latino-led and Latino-serving nonprofits working to support the economic mobility and advancement of Hispanic Central Texans across four impact areas:
Early childhood education
Health and wellness
Job skills and entrepreneurship
Leadership development
The Women’s Fund granted to 15 nonprofits working to support the economic mobility of women and children in Central Texas across five impact areas:
Childcare
Education
Housing
Unplanned pregnancy prevention
Women’s health
The Black Fund, Hispanic Impact Fund and Women’s Fund operate as collective giving networks led by community members who share responsibility for the vision, fundraising, and grantmaking. Approximately 175 individuals, including people with lived experience, participated in the grant selection process and thoughtfully vetted more than 255 applications.
A priority of the 2023 grants cycle was to provide a streamlined process by offering nonprofits the ability to apply to all three funds through one single grant application. Among the nonprofits applying for funding, 30% of organizations were first-time applicants and 38% applied to multiple funds. Among the organizations selected for funding, 62% are led by individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC).
Special thanks to Google, PIMCO, Q2 Holdings, Inc., and St. David’s Foundation for generously supporting ACF’s economic mobility work.
Learn more about the Foundation’s programs at austincf.org.
Full list of 2023 grant partners:
The Black Fund
Austin Legal Access – $40,000* Building Promise USA – $40,000* Delivering Unto You – $40,000 Origin Studio House – $40,000* Round Rock Black Parents Association – $40,000* Alliance for African American Health in Central Texas – $25,000 Ladders for Leaders – $25,000 The Bakari Foundation – $25,000 The Giving Rose Foundation ATX – $25,000 Tomorrow’s Promise Foundation – $25,000 Black Girl Ventures – $15,000 Black Men’s Health Clinic – $15,000 Code2College – $15,000 Little Bit of Good – $15,000 P.E.A.C.E. Program – $15,000 RE-CLAIM – $15,000 Real Queens Fix Each Other’s Crowns – $15,000 SCD Enrichment Program – $15,000 Torch Literary Arts – $15,000 We Can Now – $15,000 Ballet Afrique – $5,000 Frofessionals – $5,000 Hungry Hill Foundation – $5,000 Huston-Tillotson University – $5,000 Black Professional Alliance – $5,000
Hispanic Impact Fund
Amhiga Hispana – $50,000* AVANCE – Austin – $50,000* Luz de Atabey Midwifery Project – $50,000* Todos Juntos Learning Center – $50,000* Austin Achieve Public Schools – $35,000* Economic Growth Business Incubator – $35,000* Explore Austin – $35,000* Manos de Cristo – $35,000* Austin Urban Technology Movement – $20,000 Breakthrough Central Texas – $20,000 El Buen Samaritano – $20,000 Literacy First – $20,000 Mariposa Family Learning Center – $20,000 People’s Community Clinic – $20,000 Seedling – $20,000 Workers Defense Project – $20,000
The Women’s Fund
Any Baby Can of Austin – $55,000* Empowering Women Out of Prison – $55,000* LifeWorks – $55,000* Lilith Fund – $55,000* Todos Juntos Learning Center – $55,000* Asian Family Support Services of Austin – $30,000 AVANCE – Austin – $30,000 Center for Survivors of Torture – $30,000 Jeremiah Program – $30,000 Lirios Pediatrics – $30,000 Andy Roddick Foundation – $15,000 Healthy Futures of Texas – $15,000 Ladies Let’s Talk – $15,000 People’s Community Clinic – $15,000 Saint Louise House – $15,000
*asterisk denotes an organization receiving funding over two years
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About Austin Community Foundation Austin Community Foundation mobilizes ideas and resources to strengthen Central Texas. The Foundation is focused on advancing economic mobility and affordable housing, and it uses varied tools – data, convening and philanthropic dollars – to implement this strategy. In 2022, the Foundation granted nearly $53 million to the community, mostly through donor advised funds. Founded in 1977, the Foundation is the third largest charitable Foundation in Central Texas with $447 million in total assets under management. Learn more at austincf.org.
Kandance Vallejo, the visionary behind Remedios Consulting, shares valuable insights on launching and growing successful businesses with a focus on interpersonal relationships and leadership coaching. Transitioning from business ownership to consulting, Vallejo emphasizes innovative thinking in overcoming challenges.
Kandance’s advice resonates with small businesses and nonprofits, emphasizing coaching in leadership. In contrast, in a podcast, she discusses her entrepreneurial journey, highlighting the importance of interpersonal relationships and coaching.
Addressing scaling challenges, Kandance advocates for early hiring to prevent burnout, collaborates with Tressa Rowland for profitable strategies in 2024, and advises prioritizing business intelligence and realistic planning. She underscores the significance of strong teams and effective leadership hiring, training, and support. Kandance emphasizes responsibility in training employees and suggests seeking operational support for sustainable growth.
Kandace Vallejo is the owner of remedios consulting, she’s the founder and principal of remedios consulting and she’s a serial founder and intersectional organizer who has worked in social movements and philanthropy, she has built LED and scaled multiple efforts and grant making initiatives for racial climate and economic justice. She pairs her two decades of social impact experience with extensive training in the healing arts, her sharp political analysis and strategic mind combined with her keen business sense and highly relational sensibilities to position herself as a unique partner to nonprofit and philanthropic entities, working to align with and strengthen social movements. In 2014 she founded Youth Rise Texas, where she worked alongside young people to build a healing centered movement contesting criminalization and deportation. Miss Vallejo is a co-founder of the Texas Youth Power Alliance and the founding board chair of jolt action.
We share the conversation…
Larissa- What do you enjoy most about your job?
Kandace- Really for me, it’s about helping make other people’s life and their work easier and helping people grow, and helping people who are ready to take that next step in their life and their work. To take things to the next level and help connect people to other people and to other kinds of resources and to help people think outside of the box. Having been a founder I know so often, when you’re in the thick of everything and you’re just trying to get done with the things that you want to get done and you know everytime you get a big project done. I used to always say as a founder “I’m climbing 10 mountains at once and every time I climb one I look over the horizon and I’m like oh God there’s another 10 and you keep going”.
Larissa- Why do you think people/organizations fail to build profitable businesses?
Kandace- I think so often what I see leaders struggling with, whether it’s a business leader or a nonprofit leader, is that we’ve failed and I’ve done this too. I’ve failed to build the necessary foundations, back office and Operational Support that we need to be able to grow a sustainable and profitable business.
Larissa-What do business owners need to do to prepare to have a profitable 2024?
Kandace- One of the things that I would recommend people thinking about is to really focus on the basics of your business, what are your one to three main product, best sellers, what data can you pull about your revenue, your sales, your products, that can help you understand what are those three core products that your delivering to market. The other piece of advice I would give is, to think about your one or two major pain points that you’ve run into in the past year and try to think big picture about those pain points.
Larissa- How important is it to have a team that matches the goals of your business?
Kandace- Yeah I mean I was not aware that the statistics are that businesses will close in eight years, do more to the fact that there isn’t enough leadership support than its dues to revenue closure. I’ve seen it so many times, and i’ve lived it myself in the nonprofit world, working in startup nonprofit, and feeling burnt out and feeling like I just can’t get everything done in the amount of time that I have, and that feeling alone can really drive burnout so I really think team is everything. Think about how to build that core team as early as possible, of other leaders who are going to support your business growth.
Larissa-Why do employees fail?How important is it to have a team that is well trained for success?
I think that the training is of course crucial but I also think that if you are in a scenario where you have employees that you believed when you hired them you made the right choice and it’s still not working for some reason, then I think that’s also on us as owners and business leaders and nonprofit leaders to look at ourselves and to hold that mirror up to ourselves and say okay where did I go wrong to here to be able to identify for ourselves also our own growth edges or our business, to see where perhaps the business may be missing something that employee needed or where we as leaders may be missing something.
Larissa- What would you like people who listen to us to take away today?
Kandace- I think the biggest thing that I hope leaders that I used to talk to and work with, can think about is really how to build more Operational Support for themselves in their business. For some people, that is hiring an external company to do HR. For some people that might be contracting out your bookkeeping and paying someone else to do that piece of work that’s going to take them less time to do it then it will you because maybe you are not a numbers person.
Larissa- What services do you offer at Remedios Consulting?
Kandace- I think the way that I like to work with clients is very hands-on and very boutique so I don’t have specific programs that I put anyone through. What I like to do is have one to two discovery calls with someone to understand where they are at in the stage of their business growth, what are their major pain points, and what are they hoping to achieve in the coming years so that we can design a tailormade set of services for them.
Laura Ramos James is an expert with liability insurance and working with commercial businesses. Attorney Laura Ramos James is the owner of Ramos James law, a legal firm with over 20 years of combined experience in successfully handling hundreds of personal injuries and accident cases representing individuals, workers, and families who suffer from accidents, workplace injuries, product liability, truck accidents, wrongful deaths, and personal injuries. She graduated with honors from St Mary’s University and joined the prestigious Baylor law school program. Laura practiced as an insurance defense lawyer before becoming a planted lawyer and she’s truly knowledgeable of the legal strategies used by her opponents in court. She has won numerous awards during her practice. She and her team have continuously worked to develop their network of professionals to help their clients.
We share the conversation
Larissa- Please tell us a little more about your story and how you got to this career.
Laura- I am actually a dog bite survivor, I was bit by a dog when I was a toddler and I of course experienced trauma and injuries and a lot of the stuff that goes along with that. Growing up I wanted to help people that were in a similar situation but I didn’t quite know that my path would end up taking me to a legal career even though I did want to be a lawyer since I was little. Eventually I went to law school and found a way to be in the courtroom.
Larissa- What do you enjoy most about your job?
Laura-Two things I enjoy the most, I love writing wrongs and if somebody is responsible and refuses to take responsibility I just automatically side with the person that was wronged and it gives me great pleasure to bring justice to that person and make things right. The other thing that I really love is even though I’m an introvert, at the same time I’m a people person, I love people so I really truly love getting to know my clients, working with my team and getting to know people from all walks of life.
Larissa- Do you frequently work with small business owners, or against small business owners?
Laura- I would say a lot with small business owners because small business owners are typically the individual, so we work a lot with individuals and big insurance companies. We represent them as a person that was hurt, we don’t represent the business.
Larissa-Can you give us 3 examples of things that small business owners frequently fail to do and they should do to improve or mitigate risk?
Laura- That is really good I think focused and helpful because like you said it is very easy to think, $200, $300 that I save is gonna help me a lot but if you expose your whole business then it’s pointless to have not invested in protecting it. The three things that small business owners frequently fail to do and they should do to improve and mitigate risk would be to get commercial insurance, the other one would be to create a Limited Liability company (LLC) and to have a liability waiver in place for their company.
Larissa- Why do you think they don’t pay attention to it?
Laura- I think it’s a very easy call to say, I’ve gotten a quote. It’s $200 a month if I get commercial liability insurance or however much, like I would rather just use this money to get more laptops for my business. The majority of people, we don’t think it’s going to happen to us, like it happens to other people but we’re like what are the chances that it’s gonna happen here.
Larissa- What can be the consequences of neglecting to do this?
Laura- The consequences can range from, you having to pay out of your own pocket you know, open your checkbook and write a check to someone who is making a claim or trying to cover their losses, to absolutely losing your business. Losing personal assets if you fail to create an (LLC), so things that you have been working towards and building and trying to create can all get taken away because you neglected to mitigate risk.
Larissa-How can small business owners stay updated with risk management strategies for their business or vehicles?
Laura- I would say there are a lot of resources that are free of cost and some others have limited cost. Obviously staying in touch with organizations like yours and similar organizations can always be sharing those types of strategies with them, there are now in the Advent of the availability of information at our fingertips where we can just research things like that. The Texas department of insurance has put out certain resources like that for people.
Larissa- What would you like people who listen to us to take away today?
Laura- Probably, broader than the specific three things that we discussed, I would say, I would like small business owners to take away that, always stay educated always seek out knowledge and you know don’t bury your hand in the sand and say, you know we’re all busy, we all have homes and we all have businesses and things like that. It’s easy to kind of turn a blind eye or say, I don’t have time, I don’t have money. To seek out education is the best way to save some money in the future for your business and protect it.
The Honors Award portal is Now Open. This is a competitive grant application process, resulting in four grants. Live, Learn, and Lift grants will be $50,000 each, and the STAR grant will be $100,000. The foundation aims to fund small to mid-sized organizations that are creating and implementing innovative, sustainable solutions to serve the greatest needs of communities. Below are the categories for our Honors awards. Applications are due by January 1st. For more information, please visit our Foundation website.
Honor Award Categories:
Live – $50,000 – Access to Nutritious Foods
Learn – $50,000 – Career Readiness Certification Programs
Lift – $50,000 – Supportive Services for women and children
STAR – $100,000 – Support for Veterans and military families
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Barbra Boeta if you have any questions.
You understand the importance of having your business in Google Maps and submitted all the information, but they are asking you to do a Google Verification video, and you know it is worth it but don’t know how to do it. Follow the steps below and get your business verified right away.
You need to prep with the following:
A friend who drives
A copy of your business formation document which is either a DBA or an LLC
Your photo ID
Your business cards or printed signage and your business uniform if you have one.
It is recommended to have a printed sign on the inside of a window of your house or one sign like the ones that realtors use in your front yard.
If you have car magnets, make sure they are visible in a vehicle parked outside of your house.
Also, if you have T-shirts or uniforms, wear them to record the video.
Leave the papers ready for your recording on the first table after you open the door to your house.
Then have your friend drive you to the nearest intersection in your house where there is street signage and start recording in the Google verification app and say something along these lines:
“Hello, my name is XXX, and I am the owner of XXX company and here is the nearest intersection to my house. We are now going to drive to my house. We don’t have visible signs because this is a residential area… or because my HOA doesn’t allow signage outside of the house.”
Then have your friend drive you to the front of your house while you continue to record and say:
…”this is my house, and here is the car magnet to my vehicle”
Or:
…”this is my house, and here is this the business signage in my front yard.”
If you cannot have signage just mention it in the video. Walk up to your door and open with your key or keypad then walk up to where you have all your documents and show them to the camara an narrate what these are.
…”here is my business formation document where you can clearly see that it was filed with name and address and, … here’s my driver’s license with my current address …. And here are my business cards with my name and my address.”
Finish saying:
“This is all I have right now. Please verify my business with Google.”
End the recording and submit it to the Google verification platform. That’s it, it should be very short, they should approve it with it.
Please let us know if you have any questions, thank you!
EGBI is an organization that helps small businesses grow. Their mission is to eliminate barriers, and train and coach small business owners. They made it accessible to come in contact with EGBI to expand their business to its fullest potential.
What is 501 C3?
501 C3 means that the business has a non profit status. They are not part of the city, but work closely with the city.
What is EGBI’s mission?
They train, coach, and support small businesses, and eliminate barriers so that the business owners that EGBI serves can run successful businesses.
What service does EGBI offer?
They offer training, help with planning, and management. Businesses that have been around for three or more years are offered a plan to get their business to the next level.
How long was EGBI around for?
EGBI has been around for 19 years.
Who are EGBI’s ideal clients?
They support many different types of businesses for example, hair salons, food trucks, restaurants, photographers, ect.
What is the process to work with EGBI?
The process to work with EGBI is simple. There are many ways to come in contact with EGBI.
If EGBI doesn’t charge, then how does EGBI make a profit?
EGBI doesn’t want money to be an issue for someone that wants to work with them, so for now they have a contract with the city of Austin to eliminate financial barriers one might have.
How do I keep in touch with EGBI?
Anyone can sign up to the newsletter, and you can follow them on social media like Instagram, Facebook and youtube.
Begoña Calderón Lozano, originally from Cádiz, Spain, graduated in Journalism from the University of Seville just two months ago and also embarked on a course called MasterClass at the School of Reporters of Andalusia in Seville. When she’s not immersed in the world of news, she shows her passion for volleyball and fashion and even takes thrilling motorcycle rides through the Sierra de Cádiz with her father. She’s no stranger to adrenaline, having parachuted from an airplane at an astounding 4,600 meters high. Her journey to EGBI in Austin began as a result of an online volunteer search, and since then, she has been enjoying the satisfaction of helping others while expanding her professional and personal horizons. The most exciting experience for her so far has been recording a podcast, something she will surely remember forever.
Share a fun fact with us:
A fun fact about me is that I enjoy extreme sports. A year ago, I parachuted from an airplane at 4,600 meters high. I also consider myself a very adventurous person, always eager to explore new things.
How did you first get involved with EGBI? I’ve only been in Austin for 2 months, and I found EGBI on a volunteer website. My first contact with EGBI was at an event, and I felt so comfortable that I didn’t hesitate to help them for these 2 months.
Why are you a volunteer for EGBI? Helping people is a very satisfying feeling. It’s a way to make yourself happy because you’re helping others, and others are helping you. You grow as a person and create a unique experience. I’ve met wonderful people.
How has your collaboration with EGBI helped you grow professionally and personally? I couldn’t have chosen a better volunteer opportunity with EGBI. In terms of professional growth, I’ve been doing translations and writing for the blog, which has helped me learn new vocabulary in English. I’ve had the opportunity to host the La Incubadora Podcast and conduct interviews in both Spanish and English. Personally, I’ve been able to grow as a person, face new situations, and that has made me mature in other ways.
What was the most rewarding experience you had while working as a volunteer at EGBI? The opportunity to record the podcast has been the most fulfilling experience. I am immensely grateful to EGBI for having me and giving me this opportunity that I will never forget. I couldn’t be happier with this experience.
Why do you think others should volunteer or support EGBI? Being a volunteer for EGBI is a way to help others. You grow as a person, and it’s beautiful to see how EGBI gets involved with you to make you feel comfortable. I thank them for everything; they are wonderful people, and in no time, they made me feel at home.
Larry D. Williams is the Community Liaison for the HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) of the Purchasing Department of Travis County. Travis County and its HUB department are award-winning organizations within the government purchasing arena. He received his BA from Arizona State in Mass Communications and Media Studies with a minor in Public Policy and Public Service. Larry prides himself in bringing professionalism, innovation, and equity to the forefront of every position he has been involved in. Larry has focused his entire career on expanding nonprofits’ and governmental agencies’ community-level work to enhance their effectiveness with their most important stakeholders. It is his passion for seeing professionals and community organizations break through their boundaries and expand their effectiveness in their given communities.
–Larry shares his experience as a volunteer with EGBI.
–Share a fun fact with us.
A fun fact about me is that I am new to Central Texas. I have an ever-growing list on my phone of great and unique places on my phone that I have experienced since I moved here.
“It became more desirable for me to be a small part of seeing that mission available to the community” – Larry D.Williams
-How did you first get involved with EGBI?
When I was hired as the Community Liaison for the Travis County Purchasing HUB program I went through the HUB Resource Guide and connected with external stakeholders listed there. EGBI was one of those organizations.
-Why do you volunteer for EGBI?
I was first impressed by the professionalism of the staff. As I became more aware of the mission and vision of EGBI it became more desirable for me to be a small part of seeing that mission available to the community.
-How has your involvement with EGBI helped you grow professionally and personally?
My time volunteering with EGBI introduced me to the entrepreneurial climate of Austin and Travis County. Being involved with EGBI also made me that much more excited to enhance this community by improving the access that Historically Underutilized Businesses have to the Purchasing process of Travis County.
– What was the most rewarding experience you had while volunteering for EGBI?
Being able to share the HUB process of not only Travis County but also the other governmental agencies in the area.
– Why do you think others should volunteer or support EGBI?
I believe others will find a passion for the entrepreneurial climate of the City of Austin and Travis County and its importance in our community.
EGBI provides training, coaching, and support to aspiring and existing business owners who face barriers to growing a successful business. If you would like to support our efforts, please visit our website https://egbi.org/donate/.
