Suly Altamirano (left) and Patty Zavala, who opened an online clothing and jewelry store in Lynnwood. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Suly Altamirano (left) and Patty Zavala, who opened an online clothing and jewelry store in Lynnwood. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Nonprofits help 6 new Snohomish County businesses launch

Connect Casino Road paired with Ventures to offer business classes to disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

EVERETT — Last year, Suly Altamirano took a road trip with Patty Zavala to explore the arts and crafts of Mexico. Each of the country’s 32 states are known for unique handicrafts. Puebla is famous for hand-embroidered items, from brightly-patterned blouses to table runners. “Guerrero is renowned for its silver jewelry,” Zavala said.

By the time Altamirano, a Mountlake Terrace resident, and Zavala, who lives in Lynnwood, arrived home, they’d resolved to start a business selling handcrafted Mexican jewelry and clothing.

They named their e-commerce company Queen De Mi Corazon, which means “queen of my heart,” a reminder for women to cherish themselves, Zavala said.

Now they had to do a deep dive into the business part of business — from bookkeeping basics to marketing, pricing and licensing.

On a friend’s advice, Altamirano enrolled in a virtual business-basics course offered by Ventures, a King County-based nonprofit.

Ventures offers business training, loans and coaching for women, immigrants, people of color and low-income entrepreneurs seeking to start or enhance a business, said Beto Yarce, the group’s executive director. It’s also a certified Small Business Administration lender, which allows it to extend micro loans of $1,000 to $5,000 to eligible businesses and larger loans from $5,000 to $35,000 to established firms.

“We want to offer opportunities for entrepreneurship to communities that are under-served or people who’ve been left out because of poverty or race,” Yarce said. “With access to education and financial leaders, you can create your own business and, hopefully, start creating generational wealth for these communities.”

In early 2020, Connect Casino Road partnered with Ventures to teach the eight-week course to Snohomish County residents.

“For years, community members have been asking for help developing their small businesses,” said Sara Boyle, director of Connect Casino Road, a collaboration of more than 15 community partners, including schools, nonprofits and grassroots groups that serve the area’s low-income and immigrant communities.

“There is already a strong entrepreneurial bent in the community, whether it’s selling cakes or tamales,” Boyle said. What was needed was a program to explain the startup process and offer support. “We just needed to find the right partner,” Boyle said.

Nationally, immigrants who make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, operate about 28% of “main street” businesses, defined as small businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores, clothing boutiques, beauty salons and barber shops, and car washes, according to a recent Fiscal Policy Institute study.

Ventures was that partner, providing low-cost training to immigrants and people of of color with “dreams of starting their own business,” Boyle said.

“As it turned out, Ventures had been talking about expanding to Snohomish County — they already had clients coming from Snohomish County to King County, and they wanted to establish a permanent presence here,” Boyle said.

The owner of Taco-Book Taqueria in north Everett, Rigoberto Bastida, took the Ventures course five years ago in King County.

“I had a dream of making tacos and selling tacos and they made me aware of the marketing and research I had to to do,” Bastida said. “And they explained how to get every permit and license I needed. I wasn’t aware there were so many taxes! It made me feel enthusiastic — sometimes you’re insecure because you don’t know what to do. They help with so much.”

“It’s the first step I highly recommend for anyone thinking about starting a business,” Bastida said.

Lauren Anderson, founder of Grain Artisan Bakery in Snohomish, is another graduate, Yarce said.

Ventures’ first Snohomish County classes were to begin in March 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the course was moved online. The silver lining there, said Boyle, was that people who might otherwise have struggled with transportation, were able to attend virtually.

Since then, Ventures has offered three sessions, which alternate between English and Spanish, and graduated 40 people from Snohomish County, including 14 Everett residents.

Of the 14 from Everett, a half-dozen have opened new businesses, including Altamirano, who completed the most recent session this March. Her business partner, Zavala, plans to take an upcoming class.

Altamirano and Zavala opened for business May 5.

Zavala, who has two children, views the new business as a way to work from home and care for the kids.

“Ventures introduced us to a community that can support us,” Altamirano said.

“In class we learned about taxes, cost, how to set the right prices,” Altamirano said. “They helped us with our business plan. We have some background and experience in marketing and sales in e-commerce, but U.S. laws and regulations are different than the Mexican market. I think we were struggling a little — this kind of tied it all up and was really helpful.”

On a recent afternoon in Lynnwood, the two women were arranging their line of silver jewelry, embroidered shirts and T-shirts for a table display.

They plan to open some local pop-up stores and sell their wares at area farmers markets this summer.

We’ve seen a lot of businesses come from this — food businesses, food trucks, handyman, roofing, landscaping and home improvement businesses,” Boyle said.

“We’re seeing them beating the odds during what has arguably been one of the most difficult times in history to open a business.”

Janice Podsada; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3097; Twitter: JanicePods

More information

For information about Ventures, go to venturesnonprofit.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.