We sat down with Women to Women Network member Fatima Falcon of Oregon Business Resource Center, and here's what she had to say…

Who are your clients/customers?

The Oregon BRC serves the small businesses within the following zip codes: 97070 (Wilsonville Area), 97140 (Sherwood Area), 97132 (Newberg Area), 97137 (St. Paul Area), 97303 (Keizer Area), 97115 (Dundee Area). I focus on Keizer, St. Paul, and Wilsonville businesses specifically. Y también ayudo a los negociantes que hablan español en cualquiera de las ciudades en nuestra área de servicio. 

How do you help your clients/customers?

The Oregon BRC was started with state funds to help businesses that struggled to stay open during the pandemic. At the beginning of the year, we gave away small business grants to businesses in our service areas that had been open before 2020. Now that we’ve provided aid to overcome some of the losses from the past, we are focusing on how to help businesses thrive in the future. We do this by connecting our clients to specialized professionals who can help them overcome the learning curve of a pain point the business may be facing. We also have gathered many free workshops offered by partnering organizations and compiled them all for easy access on our website. In short, we are the hand you can hold in your business growth journey. 

What brought you to this line of work?

Before working at the Oregon BRC, I was a membership specialist at the Keizer Chamber. That’s also when I became a board member of the Latino Business Alliance in Salem/Keizer.  When the state provided funds for the small businesses in these zip codes, the executive director of Keizer Chamber urged me to apply to the Oregon BRC. I was hesitant, but she assured me that I would still be able to participate in events with the community and even work out of the Keizer Chamber office whenever I needed. Due to my strong ties to the business community in the city of Keizer and my background in outreach, I became the business resource manager for the city of Keizer, St. Paul, and Wilsonville in October of 2022. 

What brings you joy?

Volunteering brings me lots of joy. It has been life-changing for me to become involved in the small business community within my city because I feel much more connected to those around me. I volunteer as the chair for LBA’s biggest event of the year called Expo Negocio, and it will be my second year organizing the event this November 9th. Through this event, I get a chance to provide support for the Latino businesses in the Willamette Valley. I am also very passionate about education, so I chair a non-profit scholarship program called Distinguished Young Women of Keizer. We are part of a national program that teaches professional development skills to junior girls in high school and provides a chance to compete for college scholarships. I am very busy, but I love that all my involvement has provided me with many diverse connections. 

What defines you and your business?

We take our connections very seriously. We understand business owners are extremely busy, and it’s challenging to do everything. This is why collaboration is so important to me and to all of us here at the Oregon BRC. Whether we find a solution for your business through our referral partners or outside our organization, our goal is to help you help your business. COVID caused many of us to go into our shells, and we’d like to remind our clients that they’re not alone. 

What's the most important thing you want people to know about you and your business?

All our resources are free for the businesses within our service areas! We have many workshops on our websites that are already free, but if one requires a registration fee, we can get it covered for you. Even if you’re not sure of how we can help, give Beth and me a call; we’d love to meet either over coffee or Zoom!

Fatima Falcon

Oregon Business Resource Center

fatima@wilsonvillechamber.org