SLS PUBLICATIONS, LLC
LAKELAND, FLORIDA

SLS Publications®, LLC is dedicated to educating businesses about Hispanic behavior in the U.S. and abroad, and providing Spanish language training for the professions. Dr. Lori Madden is a professor of foreign languages with a B.A. (Hood College), M.A. (University of Delaware) and Ph.D. (University of Florida) in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Literature. She is on faculty at St. Petersburg College. Dr. Madden has resided in Spain, Brazil and Costa Rica. She has taught for many years educating adults in Spanish and Portuguese languages and Hispanic culture, in both academic and professional environments. She is owner of SLS Publications®, LLC. Elida Santos Williams is Peruvian born but has worked in the U.S. since 2004. Her area of expertise is sales and marketing, with a passion for customer service and problem resolution. With substantial experience in international sales and business systems in Lima and Tampa Bay, Mrs. Williams is translator and adviser in “all things Latin America” for SLS Consulting. : Identify your Hispanic employee, neighbor, client or business partner as a unique individual first, and then, as sharing some common characteristics with compatriots of a similar background. Imagine that a friend or acquaintance inquires about your family. Who are you then thinking about? Your spouse? Your children? Perhaps your parents? Now ask a Hispanic how her family is doing. You will likely hear news about parents and siblings, but also the vacation trip her grandmother took with her aunts, her newborn niece, a cousin who was just married, the uncle who got a new job, and about any other relative with news to share. Hispanics do not distinguish between ‘nuclear’ and ‘extended’ family. Every relative is part of the family. Unless there is a compelling reason to move out of a family home, even grown children will remain. Often a widowed grandparent, unmarried aunt or cousin attending city college will also live with the family, forming a multigenerational household. The great advantage is always having someone available to take care of babysitting and housekeeping duties; having additional sources of household income; and, when there is a repair needed, there is always a talented cousin or nephew to help out. It makes the yellow pages obsolete! Hispanics are not impulse buyers. They will look for value when spending their discretionary money. Even if it takes time to amass enough money, they will spend to purchase something they really want. It is true that many immigrants will send some of their earnings home to their country of origin to help support those left behind. But this demographic’s earning power is growing steadily if only due to the increasing number of Hispanics in the U.S. Those transplanted families continue to raise ever increasingly acculturated children who will adopt more of the typical North American’s spending habits. Consumerism is inevitably going to grow among Hispanics in the U.S. : Don’t underestimate the purchasing power of Hispanics. Discover their buying habits. Target your marketing efforts to them, and offer them value in your products and services. No one in business needs to be convinced of the benefits of tapping into U.S. Hispanic purchasing power. The U.S. Hispanic market is vast and will continue to increase over time. There are several trends in favor of businesses that cater to this segment of the market: The First Fifteen Minutes: Courting Business in Latin America Courting business relationships in Latin America is a delicate dance. Deciphering the Latino Consumer: A Guide for Employers, Professionals, Retailers and Business Travelers