Natalia Frois knows the challenges that come with starting a business.

She started her own three years ago. Her company, International Business Relations, based in Hyannis, offers business planning, consultation and analysis services for entrepreneurs.

On March 11, Frois will be the event coordinator for the Immigrant Entrepreneur & Small Business Expo at the Cape Cod 5 bank headquarters. The expo is being presented by Coastal Community Capital, SCORE Cape Cod & the Islands, Community Development Partnership, Cape Cod 5, WE CAN, TBS Tax Service and Cricket Wireless, with funding support from Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation.

Developing a business plan, getting legal advice and understanding business loans and insurance are just part of the mix. For those whose native language isn’t English, and those who come to the region as immigrants, the challenges include overcoming language and cultural barriers.

Expo organizer Natalia Frois moved from Brazil to the U.S. at age 10.

Frois knows those challenges firsthand. She came to the U.S. when she was 10, the daughter of immigrants from Brazil. Her parents found work in the Boston area but eventually started their own businesses. Her father opened a car repair shop and her mother began work as a seamstress.

The expo will include workshops and interactive, informational events such as “Perfecting your Business Pitch,” “Legal Issues and Advice for Small Business,” “Business Borrowing Simplified,” “Insurance De-Mystified for Business Owners,” “Expanding your Business Social Media” and “Bookkeeping Advice for Entrepreneurs.”

There will be help at the expo for business people who speak English as a second language.

Frois will be able to help English as Second Language participants with Spanish and Portuguese translations. She did so in Nov. 2019, when she coordinated a Spanish Business Expo that drew 20 participants. In Dec. 2021, 50 small business owners and entrepreneurs attended a Latino Business Expo that she coordinated.

“Business owners face a lot of risks,” Frois said. “Immigrant entrepreneurs face additional challenges with language and culture.”

Coastal Community Capital is a division of Cape & Islands Community Development, a nonprofit community development lender. It is certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The nonprofit works with customers to search for loan options from banks, brokers, state and federal sources.

The March expo is designed to inspire small business owners and to educate and introduce participants to business methodologies that will help them plan for business success, Frois said.

The cost to attend is $25 per person and includes continental breakfast and lunch. Register online at www.CapeCodInternationalBusinessExpo.com.

For more information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Natalia Frois at internationalbusinessrelations@yahoo.com.

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. 

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Small business expo welcomes immigrant entrepreneurs, offers experts