a1360: Entrepreneurs help Haitians plan for the future (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Entrepreneurs help Haitians plan for the future

By Cindy Kent
Business Writer
Posted March 18 2002
Florida Sun-Sentinel

In their tidy, modest office above a dry-cleaning business on Sunrise
Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, three business partners plan for the financial
futures of their clients, mostly from Haiti.

The entrepreneurs -- also from Haiti -- formed Qwest Financial Consultants
Inc. as a one-stop shop to provide products from life and auto insurance to
mortgage services and guidance on mutual fund investments.

"I felt that I was not making an impact on society," said Chief Executive
Officer Arnel Polo, 40, whose background is in electrical engineering. He
takes satisfaction from "educating a family and seeing a client stick to a
plan -- they can more than just hope their child will go to college -- they
can more than just hope for a good retirement."

While Haitians are not their only clients, Polo realizes that he is catering
to a niche market.

"We find that some of our prospective clients don't buy into all of our
services -- because they don't understand the concept," he said. For
example, life insurance (not widely marketed in Haiti) is a hard sell.

Also, Haitians, like other Caribbean people he markets to, prefer cash
transactions.

"There's an economic level [of society] that does not believe in the banking
system," said Vince Johnson, vice president of business industry services
for the Broward Alliance. Johnson says businesses like Qwest are important
because they introduce mainstream services into the community.

Educating clients and potential clients means hosting microbusiness classes
in their offices, in Creole, taught by an FAU professor. It means hosting a
two-minute, twice-daily radio "infomercial" in Creole that provides a
financial planning tip and lets listeners know about their business.

And it means taking time to explain and to be patient.

"People hear our ad on the radio and come in; we answer their questions in
their language," said Polo. Clients are often too shy to ask questions when
benefits are being discussed at work.

"Recently a Haitian client came in with a packet of 401(k) information,"
Polo said. "We explained the benefits and encouraged him to participate in
it. It was like a light bulb went off."

The firm also realizes flexibility is important for its clients.

Chief Marketing Officer Marie K. Compas says, "We give them options to
reduce coverage, instead of cutting out something completely."

The company is optimistic. The Haitian community is growing, with many
finding well-paying careers in nursing, real estate and technology.

The partners hope someday Qwest will have offices in South Florida's three
counties.

But for now, it just "feels good to have survived the first few years," Polo
said.

Cindy Kent can be reached at ckent@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4662.


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