Altus: Madison Latinx CEO chosen for D.C. business advocacy effort

Washington, D.C., May 16, 2022—Daniel Guerra, Jr., Madison-area Latinx community leader and CEO of the health care technology firm, Altus, will meet with policymakers in Washington, D.C. today in a national effort to shine the spotlight on the need for more support for small businesses of color.

Guerra will participate May 16 and May 17 in advocacy program organized by the Small Business for America’s Future (SBAF), a national coalition.

“Small businesses—particularly those of color—are jumpstarting a historic economic recovery as we continue to navigate a tumultuous economy,” Guerra said. “In a Post-George-Floyd world, we need sustained focus to continue our progress in the nation’s most diverse generation. We cannot go back to leadership with limited diversity if we want our nation to maintain its role as a stronger global player.”

Guerra, a member of the SBAF Small Business Council, said that small businesses create two-thirds of jobs in the United States and give communities of color the opportunity to build generational wealth.

He praised Madison for establishing itself as a national model with its commitment to the new facility for Centro Hispano, the Black Business Hub, the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, and One City Schools.

“Young entrepreneurs like me relish the opportunity to connect with national decisionmakers to tell the great story of Madison’s success and underscore the need for sustainable support of small business,” he said.

About Altus, Inc.
Altus, Inc., is an eight-year-old Madison-based technology company that offers products and services for medical radiology clinics needing compliance education. It helps health care advocates and businesses create learning opportunities for patient and clinician education. Daniel Guerra, Jr., the son of a Mexican immigrant, has been a small business entrepreneur for more than a decade and is member of the Latino Professionals Association Board of Directors. He was a fellow at the Stanford University Latino
Entrepreneurship Initiative and former chair of the City of Madison’s Community Development Authority. In 2021, he published in a madison.com an essay about his father’s immigrant experience.

Fact Sheet for Small Business for America

Small Business for American’s Future (SBAF) surveys show that small business owners are eager for policy solutions to increase the labor pool and at the same time stop the erosion of their profits. Top issues include:

 Soaring healthcare costs: 83% of small business owners said rising health insurance
costs have an impact on their ability to grow and 85% support allowing Medicare to
negotiate drug prices with drug companies
 An unfair tax code: The effective federal tax rate for small businesses is nearly 20%,
while Amazon’s federal tax rate was just  6% this year—and many large corporations
pay even less or nothing at all. Sixty-five percent of small business owners strongly
support reforms ensuring corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes
 Restraints on the workforce: 55% of small business owners surveyed believe that the
lack of affordable, high-quality child-care for employees has a negative impact on their
business such as limiting growth and hiring decisions. Sixty-six percent believe the
federal government has a role in supporting universal access to affordable, high-quality
childcare.
 Access to Capital: 55% of small business owners say access to affordable and
responsible capital is their top concern.
 Corporate price gouging: 63% of small business owners SBAF surveyed think large
corporations are taking advantage of inflation to raise their prices unnecessarily, and
97% of those respondents say that is harmful to small businesses.

About Small Business for America’s Future
Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. It is committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize the nation’s 30 million small businesses to create an economy that works for them, their workers, and their communities. Visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org. Follow it on Twitter and Facebook. #SmallBizAF. For more information, contact Conan Knoll at (831) 524-6764 or
conan@emccommunications.com.