I was recently invited to participate in a meeting organized by the Division of Latino Affairs of the state of Iowa and the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED). The meeting’s purpose was to discuss the needs of the Latino community in Iowa. Quite honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to attending, thinking it would turn political or that after four hours, the meeting would conclude after digressing on a multitude of tangents. Still, I took the time to attend, and I’m sure glad I did, because I was introduced to a group of 13 Latino community and business leaders and was finally able to assign a term to a concept that’s at the very heart of what’s so desperately needed in Central Iowa’s business environment — cultural competency.

I’ve often said that if I had a dollar for every time I’ve been told, “Oh, so you’re from Puerto Rico, but you don’t look Puerto Rican,” or “I took two years of Mexican, but I don’t remember any of it,” I’d be able to fly home and visit my folks more often. At best, these comments are just things people say when they’re nervous or don’t know how to relate to someone from a different culture; at worst, they’re everyday reflections of the average business person’s worldview.

We’re all aware of diversity training and its extreme importance within our business community, but cultural competency, or learning how culture affects worldview, can take businesses to another level. When we advise our clients on crafting a marketing message to reach the Latino population (in Iowa or across the nation), one principle is always paramount: Don’t generalize — all Latinos are NOT the same. A first-generation Latino’s needs are completely different from those of second- and third-generation Latinos who were born in the United States and might hold upper management or professional positions.

Cultural competency is a two-way street. Take for example, the stories of Latino-owned businesses that are forced to close their doors almost immediately after opening them. Why does this happen? Many times because Latino business owners lack a complete understanding of U.S. business practices. In Mexico, setting up business and employing your 8-year-old niece to clean the shop is absolutely normal.

By the same token, Iowa businesses that generalize about the Latino population without paying attention to ethnicity, lifestyle and educational differences are also victims of cultural incompetence. They do a huge disservice to their bottom line and to the Latino population.

So what can be done? Plenty. To address the issues of cultural competency with new Iowans establishing businesses in Des Moines, ALIANZA: Latino Business Association (an affiliate of the Greater Des Moines Partnership), is developing a Spanish-language curriculum to guide Latino-owned businesses through the regulatory process of establishing operations in the United States. The organization’s goal is to ensure the viability of Latino-owned businesses in Central Iowa, thus adding to the landscape of our business community.

To Central Iowa’s businesses, I offer this challenge: the next time an employee asks if it would be possible to have the company provide for its staff to learn Spanish, make a genuine effort to do so. Also, make a point of sponsoring, exhibiting or attending the 7th Annual Latino Conference in Des Moines on Oct. 28-29 this year. Cultural competency will be one of the core topics.

And if you don’t remember what you learned in your foreign language classes, there’s no better time than now to pick it back up.

By 2050, one in four Americans will be of Hispanic descent. Will your business be ready?

Nannette Rodríguez is president and executive creative director for the VIVAMEDIA advertising agency and a charter member and current secretary for ALIANZA: Latino Business Association.