Meet Maria Amado, the Owner of Westchester Hispano

Maria was a journalist in Peru, but struggled to find work when she moved to Westchester because she didn’t speak English. After working miscellaneous jobs, she began freelancing for newspapers and radio shows across New Jersey and New York. Maria dreamed of owning her own Spanish-language newspaper; fourteen years ago, she opened Westchester Hispano to provide news to the Spanish speaking residents of the tri-state area.

Why did Maria need TAP?
Despite being Westchester's largest newspaper in Spanish, Westchester Hispano was struggling to attract the right salespeople and needed help with cash flow management. The niche media outlet was also in need of updated marketing materials and a stronger social media strategy. Due to the Covid pandemic, Maria lost some advertisers and needed ideas on how to pivot and conserve cash. For the longer term, Maria felt it was important to expand the newspaper’s use of digital media but she needed to navigate how this might affect customer behavior, particularly her readers in the hispanic community.

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​How did TAP help Maria and Westchester Hispano?
TAP consultants, Claudine Kelly and Rebecca Shalam, created a customized tool to help Maria manage her cash flow.  They developed a marketing sales sheet and established weekly sales meetings for Maria and her team to coordinate geographies and goals. The consultants also created detailed job descriptions, provided Maria with recruiting contacts in the area to help her source additional staff, and brainstormed best compensation plans for the sales team. They discussed social media strategies and equipped Maria with the necessary tools to expand her presence on different platforms. The consultants presented the idea of reducing print cycles during Covid to reduce expenses, and lastly, TAP provided ideas for an eventual migration from print to digital for the newspaper.
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Where is she now?
By focusing her time and energy on her most responsive clients and hiring reliable salespeople, Maria has been able to expand her business. After three months of collaborating with TAP, sales have increased by 20% and profitability has improved. Maria has also implemented QuickBooks to manage her cash flows and improve financial health. “I’m very thankful to TAP for helping me in so many areas: marketing, accounting, cash flow management and digital media. They really made a difference in my business.” Maria is using her talents as a reporter, publisher, editor and salesperson to work through challenges, and is hopeful for the future.

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