Empowering the Hispanic Community in the U.S.

In this installment, meet several Latina entrepreneurs who have built a wide range of businesses—from decorative school furniture and construction companies to restaurant franchises and financial services. While each of their business strategies is unique, once again they share a common theme: in order to be successful, you must love what you do and be willing to plan for success. They are some of the 554,000 Latina-owned businesses in the U.S. today that generate $44.4 billion in revenue. While the majority of Latina business owners do not inherit their business, in this installment meet a couple of women who were blessed to learn their business from their fathers and then maintained the family business. This sets the stage for great opportunity and challenge—approximately 35 percent of the Fortune 500 are family controlled but only 1 in 3 succeed in passing the business from the first generation to the second. Their stories tell us just how much we can achieve when we have GANAS—guts, attitude, nerve, aptitude, and stamina!

Since 1989, Environmental Delivery Services, Inc. has served over 180 cities across the country managing the delivery, repair and maintenance of refuse, recycling, and commercial containers. One of the largest contracts to date was the assembly and distribution of over 1 million containers for the City of Los Angeles, the largest installation of an automated collection system in the world.

Tovar-Olson was born in Mexico City and was in medical school when she accepted a position as an assistant consul at the Venezuelan Consulate in the United States. Among other duties, she prepared documentation for oil tankers and shipping vessels to Europe. This work brought her to work for the County of Los Angeles where she learned she had a passion for business. She and her former husband Richard started her first business together, fabricating pipe support products for the oil industry and wastewater treatment plants. Eventually, she attended an MBA program at the University of Southern California. In 1989, she launched Environmental Delivery Services, Inc., and has grown the MBE-WBE-certified company to 16 employees with annual revenues near $1 million. Now based in Las Vegas, Tovar-Olson intends continued growth and success for her company.

Tovar-Olson attributes part of her success to the first company that opened doors to her in the industry (Toter Incorporated). “When you have the help and support of your peers it is a lot easier to take the first steps to the road of success,” she says. “Also, you have to have determination, a strong and solid work ethic, reliability, and dedication to your work. Keeping clients satisfied is our priority; we pride ourselves on giving our clients the best quality of work we can provide.”

Even so, she is quick to say that her industry can be tough. “You have to be able to survive through the ups and downs because revenue is not always consistent—you can get a contract awarded and then nothing else for another three to five months,” she says. “I have been very fortunate. I always strive to keep a positive relationship with my customers and have been able to get continuous business.” In addition to the long bidding cycles she experiences, Tovar-Olson is also required to work in a city for one to 12 months at a time, often living in hotels to manage and supervise her projects. Regardless of the strains, she enjoys her work and is proud of her company’s commitment to environmental stewardship and conservation of the planet.

Tovar-Olson’s advice for the would-be-entrepreneur is to be sure to get a solid education first and work for another company in a related field of interest before stepping out on your own. “This is so important because then you can see how the business cycle works and you won’t be surprised by the roller coaster ride or how commitments are made. Learning the business first is a significant factor, to learn what it takes to see a business grow.” She is quick to add that you have to love what you are doing. “When everyone is pleased with our work I feel a great deal of pride and satisfaction, not only for our delivery work, but for our contribution to the environment.”

In addition to her 2 Scoops Café franchise, Kilgallon will soon launch “Salsa 2 Go”—a franchise which involves a mobile service kiosk that will serve fresh salsa and nachos on college campuses at special events and open air fairs. Salsa 2 Go will give entrepreneurs several options for investments, ranging anywhere from $15K to $140K. At the lower end, entrepreneurs can open a weekender station offering just chips and salsa. For a larger investment, the entrepreneur can operate a fixed full service complete nacho station that allows customers to build their own custom nachos with chicken or beef, a variety of salsas and a drink. Entrepreneurs will be able to rely upon a strong support network that will give Salsa 2 Go a high level of consistency with prepackaged season meats, cheeses, and tortilla chips. While most franchises do not provide a “claims earning”—an estimate of what the owner will earn for their investment—Kilgallon says, “We found that when the entrepreneur manages the customer experience positively, they may earn $10K-$20K in one weekend depending on the size of event that they position their Salsa 2 Go kiosk. It all depends on the customer service experience.”
In order to reach Latino entrepreneurs, Kilgallon is also partnering with an Orlando based nonprofit, The Hispanic Business Initiative Fund. “I not only look for someone who is responsible with their finances and credit,” she notes, “I also want people who have a positive attitude and who are willing to work hard to deliver great service—even prior restaurant experience is not a sure determinant of success.” She also offers special discounts on the initial round of investment for veterans and ethnic minorities in order to open doors of opportunity for them.

Kilgallon’s penchant for business came early in her life—partly out of necessity—but also due to temperament. “My mother raised five of us on her own and that made life a constant struggle but she also says I was always setting up lemonade stands or holding garage sales just to earn a little something for myself.” While Kilgallon did not finish college, her advice to the would-be-entrepreneur is to make education a high priority. “If you are going out on your own, you will be putting in so much time and effort and personal resources on the line. It’s best if you learn as much as you can about your business. The benefit of opening a franchise is that you’ve got someone who already has gone through it; they already have been there and you will have someone to reach out to—nothing you come across will be a surprise because you are tapping into a proven business concept.” Kilgallon admits she has had to learn hard lessons on her own but remains very positive about her experience. “In my heart, I want to see Latinos, mi gente, enjoy the advantages of entrepreneurial—to make it big. If I can do it on a shoe string budget, you can do it too.”

As his portfolio of properties grew, Dominguez’ father diversified by starting several businesses, including a title company, a cable company and a construction management business. Throughout the course of building the business, Dominguez’ father also gave back to the community—a legacy of values that Dominguez has continued to honor.

“My father was my mentor, my friend and my hero,” she says. “His style of teaching was to throw you into deep water and challenge you to swim, but if you were drowning, he would be the first to help you. He was as generous as he was passionate about success.” Mr. Dominguez passed away three years ago and Dorene assumed the mantle of leadership to ensure that Vanir continues to be a family business. Dominguez’ brother worked with her in the business until his passing just a few months ago and three of her uncles still work on the development side of the business. As is true for many first generation companies, there is a legacy of keeping the next generation involved and very close to the business. Dominguez recalls having to work hard to prove she was pulling her own weight and not just the boss’ daughter. “He expected excellence. We were to arrive earlier than anyone else and be the last to leave,” she notes. “I came to understand that this was actually good because in a family business, some employees may resent you because of your family status. But we strived as a family to set an example for others and built a company culture around hard work, excellence and community service.”

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she has a passion for education that was instilled early in her life by her father. “Although my dad didn’t have a college degree, he always believed that education was important for his family. Education comes first. One of my dad’s first community service initiatives was to adopt the elementary school he attended as a child, which is located in a socio-economically depressed area. Vanir started a program where we donated Thanksgiving baskets and eventually linked it to parent attendance at the parent-teacher conferences to give the parents incentive to be actively involved in their children’s education. My dad was determined to see that kind of change and did something about it.” Dominguez continues in her father’s footsteps having established the Vanir Foundation to support financial literacy, school adoption, and health education in several California communities.
Her advice for the would-be entrepreneur is to choose something you can be extremely passionate about in your life. “It cannot just be a job, it needs to be something that excites you. Then educate yourself as much as possible. Join professional organizations and find mentors that will challenge you. Always remember your community. There is something special and wonderful when you give to others. Giving back and being involved in your community provides balance in your life and helps you to perform better in your work.” These are words she lives by, too. She has recently applied to the elite Young Presidents Organization and also serves on the boards of several philanthropic and public service organizations including the New America Alliance, National Council of La Raza, California State Medical Board, American River Bankshares Board, and the Latino Studies Advisory Board at the University of Notre Dame. Dominguez has set the stage for exceptional karma, indeed.

Little Green Apples, Inc., produces high quality, hand crafted furniture and decorations that are used in elementary schools, hospitals, and private homes. Her cartoon character—one of herself—and others are part of the brand’s charm and attraction. Children relate to the characters, the design and the colorful displays because they were drawn by a child, just like them. It all began when she started to paint a few pencil boxes for her students while teaching 2nd grade at Navarro Elementary School. She had been teaching for almost 10 years after it became clear her technical degree as a commercial painter would not yield the kind of work she had hoped for. In 1997 she started painting colorful pencil boxes and file boxes for her classroom and by 1999 she was juggling class work and painting to fulfill other teachers’ request for boxes and shelves. At one point, she had her entire family painting boxes that her husband, Mateo, was crafting in his spare time. She remained a teacher until 2003 when the demands of running the business became far too much to manage while teaching.

The pivotal moment in her business was realizing she would need to make plans to take it to a level beyond a hobby or small interest in painting. Her brother, Alfredo—a law student at the time came up with the idea to create a business plan and turn her efforts into more than a hobby. In order to test the concept, Marroquin’s father set out to see if he could get enough customer orders to launch the business. In just one day he secured $7,000 worth of customer orders without having a form for customers to complete.

Marroquin’s advice to the would-be entrepreneur is to listen to their dreams and remain focused. “Nothing should stand in your way of success…not your height, weight, looks—nothing,” she says. “If you believe in yourself and you see yourself succeeding, you will. The self-fulfilling prophecy is amazingly powerful.”

Overall, these Latinas share a desire to keep growing and giving back to their community. They have found a way to contribute by starting or creating new links within the Latino community. They are women who pride themselves in being successful, determined Latinas.

Our expanded coverage of Latina Entrepreneurs will run in every issue of LATINA Style Magazine throughout 2007. In addition, read complimentary editorial content and learn more about each of the women featured here and continue the dialogue on small business strategies. For more resource information, visit www.latinastyle.com.

By Maria Hernandez