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Find Success
Online
Time and time
again women have
proven that they
can do it all —
be mothers,
wives, active
participants in
their
communities and
churches, plus
excel
professionally.
Statistics show
that minority
women are
showing
incredible
economic
strength.
According to the
Center for
Women’s Business
Research, the
number of firms
owned by women
of color
increased 32
percent between
2002 and 2008.
Today, the
Internet is
allowing even
more women to
start their own
ventures. Here
are three
Latinas who are
open for
business —
online.
The Power of
Gratitude
Ivette Mayo
knows a thing or
two about the
value of
culture. The
online
entrepreneur
started Yo Soy I
Am™, LLC, a
consulting firm
that helps
businesses
develop a
competitive
advantage
through cultural
awareness
training, in
2006. A year
later, she
started Yo Soy
Expressions, a
line of Latina-inspired
greeting cards.
“The name, ‘Yo
Soy I Am’
reflects our bi-cultural
existence as
Latinas,” she
says. “I wanted
my businesses to
celebrate the
excellence of
mujer Latina.” |
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Ivette
Mayo |
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She leveraged her
experience working in
marketing, sales, public
relations and training
to start ‘Yo Soy I Am.’
The mother of two
started networking with
business organizations,
especially Hispanic ones,
in Tampa, Fla.
Through word of mouth,
Mayo began to receive
numerous referrals and
requests for speaking
engagements. To express
her gratitude, she
searched for Spanish
thank-you cards to send
to her contacts, but
found very little.
“There might have been
one or two, but they
didn’t say what I wanted,”
she explains. “I printed
a muchas gracias — thank
you — card from my
inkjet printer and my
clients loved it.”
Mayo knew she was on to
something. She started
visiting the greeting
card aisles in local
stores, took notes on
dimensions and wrote
down the companies that
produced the cards. When
she got home, Mayo
searched the company
websites that produced
the Spanish cards.
An
avid artist, Mayo
started sketching her
own designs for the
cards and soon met a
graphic designer and a
printer. She launched
www.yosoyexpressions.com
in Spanish and English
to market the cards and
sent press releases to
local and national
media.
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Iveth
Reynolds |
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Mayo says that
about 80 percent
of her business
in online-based.
“Having an
Internet-based
business is
easier than a
business with a
storefront,” she
says. “I was
looking for
convenience; the
ability to work
from home and
the ability to
have a real hand
in the growth of
the company and
the products.”
She hopes to
find the right
retail outlet
for the cards.
“I am proud that
I have created
something
Latinas can
identify with,”
she says.
“Latinas have
incredible and
powerful souls.
The Internet is
just another
place to
demonstrate our
greatness.”
Hard Work
Pays
Iveth Reynolds
knows what it
means to work
hard. In the
early days of
her career, she
often arrived to
work early and
worked through
lunch to
maximize her
time. One day a
mentor told her,
“You could
easily be
running this
company one day.”
Rather than
taking over the
company, she
started her own
in 1998. Today,
Reynolds, a
Nicaraguan, owns
Tri-Mar
Consulting,
Inc., a national
staffing and
recruitment firm
in New York. Tri-Mar
offers
technology and
business
development
recruitment to
mostly small to
mid-size
companies. About
60 percent of
Reynold’s
business is
online-based.
E-mail allows
her and her
staff to expand
Tri-Mar’s reach
to an
international
level. |
“Technology is very cost-effective,”
she says. “The Internet,
e-mail, web cams and web
conferencing make doing
business easier.”
Like many women,
Reynolds took some time
out of her career to
have children. After the
birth of her second
child, she returned to
the workforce and had to
work her way up again as
an administrative
assistant.
During this time, she
also worked on her
business plan for Tri-Mar.
She tapped into the
resources made available
by her local chamber of
commerce and hired a
personal coach.
Word spread about Tri-Mar’s
services, and this led
to more projects for the
new company. While
growth is something most
entrepreneurs hope for,
it can also be a
challenge for new
businesses. “We had to
be selective with our
clients,” she says. “Our
services may not match
every potential client
we come in contact with.
We had to control our
growth.”
Reynolds was fortunate
to have several mentors,
and a few who became
like family to her.
“Mentorship was very
informal for me,” she
says. “Sometimes it
wasn’t until later, upon
reflecting back, that I
realized that certain
people were my mentors.”
According to Reynolds,
her biggest challenge is
finding balance in her
busy schedule. “One of
the advantages of having
your own business is
that you make up your
own hours,” she says.
“My number-one priority
is my family and I make
sure to keep an up-to-date
calendar, so that I stay
on track with everything.”
Remember Your Roots
Entrepreneurship is in
Miriam da Matta‘s blood.
The fifth of seven
children, da Matta grew
up in Mexico and worked
at her father’s store
starting at age seven.
“My dad was a strict man.
He told us, ‘If you
don’t work, you don’t
eat,’” da Matta says.
“He encouraged us to be
business owners and
avoid working for others.”
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Da Matta earned
a degree in
marine biology,
but always
wanted to start
her own business.
In 2005, she saw
an infomercial
about capital
funding and was
inspired. By
2007, she
started
Panamerican
Capital
Solutions from
her home in
Redondo Beach,
Calif. “We help
businesses
convert their
income stream —
accounts
receivable,
government
receivables,
credit card
transactions and
more — into cash
capital to help
them sustain
their business,”
she says.
She received
training from
the American
Cash Flow
Association,
which provided
her with
information on
different
funding
companies and
helped her make
contacts.
Success didn’t
come right away.
She worked with
15 prospects
before closing
her first deal.
She usually
meets her
clients face-to-face
initially, but
also has several
clients in Texas
and Florida whom
she’s never met
in person.
“Speed and
practicality are
what makes the
Internet
beautiful,” she
says. “I can
work at anytime;
I don’t have to
keep typical 9
a.m. to 5 p.m.
hours. I can
work while my
daughter is
asleep.”
Da Matta found
her niche in the
Latino market
and has recently
experienced an
increase in
equipment
leasing from
beauty salons.
“The key about
this business is
that my
customers need
me — they need
the funding for
their business,”
she says. |
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Miriam
da Matta |
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“A
lot of my clients don’t
know much about credit.
They may not have a
credit history. The
funding companies I work
with can help these
clients gain capital and
establish credit.”
Currently, she is
working on opening an
eight-person calling
center in El Salvador.
The center will provide
basic information to
prospects and get them
started on the
application process,
giving her more time to
focus on following up
and closing more deals.
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11 Tips for You
Interested in
starting an
online venture?
Consider the
insider
entrepreneurial
advice from
these business
owners.
Tips from
Ivette Mayo
Research your
competition. If
you plan to
launch a website,
use a search
engine to find
companies that
are currently
selling your
product or doing
what you want to
do. Print the
web pages of the
site and make
notes on what
you like and
don’t like.
If you need a
developer, be
prepared and
show him/her
your printouts
and notes up
front. Envision
what you may
want in the
long-run and
have these
features built
into your site
from the start.
You can activate
them later when
you’re ready.
Getting them
built in the
beginning can
save you from
add-on costs.
Shop around and
find someone who
understands your
needs and your
level of
‘technical talk.’
Tips from
Iveth Reynolds
Stay abreast of
technology.
Embrace change.
It’s easy to get
into a routine
of always doing
the same thing
in the same
manner, but you
may find ways to
be more
efficient.
Stay true to
your niche in
all business
decisions.
Get a mentor or
coach.
Create an
advisory board
to turn to if
you have
questions and
want to share
ideas.
Tips from
Miriam da Matta
If you need to
educate yourself
about technology,
take a course
provided by your
local library or
community
college. Write a
good business
plan and revisit
it periodically.
You can get
assistance from
chambers of
commerce and
business-related
associations. |
By
Ashley Cisneros
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