The Favorites List of 2022 - Part Two
Some of the Best Tips for Starting a Business - Courtesy of Latino Entrepreneurs Profiled in Generation Si!
Here we go, friends! 👋🏿👋👋🏽 As we say goodbye to 2022, I wanted to share a list of some favorite quotes from Generation Si! stories from the second half of the year.
Note: If you want to see the list of favorite quotes from the first half of the year, just click here.
If you found this list useful, share it with friends and those who you think might benefit from it by clicking on the red button below.
THE TIP JAR - SOME FAVORITES
BEST TIPS WHEN STARTING OUT:
SEBASTIAN GARCIA - FOUNDER, THE LAPEL PROJECT & WINNER OF A DEAL ON THE “SHARK TANK" TV SHOW:
INDUSTRY: Retail (Formalwear)
“When you start a business, you’re going to encounter things you can’t fathom…. It’s like driving a new car. You go too fast. And [if] you don’t know how to drive it? You’re going to crash. But if you drive slow[ly], you’re still going to crash. But you’re not going to go out of business.”
To learn more about Sebastian Garcia’s advice and experiences on “Shark Tank,” click on this link to read Part One and Part Two.
SANDRA SHORTER, Ed.D. - FOUNDER & CEO, THE NAKED CUPCAKE
INDUSTRY: Food (Confections/Baking)
“The first thing they need to do is [to] get connected with their local Small Business Development Center. It is a wealth of resources. And you should start to network right away.”
“Believe it or not, I YouTubed… what to do at networking events."
She says it gave her great ideas because she just didn't know what she would say to people at the events.
Shorter says she also learned a lot from author and motivational speaker, Rachel Hollis.
For example, she learned, “I think you need to recognize that you’re solving a problem that, if you don’t sell to your customer, you have to think about them not having a solution. You’re doing them a disservice.”
To find out what else Sandra Shorter, Ed.D. recommends for aspiring or current entrepreneurs, especially those who want to start with a food truck, read Part One and Part Two.
BEST TIPS WHEN STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career):
MERCEDES GOMEZ, CPA - FOUNDER AND CEO, INTENTIONAL HEALTH AND WEALTH:
INDUSTRY: Financial Planning/Personal Finance
“For someone who has a family, I think it’s important to speak to your spouse.”
“Many times, when we’re single, we can just eat rice and beans and kind of [bootstrap] ourselves. But when it comes to having a spouse and children that expect a certain level of resources,” she says it’s different.
Gomez intentionally uses the word “resources” instead of “money” because she says, “I like to look at families as teams. And someone needs to watch for the nutrition of the rest of the team. And someone needs to watch for the care of the rest of the team.”
Mercedes Gomez, CPA has much more valuable advice to share. You can read it here in Part One. And here’s the link for Part Two.
DIEGO SAMPAIO - CO-FOUNDER & CEO, GLOBALFY
INDUSTRY: Tech (International E-Commerce)
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “Go to networking events from the community. So, for example, here in Florida, we have… Starter Studio.”
He says Starter Studio is an accelerator program with the UCF Business Incubator community that offers meetups and events for helping local entrepreneurs connect with each other.
Note: If you're not in Orlando, contact your local university and see if they can refer you to a similar type of accelerator program.
Interested in learning more information about Diego Sampaio's entrepreneurial journey and how it could help you, click on the link for Part One and Part Two.
BEST TIP FOR WHEN YOU’RE STARTING OVER:
HECTOR GARCÍA - CO-FOUNDER & CEO, INMYTEAM:
INDUSTRY: Tech (Home Health Care)
“Trust young people. Trust people that can help you with your business. Don’t do anything by yourself. Try to get a team of people that are prepared and try to get them to help you. Look, the success of the business is not [coming from] the one that has the brightest CEO. But it might be the one that has the brightest team.”
To find out the other wisdom Hector García has learned through his experiences, click on Part One and Part Two.
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN:
ALEX IRIGOYEN AZCONA: CO-FOUNDER & CEO, COFI:
INDUSTRY: Financial planning and management software (SaaS)
Irigoyen says, in the past, he didn’t prioritize some tasks and projects correctly.
The lesson he learned and wants to pass along to you is to “order your different tasks in terms of how critical they are.”
Irigoyen says to “order the tasks from “more critical to less.” And then he recommends you “focus on 1, 2 and 3, the more critical tasks.”
Alex Irigoyen Azcona has lots more to suggest, if you’re in entrepreneurship mode. You can read it all here.
CARLOS PEREZ - FOUNDER & CEO, PEREZ TECHNOLOGY GROUP
INDUSTRY: Internet Technology Services/Cybersecurity
“Understand your craft and hone in on that… and hit it as hard as you can. Don’t try to be the accountant. Don’t try to be the marketer. Don’t try to be the recruiter… More often than not, even if you do get decent at it, the amount of time you spent trying to become okay at something would’ve been well worth it to pay an expert to just hit a homerun on it – because they do it every day.”
Ready to learn more tips from Carlos Perez? You can - right here in Part One and Part Two.
BEST LIST OF RESOURCES:
JAVIER DIAZ - CO-FOUNDER & CEO, OSI ENGINEERING
INDUSTRY: Talent Resources (Technology and Engineering)
These are some of the programs Javier Diaz provided that may be the right fit for you or that can point you in the right direction:
HITEC – Hispanics in Technology
ALPFA – Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting
Latino Corporate Directors Association
LBAN – Latino Business Action Network
SLEI – Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative
NMSDC – National Minority Supplier Development Council
EY EAN – EY Entrepreneurs Action Network
If you’d like to learn more from Javier Diaz, just click on the corresponding links for Part One and Part Two.
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE:
EIKEL INDA AND MANUEL CASSOLA - CO-FOUNDERS OF CEDRUSMED
INDUSTRY: Tech & Mental Health
Eikel Inda says his mother always said to him, “Nadie se come a nadie.” TRANSLATION: “No one eats anyone else.” Inda learned from that not to be afraid of anyone.
Manuel Cassola remembers his grandfather telling him, “Árbol que nace torcido, jamás su tronco endereza.” TRANSLATION: “The trunk of the tree that grows twisted will never be straight.” Cassola took that to mean that a person who was crooked or shady could never do the right thing.
But he said that, while that quote stays with him, he actually disagrees with it. He believes that everyone, even those who grew up in a bad environment, have the possibility of doing good.
If you’d like to learn more from Eikel Inda and Manuel Cassola, go to the following links for Part One and Part Two.
TATIANA FERNANDEZ - FOUNDER & CEO, PANTERA TECHNICAL SERVICES CORP.
INDUSTRY: Medical Equipment
The best advice Fernandez got came from her daughter’s doctor, Dr. Vives, in Boston.
“He just told me, ‘Always use miel. Con miel, todo se atraye.’” (Translation: Always use honey. With honey, you attract everything.)
For more valuable advice about overcoming personal and professional challenges to become a small business owner, read more about Tatiana Fernandez here.
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🌴 Wishing each of you the very best for 2023! #theskyisNOTthelimit