From Trepidation to Triumph
Cinthia never imagined running a business. She worried easily and was frightened by the risk. But in 2015, a friend suggested that she take out a loan with Adelante, and she decided to give it a try. “Thankfully, Adelante didn’t put up the barrier of saying that I couldn’t take out a loan without having a job, because I was requesting the loan to get started.” She invested her first loan of $191 in buying supplies such as acrylics and dyes for a beauty salon that she had recently dreamed up. Starting out with just a chair and a tiny collection of brushes and scissors on her front porch, Cinthia soon convinced her mom to let her set up shop in a storage room. Steadily, she invested her first loan and subsequently larger loans (up to $416) in more supplies and furniture, meanwhile designing and painting the room to create a beautiful space for her customers. Starting out with a handful of friends, word of Cinthia’s excellent service spread, and her customer base grew. At the same time, Cinthia began buying clothing and personal care products to sell door-to-door in her community, building strong relationships with her customers. While she initially felt shy, she grew into her new role as a salesperson and found that she loves it. She says, “I’m one of those people who felt afraid, apprehensive, but I achieved what I set out to do — thanks to the support of my family, and most importantly thanks to the help of the loan from Adelante.”
All shyness aside, Cinthia is vibrant and creative, full of business ideas and entrepreneurial vision. For a brief time after starting these two businesses, she also began a project preparing and selling chicken. While this third business was successful, it left her exhausted, so she scrapped it and developed another plan. Her current dream is to open a store in her home — as she notes, there isn’t one in her community, and it would enable her to make more sales while staying close to her salon. She and her husband have been saving for this dream, and she’s already purchased products including makeup, deodorants, nail files, and shampoos, based on what she knows there’s demand for in her neighborhood. Similarly, she plans to expand her salon and continue investing in more products and services to offer. Making steady progress toward her goals, Cinthia is looking forward to being able to run her beauty salon and store in same place instead of having to walk up and down the many nearby streets to sell her products. “As we say here,” she smiles, “I’m ready to advance to the next level!”
For now, Cinthia doesn’t have to walk alone — her three-year-old son accompanies her and even helps her to make sales. As they progress from street to street with a stroller, Cinthia’s son in the seat and her products just below him, he frequently selects clothing items to offer to his mom’s customers with a smile. He also loves to help her in the salon and says that he wants to be a stylist when he grows up. Cinthia says, “My son is my strength to move ahead,” and she feels great joy knowing that she’ll be able to give him a good education thanks to her success as an entrepreneur.
It’s clear that Cinthia is proud of all that she’s learned about managing a loan, investing in a business, and saving little by little to reach her goals. She says, “I want to be an example to other people of how to take out a loan and invest it — because, yes, you can move ahead. I’m an example that it’s possible.” Reflecting on how far she’s come in less than three years leaves her humbled and noticeably delighted. “So, you could say that this has been my greatest achievement, my greatest success, and also my greatest purpose, because I felt afraid but I accomplished my goal. And here I am, still achieving my goals and wanting to do even more!”
Hear Cinthia talk about her journey from trepidation to triumph:
