Delia Suarez: Salvadoran Immigrant, Entrepreneur

Delia Suarez, AnewAmerica's 2006 Entrepreneur of the year arrived to America with a heart filled with sorrow and hope. Sorrow for the hardship left behind.  Hope for the extraordinary sense of opportunity this country instills in all newcomers.

An Pham: Vietnamese Immigrant, Entrepreneur

An Pham, winner of the 2006 Emerging Entrepreneur Award, has the mindset of a dedicated businesswoman. Her mantra is, “I can do anything in life with confidence and hard work…This is the beginning of my great enterprise.”

Working with AnewAmerica Community Corporation, An was able to fine tune a successful business plan. In the beginning, she had a great idea. “I found that people really love to decorate their houses with pots, but they lack in color variation and individuality,” says An. Now, because of her ingenuity aided by AnewAmerica, she is opening her business.

An says, “My goal is to provide unique, durable home and garden pottery, at reasonable prices.” She credits the Community Corporation, “AnewAmerica helped with my knowledge of marketing, financing, business loans, and housing.” Mimi Nguyen, AnewAmerica Program Manager, says, “We helped An produce a business plan, develop pricing strategies, and marketing ideas such as a logo and creating a space that will attract customers.”

An’s store blends her Vietnamese teaching background with her creative capabilities and penchant for social change. “I can offer many ideas for decorating with pottery, I have a variety of products, and part of the proceeds are sent to Long Buu to help disabled people have good lives,” says An.

An values social responsibility, a quality emphasized at AnewAmerica. The Long Buu Charity Medical Clinic in Vietnam is just one of An’s priorities. She also spends time mentoring other new Americans about international trade.

On October 7, 2006 An and partner Huong Tran celebrated the grand opening of their new enterprise, HP Pottery.

HP Pottery’s opening featured exciting Vietnamese entertainment. Also, Ms. Hanh Giao Nguyen, Founder and President of the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce of Santa Clara, Carlos Figueroa, CEO of the Greater San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Myvan Khuu, Assistant to Councilwoman Madison Nguyen were all present to celebrate.

Luz de Maria Fernandez: Salvadoran Immigrant, Entrepreneur

Luz de Maria Fernandez was the perfect candidate to run a childcare facility. She had thirty years experience teaching pre-school in El Salvador. Her energy and dedication certainly weren’t impeding her progress. Guarderia Pasitos was a small, viable business, but Luz dreamed of expanding.

Lourdes Rodriguez (Mexico)

         Lourdes Rodriguez won the Entrepreneur of the Year Second Place Recipient Award at the Annual Gala & Microbusiness Expo in November 2005.  This is her story. 
        With five children, two suitcases, and faith that life would be better for her family in the United States, Lourdes Rodriguez left Mexico 17 years ago. She joined her husband Carlos and his sister in an apartment the size of a closet in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District. At first, her dream of owning a home and running a family business seemed elusive, if not impossible.
        Carlos worked as a mechanic for $4.25 an hour. Lourdes worked 11-hour shifts at a sewing factory for $50 a week. The family struggled with the language, culture, and high costs of basic health care. When Carlos was ready to give up a few years after their arrival in California, Lourdes said "Nos quedamos." (“We're staying.”) She then set her goals high, envisioning a family business where her husband and son's extensive experience in auto body repair could provide long-term security and stability for the whole family.
        But how? Lourdes did not know how to create a business plan or how to approach a bank for a loan. She did not know much about taxes, insurance, or business regulations in the United States. Beyond hard work and saving under the mattress, she did not know where to start. Through her involvement with Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a women's organization in the Bay Area, Lourdes heard about AnewAmerica Community Corporation. She enrolled in Anew America's business incubator program. “It was so good for people like us that I dragged my husband and my son Sair to enroll too!” she exclaims.  They learned about accounting, business computing, and social responsibility. When they produced their business plan, the three of them received a college certificate from Holy Names University. Together, as members of AnewAmerica’s savings program, the Rodriguez's helped their son to buy a home, and to open a Roth-IRA.
        Lourdes' successful planning is paying off. In order to expedite her capital raising, she started an ad hoc “bedding microbusiness” selling Mexican blankets and bedding out of her car. She now employs three sellers. Because she completed the business computing training, Lourdes also qualified for AnewAmerica’s Laptop Loan program and her technical skills improved so much that she invested in a computer of her own. “At first, I didn’t think we were going to stay for the three years of the program,” Lourdes tells, “it felt too long. And here we are,... having so much fun and seeing our dream becoming true. We are even working for our rights too...We got to visit Senator Liz Figueroa in Sacramento. We just hope they listen to us, the new Americans, too.”
        Lourdes says her involvement with AnewAmerica has boosted her self-esteem and earned her more respect from the men in her family. In some ways, she is a long way from Mexico, where she sold eggs and knitting to make a living. These days her labor is all about building assets and building community, for the long-term success of her family.