03/10/2025
I started this business with no money in my pocket and a vision that was mine and no one else’s.
I had just quit a job I hated, knowing I wanted to build something I loved — but honestly, it sounded a lot easier than it actually was.
My Aunt Maritza was my inspiration from day one. She wasn’t just my biggest supporter — she was an entrepreneur herself. Years ago, she owned a small boutique store in Guatemala.
She would always tell me that those years were the best of her life — not because it was easy, but because building something from nothing and making it her own gave her so much pride and purpose.
I remember telling her how much I wanted this, how I wanted to take a mentorship program to figure out how to make it happen — but I didn’t have the money to make it work.
One day, she called me over. In a shoebox was $5,000 — savings she had set aside for a home one day. She handed it to me and said, “I believe in you, and I know you can do it."
With tears in my eyes, I thanked her — because I had never really believed in myself the way she believed in me. But if she could see that potential in me, I knew I couldn’t give up and there was no plan b!
One year later, I doubled what I made at my 9-to-5. My aunt was my biggest fan, cheering me on every step of the way. I could have NOT done this without her support.
Two years after starting Empire, she passed after a short battle with cancer.
But, I was blessed to be able to care for her in her final months — something I never imagined this business would give me the opportunity to do.
Her light, her love, and her unwavering belief in me motivate me every single day. I love you, Tía — forever and always. ❤️
To all the women out there lifting each other up, believing in one another, and paving the way — you are changing lives more than you know.
