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HISPANIC NETWORK MAGAZINE www.hnmagazine.com
B2B SUPPLIER DIVERSITY
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heena Eizmendiz was not handed a playbook on how to start a business at the age of 23 while she was getting divorced, a single mom raising a four-year-old and an eleven-month-old baby and a college student at the time. Yet, she knew early on she wanted to build a career that was purposeful and to create impact in the lives of those she worked with. Born in Havana, Cuba, Eizmendiz migrated to the U.S. in 1980 with her family, when she was only four years old. Looking for new opportunities and a place to call home, her parents worked two and three jobs to put food on the table when they first arrived. She grew up in a lower-middle class home which, she says, prepared her for her role as a business owner. Because she was brought up with cer- tain core values and a tenacity to overcome obstacles, her upbringing set the stage for her to overcome some of lifes greatest chal- lenges being a Latina single mom with no prior business experience. There is so much to do when starting a new small business and there is a learning curve that comes with it, Eizmendiz said. According to her, the most important and valuable lesson a businessper- son can get is learning from their mistakes. Sheena recognizes she has made many, but her motto is look for the silver lining and learn from each one. We can all agree, one of the biggest obsta- cles for Hispanic entrepreneurial women and business owners is that we continue to be underrepresented in our communities and we lack many resources she said. It was often dif- icult to get help as she started and established her business. I was so young when I started my business. I didnt know where to ask for help, and, looking back, I dont think there was much help available for me. Despite a recent report conducted by American Express that found, women-owned businesses have grown twice as fast as the overall population in the past five years. Eizmendiz feels there is still much work to be done in eradicating sexism, unconscious biases and discrimina- tion against women of color, Latinas, Asians, the LGBTQ+ community and others. She
Rising to the Top
One Latina Entrepreneur's Story
By Sheena Eizmendiz
believes while there are still strides to make toward equality in the workplace. There are many women that you can look up to for busi- ness inspiration, especially from the Hispanic community. For the past 23 years, she has dedicated her work as a mindset coach and trainer to helping clients remove mental and emotional roadblocks, shift their mindsets and pave the way to having successful lives and busi- nesses. She has worked with companies such as Bupa Latin America, Coastal Construction Group, USI Insurance Services and HIG Capital, amongst other companies listed as best to work for by Forbes helping their lead- ers improve effectiveness to accelerate the growth of their teams and ventures. I am reminded everyday as a Latina busi- ness woman that I represent the exception, rather than the rule. Knowing this pushes me to show up better in everything that I do and, at the same time, keeps me humble enough to know that I will always remain a student of life, rather than a master at anything I do. I am passionate about learning. I will always enjoy signing up for a training, getting a certification or developing new skills that will enhance my leadership abilities. I have found that having certifications in my profession has helped open many doors for my business and given me an opportunity to be perceived as an expert in my field, she said. Eizmendiz focuses her work as an influ- ential advisor in bringing solutions to the workplace and bridges the gap between her personal development and executive work in coaching and developing strong leaders and entrepreneurs. I believe in being true to myself and com- mit to always perform at my best at whatever I set my mind to. She has appeared in numer- ous TV, radio and podcast shows where she shares her expert advice for her audience. When asked how did she do it? How did she go from being a college student with no business experience to building a success- ful business consulting and coaching prac- tice? With perseverance, tenacity and a lot of guts she said. Eizmendiz knows that its not about having courage to do the things that scare us, its more about never being scared to do things; its more about doing them even if you are afraid. The only proven way to fail is not trying at all. If you want to keep in touch with Sheena Eizmendiz and learn some of her valuable tips, follow her on social media @sheenaeiz- mendiz or at sheenaeizmendiz.com.
Sheena Eizmendiz is a mindset coach, trainer and keynote speaker on the topics of emotional intel- ligence, DEI, leadership and resilience. She is an influential advisor in the corporate world for Fortune companies and uses her social media as a platform to inform, raise awareness and pro- vide content value to her followers on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. She is passionate about social causes, philanthropy and amplifying the voices of those who are underrepresented by speaking on the topics of truth, change and resilience.
SHEENA EIZMENDIZ
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