Listen to this articleOKLAHOMA CITY – Some might say being in your 50s is too late to switch careers and start a business, but Cesar and Nelly Acosta were determined to reach their own version of success through entrepreneurship.
Cesar was a mental health professional for many years, but eventually the urge to start a small business became too strong.
“I quit my job and decided to work on my American dream,” Cesar said.
The couple opened 66 Auto Care & Tires in 2019 in south Oklahoma City as a family business with a focus on vehicle repair and maintenance and application of the lean manufacturing model, but just as the flow began, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite unanticipated struggles, Cesar said the business is back on a promising trajectory, but he needed guidance, so he signed up for a local business accelerator for Latino entrepreneurs.
Cesar was one of the 11 business owners who participated in StitchCrew’s eight-week OKC Latino Accelerator, which just concluded earlier this month. Erika Lucas, co-founder of the organization dedicated to increasing equitability in the economy through entrepreneurship, said the fall cohort was composed of a wide variety of companies that received support through the program from established Latino business leaders and capital providers.
The second cohort heard from more than 20 mentors. Cesar said he gained a wealth of knowledge from those discussions and Q&A sessions, most notably the value of a local network.
“Networking is something that I had not considered, and I now understood how important it is,” Cesar said. “It was an opportunity to start making business connections.”
Karlina Leon also described her experience participating in the accelerator as an opportunity to meet like-minded entrepreneurs and receive tips to help her succeed in the business world. Leon’s business was born from her deep-rooted passion for creating memorable events. Her role in public relations in the oil and gas industry in Venezuela, where she oversaw corporate events for four years, grew her passion for planning and design.
Now, as the owner of Oklahoma City-based Karly Party Design, Leon operates with the belief that any occasion offers a chance to create something memorable. She was motivated to participate in the accelerator to receive guidance that’s often lacking for minority-owned businesses, but said she ended up receiving much more.
The experience has been influential for her event planning business, Leon said. She already has implemented strategies and advice provided by the mentors and has started to develop collaborations from partnerships established during the eight-week program.
“The mentors emphasized the importance of strong financial management, marketing strategies, and building a robust support network. They stressed the need to have a clear vision and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions,” Leon said. “It was invaluable to gain insights on scaling my business effectively.”
In addition to business coaching, participants receive a $15,000 non-dilutive grant and access to workspace at Thunder Launchpad, sponsored by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
For Rosa Alvarado and Rey Diaz, co-owners of The Drunk Goat, a food truck business that serves birria tacos and signature snacks such as dorinachos and flaming chips, the grant will allow them to free up capital to spend on their effort to establish a retail presence.
“Hopefully some of our stuff is going to be able to be at 7-Eleven and Walmart,” Alvarado said. “The accelerator made me go from thinking of myself as just a small food truck to a whole business. That would be the ultimate goal, because we do have things that can be pre-packaged and sold, and I know people would love it.”
Jenifer Saiz, president of Compliance Consulting Concepts, was among the mentors who shared their experience and provided guidance to help participants reach their first $1 million in revenue. She stressed the importance of building an early foundation through the right principles and focuses.
Saiz has a 25-year government contracting background and seven years of experience as a business owner. In the early-growth stage where the accelerator participants were at, she said it’s important to take care of the first employees and implement the right processes.
“Don’t worry about the profits at first, then everything’s going to be great all the way through,” Saiz said. “Take care of your people and the profits will come.”
Saiz gave participants words of caution based on what she’s seen from some early-stage entrepreneurs. A common mistake from business owners in their infancy, she said, is trying to over-diversify skill sets in their employees.
“Entrepreneurs tend to stay away from hiring people with similar skill sets they have, because they think in their mind, ‘I’m doing that already, so I don’t need somebody to do that,’ but what happens is, it gets they get overwhelmed and can’t continue to grow the business without burnout,” Saiz said.
StitchCrew will host two cohorts next year. Saiz encourages Latino business owners to consider applying.
“If someone is looking to take their business to the next level, this is an opportunity to get some great mentorship from people who have lived it, breathed it and are so familiar with what it takes to be able to grow,” Saiz said. “Looking strategically, from an operational and financial standpoint, it could just open up several doors.”
