Two Michigan businesswomen, Isabel Flores and Zoraida Sanchez have set out to recognize female entrepreneurs with a touch of Latina flare. Being business owners themselves in Grand Rapids, Isabel, Co-Founder of Lazo Cultural a Spanish language newspaper and Zoraida of Sanchez Income Tax and Translation Services LLC recognized the importance of representation. Both understand that shattering glass ceilings and building impactful business as Latina entrepreneurs can bring life defining accomplishments and self-fulfillment.
In 2023, they brought together 15 Latina business owners from various parts of Michigan to share their experiences, hardships, triumphs and advice through storytelling by contributing to the book “Mujeres in Business / Michigan Edition”. Available in English and Spanish versions, the book dedicates a chapter for each woman written by business owners themselves where they can detail in their own words what they have experienced and achieved in their business ventures, sharing with their families and surrounding communities hope and real-life examples of achieving generational wealth.
As founders of Mujeres in Business, Flores and Sanchez offered the collaborators editorial guiding sessions, professional editing and proofreading in both English and Spanish and design and layout of the of the book. They encouraged the women to just tell their stories and not worry about all the other things that comes with writing and publishing a book.
In honor of March being Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day being celebrated globally on March 8, a day dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the cultural, social, economic contributions to society, Davenport University organized an event to celebrate and give voice to this group of women.
On the evening of March 17, Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan invited several of the contributing co-authors of Mujeres en Business Michigan Edition to speak about their entrepreneurial journeys. The night’s theme, Breaking Barriers, brought together more than 60 attendees composed of current students enrolled in Davenport University School of Business and general members of the community eager to celebrate and learn from their business savvy.
The event was organized by Casa Latina, a creation of Davenport University. Casa Latina, led by Executive Director Carlos Sanchez, offers bilingual students dedicated to becoming skilled masters in their chosen fields, an innovative approach to a higher education that utilizes bilingual methodology throughout its curriculum, ensuring that all students graduate proficient in both English and Spanish.
The evening’s panel discussion was led by Casa Latina’s Director of Marketing and Recruitment, Alejandra Guillen. Guillen asserted that despite women being recognized through International Women’s Day, the celebration itself provides a moment to reflect on how much work still needs to be done.
“Around the world women are still fighting for equal opportunities, fair pay, leadership roles and access to capital,” she stated. “Only ten percent of fortune 500 companies are led by women. In entrepreneurship only two percent of venture capital funding goes to women led business”.
Guillen introduced the panelists, Liza Alvarez, a business strategist and leader with more than 25 years of experience, María Erazo, an author and founder of Maria Erazo Enterprises, María Marquez, owner of Marquez Agency, a bilingual insurance agency focused on serving and teaching financial literacy to the Hispanic community, María Fernanda Gómez, a real estate expert and entrepreneur, Nohemi Herrera, a transportation business owner, Alejandra Waters and Isabel López Slattery, founder of the trailblazing Isabel Media Studios dedicated to amplifies diverse voices through visual storytelling.
Sitting alongside each other in a half circle on stage, the six women and co-authors spoke of their business journeys. In listening to all the women, it was clear that all these women had faced various levels of resiliency and created transformational realities for themselves, some fueled by passion, some by a shear necessity to provide for their families.
Collectively the women have begun and led successful business ventures with good old fashion hard work and faith. They set the example that we don’t have to wait for something that is needed in our lives to come to us, we can create and build it ourselves.
Maria Fernanda expressed that it was her first time speaking in front of a large audience in English, which provided a perfect example of how to conquer one’s fears and insecurities and go after what you want. When asked where the idea for Mujeres en Business came from, Flores stated that it came from witnessing firsthand the need to create a women-led group of empowering experiences to build and grow together as they create wealth and legacies.
These women take pride in knowing that through their book and in-person appearances, they have planted seeds of hope to inspire others. It was clear by the end of the night that the women spoke a clear message to not give up when path is not easy and remember that you are not alone. We may often feel like we can’t go on and everything is against us but they invite us to always look inside and find something that will keep you going and the light of hope shining bright. Flores confirmed that they have been so pleased and honored by the response on the first edition that they hope to release the second edition of Mujeres en Business Michigan in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, this Fall 2025
You can learn more about this project and purchase your copy of the book in English or Spanish at www.mujeresinbiz.com.
