Good Evening…

Now that El Clasificado is successful, I often get interviewed where inevitably the interviewer says "You have a successful business, a college education, a wonderful family and life. How did you overcome the obstacles of being a Latina, how did you break the glass ceiling, overcome prejudices, how did you do it?"

Obstacles? I don’t see obstacles as stop signs. Obstacles are simply potential detours and the opportunities for solutions.

Obstacle #1 Going to college.

My parents, like many of yours, are immigrants and came from Ecuador in the 1950’s with virtually nothing. They came for a better life to be measured by my generation’s success in college. Although we had a modest household, going to college was very simple to my parents. All we had to do was be good, do well in school, get a scholarship and go to college or else…My parents set their standards. They didn’t need money to do this. Anyone can set standards, morals and values. My Grandmother also pressured us to be good students as well as good Catholics. It worked because out of 11 grandchildren, all attended college, 8 graduated and I’m very proud to say that 4 of us graduated from Loyola Marymount.

I was the first to attend LMU. I had many choices and limitations about attending college. Because of scholarships and awards, money was not a limitation. My limitations stemmed from my culture and environment. To begin with, I had opportunities to go to Ivy League schools but my father was not going to let me out of Los Angeles. I lived in Lawndale and never had driven past El Segundo. Second I wanted to live on campus and knew my parents would put up a fight on this too. Furthermore, I had attended a public high school with a low academic reputation and worried that I had not learned good study habits, so I didn’t want to go to a big school where teacher-student interaction was not readily available. I took a few classes as a high school senior at UCLA, but felt lonely and lost.

I had never heard of Loyola but my high school counselor suggested it to me. I came on a tour. My high school was filled with gangs and cliques; it was not a friendly or safe place. When I first visited Loyola everyone greeted me so friendly and polite, I felt safe. But I also felt that because it was close to home and a Catholic University, my parents might find it easier to let me move on campus. Loyola, I decided was the place for me.

Obstacle #2 Moving on Campus

I had the vision to choose LMU so that when I legally became an adult in my sophomore year I would be able announce that I was moving on campus. Commuting to LMU, holding a job and studying was difficult. I got the first C in my life; it was in religion… existentialism. I told my parents that as a commuter, I had to take the leftover religion classes and it was their fault I had to study atheism. Also, if I lived on campus priests and nuns lived in the dorms to watch over us. They fell for it.

Obstacle #3 Living on my own

In 1977 as is now, LMU had one of the strongest accounting programs in the nation. I had originally intended on becoming a fine arts major but settled into accounting because for my family’s sake it seemed more secure. Accounting was demanding and tough. I had never struggled so much in school and although I had scholarships, I still had to work 12 months a year. Scholarships paid for tuition but I was on my own for room and board. My parents would not help me with room and board, they were still waiting for me to come back home. I mostly ate hot dogs and canned beans but the sacrifice was worth it because I needed to learn to live on my own. As a typical young Latin woman, I lived somewhat of a sheltered life and needed to rid myself of fears that my family instilled in me so that I wouldn’t get too curious with life and avoid all dangers. Unfortunately, I grew up in fear of talking to strangers or traveling more than two miles away from home without a family escort. But fortunately, living at LMU cured all that. I learned to take care of myself with no excuses. If I had a problem or got sick, I just had to deal with it and find a solution…otherwise I was going to have to move back home.

Obstacle #4 Graduating and Getting a Job

LMU in the late 70’s was still adjusting to becoming coed. My LMU accounting class was mostly men, there were a handful of girls in my class and one of them is still a very close friend. I don’t recall if there were other Latinos in my particular accounting class. I grew up in a very diverse environment and didn’t really keep track of demographics at the time. There just always seemed to be people from all different backgrounds but our commonalities were that we were mostly catholic, going to a private university, practicing good school work ethics and achieving success upon graduation. I survived my junior year of accounting and didn’t get “weeded out”. Like most of my surviving accounting major colleagues that had worked hard at LMU for 3 and a half years, we all got job offers at the major firms 6 months before graduating. I tasted true success by obtaining an offer from the CPA firm of Arthur Young, now known as Ernst and Young. Going to a good school and working hard really paid off.

Obstacle #5 Entering the Business World

I had worked in Parks and Recs, a bookstore and a restaurant, before graduating. I had no previous exposure to the corporate world: my mom worked in a factory, my neighbor drove an ice cream truck and although my dad had an office job, he was too afraid of ever letting us visit him for who knows what reason. Downtown LA was vibrant, the floors at Arthur Young were marble with a winding brass and marble staircase. I worried that I wouldn’t fit in, know how to act appropriately, was not smart enough to compete with my colleagues and would not survive working intensely for 40 hours a week. Little did I know that working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week would be the norm. My first day at Arthur Young, two LMU alumni took me out to lunch; one was a Latina and the other a former LMU Belle. I felt right at home and so began an intensive experience and the foundation of my business expertise. I got my CPA, and was promoted to manager after five years. I often didn’t mind working the long hours and intensive days because I knew I was learning and getting fantastic experience visiting different types of clients and industries and learning to manage and lead teams of high performing individuals. I was young, had lots of energy and have to admit I loved it. I am very grateful for my years at Arthur Young, where I spent 7 ½ challenging and empowering years under the guidance and training of many experienced minds and mentors who opened my eyes to the business community of Los Angeles, a community where I never before dreamed I could participate. At Arthur Young, where diversity was embraced even before it became trendy, I was transformed into a “business person”, economic advisor, problem solver and team manager. Without this valued experience I could not have worked through the challenges of my future although little did I know I was going to become an entrepreneur.

Obstacle #6 do I do when I grow up?

I left Arthur Young because it was the 1980’s, I was still in my 20’s and I worried that I personally was not going to be able to balance a career as a CPA with a family. Also I met my future husband at Arthur Young and thought it was a good time to leave.

So Arthur Young sent me off with a fantastic going away party to my next career as CFO of La Opinion, the largest Spanish Daily in the nation. La Opinion was one of my clients for several years at Arthur Young. As a manager at AY, I saw the growing interest in the Hispanic market. As I perused the entertainment weeklies I saw more coverage of Hispanic Art and Culture. I thought La Opinion had a lot of potential for growth. So when they offered me the CFO position at the same time I had coincidentally decided it was time to leave AY, I jumped at the offer.

In 1985 La Opinion was considered small; it was a family run business that had outgrown its infrastructure. This career change seemed a bit risky to my parents but I convinced them that if it didn’t work it would still be a great experience and, hey, with an LMU degree, AY background and CPA I still had future job security.

I started from the beginning, built a strategic plan, obtained financing for a new press and realized I needed a controller to run the day-to-day accounting operations. The person I hired was Gil Garcia, who later became the CFO at La Opinion, is also an alumnus of LMU and as of 2004 is the CFO and a co-owner of El Clasificado. It’s good to never burn bridges with your old colleagues. Gil and I maintained an ethical distance for 17 years as competitors but at the right place and right time we were able to reconnect.

At La Opinion, I reported directly to the president and felt I was an Intrapreneur (Someone who runs a company like they own it but without the risk, and with the security of a paycheck every week).

At La Opinion I learned a lot about CASH FLOW and fully understood the words "will I meet payroll this week." When you are down in the trenches of a small business, it’s not about the theory of FASB’s and SAS’s, it’s those little schedules and techniques you learn in intermediate accounting, the practical education that LMU is so famous for that really comes in handy.

Within two years of implementing our strategic plan, La Opinion turned its financial direction to levels it had never seen. But at the end of 1987 I left La Opinion because at that time it was a family business and I essentially had hit the glass ceiling.

While at La Opinion I often wondered why there wasn’t a penny saver in Spanish. In 1987 Classifieds were one of the primary reasons people bought La Opinion. A Spanish-language, free shopper sounded like a good idea Someone should do it. Friends and colleagues also thought it was a great idea and said why don’t I do it. I thought, not me, that’s crazy, I could never be an entrepreneur.

The Hispanic market in the 80’s was booming so. I decided to write a business plan as a challenge. I didn’t really plan to become an entrepreneur; I was really considering going to grad school, getting married and treating myself to a new red convertible SAAB. Well my future husband, Joe, a practical and thrifty CPA really didn’t like the idea of a red convertible SAAB. He thought writing the business plan was a much better financial decision.

So, to meet the growing business interest in the Latino community and culture I wrote the business plan for El Clasificado, modeled after the “Pennysaver” but in Spanish with consumer tips on parenting, health, and education. Some attorneys I knew agreed to fund the publication and gave me a check to get El Clasificado started. I reluctantly launched it, even though less than 50% of the capital I estimated was needed had been raised.

I was supposed to be the sweat equity investor. I bought equipment, leased offices, hired employees with my savings and family capital. Then the major cash investors went bankrupt right after the launch, their investment check bounced, the recession of the 1990’s began early in the Hispanic market and I found myself with an undercapitalized company on the verge of bankruptcy soon thereafter.

Obstacle #7 What have I gotten myself into? Why did I throw away a prestigious career and how will I get out this financial mess that I created?

During the first ten years of operating El Clasificado I had essentially given up on success. I just looked forward to surviving and meeting payroll each week, avoiding bankruptcy and was grateful I still had a husband, my family and some friends left.

Joe and I raised more capital or loans from friends and family. I sold my condo and car, and humbly moved back home. I became the salesperson and marketer while Joe took care of operations after his day job. We struggled, we didn’t take a paycheck for over 10 years, we made mistakes with our business model and everyone said we should just give up and go bankrupt. But my ethics wouldn’t allow me to do this and if it wasn’t for my accounting background I could have never survived to see our present success. The accounting education integrated with a standard of ethics I received from Loyola Marymount ensured that I would not betray our investors and vendors, and this together with the training and experience I received from Arthur Young ensured that good or bad I always knew the Company’s financial position. Even when we didn’t have money, I at least knew exactly how much we didn’t have so I could arrange for credit terms that I could meet. This trust and relationship I developed with creditors kept us afloat … together with a lot of prayers.

We basically had a good idea with El Clasificado and just had to find the right model. We had the time to find the right model because of the emotional and financial support of family, friends and employees who believed in what we were doing.

Gratitude and appreciation is a daily exercise and I believe key to my success:

• I am grateful to my parents for finally saying they wouldn’t loan me any more money but would work without pay.
• I am grateful to our employees in the early years who often went home Fridays without a paycheck but remained loyal to now see their own personal success as managers at our Company.
• I am grateful to Fr. Merrifield and the Board members of MAAA who reached out to me to get involve and give back, and it’s okay that I’m not Mexican, I can still join.

I am very lucky to have family, friends, employees, fellow LMU alumni and fans of El Clasificado who have given me such generous support to overcome obstacles, that I mostly created myself through inexperience and overconfidence. But we all worked hard together to find solutions, we all made sacrifices, and fortunately our vision has become a reality and financially successful for all of us.

What’s next…

Obstacle #8 Finding success, but is our management team capable of taking El Clasificado to a new level? Have my husband and I reached our limits of expertise to lead the company, Will new Latinos who are on Craigslist, MySpace and Dacebook, read El Clasificado and Al Borde? Should we sell, or should we step down? If we make the wrong decision will we degrade the value of our company?

Deciding to become an entrepreneur takes a lot of honest self-analysis. You need to evaluate the adequacy of your skills, identify your strengths and weaknesses and most of all assess how much risk you are willing to take. The difficult years put a lot of pressure, both financial and emotional, on my family and friends. It took a lot of self-sacrifice, humbling and tenacity to not give up. But now the competition has noticed us. The competition is getting very fierce from Hispanic, non-Hispanic, and non US businesses who want to buy us, copy us or crush us. This is the price of success.

So is this an obstacle? No, it is just a wake-up call that we have to build a stronger infrastructure; find hidden values in our company that can be converted to new emerging media; find, grow and retain top talent; sharpen our knowledge and skills and take a few risks to stay ahead of the competition. We have over one hundred employees and feel responsible for their careers and livelihood. We need to keep our company strong for their sake as wells as ours.

Regardless, of what you choose to do after college I recommend that you obtain and maintain good study habits. Get the best grades that you can. Gain knowledge and skills: the skills to think and be creative, the skills to solve problems and not be afraid of challenges. But don’t just get a good academic education at LMU. Gain character and moral fortitude. Balance your education with various job experiences, physical recreation, family and social interaction and spiritual inspiration. Focus on your objectives and balance your needs to build your foundation. Then when you get your degree you will be ready to face the challenges of life, and welcome all opportunities placed at your feet. This is the foundation you walk away with when you graduate from Loyola Marymount. It’s the foundation that you build on for the rest of your life.

So my Tips for success in the business world, from a child of immigrants’ perspective are…

• Have a positive attitude. Never say “I can’t do it.” Find solutions.
• Don’t use your ethnicity, race or gender as an excuse to get more than is fair.
• Embrace the strengths of both our Latin and American cultures.
• Never say "That’s not my job" or consider any job beneath you.
• Don’t judge a person until you walk a mile in their shoes.
• Remember the Serenity Prayer: "Accept the things you cannot change, have courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
• Never miss an opportunity to gain more knowledge or experience even if you don’t get paid for it.
• Always base your decisions on facts or inadequately researched or substantiated opinions.
• Be a mentor, help other young Latinos, especially the ones who don’t have a family support system.
• Don’t be afraid to take measured risks, you will learn from your mistakes and greatly appreciate your success.

Be appreciative and grateful everyday – it takes a lot of effort and achievement to be a MAAA scholar – be grateful for where you are and how you got here.

El Clasificado and Al Borde are now very successful. We’ve been able to turn down all the major publishing media with interests to buy us. It’s too late. Being an entrepreneur is now fun. Watching our employees (many of whom started with us in high school) grow from having nothing, to owning their own homes, raising families and future LMU grads, is so fulfilling. We are very fortunate and I thank my family, God and Loyola Marymount for the opportunity to have received an education I am very proud to use in my daily life. Thank you.

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