One of the things I’m most passionate about is inspiring young people, women, and people of color to create their own paths to success. That path will look different from person to person, but whenever possible I encourage entrepreneurship. It’s a lifestyle for me. Since I’m such an entrepreneur at heart, you can pretty much bet I’m up to somet hing business wise . . . even if you don’t always see it. Right now that something is salsa.
Not long ago, my fun family starred in our own web series that featured our family antics AND recipes. I Executive Produced the show, along with my friend Maureen Aladin of Twelve18 Media. We called the show Comida Caliente. After building some buzz, and seeing that we got good feedback from the web series, I wondered how we could move on from there. Then I remembered . . . the salsa. Our special family recipe salsa was a much loved staple at our family’s restaurant in Baytown, TX in the late eighties. I convinced my Dad to help with some of the upfront costs, as an investment. Then we rallied together; my siblings, Mom and everyone. We named the salsa after the show. And that was that! Comida Caliente Salsa was born.
Fast forward to now. We are boosting our food product’s brand in lots of ways. ONE OPPORTUNITY that I was really excited about was getting to share the salsa I love with one of my favorite cities. My mom & I traveled to New York, to participate in a Pop Up Shop featuring Latino owned companies. I lived in NYC for some time after I finished college. It was a great, new and challenging experience that taught me a lot about myself. Anytime I get to return to the city, especially if I get to visit friends who still live there, is great time for me. So, I was super excited to be a part of this awesome event hosted by People en Español.
We met so many cool business owners, as well as a few artists, and a got a great response to our salsa! Apparently, people in New York were pleasantly pleased to find an authentic Texas-style, family recipe salsa in the big apple. Makes sense.
We had a great time, and of course took in a few of the city’s sights before we packed up to head back home. It’s always fun traveling with my Mom. And, I’m finding that building this salsa business together gives us an additional reason to bond. We spend time learning, laughing and sharing our salsa with hungry, happy faces all over the place.
Being in business for yourself, and your family, is a journey like no other. I’ve learned more than I could’ve imagined I would. It gives me a sense of pride and purpose to hear that other young women, or anyone, is inspired by my journey to start their own thing . . . or to stick with something they started a while ago. That’s why, for me, these little jars of goodness are so much more than just salsa. Good news for you is, they are also pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself.
You can read more about Comida Caliente Salsa, here
OR BETTER YET, get yourself a few jars, here