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HICLEAN Dry Cleaning and Laundry

In 2016, Ana Guzmán and Joseph Santiago founded HiClean Dry Cleaning and Laundry after parting ways with a franchised dry-cleaning establishment. Choosing to invest their savings, they inaugurated two stores in Bayamón and added another a year later. Much like numerous small enterprises, the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 in Puerto Rico cast a shadow, prompting them to pivot their strategies. They diversified their services, introducing home and business delivery, and leveraged their client database for direct communication and special offers. Initially grappling with a sales dip, their resilience, aided by financial support and innovative adaptations, ensured their continued operations.

Embarking on the PULSO program, they initially aimed to franchise their business. However, the program’s guidance led them to a pivotal decision—postponing franchising plans in favor of opening their fourth store. This decision involved implementing the innovative insights gleaned from PULSO.

Ana emphasized how PULSO served as a catalyst, jolting them from the routine and prompting a transformative overhaul of all their stores. She elucidated that they had been immersed in day-to-day tasks without contemplating business expansion. Joseph credited PULSO’s workshops and mentorships, particularly the Marketing and Digital Presence track by Brands of Americas and the Business Plan Innovation track by INprende, for propelling their Riverview location to its most successful sales year.

The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) played a crucial role in facilitating financing for the new machines and equipment needed for their fourth store. Ana and Joseph highlighted the streamlined process with LEDC, contrasting it favorably with their past experiences with private banking institutions.

Beyond the physical transformation of their businesses, they noted that, prior to PULSO, HiClean had a limited presence on social media. Grateful for Brands of Americas mentorship sessions, they now actively build an online presence, reaching a wider audience. The business plan guide from INprende surpassed their expectations, providing a focal point for their objectives.

Joseph stressed the significance of ongoing education for small business owners, citing how PULSO, despite his managerial background, provided fresh insights. He advocated for the proliferation of programs like PULSO, asserting that the dynamic nature of business demands continual learning. Ana echoed this sentiment, urging all small business owners to embark on a PULSO-like experience at the outset of their journey to enhance their understanding of business dynamics and minimize mistakes.

While their initial expectations from the program centered around developing a business plan, their PULSO experience not only inspired confidence but also propelled them to open their fourth store. Reflecting on their journey, they took pride in persevering through adversities like hurricanes, earthquakes, and the pandemic. Their sales now surpass pre-threat levels, and they proudly proclaim, “We are now the top Dry-Cleaning store in the municipality of Bayamón, and our new store will be the top one in Guaynabo.”

Pika Pika Productions continued...

Jennilys Lajara-González founded Pikapika Productions with hopes of making a positive change in Puerto Rico after she left for 3 years after Hurricane María, felling she owed it to her homeland. After the pandemic hit in 2020, she decided to return to the place that truly made her happy, and upon returning, was shocked at what appeared to be a different Puerto Rico: a place where people were standing up more for what they believed in, what they deserved, and were determined to make positive changes to improve the island’s future. As a starting point, Lajara started networking among leaders from several nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs and began making fundraising events for them, in what would be the start of Pikapika Productions.

Lajara shares that her business was born “in reverse”. She explains that prior to submitting to PULSO, Pikapika was not even a registered business, although she was already getting requests from potential clients. She knew she still required taking essential steps to formally launch her business, such as a business plan, permits, insurance and access to capital. Still, Lajara was completely lost on how to go about this. “I had the product, but needed help correctly structuring the business”, reports Lajara. Moreover, she explained that she knew she needed a team of mentors that were not only great, but were the best at what they did. After viewing a Facebook ad about the CNPP program, PULSO, she researched spokes and thought this was the opportunity she had been looking for.

Lajara was not disappointed. During an interview, she elaborated that each spoke brought essential knowledge that not only helped her business but also helped her aid the organizations to which she provided services to. Spoke Colmena66 was the first to provide Lajara with guidance, receiving a personalized action plan with referrals to other support services that could establish a baseline for her journey, as well as leveraging the network of entrepreneurial support organizations in Puerto Rico. Lajara explains that this was extremely useful for her, as she identified a lot of available resources that were already at ther disposition but did not know.

Spoke Centro para Emprendedores was also very helpful for Lajara’s journey in building her business. Before coming into PULSO, she had encountered numerous hurdles and was overwhelmed by the bureaucratic and administrative work that the state requires. Centro para Emprendedores helped her map out a process where she could complete all the missing steps for her to have her business properly established without interfering with the boost of clients she was receiving.

Lajara also expressed several times her immense gratitude for spoke INprende’s mentor Natalia Bonderenko and their team. This stage proved to be one of the most helpful for her in terms of taking her services to a new level, challenging her to produce something different and innovative, opening her mind and business to new opportunities that have proved fruitful for her in the months ahead, securing more clients and collaborations.

The Pikapika owner also appreciated being “being called out” by her mentors from Brands of Americas, after seeing the amazing things he had been doing, but not visibilizing any of ther initiatives. She went on to describe how this spoke’s counseling made realize the importance of taking advantage of what showcasing her work in social media could do to reach more clients. Since then, she has started documenting everything and participating in other social media platforms she had not considered before. This has resulted in new alliances and a broader network of clients and collaborators.

Lastly Lajara also benefited from spoke the Latino Economic Development Center’s services, receiving valuable insights about what lenders are typically searching for when a business applies for financial assistance programs, loans, or any other financial aid.

Today Pikapika Productions is a thriving business, with new and potential clients and partners thanks to CNPP services. Pikapika is a properly established business, it has a well-researched business plan, marketing efforts that are expanding and reaching new audiences through social media platforms, and an operational system that provides her with insights about the results of her marketing strategies. In our interview, Lajara adds that – just as importantly – she no longer feels like she is raising a business her own, and is grateful for the resources, support and knowledge she received from the PULSO team and the community she now feels is there to continue supporting her, which she describes as “best team possible”.

“What advice would I give to people that are starting a business or already have a business? Learn about Pulso NOW! I even sent out invitations to people for Cohort 3. Because it’s important to educate yourself and keep learning. Because even though you may have a bachelor’s degree in business administration from 20 years ago, the world evolves, people change and everything changes and you need to keep changing, learning, and growing with it. And my recommendation for people who are thinking about being an entrepreneur or already are, is to always look out for resources such as this one. If this is your life’s work – like it is for me, you need to be accompanied by people who actually know. And if you have the opportunity to participate in a program like PULSO, (which is free!) you need to invest your time in it.” – Jennilys Lajara, owner of Pikapika Productions and {uerto Rico CNNP client.

Tráime continued...

Javier Orlando Cordero Ríos and his partner Keshia Odette García Cabán founded “Tráime” during the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico, with hopes of having an additional income and make what they thought was an innovative idea come to life. Although Javier had previous experience being a business owner, neither Javier nor Keshia had a formal educational background in business. Javier has a college degree in Political Science and Keshia has a master’s degree in criminal justice, but both were able to manage several businesses thanks to Javier and his family’s experience managing multiple local businesses.

“Tráime” is a service-oriented business that finds solutions for other businesses and entrepreneurs who are establishing their company. They provide services such as logistics, permit acquisitions, business assessments, merchandise transportation, and more. Prior to their participation in the PULSO program, “Tráime” was generating a healthy income by providing services to various clients, but the owners were worried about the longevity of the business. How would they keep this successful business model after the pandemic? In addition, Javier and Keshia were building their services from scratch, contacting several professionals to help them with the operations of their business and with their own clients. Due to their lack of knowledge, they had to invest both time and money in tasks they were unable to handle independently.

According to both owners, PULSO provided them with the necessary knowledge to address various gaps. Additionally, the mentors affirmed the innovative nature of their business and confirmed they were on a promising trajectory. They described how counseling from spoke INprende was instrumental in identifying business opportunities and realizing the need to strengthen their businesses rather than spreading themselves thin across multiple clients. This shift allowed them to concentrate on delivering more comprehensive services to a select group of clients, leading to significant time and cost savings, and ultimately increase their revenue.

Furthermore, they highlighted unanimous mentor consensus on the importance of enhancing their digital presence to attract more customers. Although they lacked the tools and knowledge for this, spoke Brands of Americas came to their aid by devising a content strategy and initiating the development of a landing page. This digital transformation not only improved their visibility but also helped streamline their operations and reduce the need for additional personnel.

Both owners expressed their gratitude and relief for the robust business ecosystem in Puerto Rico and praised PULSO for providing comprehensive support in a structured manner. Overwhelmed at first, they found PULSO instrumental in guiding them through various aspects of their business.

Less than a year into the PULSO program, “Tráime” is already hiring a part-time employee and has witnessed increased customer acquisition through their revamped social media strategy and services offering. They are even considering acquiring a physical location to expand their operations, particularly in client merchandise storage. Strategies developed and implemented through the program has enabled them to achieve their financial projections faster than anticipated.

The participants expressed deep gratitude for the program, as well as their desire for more iterations of PULSO across the entire island. They suggested tailored versions of the program for individuals with business ideas, startups, and established businesses. They firmly believed that participation in such programs should be mandatory for all business owners, as it could minimize bankruptcies, enhance the longevity of seasonal businesses, and contribute to overall economic growth.

As a final thought, Javier and Keshia expressed: “We recommend the program 100% because it has helped us in every aspect – not only as business owners and tangible results, but as human beings. There’s nothing like having the company experts and the positive energy that other business owners transmit”.

N'Corcho continued...

His business is the first and only one in Puerto Rico that distributes innovative handbags and other accessories made from sustainably harvested cork. At first it was a challenge to convince people that these were high-quality products, because people normally associate cork with wine bottles and nothing else. Despite that, Morgan promptly started to move the product, making outstanding sales in festivals and major events in Puerto Rico. After seeing his huge success during these initial months, he decided to bet on himself and his business and invested all of his savings and earnings in new merchandise. Unfortunately, just days after his big investment, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the island and caused a complete lockdown – shutting down all events and malls island wide. This left Morgan with no liquid assets, no source of income and a house full of products that did not have a point of sale. Desperate, he turned to sell his products on the streets or wherever he could but was understandably worried about the image his brand would now portray. He really wanted to maintain his brand’s high-end look but was struggling to make ends meet.

Although Morgan was able to open a store in a prominent northern region mall once social distancing measures were dialed down, he was still worried about his venture’s future. 2021 was a year in which both people and small businesses received financial relief aid, which allowed clients to continue buying his products, allowing his business to stay afloat. He anticipated that 2022 would be different, as financial aid became less available. He desperately needed entrepreneurial training to ensure that his business could bounce back and continue growing.

When Morgan entered SBA’s community navigator pilot program in Puerto Rico, PULSO, he confessed he was very skeptical about the training he was going to receive, worried they would be a waste of time. His worries and skepticism faded away as soon as he began his first stage of the program, with spoke Colmena66. He described this as an enlightening moment that set the tone for the rest of this journey. During this stage Morgan was provided with a roadmap called “Tu Camino Empresarial” (Your entrepreneurial roadmap), which clearly detailed trails of business support programs and organizations that could help entrepreneurs and SME’s in establishing and growing their business, no matter what stage they were in. Morgan explained how he shifted to a more optimistic outlook, feeling that he was beginning to understand that he was not alone in this journey. Following the program’s second stage, “Business 101” led by spoke Centro para Emprendedores, Morgan was surprised at how mentors explained typically complex terms in ways that were easier for him to understand and apply to his business. The program’s third stage led by spoke INprende allowed him to better understand who his target client was, and that his current location may not be the place where they would typically go shopping, making him reconsider his point of sale. N’Corcho also benefited from the manual that this stage provided to improve his business plan, making it easier to plan ahead and make future projections. In addition to this stage, he also benefited greatly from the tools that spoke Brands of Americas provided him during the “Marketing and Digital Presence” stage, which helped him develop a more structured plan towards gaining more brand recognition in the Puerto Rican market. He also acknowledged that his social media skills received a major boost and that this, combined with his plans to expand, will duplicate sales and increase brand recognition in Puerto Rico.   

Morgan explains that following the program’s services, he now feels more confident about N’Corcho’s future, especially now that he has developed his support network with PULSO’s mentors and peers. After going through most of the program’s curriculum, Morgan was ready to apply for financing to implement his plans to expand based on his newfound knowledge obtained in PULSO. With the help of the spoke Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC), Morgan was able to structure his business’ finances and work on his loan readiness. LEDC was also able to guide Morgan through his loan application, which was ultimately approved for $45,000. 

After months of only having one point of sale and one part-time employee, Morgan is set to open a second location in a mall with higher traffic, recruiting 3 additional employees starting December 1st, 2022. In addition to that, Morgan was finally approved to receive a $45k loan thanks to the guidance from Latino Economic Development Center, the organization that led PULSO’s last stage. Morgan expresses immense gratitude for the support he has received from the CNPP consortium, insisting that given the chance, he would do it all over again.  

Wafol Café Success Story

Both were self-taught entrepreneurs, with completely different career and education paths (Alexander studied Electrical Engineering and Calibration, and Daphne was in the Natural Sciences field). By reading books they managed to learn about how to establish and run a restaurant. Prior to the program’s impact on Wafol Café, this innovative restaurant had a very distinctive business model. The restaurant had no servers and was based on a self-serve business model that allowed customers to come in and make their own waffles and breakfast by adding the toppings that they desired.

However just 1 month after its opening in December 2019, Puerto Rico was struck by a series of earthquakes and 3 months after that, the first COVID-19 patients were confirmed and Puerto Rico was put under a mandatory lockdown. These measures put a serious strain on many entrepreneurs and small business owners like Alexander and Davny. In their case, they were able to partially resume their business after restrictions dialed down. Still, local regulations only allowed 50% capacity in restaurants, which ultimately pushed Wafol Café towards re-inventing their original business model into a dine-in experience with servers, while also implementing delivery services.

PULSO’s stage-based assistance allowed Alexander and Daphne to overcome many of the challenges that they were facing, specifically in reassessing their original business plan to consider pre-existing and new challenges through the Business Assessment, Business 101 and Business Plan innovation stages of PULSO. In an interview with the CNPP Hub team Davny recalls that after a counseling session with spoke, Centro Para Emprendedores, they discovered that the way they were managing their inventory was part of the reason behind their cash flow limitations.

Thanks to these services being provided early in the program, Davny and Alexander were able to learn about how discarded products, employee meal benefits and price inflation increased costs per unit, and how to adjust their pricing strategy to stay on top of it.

They then began developing a standardized system to help them have more control of their finances. In addition, program services allowed Davny and Alexander to become aware that 40% of their sales revenue came from a specific product, which ultimately led them to develop a sales strategy to continue driving revenue through their star product. Additionally, counseling sessions made them realize that they were overlooking their weekday consumers (such as employees from nearby offices, parents that take their kids to school early in the morning, and retired/elderly people that live in the area), which represented an additional business opportunity for growth. The program’s innovation sessions with other cohort participants were especially helpful for Davny and Alexander in identifying additional business opportunities.

By connecting with other entrepreneurs from Vega Baja and nearby municipalities they concluded that their area did not have sufficient food delivery options, which was an area of opportunity to expand their services. The duo is now developing the second phase of their business plan that considers a rebranding effort that includes a new webpage connected to a new delivery system to help them take advantage of the opportunity and reach their ideal customer. As their business slowly moves into the digital experience, they recognize how workshops from spoke Brands of Americas are helping them ensure the successful implementation of these efforts.

After having an original plan where they only contemplated 3 employees, they now have 14 employees and are in the process of restructuring their kitchen and buying advanced equipment to help them achieve their projected production capacity. What began as a part-time venture, is now a full-time source of income. They both expressed that since enrolling in the program they no longer feel like they’re raising a business on their own, and their progress has made it possible for Alexander to quit his day job and make his living wage completely off their business.

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Business assessment, profiling, and referral