There will always be obstacles. The moment we overcome an obstacle, another awaits. Reconciling this truth early, creates opportunities to solve problems before they arise. This is us and this is how we live everyday. Might as well make money doing it.

I truly believe it takes a village to create change, yet it also takes vision, heart, and hustle to transform an idea into a reality. Social entrepreneurship has allowed me to heal and create my own journey regardless of my immigration status. I deeply believe our undocumented and mixed status community can be the storytellers and strategists of our own lives.

Use your story as a weapon to conquer the world.

There are going to be some tough questions we are all going to have to answer on our journeys, but stepping out of the comfort zone is part of this.

My entrepreneurship was born out of two things: necessity — because I couldn’t get hired and needed to do something on my own — and passion for my art.

As undocumented immigrants, many of us have inherited the entrepreneurial spirit often times, not by choice but out of necessity. The art of the #UndocuHustle is being able to recognize the value in opportunities where others do not.

As a newly single mom, I needed to find a job where I could work remotely from home while taking care of my daughter. After contemplating my limited options, I started my online accessory store. I was overwhelmed at first because I had to manage my business from beginning to end all by myself. But now, I feel empowered because there are people who love my accessories. I hope my business grows, so that I can hire people who share my passion.

Success is much more than money. Success means you accomplished something you set out to do. You can’t necessarily put a dollar figure on success, and doing so is a disservice to your daily accomplishments.

As immigrants we’ve been resilient our whole lives and that creates persistence that we bring along with us to the business world. You bring that resilience from your immigration status, and you have the mentality that, yes, I can do it. It’s going to take a while, but it’s possible.

La Producción started as a vision for a production company run by undocumented filmmakers. Now, we are bringing on even more undocumented creatives to play key roles in our projects.

My mom is my business partner, being migrant entrepreneurs means fully trusting our vision and gifts that we provide to our community. Through our work, we honor and celebrate women cooks like my mother, brown, Indigenous and chingonas who migrate with knowledge and recipes. Being a business owner and having access to resources in a country that denies us from our existence is an everyday reality in the kitchen for us. Our patrons who find joy, healing and nourishment in our traditional dishes give us our strength to thrive.

Now I say I'm an entrepreneur, because that's what I am.

Before we started the program we didn't know we could start our own business with an ITIN. The program was a perfect fit because we were looking to take the next steps to establish our business.

Growing a business gave me what status took away for so long: Financial security, a decent place to live, and a sense that my talent is treasured. Entrepreneurship became my empowerment, and I’m one of many examples that being paperless does not mean you’re powerless.

I knew that if I ever had an opportunity, like this one, to connect with an organization that cared about mobile vendors I would be first in line to support my people. We still face discrimination, but we know our rights now. We know we deserve dignity and respect.

Being an undocumented entrepreneur presents a lot of challenges and barriers to access. However, there are also many different workarounds and ways to be able to live and sustain yourself. I hope that my experience will help others take those steps.

The drive and the hustle just became natural to me. I was determined never to sit still and never say I couldn't do it, because I know I can always find something to do.