We recently connected with Sara Rojas and have shared our conversation below.
Sara , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Hello there! Thank you for reading this, let me introduce myself: I’m Sara Rojas, a 27 years, mom, entrepreneur and small business owner! Thanks to my imports business I’m here doing this amazing collaboration . My business name: A little piece of Mexico a small little imports shop where at less 80% of our merchandise is family-made and I proudly practice fair trade with artisans from Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla & Jalisco. ( All in Mexico )
I have worked since I was 12 years old, and although I had a plan for my school education I decided to leave university at the age of 19. It is there where I can say that life is not always as you plan it but I have the firm idea that even so you have the reins of your own life and you control the attitude you have in adversity.
I know , is difficult for almost everyone at a young age to know what we want to do with our lives when we grow up, but even more difficult to figure out how to achieve it & when the going gets tough, most quit or go back to a “comfort area.”
and with this I come to the answer to the question: How did you find your purpose?
Easy to say but really hard to go through; leaving your comfort zone.
I had to leave my home, my relationship, my job, my school, my country and move to a new place where I spoke 5% of the language there, where I didn’t know anyone to ask for a job, I didn’t have a car (I didn’t know how to drive )
I didn’t have what it took to get into a new school, it’s was hard.
All of us at some point have gone through small (or even major changes) that force us to go through a different situation than usual, a situation that makes us learn something new, such as driving because you don’t have a ride, talking to someone new because you need indications of something, change jobs, etc
And many of us do this and never admire ourselves or acknowledge the effort we put in to learn or go through those changes.
When I finally had the courage to start my business I had many failures, I was unaware of things, and I had many fears. I didn’t want to talk to anyone because I was afraid of being wrong or not understanding, but I also had my personal insecurities, like being alone, always depending on someone and not being able to give my daughter the basics, led me to think that I’d rather disappear because I could never do it.
So my fears, the limits that I set for myself, and my insecurity led me to a corner where I only had two options. Living in a job I don’t like for 50 years, depending on someone forever and being unhappy for all that time or starting to believe that I could do all those things that my insecure self told me I couldn’t; which were to express myself freely, help my family, give my daughter a good life and above all help my family and as many people as possible.
So I started with “the beginning” which was realizing the people who were my support around me, my family. And little by little I started working on what I found to be my greatest weakness: feeling comfortable expressing my culture, my language, my beliefs and my roots, for some reason I felt that people saw me less for not knowing how to speak English or for not understanding what they told me
Once I was doing very small things but that were difficult for me and I recognized the effort I had to put into each one of them, a confidence grew in me that led me to be ready to express this: who I am! what I do, what I like, where I come from, my story and it has led me to wonderful things like these great interviews!
And as you know, in my business I sell things made by my family, things that are a great representative of my culture, things that mark stories, not just mine but that connect a lot of people! I have heard many stories and memories about Mexico, families, vacations, weddings and I realized that what I was embarrassed to talk about was something very nice that connected many people.
That many people value our work, treasure it with love and fill it with memories
And that is where I realized that my purpose is not to earn millions, or to have the biggest business in the world, but to connect people and memories through my store, myself and my story, and of course I have goals to grow my business, and the more pieces we sell, the more we connect with more families, but not only that, but I have the opportunity to help my family, to be able to give my daughter a good life and to help at least 12 more families in Mexico who live from the talaveras and other handicrafts that we sell here. 🫶🏻
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
If you like stories about small business entrepreneurs starting with no knowledge or if you like Talavera and Artesanias Mexicanas I really hope you enjoy this interview.
As a Mexican, I am proud to share pieces that my family and friends make with talent, patience, and love, and that here in the USA are valued and appreciated with respect and often nostalgia.
At A little piece of Mexico we not only sell unique pieces of decoration hand-painted with 100% handmade processes for your garden and each; now we also offer personalized products for your most special moments such as weddings, quinceañeras, baptisms, events, festivals and much more.
In the same way, we offer an exclusive catalog of personalized pieces for restaurants, as well as wholesale for those who think about starting a business and sharing their culture with more people.
We are also working on our first cultural event planned for the last weekend of October or the first weekend of November, we are excited to offer a full day of real Mexican experience! I hope you guys can follow us on fb and IG for the upcoming details!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Through the path of opening a small business with zero experience in that I can say that I have learned many tools and have taken a lot of experience to improve and make my business an experience to enjoy every time you come to visit us.
The first thing that my business forced me to do was to learn the English language in the best possible way; after that the organization and staying motivated to give my best to my business, without the motivation to grow and improve this would simply become a routine which is something I could not stand.
Working on personal insecurities is another thing that I really recommend doing even while you are already in the business, there are always ups and downs in any business, there are clients that are a little more demanding than others and many times you will fail and you will receive many. no” as an answer, so you must work on your personal security and faithfully believe that the business you are starting will always be the best version of itself.
As an extra tip, it would be to have clear goals, what do you want to do with your business?
Where do you want to take your business? And little by little find a plan that will lead you to achieve that goal, never forget to add new goals and visions so that you never get stuck in a common business, that your business always has a special spark that people enjoy or new things that catch the eye. attention
Finally read, research your business niche, now with social networks and the internet it is easy to learn about people with great success and their best tips for having successful businesses
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
I have mentioned it on many occasions; My family is the main pillar of my business, they are all a fundamental part of it and they are all intelligent and talented as well as hard workers.
From each of them I feed the essence of my business, for example my daughter is my main motivation to which I mainly dedicate all the success that my business is having and the one that makes me get up every day and face many things that if I were I couldn’t alone
On the other hand, my parents, who are the mind of the business, my father helps me with administration and investment in the business, my mother and my sister feed the innovation of the business, and bring ideas to attract new clients.
Another important part of my family helps me with the entire export process from Mexico, manufacturing of our merchandise, packaging, shipping, and with the experience he has in sales and business.
And of course all the talented artisans and family behind each piece we sell! No room for mistakes if they weren’t so talented
And as the cherry on the cake, our customers are another pillar on which our business depends 100%, not only because they purchase our products but also because of the connection that is made with the vast majority of them and how every time they come they give us great ideas. how to grow, reach more people and give us references of places we can go to learn more about business
Thank you truly thank you to each and every one of them!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.littlepieceofmx.com
- Instagram: @littlepieceofmx
- Facebook: fb.com/littlepiecemx
- Other: Do not forget we have a store front located at the 907 E Alamo St, Brenham Tx
