Hispanic Lifestyle – A Journey of Surviving to Thrive

From our photo archives | 2001

In 2023, I made the decision that Hispanic Lifestyle was ready to turn the page and focus on our next chapter. Like many companies with a history dating back to 1995, sometimes when you’re clearing out old boxes, you stumble upon photograph that transport you back in time.

One such photo, capturing the moment we received our first U.S. Small Business Administration award, flooded my mind with memories. At that time, Hispanic Lifestyle had been producing a printed magazine for about three years, along with organizing a Latina Conference, a local Hispanic Image Award, and a business conference. Receiving the award was a significant milestone for us.

Reflecting on those early days, I realized I made numerous mistakes. I overestimated the revenue potential of tapping into the expanding Hispanic consumer market and underestimated the true costs of running a business. We endured many proposal processes with corporations only to find them moving in different directions, among other challenges.

Reminds me of the phase, “most start up business owners don’t know, what they don’t know”.

Since receiving the SBA award in 2001, Hispanic Lifestyle has continued to produce in-person events. We produced a PBS-broadcasted television show and now offer streaming 4k HD video programming reaching a global audience. Our goal is to keep moving forward, make as few mistakes as possible and remember why we do what we do. Over the years our approach to publishing has been to make the people we interview the center of attention. Hispanic Lifestyle shares their stories, in their words.

Our journey is not unique. Every business owner and entrepreneur has their own story of survival and growth, and Hispanic Lifestyle is eager to share these narratives with our community. These stories serve as vital reminders of the importance of sharing both our successes and failures with one another.