The Essentials of a Successful Business session (L-R): Nick Delgado,
President, Dana Rebecca Designs; Maria Boykin, Program Manager,
Women Business Enterprise Council-West, and Delia Gomez, Economic
Development Specialist, WBC—District Office Technical Representative,
SBA, as moderator.
Entrepreneurs Spotlight: Learning Strategies for Success session
(L-R): Moderator Maria Powell, Associate Broker, Help-U-Sell Galleria Realty,
Executive Producer and Host, Maria Powell TV show; Mary Rabago, President &
CEO, Mary Rabago Productions; Maria D. Parra Cano, Owner & Mami-preneur,
Sana Sana, Indigena and Ironwood Metal Works, and Maria Lipp, President
& Founder, Spotlight Media Services.
LATINA Style Business Series
By Tania G. Davila
Photos by Jeff Mays
Phoenix, AZ
The LATINA Style Business Series is
an award-winning program for Latina
entrepreneurs attracting Latina
professionals to an interactive
business development program
where Latina business owners, key
corporations, and government agencies
provide services to entrepreneurs.
Over 35,000 Latina entrepreneurs in
over 130 cities have participated in
the Series since its inception in 1998.
The series is also an opportunity for
corporations to recruit potential suppliers.
(L-R) Heidi Renpenning, Emmy
award-winning, News
Anchor/Reporter, Univision
Arizona; LATINA Style
Entrepreneur of the Year: Mary
Rabago, President & CEO, Mary
Rabago Productions, LLC, and
Robert E. Bard, President & CEO,
LATINA Style, Inc.
Marking its 132nd stop of the Business Series
tour, the series was held in Phoenix, AZ, on
October 4, 2018, at the Sheraton Grand Phoenix
hotel. Maria Fabiola Portillo, Reporter
and Producer of Arizona PBS welcomed
attendees during breakfast and proceeded
with introducing Robert E. Bard, president
& CEO, LATINA Style, Inc. to the stage.
“A lot continues to happen since our last
LATINA Style Business Series conference
hosted here in Phoenix a few years ago,” stated
Bard. “How are the changes impacting your
business? Your life? We have brought together
a number of experts to help you sort things
out, avoid the pitfalls and be ready to respond
and take advantage of the opportunities that
will be presented to you. We can only imagine
all the challenges we will be facing moving
forward, but that’s nothing new. We are
confident that as a powerful and resourceful
Latina you will find a way to make it all work.
Latinas continue to be the fastest growing
segment of the small business community,
they are excelling all over the country.”
Attendees were also welcomed with remarks
by Vanessa Hyden, Quality Assurance Manager
at Nationwide. “Nationwide is extremely
honored to be here today to support Latina
entrepreneurs in the Phoenix community,”
she stated.
The first workshop, The Essentials of a
Successful Business was moderated by Delia
Gomez, Economic Development Specialist,
WBC—District Office Technical Representative,
Small Business Administration. Panelists
included Nick Delgado, President, Dana
Rebecca Designs, and Maria Boykin, Program
Manager, Women Business Enterprise
Council-West.
“When seeking for capital I would suggest
you put yourself in the capital provider’s
shoes… imagine if you were the investor; if
you were the borrower. That is an important
perspective,” said Delgado.
12 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 24, No. 5, 2018
/www.latinastyle.com
