SAGHEY BARCENAS, STUDENT REPORTER:
Hello, my name is Saghey Barcenas...
MELANIE RUIZ LOPEZ, STUDENT REPORTER:
and I'm Melanie Ruiz Lopez...
BARCENAS:
from Siendo Primero. And we are here with...
MARIZZA GALINDO, DAUGHTER AND REVIVAL FIX OWNER:
Marizza Galindo
RAQUEL GALINDO, MOTHER AND REVIVAL FIX OWNER:
y Raquel Galindo.
MARIZZA:
I am studying here at NAU Yuma. I'm studying business administration, and I've also been graduating of AWC.
RAQUEL:
And I have a business that is called Revival Fix, and I'm a housewife, mother and a little bit of everything!
RUIZ LOPEZ:
What do you think about students with local businesses working in freelance or entrepreneurs? Like, what's your idea?
RAQUEL:
I think they should take advantage of social media, everything because doing networking and starting on your Instagram like I did in my case, it's like a start, you know?
MARIZZA:
If starting a business is your passion, why not start it early on and explore if that's something that you want to experiment with, have fun with it.
BARCENAS:
Can we know a little bit about how you got started?
RAQUEL:
Well, my story is kind of long, but I'm going to kind of do it like a little short. I started when I was nineteen years old. I emigrated to San Diego because I met my husband. Then we started a family. My daughter was born over there in San Diego. And honestly, it was kind of hard. It was hard. No kind of, it was hard. He got a new opportunity to move to Yuma. And that's where everything started here in Yuma.
MARIZZA:
Okay, so I'm the daughter. I've always had a passion for business. I was always selling anything that I could. I wanted extra money and my parents taught me to work hard. Como Los Mexicanos dicen, 'si quieres algo, vas a trabajar,' entonces yo vendia pulseritas, little bracelets, whatever I could find. I was selling my old clothes. I would go to Mexico during the summer and I would sell my old clothes outside of my grandma's house. I'd be like, 'ah, barato, barato!' I'd be yelling. And then now that I'm here in the United States, I started my own business with my mom and we started on Instagram. So that's probably the easiest way to start a business and get your name out. Now everything is social media. One day we were just walking downtown because we were passing by Cafecito. We saw this building leasing. It was Main Street downtown. So great location. My eyes looked like I was like, oh my God. I was like, 'Ama, Let's do it.' And my mom was like, uh, you're kind of crazy. I called my dad right there, I was a little nervous in the beginning. He called the number, told me how much rent was and then from there, I called, and we went, did an interview with the lady and we're like, 'let's do it!
RAQUEL:
Yeah, my perspective was different. Obviously, as a mother, no quieres apagar los sueños de tus hijos, no? Entonces es como que, ok, cuanto vamos a pagar de renta? Iremos a poder no iremos a poder. Pero mi mama me enseño nunca debes tener miedo. El miedo es lo que te impulsa todos Los sentimos. Pero de ahi hace es el cambio, Como dice Ella Hansen. Like ahora vamos entonces Como familia lo bueno es Q ya habiamos construido una clientela Como se vaya corriendo la voz no es un pueblo chico. Mira aqui estamos ya tenemos tres anos ahi en ese negocio estamos muy contentos.
RUIZ LOPEZ:
Y cual fue la clave para poder crecer tanto?
MARIZZA:
I have OCD, so I have reoccurring thoughts. But you just kind of have to ignore those thoughts and just say, uh, my goal is there and I'm gonna get there and you just have to believe in yourself. That's, that's what I, that's what I would say.
RAQUEL:
Si. Estas haciendo esta chispa lo sientes muchas veces en el Corazon o el estomago mariposas es lo q te voy a hacer levantarse y yo y mi hija Somos polos opuestos o si yo soy muy relajado yo tengo ADHD de la misma manera como relajada soy muy creativa la parte de mi hija es muy organizada y pues si somos mexicanos también tenemos muy bonito character. Somos Como yin and yang y nos complementamos.
BARCENAS:
Why is the local business important for this community? Por qué debe de ser importante en esta ciudad principalmente en Yuma?
RAQUEL:
Somos pequeno negocio pero somos Los que hacemos la diferencia a veces mas aqui nos impacta esa nosotros mismos. De hecho, yo sé si ustedes me Han motivado a mi la verdad trabajar. Mano a mano es muy importante estar en la comunidad de estar en vueltas.
BARCENAS:
And your perspective as a student, what is your advice for the first-generation students or in general students of AWC?
MARIZZA:
It's all in the motivation and just staying positive connecting with people make those connections network. It's a great opportunity. What we have here in AWC, in a smaller community, they pay more attention to us. My parents are my biggest supporters, and that's what made me feel like I could believe in myself. It's really important for you to have a support system that being friends, your cousins, your mom, your dad, of course, your professors. You only need one voice that, like, believes in you, and that's going to motivate you extremely. I feel like anyone can think of someone, even if it's like a stranger you just met.
Like we just met and we're already like, oh, we're connecting. We're like, yeah! You can bounce ideas off of each other. And it's all in the connecting.
BARCENAS:
And we want to know more about your local business. Can we have more information about it?
MARIZZA:
Our business is in downtown Yuma. We are located next to the escape room and in front of Da Boyz. We have vintage clothing all second hand. Everything you will find in the store is going to be second hand. We have occasional boutique items. Everything is sustainable and very cute items that you guys could definitely add to your closet.
RAQUEL:
It's called Revival Fix and finding good products is so hard now. I'm not going to mention other fast fashion, you know, like we already know what fast fashion is, but it's hard. And then we love good quality.
BARCENAS:
We heard already the advice for students. We want to hear your advice for your mother and you for your daughter. What do you want to say for each other?
RAQUEL:
I would like to say to my daughter, but also to all the students that are hearing this podcast that never stop believing in yourself. I'm going to cry now. You don't see it, but I'm going to cry. Whenever you feel like following your dreams, if someone tells you it's not possible, don't believe in that. Everything is possible. You are in a country full of opportunities. Take advantage of all of that. And like Marizza said before, there are so many programs. Take advantage. Just follow your dreams. And the advice that I will tell my daughter is, we always going to be here for you as a family, as your mom, your dad, the whole family, and keep dreaming. There's no limit.
MARIZZA:
Um, I want to say believe in yourself is the biggest thing because we all have just ourselves at the end of the day, and we only need ourselves to believe in. That's what I'm talking about. Like putting yourself out there and don't be shy because we all have something someone else doesn't have.
BARCNENAS:
Thank you so much for sharing this great story. From Siendo Primero...
RUIZ LOPEZ:
I'm Melanie Ruiz Lopez...
BARCENAS:
and I'm Saghey Barcenas.
