Ecuador. My name is Pualina Yacelga Aguilar. I entered the program thanks to Mrs. Sara Velasco, a civil service member of the Provincial Counsel of Pichincha, who invited me to participate in the Master of Business in the Streets (MBS) program to strengthen my business. I am the owner of Alexandra L Grand (floral art, confectionary, and details), which has been operating since May 2018. In the beginning, I thought I should make Alexandra L Grand known on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp) so we focused on creating a logo and a motto to support the brand. We realized we needed feedback on social media regarding the products’ quality, presentation, service, and the importance of having interaction with the customer. That’s how we started participating in fairs. They have given us the opportunity to test the products (candies and crafts) and they give us the advantage of making the brand known. Moreover, it allows us to improve client capturing, conservation, and presentation of products. We have overcome a lot of obstacles, even ones we never imagined. From the beginning, a few of those include: failure to comply with delivery times, quality of raw materials from suppliers, excessive costs covering the fairs which promised a disproportionate amount of target customers, product waste, changing locations, and an ant infestation among other things. However, each one of those experiences was overcome and left us with incomparable lessons learned.

Participating in this course allowed us to return to the basics and look at which aspects needed strengthening (logging and filing) and how frequently they should be performed. Above all, we were able to practice the way we interact with the clients. One of the strengths of the MBS program is the sharing, feeling comfortable and understood in this adventure together with other entrepreneurs. These particular experiences were driving factors and guides for our businesses. I am now looking for the most excellent way to achieve my personal and business goals. This course allowed me to combine those two areas in a concise and dynamic way. Finally, thank you to Mrs. Sara Velazco, through the Provincial Council, and Mrs. Alexandra Zúñiga, facilitator of Interweave Solutions, for opening the door for me to participate in the MBS program and to my group members, “Los Padrinos”, for showing me that anything is possible if you believe in your own talents.