Latina entrepreneur Janny Perez is the creator of Mi Legasi, a bilingual subscription box and shop that brings the vibrant Latino culture to moms who want their children to learn and cherish their Latino traditions.
Mi Legasi strives to empower families and connect children with their Latino traditions and culture. Each box comes with a variety of items such as bilingual Spanish books, toys, games, craft projects, and family activities along with special gifts for mamá such as beauty, home, office, or accessory items.
The idea for Mi Legasi came after Janny had her daughter, Victoria, in 2015. “I felt the need to ensure that she understood where she came from and what it meant for her to be Latina,” Janny explains. “I wanted her to experience the music, foods, language, culture and stories that were passed down to me.”
In May of 2017 Mi Legasi was officially created as a way to empower moms and families to connect with Latino traditions and culture, focus on quality family time, and create their own legacy.
Mi Legacy keeps Latino traditions alive
Mi Legasi is Janny’s legacy, which she dedicates as tribute to her immigrant parents and to her daughter Victoria as a reminder that anything can be accomplished through hard work and dedication.
Janny credits her father for much of her spirit and dedication. “He is my hero,” she says. The youngest of many siblings, her father grew up poor on a coffee farm in Colombia. “He had dreams of flying and seeing the world. Without any formal education and lots of hard work, sweat, and determination, my father accomplished this.” It is this dedication and example that has influenced Janny to strive for her own dreams.
Janny Perez as Latina entrepreneur
As a Latina entrepreneur, she believes her biggest strengths to be her tenacity, creativity, and generosity.
“Tenacity is not just going after your dream, but taking action to get there,” Janny explains. “It’s waking up early or working late while the rest of the world sleeps. It’s the ability to face rejection with optimism because you know something bigger will come.”
Her creativity helps her in many aspects of her business, from design and product creation to photography and social media posts. Lastly, her generosity allows her to use her business platform to help others from sending Latina moms suffering due to illness a Mi Legasi kindness package to donating to impoverished children in Latin America.
She believes the key to facing all obstacles and challenges is to be headstrong and disciplined. “If you let fear drive you, you won’t go far.” She has three key mottos to staying strong. First is to trust in your faith, whatever that may be– “God, the universe or your gut. It’s that spark inside you that keeps you pushing forward.” Second is to be flexible and open to change. And last is to have patience. All things take time.
Never be afraid to speak up
To Latinas looking to dive into their own business ventures or achieve success in their careers Janny says, “Never be afraid to speak up and don’t settle just because it’s the status quo….As Latinas we are afraid. Our culture has at times limited our beliefs that we can. We are the lowest paid of minorities. We need to break the cycle.”
Overall, Janny advises to stay determined and know the realities of starting a business. “Know that you will likely lose money, work day and night, make lots of sacrifices, worry, and that the road is curved and unpredictable but what you learn and the connections you make are far greater than you’d expect. Know that you can and you will, just one day at a time!”
On her struggles as a business owner Janny says, “Being a ‘mompreneur’ has been quite challenging. It’s not a regular 9 to 5 job so you don’t really have days off, but it’s flexible.”
Janny believes in the importance of creating one’s own legacy and following one’s dreams no matter the obstacles. All things are possible with hard work, patience, and tenacity. Her business came from her motherhood and so Janny hopes that Mi Legasi can help and inspire other Latina moms to create their own legacies with their children.
