Enjoy this guest blog by Silvia Arita, business owner and entrepreneur, on her winding path to her business passion and how perseverance is crucial to keep moving forward.
My path to my career now was a winding one. I took over my parent’s business in 2012. I was a school teacher at the time, but decided to quit. It was either continue with my career or my parents would be forced to close their shop due to their health issues, and I knew the decision I had to make. It was nice to do something completely different. The name of our store is called “Tabacos y Café”, and like its name calls, it sells Honduran cigars and coffee. I quickly learned about cigars and know the theory, but it wasn’t my passion.
In 2014, I got some terrible news. I was diagnosed with a rare disease called “Lymphangioleiomyomatosis” shortened…LAM. It was not easy for the following two years, being misdiagnosed a couple of times, and finally enrolling in a protocol research at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland where I was finally treated. Unfortunately, by then my lung capacity had deteriorated, and it was little by little that I got my health back. It’s a disease that I need to live with. I never quit my business because of LAM, but rather wanted to implement something else besides just coffee and cigars.
I have been passionate about baking and decided to implement a new section- chocolate! Honduras is known for their great cacao so I decided to learn about processing it. There is not much formal education in this aspect, and the basic courses that I found, I enrolled in them. Other than that, I have learned from YouTube videos, online tutorials, and had the opportunity to learn for a couple of days from some chocolatiers from the Netherlands. Making chocolate is no easy task. Many components are involved in order to have a quality end product. I continued learning about chocolate mostly through the internet, and by the end of 2016, my new endeavor started – ” Nom Nom Cacao”.
Starting this new journey didn’t come without its challenges. I am living in a very hot and humid city in Honduras, have a lack of formal learning, and lack the adequate space and resources truly needed. With all these setbacks I’ve had, I’ve also had great accomplishments. Last year I was chosen among 246 entrepreneurs to participate in an acceleration program hosted by the chamber of commerce of my city, and the Department of State from USA, and SBDC from Reno, Nevada. This is because of my chocolate products, and the potential they have to be sold outside my country. In particular my “Crema de Cacao” has great reviews and acceptance. This is a chocolate rum cream liqueur made with 100% Honduran cacao and rum.
I am still moving on, and this year has been a great challenge like for so many of us. At the beginning of this year, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but now there’s a new road block. However I know it’s only a matter of time that it will be removed, and I will continue with my journey.
My name is Silvia Arita, I am a former elementary teacher and current entrepreneur from Honduras, Central America. My business name is “Tabacos y Café” and “Nom Nom Cacao”. Tabacos y Café started in 1999 and Nom Nom Cacao in 2016. You can find us at www.nomnomcacao.com
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