Grayling Lanuza faced many challenges in her journey from an English student to an entrepreneur who dreams of becoming a recognized clothing designer.
Much of the journey began in 2014 when she joined a social-support project we launched (with Denmark’s BORNEfonden) to help 60 female and 40 male entrepreneurs in Estelí, Nicaragua. It was here Grayling expanded her understanding of business plans, finance, occupational health and safety, marketing, advertising and more. She was amazed by the confidence she developed.
Grayling applied those learnings to launch her business and put herself through school. And, those skills helped her thrive in 2016 when her husband abandoned their growing family, leaving her a single mom.
The tenacious entrepreneur didn’t give up, continuing to develop her business. Today, she employs her mom and sister, and supports her parents, siblings and son.
The 27-year-old even had support through the project to improvement her family home, building a wall to create an enclosed store space. These changes were especially meaningful since Grayling originally thought the state of her home and its location was affecting her success. In fact, some customers short-changed her, because they didn’t think it was right they had to travel so far for her clothing.
It was also difficult to convince people to take her seriously. In the beginning, they asked: “Did you, design this?, adding, “I don’t believe you.”