Today we’d like to introduce you to Roxana Gomez.
Hi Roxana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
WAPA HANDMADE was born in March 2018 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The business idea started from a passion for helping others and a desire to highlight the Colombian culture. At the time, I was attending school at Texas A&M University and was a member of “PorColombia”, a Colombian Student Association.
This organization had a cultural and philanthropical focus. Culturally, we put together events to showcase the rich and unique side of our heritage. Some events included dance performances and cafes. Philanthropically, we put together donation campaigns where members of the association donated items brought from Colombia to be sold at our main philanthropic event. The money collected there was then sent to Colombia to help those that needed it the most.
While our efforts were successful, it became evident that to make a greater impact, I needed to do
something that could provide continuity to the people we were trying to help. Rosana then decided to explore a business opportunity that would directly impact one of the communities we had helped
through the donation campaigns, the Wayuu indigenous tribe.
She chose this specific community because they are from a region in Colombia that has been historically neglected by the government and has experienced major socio-economic issues including poverty, inequality, and low educational attainment. She also chose them because of the uniqueness of their craftsmanship. These artisans make some of the most beautiful, vibrant, and high-quality products in the world. WAPA Handmade was born as an opportunity to start a business and help others at the same time.
The business itself started flourishing when Rosana started participating in markets/pop-ups in Corpus Christi. She started attending these pop-ups to validate the market and quickly realized she was onto something. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Rosana did not have an outlet to sell her products, but she used the time to design and launch the company’s website. Over the past year and a half, WAPA Handmade has primarily been an online store which served as an opportunity to expand the company’s reach to multiple cities within Texas as well as other states such as California, Arizona, and New York.
During the pandemic, she also moved to San Antonio and has been participating in local markets and pop-ups. The products’ acceptance has been incredible. WAPA Handmade is now recognized in multiple markets from cities like Corpus Christi, Robstown, San Antonio, Boerne, New Braunfels, Bulverde, and Austin.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since I have my business, I think the road has been very smooth. I think when you do what you really like or you are passionate about it, you work differently and you put all the love to be better every single day. However, you can have bad days. Everything is not beautiful all the time because as a small business owner there are many hats you must wear.
When you are a small business owner you must be very creative to minimize some resources, especially if we are talking about monetary resources that you need to invest into your business, when I say that, I am saying that you can’t hire people to do a specific task since you don’t have the budget to do it.
That’s when you have to be the salesperson in markets, marketing person, social media creator, accountant, and among others in your own business, and sometimes it can be exhausting. I think challenges are the best things that can happen to your business since they help you to grow.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I graduated with a Master’s in Business Administration in August 2015 from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Seeking to be a better communicator, I obtained a second Master’s in Communication in 2019. My background includes three and a half years of experience at the Port of Corpus Christi as a Business Coordinator for Latin America.
I played an important role at the Port of Corpus Christi, putting together the First Latin America Petroleum and Energy Summit in 2016 resulting in the attendance of over 50 international companies. I led different successful donations campaigns to help those in need the most in my home country, Colombia. Those campaigns resulted in the collection of hundreds of new toys, clothes, and shoes that helped over 3,200 families in Colombia.
Also, I worked for three and a half years at TAMU-CC Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center, where one of my main duties was to advise start-ups and small business owners in the improvement of their economic growth. I worked for the Minority Business Development Agency as a Senior Business Development Specialist for one year. Currently, I am a Project Manager of the UTSA-Covid19 Business Resilience Center. I mainly focused on providing technical assistance to small businesses that are part of minorities according to their race, gender, etc.
One of the things that I feel very proud of myself is that I am part of a very small percentage of the Latina community with a master’s degree, I was honored to be selected as one of the Corpus Christi 40 under 40 (CCU40) recipients for 2016.
CCU40 is an event honoring the accomplishments of men and women under 40 years of age who have made significant contributions in their professional fields as well as through service in the community.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I have had many supporters since I decided to start my business. I had mentors from the beginning who provided me the foundations to start the business; who suggested I take entrepreneurial classes, social media webinars, make market researches and learn as much as I could to understand or have an idea about having a business.
My closest friends played an important role since they were my first customers and they supported and spread the word about my business. I wanna thank my boyfriend, Sebastian Garzon, who has been an important pillar in my business. He has supported me since day one, always supported me with any crazy idea I have, or even provided me business advice, especially if we are talking about finances, he is an expert on that.
Also my friends, Bobby Rodriguez, Sebastian Rubiano, Kevin Amaya, Sergio Santos, Tania Monroy, Mia, Diana, Johana, Shirley, I can keep going with the list. And last but not least, my family has supported me from Colombia with anything I need. My brother Arturo Gomez, who is my right hand in Colombia. He is who talks with my providers for any needs the business has. My mom, Rosalba, and Dad, Jorge Arturo who are my cheerleaders in whatever decision that I make.
Also, it is extremely important to highlight the people that are behind my business and I am talking about the indigenous community of women in Colombia, “The Wayuu”. They have played an important role since they are who handmade the items for my business. When I started the business, I started helping a small family who does it for living, Currently, I am supporting 2 more families and an entire community of indigenous women. I wanna thank them because I think my business could not be possible without them.
The relationship I have built with them is unique and it is not just about the selling and buying relationship, it is beyond that. I have been working with the same families for about 3-4 years already. Now, I can understand much better their socio-economic situation and at some point be in their shoes and see the challenges they have to face every single day. It has been beautiful to learn not just about them but also, about their culture.
Pricing:
- From $30-$100
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.wapahandmade.com
- Instagram: @wapahandmade
- Facebook: @wapahandmade
Image Credits
“Andrea” Yee-Yan Segovia
