Celina is an entrepreneur in San Ramón who runs a plant nursery business. She has run her business for at the last 5 years and has done so out of her home. Above is a photo of Celina with an orchid plant that she grows and sells. Since she was a young girl, she has always had a deep appreciation for the beauty of plants and flowers. She’s also always been curious to learn the best ways to take care of them. Throughout her life, Celina has gained many skills, tricks, and knowledge about how to raise plants. Even the people of her community ask her for help. With a beautiful smile (just as you can see in the photo) and a gentle attitude, she offers guidance on what to do. Her clients even tell her she is like a superhero for the plants and flowers!
Now in the WEP, Celina is improving her cost analysis with Fernando, a WEP bookkeeping tutor. They review Celina’s financial register to determine her costs, where she could save money, and where she could earn more. Celina is very appreciative for this opportunity to learn alongside Fernando!
As part of the WEP, Celina discovered that she could diversify her business and offer her clients something more – organic fertilizer! Celina makes the fertilizer for the plants and flowers she grows but she realized that she could make more and sell it to her clients as well. Other plant nurseries sell fertilizers but few offer an organic product. Her organic fertilizer became her competitive advantage!
Celina currently sells plants, flowers, and her unique organic fertilizer to schools, her clients in her community and others who live further away. A few weeks ago, Celina presented her business plan, budget, and proposal for how she’d use seed money to an evaluation committee made up of other Salvadoran small business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals familiar with the local informal economy. Celina also mentioned her future business goals. One of her goals is to attend an horticultural class/training program so that she could gain more skills and knowledge and have a professional certificate to further legitimize her work and business.
