Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Rosales.
Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Oceanside California way before the development you see today. Back when the valleys were mainly farmland and housing was made up of hard working low-income and military families. Most of my family were farm workers (and the kids were no exception). They picked flowers, fruits and vegetables. My favorite season was strawberry season, because that meant we’d surely score a box or two throughout the season. It was a poor and difficult upbringing, but it was the sacrifice my parents made when they immigrated to this country from Mexico to provide a better life for my 5 siblings and I. But things only got harder when my father left.
My mother was left to raise six children on her own, and we struggled a lot as a family. Yet somehow my mom always managed to put food on the table and get us to church every Sunday on public transportation. My mother had the strongest work ethic I had ever seen. I recall her waking up at four in the morning every day for a quick prayer and racing out the door to catch her 5am bus route.
Our childhood was tough! But I always felt that if my mom can raise six kids on her own, I can do anything! I set out to change the pattern of poverty and thought I would do it through education. It took me 7 years to get my associates degree because I had to work full-time and pay my tuition. After a lot of hard work, I was admitted and transferred to University of California Berkeley and earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies.
After graduation, I moved to New York City thinking I would only stay a year, but I fell in love with the city, and was inspired by the people, the culture, and the hustle. I guess I’ve always been a hustler myself, so I felt right at home. It was my new home for 5 years.
My life came full circle when I moved back to San Diego in 2016 for law school. I felt like a completely different person and had always dreamt about coming back to San Diego one day. Law school was extremely challenging for me and I often questioned my legal path. Somehow deep inside I knew it was part of my journey. I graduated law school in 2018 and memorialized the event by taking graduation pictures in the flower fields where my father had once picked flowers. It felt like a moment of total redemption for me. My education transformed my life and opened doors and opportunities in the legal corporate space I never imagined. I manage legal corporate compliance for over 50 companies, many of them multi-million dollar companies in various industries. It opened my eyes to the many ways legal compliance merge with business operations. More importantly, my work experience and legal background is allowing me to help my community in ways I never thought possible.
While I’ve always been involved with community service work, I wanted to do something meaningful with the experience and knowledge I had acquired. That opportunity finally came when I decided to form Mujerex Enterprise LLC in 2020. I wanted to share the knowledge I had learned from larger multi-million-dollar companies to help small business owners level-up.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Nothing about my journey has been smooth if I’m honest. Doing well in school never came come easy to me. My mother never made it past the 3rd grade, so there was very little help she could offer me with my studies, and of course there was the language barrier as she only spoke Spanish. But I have always been a fighter.
Some of the struggles I faced along the way, was feeling like I was always fighting. Fighting against the statistical odds I felt were pinned against me. After all, I was raised by a single parent, in a low-income household, as a woman of color. Statistically speaking, I shouldn’t be here. And moving into the legal corporate setting was no different. As a women of color, it can feel like starting at the bottom and constantly proving your way to the top. These days, I feel more equipped and my fights look different. I fight to break glass ceilings, poverty mindset and imposter syndrome.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Mujerex Enterprise LLC?
I am the founder and CEO of Mujerex Enterprise LLC. A company formed to empower and educate women and minority business owners and entrepreneurs. The three pillars of my company are empowerment, education and community. In my role as a business consultant, I help with business formation, business strategy and planning. I educate through workshops in the community, curated events and through my social media accounts. Some of the topics I cover during workshops and events include: Sole proprietorships, limited liability companies, corporations, business liability, and corporate records (among many other topics).
What sets me apart from others in this business is that I am able to look at a small business from various perspectives and shed light on issues that may not be apparent to others. I can look at a business through a legal and compliance lens and see how business operations are affected. Since I have worked with various companies, I have been exposed to various service and product based industries. Additionally, as a small business owner myself, I can relate to many of the challenges small business owners face. I personally love working with start-up businesses because I feel like they are the ones that need the most guidance. It’s very rewarding when I form a new company and my clients light up at the thought that they are now a new business owner!
I am currently most proud that I am finally able to give back to my community in a meaningful way and do what I love!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe I have been lucky. I believe I have been very blessed! I have been through a lot and as I mentioned previously, the odds were stacked against me early on. I also recognize how blessed I am to have gotten to where I am. I’ve been surrounded by supportive family and friends who have cheered me along this roller-coaster of a ride called life. When God gave me the vision to start my business, I had many doubts. But I held on to that vision, worked hard and many unexpected doors opened for me. Thankfully, I was able to make my way to the corporate space and excelled rather quickly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mujerex.com/
- Instagram: Mujerex1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064538992238
Image Credits
Vanessa Gomez and @capturingmomentsbyvanessa
