Karla the Entrepreneur

Karla just called me. I was worried that she felt sad and called because she was missing her Mom. Everyone was using my internet and I couldn't connect to her call, since she was calling through Facebook. But eventually we were able to talk.

Karla wasn't sad. She was excited! She has a business idea and wanted to run it past me. This is the second time she has called to run ideas past me, which I take as an honor. She has plenty of other people she could call, so I am happy she calls me.

Karla wants to start a business making photocopies. To someone in the US, this could sound crazy, but it can actually be quite lucrative here. Just three days ago Fany and I were running all over trying to make copies.

The main homework that kids of all ages have to do is cut things out of magazines and newspapers and glue them into their notebook. It's so dumb. Laura is already doing it in Kindergarten. But high schoolers do it too. What is crazy to me is that nobody here has magazines or newspapers, SO (this is where the photocopier comes in) they get wifi on their phone, download images onto their phone, then go to a photocopy place (usually a house in the neighborhood) and send the image to the owner's email. Then that owner can print it out. Fany had to do that with an inchworm, a capital "I" and a small "i" last week

Karla lives right by two schools, and she says nobody in her area is making copies. She also said that she can get all of her college classmates to make copies with her and advertise her business at the university where she and her sister study. That would be a good money maker because in Honduras people don't buys books. They photocopy them.

Even churches do this. If you are asked to study a book through a church, my experience was, they by one book and make copies. I know it is totally illegal and unethical, but that is how they did it. Karla says that's how all of the university students get their books too. So she plans to make her big bucks there. (They also have a huge market for blackmarket movies. I've never seen a movie rental place.)

Karla's already got her plan pretty well thought out. She wants to fix the steps up to her house first because they are crazy dangerous. One of her friends told her that she can invest $200 and get a good printer, but I told her that we need to research that. Because if she is talking about printing out 300 page books, I can't imagine a $200 printer is going to be the best investment for her.

You can't really see how bad the steps are here.
Just take my word for it. They are bad.

She is totally open to ideas and grateful for constructive feedback.

She told me another cool thing. Today she made money in her first business venture. She is learning how to sew. She sewed 8 shirts. She said she only charged $2 because her shirts aren't very good yet. But she will improve.

The copy machine is her mother's idea. Karla said that she would really like to bring that idea to life to honor her mother.

She said that she was sick last week. That was when she missed her mother the most. She was sick in bed and had nobody to bring her medicine. I told her we all miss our Mommy when we are sick. In general though, she said that she us usually able to remember that her Mom is in a better place now, and that gives her peace. She said she didn't use to talk to Estephany much, but since her Mom is no longer there, both she and Estephany confide more in each other. Karla likes being closer to her sister.

Karla was super happy. She was laughing and really grateful for a photo some North American friends sent me of her, her mom and her sister. Karla said she didn't even remember the photo being taken, but she was surprised and blessed by seeing it. She said it was a real "gift".

Estephany is doing well too, she said.

Karla and I are planning to go out for coffee this week and talk more. I am proud of this young lady. She could be moping around and sad. But instead she is taking on new business ventures! I told her that Clara is smiling in heaven.