Maria de Lourdes Sobrina, also known as “Lulu” of Lulu’s Desserts (www.lulusdessert.com) quickly acted out her dream of living in the U.S. when she moved to L.A., expanding her Mexican travel and convention company. Unfortunately, that business failed and Lulu was left with almost nothing.
"GROWING YOUR NON-PROFIT"
Sarita Vasa (www.artwallah.org) was an undergraduate student at UCLA when she obtained an internship position at the Craft and Folk Art Museum. While working there, she became inspired to create an expressive medium for South Asians. Upon her graduation, Sarita Vasa founded a nonprofit center called ARTWALLAH.
HOW VINCENT NARDOLILLO TURNED HIS CRAFT INTO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
Growing up, Vincent Nardolillo (888-2-REBORN) learned cabinet refacing skills helping out after school at his brother’s woodworking shop. As an adult, he continued to make use of his craft working as a carpenter in his hometown of New York. When Vinny moved to California, he tried to convince his employer of the profitability in cabinet refacing. However, because the concept was relatively new to the West Coast, his idea received little support. At that point, Vincent decided to open his own business with his wife and created REBORN CABINETS in 1983. To support her husband, Brenda took accounting classes and became the office manager at their company. In the years that ensued, Reborn Cabinets grew significantly with help from Yellow Pages advertising and exhibitions in home shows. Today, the business employs 140 people in its 9,000-square-foot warehouse and grosses $13 million annually. The Nardolillos children have also joined the team. Vincent Nardolillo, Jr. is in charge of marketing while his brother Anthony manages production and in-home installation.
FROM WELFARE TO BUSINESS OWNERSHIP - VEDC - ROBERTO BARRAGAN
Roberto Barragan and the Valley Economic Development Center was first featured in 2001 on our show entitled “From Welfare to Business Ownership.” Carl Jones went from jail, to being homeless, jobless and starving, but he used it all as a stepping stone to a better life. Other successful graduates of the VEDC’s program includes, Mayra Goodwin, owner of Mayra’s Housecleaning Services; Gela Cruz, whose business, El Baul De Los Recuerdos, supplies artistic photographs and paintings; Tara Townes, owner of Lulu’s Play School, a child care center and Jewell Johnson, owner of Multifacets Flux Design, which makes room dividers and artistic screens.
FROM PASSION TO BUSINESS OWNER - ABDI AHMED
Abdi Ahmed moved to the United States from Africa as a teenager and took a class in computer programming. The class helped Abdi discover his passion. He worked for Apple Computers but decided he would rather start his own company that would provide a single source technical solution for small businesses. As a result, Abdi Ahmed founded NETSERVE SYSTEMS, INC., (www.netservesystems.net) which offers computer security, web design, technical support, and network monitoring services.
