4 Rules Every Lady Boss Needs To Know

In her new book, self made: becoming empowered, self-reliant, and rich in every way, media power house NELY GALÁN shares personal and surprising, tips on how she started her dream business and became a millionaire, so you can, too.

 

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IN MY EARLY 20S, SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT OF AS UNIMAGINABLE HAPPENED TO ME: I lost a job that I lived for. I was the station manager at a small Spanish-language TV station, and working there felt like a dream, even though I basically worked days, nights, and weekends and had no social life. When I was told that the station was getting sold and I was instantly out of a job, I was devastated.

In fact, I was so completely sideswiped that on the spot I decided I would become an entrepreneur, certain that I never wanted to have something I worked so hard for yanked out of my hands again.

So at the age of 25, I started my own business, believing that if I just poured all of my hard work into my own ideas, they would naturally grow and make me tons of money. That’s not exactly what happened—I didn’t make a dime for four years!—but it was the best decision of my life. Being entrepreneurial is the Latina way! We already know the immigrant value system well, which includes a strong work ethic, family/community collaboration, adaptability, and humility—all key ingredients for the entrepreneurial hustle. So it’s no coincidence that we started more new firms than any other minority group from 2007 to 2016, according to the American Express State of Women- Owned Business Report.