自由室内设计公司创始人卡罗·埃斯皮诺萨(Freedom Interiors)说，她给公司起的名字“代表自由追求美国梦”。

卡罗·埃斯皮诺萨（Carol Espinosa）做梦也没想过她能在美国拥有和经营自己的生意，然而，创业机会向她招手。

2019年，密苏里州堪萨斯城（Kansas City, Missouri）自由室内设计公司（Freedom Interiors）创始人埃斯皮诺萨被小企业管理局（Small Business Administration）命名为密苏

埃斯皮诺萨生长在巴西里约热内卢（Rio de Janeiro），后来到美国堪萨斯州大学（University of Kansas）攻读写作创作专业。毕业后，她在一家家具店做数据输入工作，并最终升入项目管理层。

公司运用3维成像技术和虚拟成像帮助客户预见他们要求的室内设计最终式样。(Freedom Interiors)

在这里，埃斯皮诺萨了解到，美国政府每年必须将一定数量的合同授予由女性和少数族裔人所拥有的小企业。她符合这两项条件，于是决定创办自己的办公场所设计公司。

她说，“我受到其他业主的鼓励，他们对我说我完全能做这件事。八年后，我们就有了今天！”

如今，埃斯皮诺萨是拥有自己生意的数百万拉美西班牙语创业人之一。她将成功归功于为她提供辅导机会和职业培训的不同机构组织：为堪萨斯城创业人与成熟企业的业主牵线搭桥的赫兹伯格创业辅导计划（Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program），以及拉美裔商务行动网（Latino Business Action Network），后者通过斯坦福拉美裔创业行动计划-分级教育（Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative–Education Scaling）提供相关教育培训。

埃斯皮诺萨说，“美国有非常美好的一点是，有大量针对创业人和初创公司的资源。有许许多多人员和机构组织随时准备向你提供培训和辅导”。

埃斯皮诺萨说，“自由室内设计公司雇员具有的根本共同价值观是“赋权，创新，灵活，透明和快乐”。(Freedom Interiors)

自由室内设计公司在2018年初，有五名雇员，如今有15名雇员，并且可望实现其25-25-25目标到2015年拥有25名雇员，年收入达到2500万。

埃斯皮诺萨成功的关键是什么？——不害怕失败，并团结起一支优秀的雇员团队。

她说，“失败是这个过程的一部分。它不过是走向目标的又一步”。

How the U.S. helps small businesses succeed

Carol Espinosa never dreamed of owning and operating her own business in America, but the entrepreneurial life found her anyway.

The founder of Freedom Interiors in Kansas City, Missouri, Espinosa was named the 2019 Small Business Administration’s Person of the Year for the state. But her journey to the top of the interior design circuit didn’t always seem clear-cut.

Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Espinosa attended the University of Kansas, where she majored in creative writing. After graduating, she worked in a furniture supply store doing data entry and eventually made her way up the project management chain.

The company uses 3D space capture technology and virtual reality to help clients visualize their interior design goals. (Freedom Interiors)

There, Espinosa learned that the U.S. government is required to award a certain number of contracts to women- and minority-owned small businesses each year. She fulfilled those prerequisites, so she decided to start her own workplace design company.

“I got encouragement from other business owners, telling me that I could absolutely do it,” she said. “Eight years later, here we are!”

Now she is one of the millions of Hispanic and Latino-American entrepreneurs who run their own businesses. Espinosa credits a variety of organizations that provided her with mentorship opportunities and vocational training: The Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program connects Kansas City entrepreneurs with established business owners, and the Latino Business Action Network provides educational programs through the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative–Education Scaling program.

“The wonderful thing about the U.S. is the number of resources for entrepreneurs and startups,” she said. “There are lots of people and organizations ready to provide you with coaching and mentorship.”

Espinosa says that “empowerment, innovation, adaptability, transparency and fun” are the central, shared values held by the employees at Freedom Interiors. (Freedom Interiors)

At the beginning of 2018, there were five employees at Freedom Interiors. Currently, the company consists of 15 people and is on target to reach their 25-25-25 goal: 25 employees, with $25 million yearly revenue, by 2025.

Espinosa’s keys to success? Don’t be afraid of failure and surround yourself with an incredible team of employees.

“Failure is part of the process,” she said. “It’s just another step to get where you’re going.”