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CREATING A UNIQUE SERVICE
Ingrid Sanchez is a Latina entrepreneur originally from Colombia, now located in San Jose, California. She has a passion for neuropsychological education and has 17 years experience working in the area of behavioral psychology with families and adults. During the pandemic, she found a new need in the families around her that she could solve.
Her business started in 2020 during the quarantine period, when some parents and friends had difficulty not knowing how to support their children at home. As a result of school closures, children had to change from in-person to online classes. This change caused alterations in family habits and routines, making it a challenge to combine parents' remote work and childrens’ online school. So, Ingrid began to offer a support service to families in her community, accompanying their young children during online class hours.
CREATING HER OWN PATH FROM PASSION
Ingrid has 10 years of experience in early childhood education, promoting cultural themes and alternative strategies for children's learning. "I have three children, ages 10, 9, and 2, and they awakened in me a desire to learn more about education. When I decided I wanted to be a mother, I knew I wanted to be a present mom, and I wanted to give my children an alternative education." - Ingrid
In addition, she has always been attracted to entrepreneurship, and her desire to also support other families gave her the push she needed to start her own business: Niños Sanos, Seguros y Felices.
"My wish is to see a new generation at peace and in control of their emotions, where parents have a real connection with their children. All families have these challenges, and I teach them the tools and techniques to be the best version as parents and families. Seeing families in harmony, happy, and fulfilled despite the challenges is possible with the right tools.” - Ingrid
CLEAR IDEAS AND A FIRM STEP
When Ingrid decided to establish her business in San José, one of her biggest challenges was the economic aspect and the creation of her business plan. Recommended by a friend, she contacted Centro and enrolled in the Basic Entrepreneurship Program where she clarified the basic aspects of her business, including her mission: to accompany families in parenting, education, and wellbeing from the perspective of neuroscience, conscious discipline and positive psychology, achieving a healthy, safe and happy childhood. Ingrid founded her company Niños Sanos, Seguros y Felices shortly after finishing the course.
After finalizing her business plan, Ingrid accessed a $1,500 loan from Kiva to help her with the initial paperwork to start her business. With the help of the Centro Capital Hub, she set up her first Kiva campaign which she was successful in obtaining and completed all her payments afterward.
Recently, Ingrid graduated from the Advanced Entrepreneurship Program, where she also received personalized one-on-one counseling to solve specific questions about her business and situation. During this advanced program, Ingrid developed an idea of offering a new line of services and incorporated it into her business. Programs focused specifically on children.
"In the programs, I learned and was able to meet peers who were creating their ventures in different markets and we moved forward together. We support each other a lot, it's a living community and we all cooperate with each other." - Ingrid
Thanks to her first successful experience with Kiva, Ingrid was able to create her second Kiva campaign and apply for a second loan of $6,500 that would allow her to obtain a new certification based on neurocreativity and the Waldorf methodology, Reggio Emilia. This certification would help her expand her business and increase her capacity to provide skills to children, adolescents, and their families. She was also able to improve her online presence and prepare a marketing strategy to have new clients and maintain online communication at different levels.
CREATIVITY WITHOUT LIMITS
In 2022, Ingrid is prepared and ready to launch new products to diversify her sources of income and offer complementary products to her services.
“During one of the business coaching sessions with Centro, I came up with two new products for my business. One of the products is a box called "60 Powerful Phrases" in which people are fed with thoughts and actions that are structured in six steps and cover topics of parenting, education, and self. Through these boxes I also invite people to my sessions." - Ingrid.
The second product she is going to launch soon is a day-connection planner that allows families to be more connected after work and to carry out activities together. Ingrid is also working on another of her goals, a membership business called Magical Adventure.
If you are in San Jose and want to learn more about Ingrid's services and products, you can visit her website Niños Sanos, Seguros y Felices. You can also support her by following her on Instagram and Facebook.