The founder of Freedom Interiors in Kansas City, Missouri, Carol Espinosa was named the 2019 Small Business Administration Person of the Year for the state.
Natalie and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Espinosa attended the University of Kansas, where she graduated in creative writing. After graduating, she worked in a furniture supply store and there, Espinosa learned that the U.S. government is required to award a certain number of contracts to small businesses owned by women and minorities each year. She met those prerequisites and decided to start her own business.
Now she is one of millions of Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs running their own businesses. The Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program connects Kansas City entrepreneurs to established business owners, and the Latino Business Action Network provides educational programs 
through the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative – Education Scaling.
“The wonderful thing about the U.S. is the number of resources for entrepreneurs and startups,” she said. “There are many people and organizations ready to provide training and guidance.”
At the beginning of 2018, there were five employees in her company. Currently, the company consists of 15 people and aims to reach its 25-25-25 goal: 25 employees, with annual revenue of $25 million, by 2025.
Espinosa’s keys to success are not being afraid of failure. “Failure is part of the process,” she said. “It’s just another step to get to where you’re going.”
Source: share.america.gov, By Noelani Kirschner