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Nancy Rangel hopes the Latina Expo inspires and motivates female business owners in the Hispanic community.

“We want to encourage them to come to this because when they come to this, they realize, OK, there’s a plethora of women that have done this before me,” said Rangel, president/CEO of Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance, as well as the head coordinator of Saturday’s event. “There’s a plethora of women that are here to cheer me on to motivate me to want to take that next step because it’s fearful for any person who’s going to start a business, regardless of whatever type of business it is.”

The fifth annual Latina Expo was held at the University of Texas at Tyler’s Ornelas Activity Center.

“It’s a very special event because it gathers hundreds of women from all areas of East Texas to come together to discuss issues and topics that relate to the Latina woman as a business woman, as a business owner and entrepreneur,” said Rangel said.

The idea originated five years ago by the Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance in the hopes to inspire, encourage and help network female business owners in the Hispanic community.

“Sometimes, fear is what stops you from going ahead and doing it full time and not doing that 8 to 5 job, and now you’re on your own, you have to figure all that stuff out,” Rangel said. “It is challenging … but we’re here to help them realize that, and we’re not here to sugarcoat it.”

For Latinas such as Dania Lopez, who hopes to start a candle business, Saturday’s expo was helpful in figuring out how to get started.

“The information has been really good … and I hope to apply it so that I can be successful in my business,” she said.

Rangel also uses the expo to talk about the entrepreneurship academy that she offers to help lay the foundation for a business plan.

“They’re being taught by top-notch level experts, and they’re able to get all of their questions answered by those experts, and that helps them a lot to receive the fundamentals,” Rangel said.

The academy has lawyers, CPAs and other professionals who aid in establishing business strategies, as well as marketing and even human resources.

“Sometimes, the business owners don’t realize you also have to learn your accounting and taxes, and you have to learn about your business, banking, how you’re going to do that line of credit, your loans,” Rangel said. You’re going to have to learn human resources. You’re going to learn how to hire people, what questions you can ask … so, there’s all these other areas, how to market and advertise your business.”

Saturday’s expo also featured music, a fashion show, food catered by Ruby’s Mexican Restaurant and more.

“I’ve seen many businesses flourish because of this event, and many new businesses go live because of this event,” said CPA Juan Martinez. “I hear stories from women who came to the event. They were nervous. They were a little bit unsure if … they should or not do it, but after coming and attending this event, they really get pumped up, and they really go on and do it and are successful.”

Maria Martinez is an aspiring restaurant owner.

“The expo has provided a lot of valuable information and tools to help me keep moving forward with my plans,” she said. “I’m still getting things figured out, but it has been helpful.”

The event also welcomed Latina business owners and guest speakers as panelists to share tips on professional development for women in their personal and professional lives.