One West Valley small-business owner never expected her one-time pop-up market to turn into the largest Latina market in Arizona. Stephanie Vasquez, founder and CEO of Empowering Latina Leaders in Arizona (E.L.L.A), first hosted the market for Latina Equal Pay Day and it ended up taking on a life of its own.
“When I learned about the gender pay gap and how Latinos were the lowest-paid people on the planet, I thought, ‘What can we do to highlight this?’ This was in 2015 when not many people were talking about it,” Vasquez said. “So, what I did was I had a pop-up market called Mujeres Mercado … and I invited just about 20 Latina brands and makers to really highlight and showcase the work that they were doing to create their own ceilings … and fast forward, it was a high success and people were asking, ‘When’s the next one?’”
Mujeres Mercado and Amor Collective are key programs under the umbrella of Empowering Latina Leaders in Arizona, a nonprofit that was created to help bring opportunities for Latinas to thrive in the community and their personal lives, with a focus on business.
The Mujeres Mercado has since grown and is now supporting over 1,000 businesses and driving over $1 billion in economic impact, according to E.L.L.A’s website. The market is held eight times a year and brings approximately 3,000 to 8,000 individuals to shop from women entrepreneurs.
“For me as a business owner, it was really surreal to see all of the community come together and all that support come in,” Vasquez said.
“When I started my business, I didn’t feel like I had support, so to be able to create that support for other businesswomen and business owners, it was just one of those pinch-me type moments and continues to be.”
In addition, to the market, the nonprofit also has the Amor Collective, which Vasquez created to provide a consistent space for businesses during the summer months.
“We wanted to be able to test and scale our brands and products in a mainstream market for a consistent time so that we can have a full fiscal year and not be so negatively impacted by seasonality,” Vasquez said.
The collective currently has 30 Latina brands under one roof.
Vasquez emphasized that what a person can do with a little bit of hope is unmatched, that’s why E.L.L.A gives business owners support and resources to make them “unstoppable.”
“When we look at how Latinas are growing their businesses, (they’re doing it) at an 800% increase in comparison to everyone else,” Vasquez said.
“However, we’re hitting that ceiling and less than 1% of our businesses are hitting a million dollars in revenue. Again, these types of programs are, in my opinion, what are missing to ensure that Latina brands can succeed.”
Sarah Montoya is the owner of Mercaderia — a one-stop shop for traditional, minimalistic Mexican pottery and textiles, and has seen what those resources can do herself. She started her journey with E.L.L.A at the Mujeres Mercado in 2023 and has since gone full circle with the organization.
“When I got accepted to the first Mujeres Mercado pop-up, we showed up and I left there so happy; I made amazing friendships,” Montoya said.
“Stephanie was the sweetest person ever and from there I kept doing Mujeres Mercado pop-ups. Then I became involved more with E.L.L.A and helping and volunteering. When Amor (Collective) opened up on the second round of business, I just jumped in and applied and I got in here and now I’m actually part of Amor; I work here also.”
Montoya said the sense of community that E.L.L.A and its programs provide is like no other; she described it as “home.” Not only does Montoya feel comfortable and supported but she said that her business has grown so much from the opportunities provided to her, with no intention of getting anything in return.
She recommended that other Latina businesses and entrepreneurs take any opportunity in front of them.
“No matter what it is, no matter how small or big, because you’re not going to know if you don’t try,” Montoya said.
“With Amor (Collective), a lot of people are very scared, and we want everyone here; we wish we could have 100 businesses in here, but it’s all about jumping into the opportunities. Being part of Amor, you’ll get so many last-minute opportunities, and I always tell the girls, ‘Don’t be scared, just jump and there’s always going to be someone on your side helping you.’”
Alexis Salinas owns Rosa Pastel — a jewelry store that sells stainless steel, gold-filled and sterling silver jewelry as well as specializes in engraving and permanent jewelry — and said that being part of E.L.L.A has allowed her to not only reach consumers in the state but also outside Arizona.
Salinas was given the opportunity through E.L.L.A and Mujeres Mercado to travel to Orlando for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce National Conference.
“It was great from every aspect, I had never traveled that far for my business in itself, but it was great to see E.L.L.A’s reach in other states as not only were Arizona businesses featured but also businesses from Orlando were also featured,” Salinas said.
“And we cover our own traveling cost, but it’s well worth it because of the people that you get to meet and the opportunities that you were blessed with afterward. There are so many companies looking for holiday gifts or they keep you in mind for other events.”
Salinas said that being part of E.L.L.A has been a blessing and encourages other Latina entrepreneurs to take advantage of E.L.L.A and the opportunities and community it provides.
Vasquez noted that the support and opportunities that E.L.L.A provides couldn’t get done without sponsorships like the one from OneAZ Credit Union.
“I have to say that I’m very grateful to OneAZ for their sponsorship … they’re allowing us to move at a faster pace, impact more people, impacting our economy, impacting our families and generational wealth,” Vasquez said.
“So, this really is a huge trickle-down when we talk about even just one sponsorship and what we’re able to do with it.”
OneAZ Credit Union was introduced to Vasquez and E.L.L.A when she applied for one of the bank community impact grants.
According to Liza Buchanan — SVP of marketing and operations — the sponsorship helps E.L.L.A with promotion, covering booth costs for attendees at the market and ensuring the event runs smoothly. She said it’s about investing in the experiences and making sure that it’s easier for entrepreneurs to have a space to be successful.
“I think that a lot of times people have so much skill, they have so much passion, they have unique products and amazing energy, but the funding that it requires to start to build a name for yourself is really prohibitive,” Buchanan said. “A place like the Mercado, a place like Amor Collective and an organization like E.L.L.A create this experience for shoppers to come and see the energy and the unique goods and unique services that are being provided by these entrepreneurs that otherwise would have a really hard time standing out on their own. Then, as they build that following, then they can come to scale and start to build their own space.”
Vasquez said that in the future, she hopes for growth to happen for E.L.L.A, Mujeres Mercado and Amor Collective. Buchanan added that OneAZ Credit Union hopes to support and help E.L.L.A grow in any way it can.
Vasquez encourages Arizonans to come to Mujeres Mercado and Amor Collective and show their support.
“It’s just so important to support your local Latina-owned businesses,” Vasquez said.
