“Our main goals for 2022 are to expand to a larger location, to offer more dairy products, and to provide better service to our customers.”
Melissa is 55 years old, and she is the perfect example that you are never too old to learn something new or to start a new career path. Melissa and her son Osmany have been receiving mentoring and business training from Mentors International in Masaya, Nicaragua.
Melissa credits Mentors International in helping her learn to develop new ideas, and have the desire to set and follow through on her goals. She also recognizes the importance of serving others. As part of her 40-hours of service, she helped clean several educational centers and local churches.
During their training, Melissa and Osmany decided to start their own dairy products business together. They sell Dry Cheese, Fresh Cheese, Cream Cheese, Quesillo, Momotombo Curd, Mozarella, and more. These products are high quality and brought from Chontales and Rio Blanco.
Melissa shared with us, “The skills and knowledge I received from Mentors International are very important to my business. During my one-on-one mentoring I learned the very important principle of keeping a good financial record for my business. I keep my personal and business records separate. I now know how I should be keeping an accounting system, and what I need to track.
I am very grateful to my Mentor who helped me put the skills I learned into practice for my business. Their support allowed me to improve in various aspects of my life. I thank all of the executives and donors from Mentors International that make these wonderful programs possible to people like me.”
Melissa had the opportunity to share what she had learned with her friend Claudia. She wanted to start her own business and Melissa mentored her and shared her experiences with her as she wrote her business plan.
Melissa and Osmany are excited for the future and the new year. Last year they almost tripled their income and today make about $325 a month. They hope to keep improving their business in the coming months. With the support of their mentor and through their hard work, they know that they can accomplish anything.
