Escaping a domestic violence situation in her native Mexico 15 years ago, Estela Flores came to the U.S. to make a better life for herself and her three children. After working for her sister's house cleaning service, Estela started one of her own so that she could work more hours and earn more income.

She had already been operating her cleaning enterprise for several years when she came to Women's Economic Ventures (WEV) to grow her business and formalize its legal structure. In WEV's Spanish Self-Employment Training class, she learned how to raise prices without losing customers. Since then, she has hired two new employees (raising her staff to 5), increased her employees' pay by 20%, and given herself a raise as well.