We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hipatia Lopez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hipatia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My entrepreneurial journey began when I invented a product. Once I received my patent for my product then on to learning how to make an idea a reality. It has been a learning process in which I did fail with my first prototype, but I kept going. Eventually, I chose a different material to make my utensil and then it finally worked out well. However, in the process of becoming a business owner – I came to realize the percentage of woman inventors is very low and especially in Latina inventors with less than 1% obtaining US patents. I was super disappointed and shifted my mission to encourage young women that they can become inventors as well. It is okay to think outside of the box and take a chance at something you truly believe in.

Hipatia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My business name is H.L. Unico LLC a/k/a Empanada Fork. I came up with an idea around my kitchen table prepping Thanksgiving dinner with my family. We always host this holiday and empanadas are a big hit on our menu. That year we were making 100 and I had my kids help me close up the empanadas. This can be time consuming and frustrating because it is the last step for pastry being prepped. Anyhow- I jokingly stated that I would invent some kind of tool to help me next year! For some reason- I could not get that idea out of my head and went to sleep thinking more about it each day. Once I realized how costly it was to pursue a patent then I almost did not go through with it. However, I got a holiday bonus from my job and then it hit me to invest in a patent. It was about 1 year wait to finally get a call from my lawyer that it was approved. I was so emotional and shocked that nobody had thought of it.

I was so proud of myself for following through. In the process I found this passion inside of me wanting to tell the world of my product. I decided to attend networking events and had no idea how that would go at all. However, I realized that they were as excited to learn about me as I was to learn about what their business was. I wanted to learn and get advice from people who have been doing it for years. I became part of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of NJ which opened many doors for me in which I am forever grateful. I truly believe my social media presence grew because of all the events I attended and started to share information that I was learning to whoever wanted to listen. I didn’t realize there would be so many people who are strangers rooting for you to succeed! I am proud of all my awards I have won as an entrepreneur. It is important to surround yourself with like-minded people in order to stay optimistic.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I believe my social media handle helped me grow my business. For example: People would google or research for empanadas and eventually my handle would appear because it is @Empanadafork. I remember getting a call from a customer they wanted to order a dozen pastries in which I told them I was not a restaurant but educated them on my product and how it would help the empanada maker in the family or group. Then, I started to incorporate hashtags that would pertain to my specific business, and it took a while, but it did work out. Practice makes perfect so as long as you try different strategies depending on your product or service then one will show you the outcome you desire. My social media presence at first was more popular on twitter then Instagram – so just remember what works for one platform doesn’t necessarily work for the other. My advice is to use fiverr.com for writing content if needed. I am not the best at content, so I do get help from time to time but I do not recommend buying likes or followers. It’s always better to keep “it real” in my opinion.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

In my first year of business, I sold my products off of my website www.empanadafork.com I found it a little overwhelming since at the time I still worked PT. However, now I have my website linked to a store that carries my products so that you can make a purchase. I decided to shift to BTB because at the time it was much easier to balance. Therefore – I started to approach online stores by cold calling and emailing them with regard to my utensils. I still promote all my products off my website and social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.empanadafork.com
• Instagram: Empanadafork
• Facebook: Empanadaforkutensil
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hipatia-lopez-8bb80562/
• Twitter: @Empanadafork
• Youtube: @InventorHipatia