We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leticia Cuin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leticia below.

Leticia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Yes, I thoroughly enjoy my vacations. Since I’m always working, when I finally do get to take a vacation, I absolutely make the most of my leisurely trips!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m the proud owner of Latina Diva Beauty Salon which I established in 2002 and is located in Irving, Texas. I cater to a diverse population. Amongst some of the services I provide are haircuts, extensions, fades, perms, waxing, make up application, up dos and so much more however my specialization is in hair color and highlights. I thoroughly enjoy working in the community and getting to know my customers on a personal level. The great majority not only become close friends of mine rather they are more like my extended family.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The years 2013 through 2014 were undoubtedly the most challenging years of my life. Going through a contentious divorce at that time was the absolute least of my worries. Despite it draining me financially, I managed to keep afloat because I literally moved into my salon. If that wasn’t enough, my mother had an aneurysm, followed by two debilitating strokes; my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer and diabetes. I had to travel back and forth to two different hospitals. It was challenging to juggle both hospitals since I often had to spend both days and nights alternating and waiting on the outcomes of multiple surgeries and recovery of their illnesses. Eventually, both were discharged and just as we were going to begin the physical therapy and home health processes, we learned the devastating news that my grandfather had passed away! It was difficult to see my dad struggle to deal with his health deteriorating, but now he had to mourn the loss of his father. As if that wasn’t enough, early in 2014, we learned the devastating news that due to the diabetes, one of his legs was going to have to be amputated. During this time, my life felt so intense I won’t lie, there were many times I wanted to just quit and sell my business. Thankfully though, through the outpour of support from my family, friends, priests, pastors, employees and customers, I was able to regain the faith that I was losing. I honestly believe the strength and courage I received from everyone helped me get through the rough patches.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I touched upon earlier, my divorce was an annoying splinter on my side. In spite of my financial situation and living with my parents, I learned via the divorce decree that my daughters would be living with their father. To say that pain was excruciating is an understatement! I had feelings of disloyalty from their part because naturally, my thoughts were that you stick together as family during trying times, however, they felt different. Trying to keep sane and emotionally stable was laughable. During my darkest hour, I just decided I could no longer deal with it and put it in God’s hands, since everything he’d put on my plate was falling off. Thankfully, slowly but ever so surely, what my daughters thought was going to be a better life with their father, experiencing him on a day-to-day basis brought out the true colors they had never seen of him before. It was only then that they realized that their living situation was not better by any means. Now I’m proud to say that I’m blessed because I am a homeowner and because my small business survived the COVID pandemic. Although I most definitely questioned God for what I considered Him leaving me, I learned through this impossible journey that he was actually carrying me when I stumbled and helped me to eventually get back on my two feet and regain my family.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: latinadivabeauty
• Facebook: Latina Diva Beauty Salon

Image Credits
tinasokolovskaya.com