We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tatiana Quintero Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tatiana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Most of the time I’m happy to own a business, but there are days or times that are so difficult that I just want to close the company, sell everything, and start over working for another company. I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to work again in my field of study, and honestly, I’m not 70% sure. It’s difficult being in an office doing computer work, numbers, etc. I prefer being active, talking, cooking, selling, and most importantly, seeing every smile on every face that’s happy to eat my food. The last time I considered closing down and giving up was last month, in September. I had a lot of ups and downs with changes in the commercial kitchen, decisions that weren’t right for the business, and the realization that everything I’d done for years wasn’t paying off, but rather creating stress, anxiety, and debt. When you’re the only one running your business and you have to make all the decisions and take all the responsibilities yourself, it’s too much of a burden. I’m currently reflecting on this, hahaha. It’s a difficult decision because I love what I do. It makes me so happy to spend time in the kitchen creating new empanadas or sauces; it’s something that’s in my soul. (My friends say Taty’s house is like grandma’s house, hahaha. They know they’re welcome there and there’s always food.) That’s why I’ve decided to wait a bit and try to get some permits that are more complex, but they’ll help me get where I want to be if I manage to get them.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Yo soy Tatiana Quintero, ingeniera comercial, una mujer soltera de 37 anos que suena con tener una distribuidora nacional de empanadas colombo-mexicanas and americanas. I started in my company out of a need to eat something from my country and show it to the people around me. i ahve a comany about Gluten Free Colombian Empanadas and salsas.
It’s a product that cooks in 13 minutes in the air fryer without needing to defrost. You know how we never have time to cook these days because we’re so tired? Well, my product is ready for you to come home, put 3 empanadas in the air fryer at 390°F, go take a shower, and when you come back you have a ready-to-eat meal with no preservatives or additives.
What sets me apart from the rest is the wide variety of flavors I offer. I currently have 16 flavors, including vegan, vegetarian, meat, and sweet options, all of which are gluten-free.
I feel very proud to be able to make a living from my company and to see how many people have wanted to invest in it, but I want it to be a family legacy, and when I’m gone, if the company still exists, my family will inherit it.
I want you to know that my product is made with all my love. It’s 100% my own creation, and my grandmother’s too. It’s a product that makes you savor every bite, every flavor, and every crispy texture of the empanada. I want you to know that I want to distribute it to everyone so that everyone can have their own frozen package in their freezer to enjoy whenever they want, effortlessly. It’s a women’s project, a way for us to get ahead and achieve our dreams in another country.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

The end of summer is very difficult here in Arizona. It’s an extremely hot state, which doesn’t help sales because people travel to other states or simply don’t want to go shopping. Often, by the end of summer, it’s hard to cover employee salaries and other expenses. That’s when you have to dip into business savings and sometimes personal savings, since you have to pay the people who work to produce a finished product. Usually, after the tough summer season, you have to start a plan to pay off the debt incurred during the summer and look for events and wholesale opportunities.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

To gather everything I needed, I had to make the decision to work a regular job during the day and make empanadas at night so I wouldn’t spend the sales money on anything for myself and could invest part of my salary in machines, supplies, or other necessary things. My family also helped me a lot; whenever my birthday came around, I would ask them to give me something I needed for my business. And the greatest gift was my ex-mother-in-law, who paid for a machine that made 300 empanadas per hour, and one day she sent me a check so I could buy it. She’s an angel.
Starting and maintaining a business is very difficult; being able to pay for so many permits and insurance requires extra effort.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @empanadaempireaz
• Facebook: @empanadaempire