Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Yails Hernandez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Yails, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Shortly after my family and myself moved to Florida, we went through two or three hurricanes. Some of them had terrible impact in the local communities and the economy in general. While I am not new to hurricanes, I wasn’t familiar with all the efforts to support those in needs. I followed the news about people displaced from their homes and how it will be a long while for them to be at a new and safe location. I was watching the news and little by little I was developing the idea of a simple design, comfortable, durable, easy to transport and that will provide a long lasting solutions for those displaced. I came up with several little pieces of the final solution that when put together, offer a fast solution for FEMA to support communities in need, not only after hurricanes, but any kind of natural disaster, such as forest fires, floods, etc. It is not a new concept, but it offers a modern solution that could be even a permanent solution for housing projects. I was very excited to come up with a solution that not only solve a problem, but was also nice, modern and comfortable on such hard times.

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 am a Graphic Designer from Cuba. I grew up in a small town in the south central part of Cuba. While growing up, my parents noticed my inclination for drawing and hand made projects. They decided to enroll me in the local middle school dedicated to arts. During my middle school years, I formally learned about arts, drawing, painting, engraving and other areas of the arts. It served me well during my high school years since I was easily chosen to be the ‘class artist’ for any small projects. When it came the time to chose a college career, I wasn’t even sure if I should chose architect or civil engineering, since I had no idea about the Graphic Design field. It was not until a teacher at my high school, talked to me about a University in Havana, that had only been opened for 4-5 years and it was offering Graphic Design as one of the degrees. Still not knowing much about it, I decided to take the series of entry tests that were needed to be chosen for the career. Little I knew at the time that my middle school art class and my high school years as the school artist were preparing me for these test and for my university years to come. My years of training, my eye for detail and my formal training as graphic designer is what sets me apart from others in the field. I have been very lucky to be able to work in several countries across three continents and for different clients, from natural parks, to banks, or even hotels.

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

I have been a Graphic Designer for more than 24 years when COVID hit a bit too close to home. I lost my job with Disney which was a very unexpected turn of events. I had been through different economic crisis and never in my wildest dream I thought that I would not have a job. About two years earlier I had come up with the idea of having an impact on the housing industry for both emergency situations and for permanent housing solutions. Obviously, having a full time job and a family leave very little time for a new adventure such as creating my own company, plus all the risks that come with it. This was the perfect situation, no job, no income and lower level of risk while I waited out for the pandemic to restore my life to a new normal situation. I started the company in August 202o and since then I have been part designer, part architect, part marketer, part manager, and everything else that comes with owning a small business. There are many hats that a business owner has to wear before been able to have a team and delegate the daily tasks.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I am in the process of turning my ‘side hustle’ into a full time business. My business is not generating enough income yet to be solely dependent of it. I had been able to get involved with several interested party to be part of our dream of becoming an affordable housing company that will serve several generations in need of housing. Our main milestones had been to create the full business and marketing plan of the company for the development of our products. Today we have an audience, followers and several clients lined up for our different models. Slowly but surely we had been able to have a reputation and listening to our clients to finalize our designs and perfect our process.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hompacta.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hompacta/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hompacta
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hompacta/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hompacta