A mother, community leader and small business owner, Guille Quezada is making sustainable change and impact in her community, transforming her past into handmade works of art through her entrepreneurship and inspirational journey of empowerment.
Growing up in Mexico, Guille finished her elementary school education at 13 but aspired to continue. Her father, however, discouraged her saying she didn’t need more education to become a housewife and raise children. As a young woman, those were the only options in her father’s eyes.
“I have that memory of my father fixed inside me, limiting me,” said Guille, who identified that exchange as the moment she gave into her outside limitations.
Guille dreamt to have a career, but she instead chose to follow the plan her father outlined. She got married at the age of 22, raised three children and became everything that her father wanted her to be – except herself.
Guille’s husband was unfaithful and emotionally abusive. After 23 years of marriage, she chose to leave. However, she worried that she would not have the ability to survive on her own.
“I suffered a lot because I thought, ‘what am I going to do, I don’t have any skills,’” recalls Guille. “I thought I didn’t have any skills but in reality I had a lot of skills and talents within me.”
With support of several nonprofits, she was able to convert her talents into her very own business crafting apparel, jewelry and art.
Among her handmade items are aprons and hand bags from leftover scraps of fabric.
“It’s similar to us women that believe they are only left with scraps inside us. But those scraps resurface to make something new,” says Guille.
Her prized possession is her vintage sewing machine, which she uses to teach others how to be self-sufficient. She also teaches crafting classes via WhatsApp and Facebook. Her goal is to remind women that they, too, have the ability to survive on their own.
On top of her small business, Guille also hosts an internet radio show from her home that is streamed across Latin America, which focuses on simple day-to-day conversations.
Her radio show reaches listeners from countries such as Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico. Guille admits that her passion for the show transform her into another person – one that her radio colleagues have called “the Captivating Voice.”
Guille is more than a survivor. Even during COVID, she is helping women in similar situations feel empowered to make it on their own.
“Nobody stops me. Nobody limits me. I know what I have and what I’m worth. And I don’t depend on a man to succeed.”