Rocio Bautista
Owner of Inkza

In 1998, Rocío’s brother suffered from a serious and uncommon disease and his doctor decided to send him to Sacramento to have him evaluated. With no better alternative, Rocío’s parents asked her to accompany him. Although Rocío had no plans to move from Ecuador, she decided that taking care of her brother was the best thing to do. At first, her plan was to stay in the U.S. only until his medical treatment was complete. However, and despite a lack of English proficiency and money, she decided to stay longer and pursue a better life.

Born and raised among artisans, Rocío always loved and was passionate about making arts and crafts. In 1999, she decided to move to San Francisco to sell her artwork at tourist locales. She saved every penny she earned in order to import more art from Ecuador.

Things were not easy for Rocío at first. However, she always had faith and knew that one day she was going to be able to leave the streets and achieve her dream of having her own business. Fortunately, her sales were growing and she saw the importance of attaining the necessary permits and licenses to properly open her business.

In 2005, and with a huge effort, Rocío and her husband opened Inkza Crafts, a unique store selling handcrafted jewelry, weavings, and home décor, located in San Francisco’s Mission District. As with every business, sales were not always high, so Rocío started selling at tradeshows and community events to keep sales up. It was at one of those events that Rocío learned of ALAS.

When Rocío found out that ALAS could help her expand her business, she quickly registered for their ‘Paso a Paso’ class. In December of 2005, Rocío had graduated from ALAS and was ready to put all she had learned into practice. “ALAS provided me with useful information and helped me identify my target market. Thanks to ALAS I became an informed and independent woman.”

Today, Rocío participates actively in ALAS events and serves as a role model for other graduates. “The ALAS events give me not only more business knowledge, but also the opportunity to network with potential clients and important people in the community.”

Rocío continues operating Inkza Crafts and is constantly looking for opportunities to expand her business. Despite all her success, Rocío has not forgotten her roots. She sells art made in Ecuador, helping her family and the community in general. “I am very proud of what I have achieved in my professional life. However, I am even prouder of the fact that with Inkza Crafts I am helping my people back in Ecuador. Forty percent of what I sell in the store is made by my own family.”

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