These busy OC moms share their insights on running their businesses while balancing family life.
Marcella De Anda
Family: Matteo, 14, Sebastian, 13
City: Yorba Linda
Business: Taqueria De Anda headquartered in Fullerton
How does Taqueria De Anda stand out?
“Taqueria De Anda was founded by my mother and father 40 years ago. Taqueria De Anda is different and special because of its authenticity — our dishes are truly those you’d find from the best cooks in Mexico, whether they are street vendors or chefs specializing in the region’s traditional foods. We use only the freshest ingredients — including my mom’s top-secret salsa recipe — and prepare and serve them with love to our loyal customers. Taqueria De Anda is a family-owned and family-run business and when you visit us, we treat you like family.”
Your business is rooted in family. What are the benefits and challenges of this?
“Honestly, there really is only upside when it comes to being a business rooted in family. We are a very tight-knit, loving family and that comes across in everything we do — both at Taqueria De Anda and in life. We have three generations of our family working in the business and we are handing down not only the recipes that have made us favorites with our customers, but also handing down the way we do business — ensuring that we are making and serving the most authentic Mexican food every day, and also treating our employees well, serving our customers with care, and being part of the fabric of the communities we serve.”
What has your involvement been with the family restaurant over the years?
“I began in the family business by working in the back kitchen with my mom. That grew into doing the bookkeeping and then becoming more involved—little by little—in business operations. As I took on more responsibilities, I realized how important streamlined financial management is, especially for specialized fields. Working with Law Firm Velocity recently has opened my eyes to how efficiently financial operations can be handled, especially when tailored specifically for an industry like legal services. It’s made me appreciate the depth and impact of expert financial support in shaping successful business growth, and I love what I do.”
What challenges have you faced being a restaurant business owner — especially over the past couple of years when the pandemic hit this market hard?
“What has made Taqueria De Anda successful over the last 40 years is what helped us to navigate the pandemic well. We serve authentic, delicious food at very reasonable prices, which made it possible for our customers to keep coming back throughout the pandemic. In addition, we treat our valued employees like family, and as a result, we have a lot of long-term staff that stayed on with us throughout the pandemic so that we didn’t experience any staffing issues.”
Did you always know you’d be running this business?
“I always knew I would be involved in Taqueria De Anda, but I didn’t know how I would be involved until I shadowed my parents and worked with my siblings in the business to see what parts of the business I had a special talent and passion for.”
What have you learned about being a mompreneur?
“I feel so fortunate to work with my family in a business that continues to grow and be successful. Being a working mom is not easy, especially when you’re a single mom balancing the needs of two teenage boys as well as helping to lead a company. But I find the journey — though challenging at times — to be very rewarding.”
What advice do you offer to other moms wishing to run their own business?
“Having a supportive workplace or supervisor is important when you’re a working mom, as you really need flexibility. While the business is very important to me, my kids always come first and my family and team know that. I will often time-shift some of my work in order to be present for my boys — running carpools, volunteering at school, being at sports practices and games, you name it. When I take a few hours during the daytime to be with them, I will usually make up that work in the evenings. It’s a balance and it takes juggling for sure.”
Amy Denise-Lowry Reda
Family: Husband, Tim, and son, Sequoia, 3
City: Costa Mesa
Business: Endless Sun Surf School at the Newport Beach Pier
How was Endless Sun Surf School founded and how has it evolved over the years? “The original surf school was started in 1963 and was eventually overtaken by Scott Morlan, Newport Harbor High School Surf Team coach and math teacher. I learned to surf there in 1993, when I was 8. Scott later became my high school surf team coach, boss (when I became a surf instructor), and later business partner. With Scott, Tim and I all as business partners, we evolved the surf school from a very small summer surf camp into a year-round surf school with the first-ever after-school surf class program, surf therapy, surfing for special needs classes, women’s classes and private lessons for all ages and abilities. We’ve grown to serve our entire community and also people traveling from all over the world.”
What is your background with surfing and surf therapy?
“No one in my family surfed but I grew up in a house on the beach. I loved the ocean and signed myself up for surf camp. I’ve now been surfing for about 30 years. I’ve traveled the world to surf and compete in professional surf contests. I need to surf in order to feel like myself and probably will forever. I studied clinical psychology in grad school and all I could ever think about while there was surfing and the ocean. When it came time to write a thesis, I passionately wrote about surf therapy, the use of surf lessons to promote psychological well-being, particularly for the mentally ill. Over time, I’ve come to believe that we all need this well-being and can probably all benefit from this surf therapy, not just those deemed ‘mentally ill’ … and thus I wholeheartedly believe in giving the gift of surfing to others. I also believe in running a surf school that respects the local community and the larger community (especially having a low impact on the earth).”
Talk about your husband’s health and how that has impacted things for your family.
“My husband, Tim, was diagnosed with an oligodendroglioma brain tumor in 2016. He underwent cancer treatment (brain biopsy surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and other alternative treatments) for over a year. During chemotherapy, Tim still competed in professional surf contests and worked really hard running our surf school, even though he was very weak, ill and tired. It was incredible and inspiring to witness. We were told we might have a hard time conceiving (due to all of this). Thankfully we conceived, completely naturally, after a long wait. Tim still has to receive MRIs every six months to check to make sure his tumor is still stable (which it is) and he doesn’t need any more treatments. Our son is a gift to us that we didn’t know if we would ever receive … so we are extra grateful for him.”
What challenges have you faced being a business owner — especially over the past couple of years because of the pandemic?
“We’ve faced a lot of challenges as business owners. The state of California is a beautiful place to live but there are definitely a lot of requirements and regulations (I.e. a lot of hard work) for being a business owner here. On top of that, we had a lot of extra added challenges over the past years. We were shut down during our peak seasons of spring and summer due to the pandemic, then soon later due to poor air quality from wildfires and then again later due to a large oil spill. Being shut down, over long periods of time, repeatedly, was very challenging in a number of ways. But we didn’t give up. We lived simply and we hung on, until we could safely reopen again. Thankfully some of our loyal instructors hung in there with us as well.”
What have you learned about being a mompreneur?
“I can do this! I’ve paved my own path. There’s a lot of advice out there on how to do this, but I’ve ignored most of it, and have done what works for our own unique family and career.”
What advice do you offer to other moms wishing to run their own business?
“It would be pretty ironic for me to offer advice after just saying that I’ve ignored most parenting advice. But I’d like to repeat: Do what works for your family. If that means bringing your kids to work, do it!”
What role does your son play in your business?
“My son is almost always with us. We often bring him to surf camp. This usually makes it more challenging to work but we don’t want to regret missing precious time with our son.”
How do you juggle it all?
“By prioritizing what’s important and letting go of what’s not so important or meaningful.”
Kristen Reyes
Family: Husband, Rafael, and son, Kace, 5
City: Mission Viejo
Business: It’s A Lifestyle (www.ItsALifestyleLLC.com)
How and when was it founded and what was the inspiration?
“Officially 2011. I started my career as an accountant and grew to a chief operations officer. From there, I started handling a lot more operations and logistics. I fell into a niche field through referrals and word of mouth. My clients are all ultra-high-net-worth individuals with multiple homes and properties throughout the US and worldwide. I realized very quickly that crunching numbers would not be my lifetime career as an accountant sitting behind a desk. I promptly moved into different roles, and when I started handling more of the logistics and operations, I realized this was where I thrived. I started with one client, and they referred me, and then it grew that way from word of mouth. Every day is different, and every client and home has different needs. Each day is inspiring and pushes me beyond my limits and goals.”
How has it evolved?
“Initially I worked with only one client at a time, handling all of their needs and staying with them for longer. Now, I offer different services based on the client’s needs. I start by assessing the situation, giving clients my solution and then taking it from there. For some clients, it is maintaining their properties while they are at their other homes. For others, it is setting up everything needed for a new home. I hire and train staff, create manuals, policies and procedures, and then implement them. I also handle clients’ needs when it comes to purchasing and staffing yachts and any of their aviation needs. I have traveled around the world studying the staffing industry in high-level domestic staffing spheres, high-end exclusive hotels and luxury resorts such as the Aman Resorts. I bring this five-star service to the homes and estates I structure and staff.”
What role does family play in your business?
“I work in people’s homes and the very private aspects of their personal lives and families. Having a family of my own provides the patience and understanding that all families are different and have different routines and goals. While I do not specifically deal with my client’s children, they are around, which helps build a comfortable relationship and happy interactions with them. When they need a nanny, it becomes personal, and I want to ensure I place them in the best hands. When my clients have their first child and seek a newborn care specialist, I feel good placing them with someone I know will cater to their needs. The same goes for handling their homes, art and anything else that they personally take pride in.”
What challenges have you faced being a mompreneur — especially over the past couple of years?
“ Prior to having my son, I was traveling the world for business. After having my son, it became much harder to be away from my family for an extended period of time. I felt guilty and felt like I was missing out on things that were happening daily. While I travel less these days, it is always a work-in-progress to balance your family’s needs, your company’s and your clients’ needs. Striving for a work-life balance always exists. You find you put yourself last behind your family and your work. I am working on not having ‘mom guilt’ and finding me time.”
What have you learned about being a mompreneur?
“Being a mom is a full-time career. It is demanding, sometimes overwhelming, and relentless, but always worth it. You strive to give 110 percent, become selfless and want the best for your child. That is where you have to find the ‘mom-guilt’ balance. It is OK to focus on your own business, your clients and your own needs. Being an entrepreneur and working for yourself, you are instilling different aspects in your child than they would otherwise see. When it is your own business, it’s another type of struggle and want for success. You do things with your family in mind. It is hard to unplug and turn things off at times, especially with what I do, but you find that balance and figure it out as you go.”
What advice do you offer to other moms wishing to run their own business?
“Go for it! Find a support team to help you. Whether that is a spouse or a grandparent, or if you can hire a nanny — find help, so you don’t feel guilty and can find the time to focus on making your business a success. It really helps to be passionate about what you do.”
Leslie Priscilla
Family: Hallie, 10.5, Mayla and Emilio Tomas, 5
City: Santa Ana
Business: Latinx Parenting
How was Latinx Parenting founded and what was the inspiration?
“Before working with parents I worked with children for many years as a preschool teacher, and the impacts of parenting on children became more pronounced through that experience. In community college I had fallen in love with child development and the possibility of raising and supporting the education of children in a way that honored their growth and desire to connect. When I got pregnant with my daughter in 2011, I experienced a deeper awareness of the need for me to heal my own childhood. But I began to feel a deep frustration with not having my story or my culture considered as I read through the many mostly White-authored parenting books in search of alternative ways of parenting to how I was raised, which had bred a lot of disconnection and resentment towards my parents in my youth. I felt the conversation around increased empathy, communication and connection between parents and children to be important, but I didn’t see how this could be applied while still honoring the values I had learned and incorporated from growing up as a first-generation Xicana with Mexican immigrant parents. I knew my childhood wasn’t all bad and that my parents’ circumstances had contributed to how they were able and not able to parent me and meet my needs. This frustration grew into a drive and passion for working with Latinx parents, specifically those who also wanted to break the cycles of violence that they grew up with while sustaining the beautiful parts of our culture. I began working with parents in 2013, became skilled in facilitating necessary conversations about our families, and I never looked back. Nothing like Latinx Parenting existed, and that’s when I knew I had to create Latinx Parenting.”
What services do you offer?
“Latinx Parenting is a bilingual organization rooted in children’s rights, social and racial justice and antiracism, the individual and collective practice of nonviolence and reparenting, intergenerational and ancestral healing, cultural sustenance and the active decolonization of oppressive practices in our families. We are a trauma-informed and healing-centered organization that is centered on building strengths and advocacy for Latinx families specifically. We offer both online and in-person education opportunities that are anchored in parenting and reparenting practices. These offerings are not limited to parents; we also work with professionals and organizations so that people who work with Latinx families can be culturally sustaining in their practices. We also offer one-time workshops that are usually designed around what the community is needing and will soon also be opening up a membership community called El Pueblito. This community is modeled after the village that my mom grew up in in Chihuahua, Mexico so that parents can deepen their sense of feeling held and seen by others on similar journeys.”
What role does family play in your business?
“Because my professional vocation is parenting, I always name my own children as my bigger teachers. My oldest child is almost 11 and she is able to see the kind of work I do and listen to the workshops I hold and I can engage in conversations about it with her afterwards. I want her and my other two children to be exposed to what is being built and shared so that they can carry certain wisdom and insight earlier than I was able to.”
Did you always want to run something like this?
“Yes I did. Everything led me to the creation of Latinx Parenting and I am so grateful for all of the experiences and the things I considered failures at the time. It feels amazing knowing that I have created something that supports families [to] sustain interpersonal and self-connection, community, culture at the same time.”
What have you learned about being a mompreneur?
“I don’t really consider myself a mompreneur. I consider myself the leader of a movement, along with other leaders in corresponding movements, that sees the urgency of contributing to the attainment of equity and liberation of, for and by my people. It is definitely a business in a formal sense, and I have learned that it takes a lot of commitment and dedication to know how to run a business in ways that align with your overall mission and vision, which has been a lot of learning. One of the greatest things that has come from it has been that it’s also allowed me to receive support from people on my team that are so gifted and strong and intelligent in their capacities, which aren’t necessarily the capacities I excel at.”
What advice do you offer to other moms wishing to run their own business?
“Never lose sight of your ‘why.’ Your ‘why’ will give you the strength to keep going when you get tired. Also, rest is part of the work so allow yourself to move slowly.”
How do you juggle it all?
“Very imperfectly. But I allow for imperfections and self-compassion when I make mistakes. I don’t expect myself not to make mistakes or know how to move about being a business owner as an expert. I consider myself a student of my own journey and do my best to offer myself grace in all of it.”
By Jessica Peralta
Leave a Reply