Cristabell Arauz is 32 years old, married, and a mother of two. She is originally from San Miguel Panán, Suchitepéquez. Since childhood, Cristabell has been passionate about business—especially in the food sector. Before beginning her training with FUNDAP, she already had a small catering business. In 2023, with the goal of expanding her offerings, she enrolled in the Pastry Course at the Business Development Center (CEDES) in Chicacao, Suchitepéquez, where she learned how to make a variety of desserts and cakes.
In 2024, she continued her training through the Seguir para Emprender program, aiming to strengthen her business knowledge and improve the management of her enterprise. During the course, Cristabell began implementing changes and processes that led to continuous improvements in her business.
One of her main goals during this period was to save money, which she achieved—and used to make a long-held dream come true: in August of that same year, she opened a restaurant in her community, where she now offers cakes and desserts for special events.
As part of the Equipment Facilitation component, Cristabell received six folding tables, two chafing dishes, 25 chairs, and an industrial mixer. These tools enabled her to improve her catering services and product quality, while also allowing her to offer a better experience for her customers.
Throughout her training, Cristabell implemented several changes that helped strengthen and position her business, including:
- Keeping track of income and expenses
- Managing financial statements
- Increasing monthly income
- Applying critical thinking to develop sales strategies
- Using social media for marketing
- Developing her own business branding
- Creating a client portfolio
- Building a personal savings plan
- Strengthening her business scalability plan (including work shifts, rest days, vacation time, and social security obligations)
Cristabell’s dream is to become a successful businesswoman, one who contributes to the development of her community by creating jobs for women and young people—so they too can earn income and improve their quality of life.
