Latina entrepreneur overcomes all odds, achieves success, and then pays it on – NBC Los Angeles

A woman from the San Fernando Valley has passed the chances of becoming a successful entrepreneur and is about to open a second location.

In our coverage of Hispanic Heritage Month, we portray Maria Gomez, whose curiosity and thirst for knowledge have turned into good business and are now being paid for.

“I would think that’s it. That’s it, you kind of screwed it up, ”Gomez said.

So did Gomez when she was 16 and pregnant with their son Armando, but instead of giving up, she decided to build better lives for both him and her.

17 years later, Gomez has a thriving eyelash extensions business and is in the process of opening another permanent makeup facility.

She says it was all because of a moment she had after graduating from Cal State Northridge and becoming a real estate agent. She got her own eyelashes and it hit her.

She billed me $ 100 each time, and I thought you made between $ 500 and $ 600 a day.

Gomez soon discovered that she had the same talent.

After doing eyelashes on the side, her stream of customers decided to open her own salon. That and the hunger to get better.

“I will sit next to someone who is successful and I will choose their brain. I want to know how you got there. I want to know what your habits are. I want to know what you eat, ”she said.

In addition to being where Gomez works, Omnia Lashes in Granada Hills also teaches eyelash-themed courses so her employees can start their own business just like her. Many already have it.

“I have to pay for it in advance. I have this gift that I discovered that was given by God, ”she said.

Gomez says her faith and son keep her going.

Armando is now 17, taller than his mother and unwittingly the trigger for her big dreams to come true.