#PerseveranciaLatina Spotlight Series: Meet Ana Flores!

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize the integrity and strength that characterizes the Latino community through #PerseveranciaLatina: a digital and social campaign. #PerseveranciaLatina will feature uplifting stories from Intuit Latino customers who overcame challenges and accomplished their goals due to their determination and perseverance.

TurboTax is proud to join this year’s celebration by elevating inspirational Latino voices that empower others to succeed despite adversities.

Meet Ana Flores 

Ana Flores is the founder and CEO of #WeAllGrow LATINA, a digital and IRL community of impactful Latina creators, makers, and entrepreneurs who support and uplift each other. Born in Houston and raised in El Salvador, Ana pioneered the influencer marketing industry by creating a first-of-its-kind community that  evolved over the past 11 years to become an empowering space for these Latina creators eager to drive social and economic impact daily.

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Ana always had a calling for creating new and bigger things of her own. In the early years of her career, Ana worked as a television producer, but she always ended up quitting those jobs. That’s why in 2009, she decided to take her career on a new route and started her first blog, Spanglish Baby, made for parents raising bilingual and bicultural kids. This project led to Latina Bloggers Connect, the first network that linked Latina bloggers to brands, also known today as influencer marketing. Once Latina Bloggers Connect launched, it was just a matter of time for Ana to experience the most important moment of her career: the creation of #WeAllGrow Latina Network. 

“Since day one at #WeAllGrow, our motto has been the same: when one grows, we all grow. Our mission is to elevate the voices and stories of Latinas via the power of community through gatherings, culturally relevant content, and tools to increase visibility,” said Ana as she shared her story with TurboTax for the #PerseveranciaLatina series.

Ana had no roadmap, no funding, and no role models. It was through years of perseverance, self-funding, and learning from her own mistakes that Ana was able to break the ice and build the foundations for an industry that was completely new. 

Ana understands the importance of having an Espiritu de Perseverancia (Spirit of Perseverance), which has been a part of her journey every step of the way. 

One of the most challenging moments of her career was back in 2017 when the influencer marketing industry was completely different. #WeAllGrow was not ready to keep up with those changes, and was at the risk of bankruptcy. The business was at the brink of falling apart. The only thing keeping Ana and her community together was the spirit of perseverancia. 

2020 COVID-19 boomed globally, bringing a new set of challenges that tested Ana’s spirit of perseverance again. The#WeAllGrow Summit had to be canceled due to lockdowns and restrictions, which represented a big hit. However, after canceling what was going to be the biggest WAG conference in history, she pivoted and leveraged her online community, #WeAllGrow Amigas to continue to support entrepreneurs with the tools and information to help them navigate the uncharted waters of being self-employed during the pandemic. 

#WeAllGrow survived due to how the community showed up to reinforce the importance of hard work and the positive impact that the organization has  as a driving force for Latinas in the U.S. 

When we asked Ana what “Perseverancia Latina” meant for her, she said that it represents the willingness of Latinas to overcome any challenges. Through that same spirit, Latinas own and nurture their desire to continue to change the world.  A great spirit of perseverance, also comes with a big responsibility, and that includes taking charge of many aspects in your life, including your finances.

As a business owner, Ana shared with us that she struggled with this. She addressed the importance of understanding that “when you’re creating a business, you’re putting everything on the line.” As a TurboTax and QuickBooks customer for many years, Ana recognizes how great it is that there are resources like Intuit products available today for the Latino community to easily use and take control of their own finances! 

Intuit customers like Ana rely on key tools to grow their business, stay on track with their finances, and file their taxes. If you’re an entrepreneur or you’re self-employed, don’t forget to check out our Intuit products that can help you achieve your financial goals:

• TurboTax Self-Employed helps you easily uncover tax deductions specific to your industry. If you have questions as you are filing your taxes or related to estimated taxes during the year, you can connect live via one-way video to a TurboTax Live Self-Employed tax expert to get your questions answered. TurboTax Live Self-Employed tax experts are available year-round in Spanish and English and can also review, sign and file your taxes or you can fully hand them over to a TurboTaxLive expert from the comfort of your home. 
• QuickBooks Self-Employed helps you easily track your business income, expenses, mileage, and capture receipts with a snap of a picture year-round. You can then transfer your business information to your TurboTax Self-Employed tax return which makes filing your taxes a breeze.
• Mint provides you with a more complete picture of your financial life – from what you earn to what you spend, owe, and save – to help alleviate the daily stress associated with managing your financial life.