Being vegetarian for the past 6 years has created some inconveniences when it comes to finding places to eat. But one that probably has impacted me the most is not being able to have lunch or dinner in a majority of restaurants in Puerto Rico.

Yesterday as we drove to the west coast of Puerto Rico, I was looking forward to eating some Puerto Rican vegan cuisine near the beach.  As we drove through the road where most Joyudas restaurants are known for seafood, I noticed most restaurants were closed on a Thursday during the summer. The adults in the car where all hungry and my 18-month daughter was a bit uncomfortable after being in her car seat for quite some time.

One Less Small Business in Puerto Rico

As we arrived closer to my vegetarian mofongo haven, we noticed that our favorite restaurant, Pino’s, who caters to vegans and vegetarians, had gone out of business.

Some local politicians like Gov. Fortuño & Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Commerce  say that the economy has improved just to gain votes and support. I am observing the opposite and it bothers me when politicians, instead of fixing the issues, misinform the public to meet their political goals. The past few months I have seen many small businesses I supported close operations. Nothing bothers me more than to see one of the few places that caters to vegetarians and a family-owned business, disappear.

As a small business owner I can relate to many of the struggles we all go through.  In the past 4 Years I have gone from not having enough groceries to go through the week, while focusin on closing my next deal. My previous home was foreclosed on by Banco Popular who was more interested in squeezing even more money from me, instead of trying to lend me a helping hand when my past clients where not paying me on time.

Losing a Job vs. Closing a business

There is a big difference between losing your job and losing a business.  People complain sometimes when they lose a job because they have to look for a new one. Losing your job is something terrible but it is very different from losing a business.

When a small business closes, the owners have depleted all of their earnings. As a small business person I can tell you that I have been close to that moment many times and have been resilient enough to recover and keep my business running.

As a business owner you lose everything. You can’t start another business unless you had an adequately planned exit strategy.

Starting a business requires having enough capital to be able to get it off the ground. Finding a job does not require you to have capital (other than intellectual).

My advice: if you are chasing your dreams you should diversify your income stream. I will write a bit more about this in a future post until then I advise you to read Becky McCray’s Small Town Rules.

Do you have a project you are starting or running?