June
22, 2021
10 min read
If the English language has the term #GirlBoss to describe empowered women, without a doubt in Spanish we have the “Boss”. At least, that is the name with which Patty Delgado is creating a community that empowers Latinos in the United States through the fashion brand Hija de Tu Madre .
When talking to Patty, I notice some curious things. His parents come from the same state in Mexico as me (Los Altos de Jalisco) and he shares one of my mother’s last names. However, this young entrepreneur, unlike me, has not reached the age of 30, she has a business whose designs led her to be named one of the 30 under 30 figures for 2020 by Forbes magazine.
“I was born and raised in California and I think I always felt culturally conflicted between being raised by my very proud Mexican parents, but also trying to find my place in American society. And in 2015 I decided to go live in Mexico City for a while and feel more connected to my identity. So I opened a travel blog called ‘Hija de tu Madre’ to reflect a woman who does what she wants and is proud of her identity, “says the entrepreneur in an interview with Entrepreneur en Español .
Patty’s entrepreneurial story is very curious. He studied at UCLA and graduated in Religious Studies, but he always had a penchant for design, although I never thought he would pursue that. But being a penniless college graduate, she decided to capitalize on that skill. An internship turned into a job and eventually a freelance design business. It was then that he decided to travel to Mexico while working online.
“I came back just when it was the Donald Trump election and I think at that time in 2016 I felt the need to invest in my community and tell a different narrative of what it means to be part of the Latino community.”
So with just $ 500, Patty decided to transition from the Hija de Tu Madre blog to a real brand and came up with the idea for her first product: a denim jacket with the Virgencita de Guadalupe embroidered in sequins on the back.
Image: Daughter of your Mother via Instagram
“You are a daughter of your mother”
In Mexican Spanish the saying “Hija de tu Madre” is a double-edged sword. It can be taken as an insult to refer to a bossy woman or otherwise to reflect that a girl inherited the strength of her mother to face the obstacles of life.
Be that as it may, for Mexicans “Hija de tu madre” is an expression that has an emotional charge and Patty Delgado is undoubtedly a daughter of her mother: a Mexican immigrant who sought in California to give a better life to her family with her husband. And in a more general sense, it is the daughter of its roots, since 59.3% of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Latin America are managed by women.
For the entrepreneur, growing up as a Mexican-American was not easy, because like every child of an immigrant , she had to fight to stay true to her roots and, at the same time, develop her own personality far from the expectations of her culture for women. And that is what Hija de tu Madre reflects, whose sales, in the words of the founder, are heading to exceed two million dollars in sales this 2021.
“By wearing the jacket, I felt that I was occupying a place that belonged to me and that it reminded me of my culture,” says the founder.
The garments and accessories of this brand have motifs that refer to Mexicanness. Their most popular product is a denim jacket with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, who, religious attachments aside, is a symbol of “La Raza.”
Patty set out to create designs that were inspired by the work of artists like Frida Kahlo or even with typical phrases in Spanish that Latinos hear every day at home. In this way, the entrepreneur began to speak to a new generation of Latinos in the United States who do not hide their roots, and on the contrary, use them as an engine to break through.
For example, the phrase “La Muy, Muy” , which in Spanish is used to describe someone presumptuous, is on your hand mirror, while “Échale ganas” , a saying that inspires you to give your all, is conveniently on a cup of coffee. pewter like the ones our grandmothers wore.
You are doing great, m’ija
In Latin America we usually say that 2020 was one of the longest decades for everything that happened in the world, especially with COVID-19. These events could be devastating for a young entrepreneur, however, for Hija de tu Madre it represented an opportunity for growth.
“We are very digital natives. We do not have a physical store so electronic commerce has always been our main source of sales, but the confinement measures did affect us because we are very much based on the idea of the community ”, says Delgado. “We did events and workshops and suddenly losing that intimacy with our community was horrible.”
The entrepreneur points out that the distancing greatly affected the morale of her brand and that as a leader she saw the need to continue inspiring her team despite feeling disconnected from the community that gave meaning to her origin.
Not only that, its supply chain was also affected by COVID-19 . “We had to rethink the way we did things and that led us to make the accessories in-house and that was a radical change. We no longer only sell, we also produce ”.
Despite the fact that Hija de Tu Madre has great exposure, Patty has not taken external funding. “The company is growing very fast and I don’t have an MBA,” laughs Patty, “so the main pressure I have now is to keep up this scale.”
Image: Daughter of your Mother via Instagram
Make Boss Moves
One of the most popular pieces of Hija de Tu Madre is the shirt that says “ Make Jefa Moves” (something like “Make decisions or actions of a boss”) and it seems to be a phrase that resonates with the users of the brand, as they have created community.
“Bosses” – which literally translates to “female boss” in English – is not an equivalent term to #GirlBoss, because it has a respect component as it is a loving way we call our mothers. And it is for that very reason that Patty and her team chose this word to refer to the community of their brand to empower them.
Currently Patty Delgado’s business has 300,000 followers on Instagram , called “Jefas”, among which is the Mexican-American actress Eva Longoria . Not only that, Hija de tu Madre has appeared on Netflix shows like Gentefied and On My Block and has been a trending topic on TikTok.
Image: Daughter of your Mother via Instagram
Patty discovered the power of social media to create community, something that comes naturally to Latinos and decided to use the power of social media to empower other Latinos.
“I feel very privileged because I have a great responsibility as an entrepreneur to bring more people with you. I try to give mentoring and workshops on how to start a business so that more Latinos do it, ”says the young woman who will barely turn 30 in August.
“My greatest achievement has undoubtedly been the community that we have created with Hija de Tu Madre with women who identify with us. It feels more like a movement of women connecting through shared values, similar experiences, and the difficulties of being multicultural in a way that is very tangible. “
We come from a culture that is very traditional in many ways. There are certain milestones that are expected for us as women. However, something that is not talked about much is that in Latin America, the majority of entrepreneurs are women. Patty experienced it that way growing up.
“Most of the women in my family are entrepreneurs and I always saw the entrepreneurial path as a very realistic option for me. My parents have had many failed businesses, but they have also been successful in their own way, so they have always supported me. “
For the next few years, Delgado wants to take his brand beyond the online world with pop-up stores and reach more cities with a strong Latino presence in the United States to have more mentoring and workshops for entrepreneurs.
“There is frustration among Latinos in the United States because we are promoting entrepreneurship and the population, but in economic terms we are down. That injustice kills me. The Hija de Tu Madre community is a way to start a dialogue about the importance and opportunities that Latinos have to give ”.
