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Hidden Gems: Meet Griselda Martinez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Griselda Martinez.

Hi Griselda, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story starts with my family… I was born and raised in Mexico, daughter number four of a wonderful Mexican family. My mother and father were the only ones in their families’ histories to earn a higher education degree, out of 8 siblings on my mother’s side and 14 children on my dad’s side. My mom was a school teacher and instilled our love for education and its importance. With his ability to see market gaps as business opportunities and the financial stability of my mother’s job and her administrator gifts, my father became a business owner as another first in his family.

When I was 16, my mother transitioned into heaven, shaking our family’s world. New ways of doing things and figuring out life, and while it was chaotic and painful for many years, it also yielded unexpected options in my life. One of the biggest defining moments in my life was when my little brother and I came to the United States in a cultural exchange program. This concept can be summarized by a family in the U.S. hosting an international student for a few months. I was 17, and my brother was 13. My brother went to Oregon, and I went to Louisiana, each of us embarking on new chapters living with complete strangers. While my brother’s experience was a little disappointing, I had a loving family with momma and poppa, four new sisters, and a few nephews who came to be part of my life, and I became part of theirs. Twenty-seven years later, we are still a family – although it was not a legal process, I call them my adoptive family. I am writing this while visiting the town that would become my home away from home with my adoptive family.

Fast forward, I started college in my hometown back in Mexico. When I was 19 and halfway through my bachelor’s, I decided that I needed to make some moves and decided to go back to Louisiana for a while. That turned into its own journey, including overstaying my tourist visa and getting caught by Border Patrol while I was on the 24-plus hour bus ride from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to El Paso, Texas, on my way home. About two hours from getting to my destination, the bus was stopped by Border Patrol agents at a gas station that served as an informal checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, in our southbound direction. It was me and two men who did have our documents in order. We all three were deboarded from the bus, put into Border Patrol vehicles, and taken to the station. The two men were locked in small pins waiting to be processed and eventually deported. Thanks to God’s grace, I was let go and continued freely visiting, eventually getting a series of student visas to get my education. I was taken back to the gas station, where I had gotten off the bus hours before to wait for the next one. Eventually, I made it to El Paso, where my family awaited me. 

My life story would have been completely different had God not given the favor and grace at that moment for another opportunity without suffering the consequences of my actions. 

In 2004, I graduated with my bachelor’s degree and worked for a bi-national company headquartered in El Paso, Texas, and a manufacturing plant in Juarez, Mexico. It was one of my most challenging yet enriching work experiences for what it would mean for my personal and professional growth. Much of that lay in my former boss’s commitment to helping me reach my full potential, despite my resistance to even acknowledge that I was underutilizing my talents and gifts and leaving opportunities based on my potential.

After I finished my bachelor’s, I went back for my master’s while I was working a full-time job. While completing my master’s degree, I got to work as the interim accounting manager for a local nonprofit organization working with women who needed reskilling and upskilling for financial sustainability. Later on, I worked in evaluating programs offered by a different nonprofit organization that provided services to a low-income population.

Remember I mentioned my mom instilled a love for education? Years later, I started my doctoral program, which I completed in 2014. At this pivotal point in my life, I was determined to make the most of this opportunity. I raised my hand to every opportunity that came my way, resulting in internships, research projects, and the possibility of working with entrepreneurs and their business owners. I got to advise, guide, and mentor business owners… and then I realized that I loved working with entrepreneurs because of their hope for a better future and the boldness to endeavor into the unknown. My love for education intertwines with my love for learning and curiosity, and now, with the full understanding of my need for purpose-driven opportunities.

In 2018, I became a permanent resident of the U.S. Despite my credentials, community work, and contributions to my community, the immigration system in the U.S. is not set to help highly productive individuals transition from non-immigrant to immigrant status. I thank my loving husband for enabling this transition, which has opened many more doors and eliminated barriers to what would come next in my career.

In 2021, I had “made it” into a comfortable title and salary. However, making a positive impact was a non-negotiable, and a divine agitation would not allow me to settle. In a leap of faith, I launched my own business. All the lived experiences, including all that I had watched as a little girl observing my father as a business owner and every one of my siblings as a business owner, was transforming into my own opportunity. My expertise, knowledge, and the conviction that I was created and perfectly designed for a specific purpose started to drive my decisions rather than fear. My dream was coming true after more than 20 years of living in the U.S.

Being a business owner has been the most amazing part of my career, and I shall say that I have had a career filled with fun, challenges, and growth. My business has now become a vehicle for me to deploy part of my life purpose. And that is why I want to help other women, just like me, to become their own business owners and continue to be the experts in their fields and the hard workers they already are. Except this time, in everything they were called to be and do. The joy that comes from it is hard to describe in words.

In early 2023, I became a U.S. citizen. My father, siblings, nieces, and nephews all live in Mexico, bringing me back to see them as often as possible. Part of my responsibility in this country is to showcase who immigrants are and what we do as active contributors to the communities we select as our homes.

Overall, I love life… having the blessing to wake up and know I am loved. I love adventures, even if it is a quick unexpected trip or a new opportunity I am called for… I love nature and its wonders; how much perfection is out there…

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Obstacles – being away from home allows you to turn obstacles into opportunities for growth… and I have had a few of those.

One of the biggest ones is to not be near my family. To have to hold on wanting a hug from dad or sister and settle with a phone call and the thought that I will get to see them soon.

As an immigrant, I have had to embrace my choice to be far away in a different country that is not necessarily friendly with those who look like me, especially when a national leader actively dishonors my people. The first time I used my U.S. permanent residence card, after almost 20 years of being in every other migratory status in the U.S., I thought the officer would say it was a fake I.D. or something of that sort. The same thing happened to me the first time I used my naturalization certificate to come to the U.S. I went on with this long explanation of why I only had my naturalization certificate… the officer had to explain to me that I had earned it, that I did not have to explain.

We’ve been impressed with Ascendo Strategies, Her Path to Purpose and Profit & unExpectedly Successful, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started my business in August of 2021, after leaving my good title and salary… I am one of many who left the job during the now-famous “Great Resignation.” While my shift from being an employee to becoming a business owner was not directly linked to the deep reflections resulting from the health pandemic, it was based on the same concept of going after my purpose and using my business as the vehicle to do that. I believe each of us has a specific purpose for our lives through which we make our unique positive impact. The faster we discover and operate in it, the faster we will find that deep joy and peace within us that makes us smile big.

Ascendo Strategies is the umbrella of three major areas of work with a fourth one in the works. The first is economic development consulting work branded under Ascendo Strategies (ascendostrategies.com). I work with local municipalities and non-profit organizations whose mission is to create and implement strategies for economic prosperity and social mobility and, deeper than that – help individuals craft a better future for themselves and their families.

The second one is business coaching and mentoring, a rediscovery of a lost love I had packed away in the attic. This initiative is branded “Her Path to Purpose and Profit” (herpathtopurposeandprofit.com). Through this work, I work with aspiring women entrepreneurs who are experts in their field, are super hardworking professionals, and care deeply about their community and making an impact. Although they are grateful for their jobs – something is missing. As the name says, creating their own business is their mechanism to continue their growth, find their purpose, and be profitable.

The third is my newly launched podcast, unExpectedly Successful, The Podcast. This initiative is the one that is furthest from what I thought I would be doing if anyone had asked me two years ago – would you ever have a podcast? I would have said no. But on my pathway to purpose, I realized that my gifts and talents needed an additional outlet while filling in a gap I experienced. I feature  business founders who have become successful business owners despite the challenges and limited support systems, access to role models, mentors, information, and networks. One key question in my interview is: were you expected to be successful? And I will not spoil the answers; find unExpectedly Successful, The Podcast in your favorite podcast app and in YouTube. I will say that these conversations are one of my favorite things I get to do. The fourth one currently in the works it relates to me becoming a transformational writer. By late fall, I will be a published author in partnership with a few selected transformational co-authors. 

What matters most to you? Why?
It is so interesting to read this question because I could have answered confidently and fondly a year ago, differently from how I am today.

Recently, I have defined my rule of life based on my values. My number one is my faith, which I had never experienced being the foundation of anything and everything I do until recent years, and definitely the last 12 months. It has been a process of healing, growing, strengthening, and awareness filled with wonder that has led to deep peace in moments of chaos and uncertainty.

Number two is my health. In the past, and based on what I saw in my surroundings growing up, taking care of your health first was not the thing to do. My mother took care of all her children before taking care of herself. While that streamed from deep love towards us and those she loved, that lack of attention to health shortened her life on this Earth, dying at age 52. So, it is my commitment to align my values and beliefs, respecting those I deeply love by being well, and in light of recent health challenges, taking care of myself to be well and function to the most optimal version of myself – in all areas of health, including mental, physical, and emotional.

Number three is my family. Given my family background, I define family in a broader sense than most would in the U.S. because my concept of family incorporates blood and adoptive family and includes my husband, my dad, my siblings, nieces and nephews, a few beloved aunts and cousins, and my stepchildren and grandchildren. My number four is my work. I take great pride in my work and education, which has positioned me to go places. Work is one avenue that allows me to find meaning in life through the impact I have on those I get to work with and for.

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