Rafael Fonseca of Artel Video Systems has lost count of how many EforAll and EparaTodos entrepreneurs he has helped, but when pressed, he says it is over 30! He is an eternal student, always interested in learning new things and experiencing new things. Fluent in Spanish and English, he enjoys adventure and travel. At work, he is attracted to challenges. By nature, he likes to help others and loves to teach. Rafael has been involved with EparaTodos and EforAll since its inception.. In addition to mentoring, Rafael is a member of the EforAll/EparaTodos local advisory council.
Why did you decide to become a mentor?
I have always loved helping others. I enjoy passing on my experience to others and the satisfaction of seeing others progress and achieve their goals.
Could you give us examples of the type of ventures you have mentored?
Yes. I have mentored food and baking businesses, arts and crafts and floral arrangements, physical entertainment establishments at parties and activities, and non-profit companies.
In your opinion, what makes EforAll special?
Aside from the tremendous amount of information offered to entrepreneurs and the quality of the experts and mentors, I think it’s the community that EforAll and EparaTodos create. Once entrepreneurs go through the program experience, a family is established.
Use your network and expand your network. Expose yourself to other business owners ahead of you, engage them in a “mentoring” relationship, and seek advice and advisors. Being a business owner can make you feel alone, but it shouldn’t be that way.
What is the #1 mistake you think aspiring entrepreneurs make that you want to help them avoid?
Make decisions based on evidence. Continuously test, listen, and check the market you are serving AND adjust accordingly.
If you have a specific mentor experience that you’d like to share that was rewarding or significant to you, we’d love to hear about it and why!
WOW! This is a hard one. All my mentoring experiences have been wonderful in diverse ways. Like I mentioned before, seeing the entrepreneurs grow, start adopting business language, teaching me about their business and specific industry, and seeing them evolve through the years ( in the same business or pivoting to something else) has been my reward.