Fifty-six year old Rigoberto Ruiz was only able to attend school until the 3rd grade, but the variety of jobs he has held over the years have given him the practical business sense he brings to his new business selling pharmaceutical products in El Sauce.
Rigoberto, who lives with his wife and two grandchildren, has been a cadet, farmhand, salesman for Avon, carpenter, construction worker, shoe repairman, and barber in addition to his experience selling medicinal products several years ago. Although he says he has always worked wherever his abilities have allowed him to, when a friend told him about the opportunity to participate in the new Enlace Project Microloan Program he immediately saw a chance to open his own door-to-door pharmaceutical business.
He applied for a loan of $200, entered the training class, and said he enjoyed learning more about basic accounting. Although he has tried to apply for a business loan before, he has not been able to meet the income requirements and appreciated that Enlace´s program is much more accessible, with the main requirement being the attendance of the educational training.
Rigoberto says he likes working with his business because he considers pharmaceutical sales an important need in the community, and it is often hard for people living in the countryside to have access to the medicine they require. In the future, he is looking to build up his client base around El Sauce.
--Originally Written in October 2012
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