Hispanic Heritage Month: El Pasoan who took a leap of faith and became her own boss

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- September 15 to October 15 marks National Hispanic Heritage Month—a month created to recognize Hispanic Americans who have made strides in our nation and our local communities. 

Crystal Martinez is one of many El Pasoans who has been able to forge her own path in the business world. 

At just 16 years old, Martinez graduated high school. She would continue her career at UTEP, where she obtained her bachelor's in mass communication and a minor in business in 2008. 

Martinez thought she would become a television reporter after graduating, so she was surprised when she took the business route instead.

Now Martinez has been in the insurance industry for 25 years. 

Since the beginning of her business career, customers and other agents encouraged her to open her location. 

“My mentors were like, "You should open your own location. You know you should. You would be a really good State Farm agent.' And I just kept saying no," she said. 

Martinez opened her own State Farm location in 2011, but she said she faced many challenges, including being a female and a minority. 

“So I get a lot of that, like, you know, like double take of, like, 'Really? like, well, How old are you?' And I think it's the female. And of course, cause you're Hispanic and they want to learn more about your market, which is good. And I love sharing about our community.”

"And even today, it's mostly men. And that's okay because I'll be at a meeting. I'll be, you know, trying to learn and writing down notes, and then I'll have other colleagues come back and say, 'Oh, so you came with the agent?' And that's just because I was standing next to a man and they thought that I'm the employee or I'm the manager, and I'm like, 'No! My State Farm location is in El Paso!''

Martinez told ABC-7 she remembers selling food with her mother and sisters at flea markets on the weekends growing up. She said that's where her entrepreneurial spirit was born. 

Now her mother is part of her insurance company. 

“I never thought that in a million years that I would have a team that fully supports me because I really couldn't do this on my own. I have really good team members. I've had really good agents in the past as well that actually opened up their own locations."

Presently, Martinez continues to assist customers by meeting with business owners and giving presentations on retirement and employee benefits.  

Martinez said despite her continued success, she remains committed to her customers.

“It's a huge opportunity. Why? Because we're the majority. We're not a minority anymore, at least here in El Paso. I feel extremely proud to be Latina, to be Hispanic. Don't be discouraged.”

She hopes her story will inspire the next generation of Latino entrepreneurs.