South Texas Women's Business Center: Success Stories


Services About STWBC Calendar of Events Staff FAQ Success Stories Resources

Second Chance Consignment Store
Being a full time mother is no easy career. Time management, organization and finances are subjects both business owners and mothers struggle with daily. Raquel Tijerina knows this first hand. With a growing family, she saw her kids outgrew their clothes faster than she could purchase them. Gently worn clothes were passed down from child to child, but what could she do once all the children outgrew them?

Knowing several mothers who traded clothes among themselves, Raquel came up with the idea of a children's consignment store. She was shocked, however, with the restrictions and prices of several other shops in the North San Antonio area. She decided to have a family store with reasonable prices and flexible arrangements.

Mrs. Tijerina attended the STWBC courses in the fall to learn about Human Resources, Business Planning and the Principles of Business with a goal of opening her store before the end of the year. She took advantage of our lunch series and various networking meetings to not only promote her new store, but obtain valuable mentorship opportunities.

Second Chance Children's Consignment Store had a soft opening November of 2007. With her family in tow, Raquel is expecting a grand opening in December at 10350 Bandera Rd.

Pisos Tile and Stone
The Cardenas family came to the South Texas Women's Business Center in the Summer of 2007 with the idea of creating a flooring store. A place you could buy stone for your outdoor deck, get granite for your countertops, and even decorative tile.

Mr. and Mrs. Cardenas first obtained assistance from the City's First Point Center with questions on licensing and permits in San Antonio. They wanted to learn about possible restrictions and proper procedures before opening a store that dealt with imported items. They also worked closely with the Procurement Technical Assistance Center to become certified as a small, minority and woman owned business entity, both programs which are located at the City's Economic Development Department, which work hand in hand with the STWBC.

After researching the demographics of San Antonio and scouting a few locations, the Cardenas' found a spot at the former Central Park Mall. With close proximity to Alamo Heights, Castle Hills and a short drive from Stone Oak, the couple saw that it the ideal place for their store on Rector Drive. They also found a warehouse nearby for their larger imported inventory where they created an outlet store and people could come by and buy in bulk. Both stores opened in November of 2007.

Back to Success Stories

Top