Briana's hard work turns into sweet success

Ever since I was very little, I learned how to work. From the age of six, I already understood how to sell and how to manage my own money, my own capital. Since we lived near a gas station, I decided to start selling chocolates there.

For example, we would buy a box of chocolates for 40 bolivianos, and I would sell it elsewhere for 60. I was so young, but I already understood what business was. After that, I would go to school and sell little hair bows, gummies, candy — whatever came to mind.

I never waited for customers to come to me — I was always the one going around looking for them. I would go door to door during the day. There, I often came across people dressed in suits, carrying briefcases — people from high society, you could say.

And I would always think, "I want to look like that. I want to dress like that, in a nice suit. I want to reflect that kind of presence and personality." They looked confident and well put together.

I said to myself, "I want to manage things. I want to look like someone who runs businesses, someone who manages." And honestly, today I think I’m becoming that person. I’m trying to build myself up to that point.

My mom was always both a mother and a father to me. From the moment she had me, she had to fill both roles. So thank God, I’m grateful for having gone through that, because it gave me experience. And now I have what I have today. It was also thanks to [ChildFund] — for supporting the idea, for helping me, and for believing in my dessert business, Kuki Frut.

Originally, what I wanted to be was a doctor — the most common dream, right? But as you grow up, your mindset changes. And now I want to be my own boss. I want to create a business, a brand, provide jobs for other people, and help society through that. I want to contribute to my country through this business and help as many people as possible.

I graduated from high school, and now I’m at university studying marketing and advertising. This is my first year, so I’m giving it my all. Even before I started that, however, I was running my business.

I’ve worked at everything, truly everything. You can’t imagine all the kinds of jobs I’ve had. And I’ve had abusive bosses, bad bosses. Maybe it’s because when something is your own, you value it more. But whenever I worked for someone else, I always gave it everything I had. I stayed extra hours just to make sure the boss was satisfied. And then I asked myself, why can’t I create something that benefits me too? Something I can give my whole heart to. Something where I can be my own boss, something I can manage myself, something that truly belongs to me.

So I decided to open this dessert business. Because I believe that through bad experiences, you gain experience. Like one of my favorite authors says, some people use crying to sink deeper, while others use crying as a way to grow. And I’m choosing to use it to grow.

With the business, I manage the accounts myself. From everything I earn, I set aside money for rent, electricity, water, food, and also for my studies. That’s how I organize things. Because without education, there’s no knowledge.

I have to take out loans sometimes; sometimes I join a pasanaku (traditional, trust-based collective savings system in Bolivia) or borrow money, but I always manage to pay it back. There are times when sales drop, and other times when strawberry sales go extremely high. Sometimes on weekends, though, raw materials go bad and get wasted — especially the fruit. So there have been moments when I’ve had to rely on that kind of help, but thank God I’ve always been able to repay it. More than anything, it’s been about financing the business, because through the business I’m able to earn more income. And that’s how I’m able to pay for university. I can also pay the rent here for the business space.

Honestly, when I first heard about ChildFund’s seed capital entrepreneurship program, I was a little like, "Are they really going to give me that?" But it was true. There are so many organizations people talk about, but with ChildFund it was actually real.

I found out about the program online. My aunt sent me the information for entrepreneurs, and since it mentioned a certain age range, it fit me perfectly. So I submitted my information. They asked that the business already be active, and I filled everything out. Then they added me to their Facebook group and gave me detailed information. 

That’s when I started receiving visits, trainings and classes from experienced instructors. I couldn’t believe it. They said it would be like a Shark Tank, and it really was. I saw so many entrepreneurs there. And I told myself, "I’m here, and this isn’t by chance — I have to win." So with every class they gave us, I learned everything really well. The day before each class, I would review everything — not just memorize it, but actually put it into practice.

When the final day came and they announced the names of the five winning businesses, I kept saying to myself, "Mine has to be there. My name has to be there." And when they said Kuki Frut, I couldn’t believe it. Then I knew that all my effort was worth it, and that’s when they gave me my first check.

When I got home, I was like, "Mom, I can’t believe it — it’s a dream." I remember that night I cried and cried. And I told my mom that it was thanks to her, thanks to her always pushing me not to give up.

With that, I was able to buy myself a cooler — basically like a refrigerator. Before, I didn’t have one, and because of that my ice cream would melt. But now it can last for hours here. I bought my juicer, my toaster and two blenders. That helped me a lot because now I can offer more through my business — not just desserts, but also smoothies and mini donuts.

More than anything, now that I already have this initiative, I want to build my brand. I want to keep growing this business and not stop.

It's a good strategy to be here in the plaza because there will always be people there. But I also want to have my own little shop. That’s my goal this year — to have my own store, open more locations, become more recognized, and make the Kuki Frut brand last and keep growing. With this, I also want to set an example for other young entrepreneurs who may be going through situations like mine, or maybe even worse, so they can see that it’s possible in life. I also want to help them. If possible, I’d like to give entrepreneurship classes in my little shop and things like that. More than anything, I want more people to join this business so it can grow with their help too.

The marketing classes I took taught me not just to sell a product, but to create an emotion when people come here — to sell more than just a product, so the customer feels connected to the business. Because of that, I opened my TikTok channel, where I now have around 400 followers, and my videos are already reaching about 1,000 views. I don’t just sell a product — I also show the whole process behind what we do when I go out to sell. I also show who I am — what I’m like carrying the bags, what I’m like behind the camera and off camera, what I’m like when I’m working on the business and when I’m not, what I’m like with my mom. More than anything, I want to create a community. Because if you create a community, your business will grow, since people will feel connected to the brand. So that’s really my main goal — creating a community and helping my brand become more visible.

The funding gave me the motivation to keep dreaming, to keep the business going, and not to give up, because there are going to be difficult days. But when you’re persistent, you can achieve your dreams.

Even without the funding, though, I would have done whatever it took to make it here. So I’m very grateful that you believed in me, because maybe it would have taken me six months to achieve all this on my own, and instead you helped make it possible in just a few days. So truly, thank you very much for trusting in this business. It helped me a lot.

Learn more about how ChildFund supports youth entrepreneurship and livelihoods.