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/ Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Angelina, an eclectic community of entrepreneurs The cost of starting-up a business leads to a collective effort
T
Juan A. Hernández, The Weekly Journal
he entrepreneurial spirit is a family trait for Laura Feliciano, a.k.a. Laura OM. Back in the 1960s and 70s, her grandmother owned and operated an ice plant on Hoare Street, in Santurce, while her grandfather sold chickens. So, it didn’t surprised anyone in her family when she decided to open a beauty salon when she came back from the U.S. in the early 2000s. “I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 23… I’ve been in the restaurant business, in entertainment and in cultural venues while still operating my beauty salons,” said the beautician. “Those were additional activities I dived into, but the salons have been a constant.”
… I’ve rented some commercial spaces to small entrepreneurs which are committed to work collectively for our success.
OM Studio beauty salon at Angelina.
of entrepreneurs that could collaborate with each other to develop their businesses and push them forward. “‘Angelina’ is now that space. I have my salons here, and at the same time I’ve rented some commercial spaces to small entrepreneurs which are committed to work collectively for our success,” Laura said. It has always been my intention to support other entrepreneurs that don’t have all the financial resources needed to
Laura OM, beauty specialist and entrepreneur
A Santurce resident, Laura’s sense of entrepreneurship is very connected to the community she lives in. She considers Santurce “the heart of San Juan” not because of a nostalgic memory of a time long gone, but because of its very convenient location –within walking distance from Condado, the beach, Old San Juan and a bus ride away from Río Piedras. Also, Santurce is a diverse community that still manages to stay put, despite the urban sprawling that characterized Puerto Rico during the 1970s and 80s. With that in mind, Laura bought the building where the old Sal’s Beauty Supplies store was located on Ponce de León Avenue. She was looking for a place big enough as to house a community
“Rizo Adentro” beauty salon at Angelina.
open their own businesses.” The Santurce businesswoman pointed to the difficulties of opening a business “from scratch.” “The whole thing is very expensive… from the permits, equipment, utilities, insurance… All these cost a lot,” she said. At ‘Angelina,’ business owners rent an “all included” space that affords them to start up their businesses without having to get in debt. Business owners here rent their space with
