Greity and her daughter Carolina arrived to Miami from La Habana Cuba one year after fiscal experts announced that the recession had ended. Rumors of high unemployment were rampant as Greity stepped out into Miami in search of a job.

Being qualified wasn’t the issue for Greity – she had a bachelor’s degree in Art History and seven years of work experience in the Bella De Artes Museum of La Habana. As a single mom, Greity was willing to take any job that was available to support her six year old daughter. After almost a year of looking, Greity decided she had to do something different.

I spent a whole year searching for a job… and work was nowhere to be found. It was frustrating and difficult, so I decided to pave my own path. In some way I had to reinvent myself. Given my passion for and knowledge of literature, I decided to start my own business.

Three years ago, Greity registered La Pereza Ediciones as an official business in the state of Florida. Every project Greity publishes requires commitment, dedication and great attention to detail. Consequently, Greity works long hours to ensure that La Pereza Ediciones properly showcases talented authors.

In the publishing industry there is a lag between the time that distributors are able to pay publishers, because they must wait on the transaction to take place with retailers first. The wait can take up to 60 days long. Greity needed working capital to be able to remain in operation. But with such little time in operation, Greity found it hard to access financing. Greity came to Ascendus for a loan after coming across a loan flyer at her university. After working with an Ascendus Loan Consultant, Greity received a $5,000 loan that she used to print her projects on time.

Greity’s next step is to pursue her PhD in Romance Languages while she continues to build La Pereza Ediciones’ success. Her partner Dago has been a huge support to Greity and works as chief editor of La Pereza Ediciones. Greity believes that the more focused she is on her literary passion, the more successful she’ll be.

In this city where looks, beauty, night life and material things are highly valued, the importance of literature and books is often overlooked. I hope to change that mentality.