A Discussion with Debora Dillmann, Entrepreneur, Clothing Vendor, San Miguel, Buenos Aires, Argentina

With: Debora Dillmann Berkley Center Profile

July 5, 2013

Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Project, in July 2013 undergraduate student Sarah Baran interviewed Debora Dillmann, a current biochemistry student at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Dillmann began her own small business selling children and infant clothing two years ago at the age of eighteen. To jumpstart her business, she obtained a loan from Protagonizar, a microfinance lender founded by Jesuits in the lower class Buenos Aires community of San Miguel. In this interview, she discusses her family, the growth of her business, and her work with Protagonizar.

Can you please share with me a little bit about your background, such as your family, how long you have lived in this area, etc.?

I live in Polvorines, which is about 15 minutes walking from here. I have lived here my whole life. I completed high school here. It was private. Now I study in the University of Buenos Aires, in the central part of the city. I am studying biochemistry, concentrating on lab work and its relationship with medicine. I want to be a doctor.

I have a mother, father, sister, and brother. My mom has her own business, which is a gift shop. It sells toys, perfume, and these types of things. She is also studying to be an English professor. My father works in construction. Now he paints, but the type of work he is doing changes constantly. He never does something permanently.

Could you please share with me a little bit more about your business, how you began, and why you are dedicated to this type of work?

I started my own local business when I was 18 years old. My mom had a business before, many years ago, but she closed it when my sister was born. She opened it a second time, later, and this is the one she runs now. On my eighteenth birthday, I was gifted money for my own business. After some time of planning and thinking about how I wanted to invest it I decided to choose something I liked and thought would sell well. Therefore, my part of the store has everything for children and babies, including clothing. So, I invested in order to grow my business. I sell clothes to little kids and babies. I thought it would be too difficult to try and start big with lots of different things, so I focused it on this to compliment my mom’s gift shop. My business is in my house.

How did you discover Protagonizar?

A neighbor told me about Protagonizar and explained all about the opportunity. I have been with Protagonizar for about a year and a half as part of a group. I initially had some problems. For example, I cannot work too much because I have exams as a student. In the beginning, I had too much going on and could not pay my loan. I had to leave the group, and my group dispersed as well. I learned from this. The second time, I started with a different group of four people, and it has been going well since then. Right now my loan is for 1,000 pesos, but if I can reapply for a higher amount, I will. Hopefully, I can grow economically and pursue the possibility to pay more each week.

What investments do you make with the loan and with your profits?

With my loan, I only put the money towards the clothes. My family supports me a lot. For example, I do not need to pay for rent, and so all of my money goes into merchandise.

My part of the store has grown a lot. The loan helps a lot, too. At first I did not have many things, but now there is more variety. My products are more expensive, too. In the beginning it was more basic, but then I could invest in larger, better name brand products. The profits I make go first to college expenses—the books, the cost of commuting, and then for other things in my life as well, such as when I go out or to buy my clothes.

What are some of the obstacles you face with your business?

I knew about business in general because my parents always had their businesses, but I also need time to study. The hardest part was, like I said before, when I needed to close for a short time.

What is your favorite part of your work?

My favorite part of the work is working with my parents. My direction comes from them. I would like to grow and open more little shops of the same type, yet my objective for the future is to be a doctor, and this helps me reach towards that goal.
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