Meet Victoria Magaña Ledesma | Coffee Farmer/Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Victoria Magaña Ledesma and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Victoria, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My path to entrepreneurship came, actually, through the most devastating experience of my life – my father’s deportation.

Like many children of immigrants, I wanted to honor my parents sacrifice. My parents like many others, did something incredible. The ventured to another country where they did not know the language and were faced with so many disadvantages to make a living and finding success. But they did it.

As a first-gen, daughter of immigrants parents I was raised with the belief that I had to find success in corporate America. The plan was to further my education by attending college and pursuing a career – something they could have never dreamt of back in their home village in Michoacan, Mexico and something that I have the privilege of grasping at as a U.S. kid.

I had finally made it to college but a year before graduating something flipped our lives upside down. July 2017, my father lost his final appeal to an order of deportation. He boarded a plane and flew back to Mexico after living in the U.S. for over 25 years.

He left me, the business he has spent decades working, saving, and building. A coffee farm management & pulping mill operation.

So, the business really landed in my lap, not by choice, but because of his deportation. I struggled with this for a long time. The fact that I was now back in the coffee fields – where I was raised and had a soft spot in my heart for but also a place I had been trying to get away from all my life was devastating. I felt hopeless. The separation from my father was also very stressful. It was like my safety net, my protector, was yanked from me. I was left vulnerable, scared, & shocked. It was 4 years before I realized I was suffering from what was later diagnosed as “severe recurring depression.”

For four years, I was miserable. I dragged my feet to work. I had no hope in my life for any movement forward. We did not know (and still don’t) if and when he will return and my life was in a state of limbo. I was navigating this business I had not envisioned for my life. I could not bear to let it fall even when I struggled to keep it afloat with my very limited business expertise. It was not until my therapist, after many sessions of discussion, told me I could leave it. She told me no one and nothing was technically forcing me to stay – I could leave. It was my decision but I had to be in or out because this permanent state of uncertainty was not good for my mental health.

When given the “permission” to leave, I realized I did not want to. I could not let my father’s & in the grander scheme of things, a community’s legacy just die out like that (there are many latinos in the Hawai’i coffee industry).

When launching the retail end of the business, Misma Lani, I did it not only to continue my father’s legacy but to be part of a movement forward. We latinos, make up the majority of the agricultural sector in this country, yet we are rarely visible. I wanted to be part of that movement that says we can own the businesses. We can be the face of the products that we cultivate.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Misma Lani was born as an act of resilience.

It is now my eighth year, and there are many obstacles I am continuously working on overcoming, both internal and external.

My most significant growth has been learning to change my mentality – my thoughts. For many years, after my father’s deportation, I grew to become someone who complained too much.

The scarcity mindset is something I worked on tremendously. I believe we inherit this through the immigrant struggle of our parents, where the very real systemic obstacles they faced were incredibly tough for them to overcome.

I have had to work through the financial scarcity mindset that tells me I will not be wealthy. I practice having positive thoughts, writing these down, envisioning them, AND putting a plan into action in order to change my life.

I was incredulous of manifestation, but I have witnessed how life can change when you change your mindset. Your thoughts have the power to guide you to fulfillment or to keep you in the same place for years.

Misma Lani is still a work in progress, but we are still here after 4 years and are currently working on a rebrand! I am very proud to have made the decision to leap into entrepreneurship and, through hard work, am forging relationships, creating sales, and bringing in growing revenue to the business.

It’s hard, especially now, to be vocal about being an “immigrant,” but the very origin of Misma Lani is that. My parents migrated from Mexico to the U.S. They sacrificed many things: being close to loved ones, their country, and their language. They lived in fear, and as their daughter, I want to use my voice because many still cannot. I want to share the story, to humanize our community to the world, to share our coffee with others, and to have our coffee be representative and proud to be a Latino-owned business.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I actually live in Hawai’i so I’m sorry I don’t know much about LA!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Along my journey, there have been many mentors who have lent me a hand & advice on what the possible next moves I could take. When you are in the entrepreneur game, hundreds of hands have helped you along the way.

As a Latina entrepreneur, I am in awe at the movements and communities other Jefas are creating. I was raised and live in Hawai’i, and it is wonderful to connect with movements like @couragedrivenlatina, @Mujeronmovement, and @cafecitoconjefas that open up space for Latinas for personal growth, achieving our goals, & growing our businesses.

These are spaces I have personally been inside of, and each one has a unique goal & method of providing services, but as a whole, I love seeing these spaces that empower Latinas in their personal or career growth journeys.

If I had to choose one, it would be Mujeron University. Sonia has been a fantastic coach who has pushed me towards growth in my business I could not possibly do alone. She is compassionate, listens to her clients, and meets us at our own pace. She creates a safe and supportive community and shows us the way through example since she is now in your fourth year of creating and putting on in-person events for the community she serves!

Website: https://mismalani.com

Instagram: @mismalanifarms @vickieee_m

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-magana-53b704271/

Image Credits
@alydovephotography
@alyssabrandtdesigns