By Anne Lagrange

Meet Gabriela Rodriguez, founder of Taquizas Los Carnales, a Mexican food and catering company based in Austin, TX. Gabriela’s business opened in 2015 when she started baking cakes and gelatins for her friends and family. She never saw it as a formal business until her son encouraged her to begin offering meals. In 2019, they started catering tacos and made plans to further grow the business. Today Taquizas Los Carnales offers appointments through their website and can be found at The East 40 in Bastrop. 

Gabriela shares her experience as a business owner and how EGBI can help you grow your business too. 

Hi Gabriela! To get started, would you mind telling us what inspired you to start your business?

My son knew I could cook a variety of traditional Mexican foods and encouraged me to offer more than baked goods. Through his help I realized I could make a living and better support my family.  

What makes your business unique? 

Our business is unique because we make everything by hand using our own seasonings. We also offer traditional tamales from Oaxaca and Veracruz along with a variety of tacos. Apart from our food, I also feel our interaction with customers is unique. I really enjoy seeing how they appreciate the flavors of the food. Their positive response is really exciting and my favorite part of operating a business.

What are some obstacles you feel like you have encountered in starting or growing your business?  How did you overcome this?  

The biggest obstacles were operating through the pandemic and turning my personal business into a legal entity. With the help of EGBI we got a lot of support making our business plan and learning to survive the critical moments. We also learned the steps to make our business official and create a growth plan. 

What workshops/business coaching have you done through EGBI?

I took two workshops through EGBI. The first was Build Your Business Plan and the second was 90 Days to Business Success. I really liked hearing about how to grow my business and improve my social media. 

How has EGBI helped you? 

During the 90 days of the second workshop series EGBI helped me open a physical location and encouraged me to start offering pastries again. I feel like the workshops made my business more full service and prepared me to keep growing. 

Want to work with EGBI? Contact us to find out how you can get started.