Bright Ideas
Insights, Spring ’05

“I always wanted to own my own business - it was my American dream. Before I got it started, I took the time to prepare. At Montgomery College, I learned how to write a business plan and how to manage a business.”

At 25, Honduran immigrant Fredys Cedillo owns and operates a successful food market specializing in international products, which opened July 2003 with help from the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) in the College’s Macklin Business Institute. Until age 13, when his family came to the United States, Cedillo helped in the family’s store back home. “They came seeking the American Dream,” said Cedillo about his parents, “but when they finally arrived in Montgomery County in 1991, there was no money left to open a market.” Using CFE as a resource, Cedillo wrote a business plan, secured funding, and now spends 14 to 15 hours a day at work. “Every hour is worth it,” said Cedillo, who works with family members again. He plans to open additional ethnic grocery stores in the future.