This National Small Business Week, the Chingona Chair podcast is celebrating the entrepreneurs who make their communities come alive. Lilia Arroyo Flores of Digame Consulting, sits down with two incredible Berwyn, Illinois business owners whose stories you won't forget.

First, Alex Herrera of Pink Owl Café shares how he went from immigrating from Mexico, to working factory jobs, to becoming a photographer for major Latin music acts — and how he said no three times before finally saying yes to opening a coffee shop with just $400 to his name. Alex opens up about 25 years of sobriety, the wisdom his grandfather passed down, and what it felt like to look around his thriving café and realize what he'd built from nothing.

Then, Vanessa Valentin Lebron, founder of Altura Collective, talks about leaving a 12-year nonprofit marketing career t ...