Life is truly all about taking risks and not knowing if things will work out or if your new venture will flourish into something bigger than anything you expected. This became extremely clear in 2020 in 2021 when it seemed as though the pandemic either put many things into perspective for people or pushed many into taking risks by pursuing their passion.
For Evelyn Barillas from South Gate, it was both an “it's about time” moment and a need for extra income after she left her 9 to 5 job. At the time, she was working with special needs students both in schools and at home, but due to the rise of COVID-19 causing school closures, she began to lose work and hope. So after much convincing from her sister, she did the unexpected.
“I decided just to quit, which we don't do in my family, and we don't just quit. It was the first time that I prioritized myself,” said Barillas as she sat in her kitchen. “I quit and focused full-on on baking, and my sister created the page. I ordered the stickers, got my merch, and started selling.”
That’s how Chocoflancitos Evelyn was born. What started as simply baking chocoflanes for the family turned into creating a dessert for all to enjoy. For four months, she focused solely on growing her business and survived off of her chocoflan sales before finding the job she has now. Where she works as an inclusion coordinator, creating educational plans for teachers to be able to better include students who fall under the autism and special needs spectrum. But the chocoflan baking did not stop. It became clear that it was not just a side hustle; it was a passion she intended to invest in.
“Regardless of how many hours I work in my day job or how tired I am, baking is such a stress reliever for me,” she said. “Seeing people enjoy my dessert makes me so happy I am so lucky my sister encouraged me to sell them because here I am now, selling them year-round.”