Table of contents
TK Tunchez started Las Ofrendas with $100 worth of craft and jewelry supplies 14 years ago. Today, the Austin, Texas, based business is a thriving lifestyle brand and online retailer that sells products by BIPOC, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ makers. Tunchez also launched Frida Friday ATX, a marketplace that showcases the same creative community with live music, education, and activities.
The business has thrived through a patchwork of creative financing rooted in resourcefulness, community support, and strategic reinvestment. That’s why Tunchez is committed to helping others achieve financial success through education and financial literacy.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love money,” she says with a laugh. “But the mentality around how we grow community and function under capitalism has to change if we want to create healthy economic systems.” She adds, “That’s how I look at what I’m doing in every action: I want every single one of our small businesses to do well.” Here, Tunchez shares how she has evolved the business — from part-time hobby, to flourishing online brand and marketplace, to non-profit — all while keeping culture and community at its heart.
Scaling a self-funded business
Las Ofrendas (“The Offerings” in Spanish) began as Tunchez’s hobby. She made jewelry, flower crowns, and wearable art inspired by her Chapina-Mayan heritage after leaving her nine-to-five job. “Whatever I made, I would put it back into the business,” she says. She sold her work at local markets and pop-up events, using the proceeds to reinvest in supplies and scale up operations. A year after she established Las Ofrendas as an LLC in 2019, she was just $2 shy of her business goal of making six figures. “We made $99,998 — almost all from selling earrings on Instagram!” she says.
This self-funded model allowed her to maintain complete control over her business while growing it organically. Grants from places such as the City of Austin and Business & Community Lenders (BCL) of Texas have helped her fund large-scale events.
Grants offer opportunities for business growth, innovation, and expansion
Grants usually don’t require repayment. Queer to Stay is one annual grant program that provides funding to LGBTQ+ businesses nationwide. Applications for 2025 haven’t been announced yet, but have historically opened between June and August.
Leaning on quick boosts of capital
A few years ago, Las Ofrendas was a vendor for Austin City Limits and needed an infusion of cash to scale up her staff and inventory — fast.
One of her vendors advised TK to apply for an $8,000 loan offer¹ from Square in her Dashboard — it was simple, easy, and fast. Attracted by the simplicity of the process, Tunchez applied for another loan offer from Square to help her business in 2024.
“This last year was very difficult for us. We needed a surge of [cash] from an immediate source,” she says. “Because the repayment plans are based on a portion of sales, it was an easy ‘yes’ for me, because I knew I could rely on our income [to pay it back].”
Did you know?
With Square Loans, you may become eligible for a loan based on your unique business data, like card sales, payment frequency, and customer base. Put that money to work fast with instant deposit into a Square Checking account. Applying won’t affect your credit score.
Creating shared success
The financial structure of Las Ofrendas is less about chasing massive profit margins and more about sustainability, both financially and culturally. “It hasn’t always been like that,” she says, adding, “That is a BIG lesson I learned in building a business.”
One of the key reasons Las Ofrendas has succeeded is Tunchez’s deep connection with the local creative and cultural community in Austin. For Frida Fridays ATX, she mentors and collaborates with other entrepreneurs. She also provides booth scholarships “to create space for makers who might otherwise not be able to afford to participate — especially those who are just starting, navigating hardship, or belong to multiple marginalized identities,” she explains.
While the booth scholarships are a relatively small cost for Tunchez (about $245 per month across all 5 markets), she personally funds them because of her commitment to equity, community care, and building a more inclusive creative economy. Her long-term goal? Find partners and sponsors to help sustain and grow the program further.
As Tunchez explains, no one taught her how to be an entrepreneur. “I bootstrapped my way into everything I’ve done — I’ve grown my business without almost any financial literacy, with no infrastructure, and no real ability to understand the long-term strategy for sustainability within my business.”
Growing a financially literate community
Tunchez is hyperaware of entrepreneurs’ susceptibility to burnout, and she sees the same patterns for vendors she works with. “They hit a point where they grow the business, and then they inevitably don’t have the resources or the training to grow it into what it could become.”
Last year, Tunchez established a nonprofit called Florecer, which will roll out an accelerator program to teach creative entrepreneurs financial literacy skills. “Because there is a gap for first-generation entrepreneurs who have never had access to wealth before to be able to understand financial literacy.”
In July, she will host the first Las Ofrendas Wealth and Wellness Summit in Austin, where aspiring — and current — entrepreneurs can learn tangible tools to grow their business, plus mindset and central nervous system regulation, or somatic tools, to support themselves throughout the process. Also in the works is a coaching class for entrepreneurs and changemakers.
As a maker and a creative, Tunchez says the most critical aspect of her work is creating spaces that celebrate joy. “That’s hard when you’re a small business and you’re not making the same money you used to make, even though our vendors show up consistently because the economy is tough,” she says. “But creating a space where our community comes together and celebrates each other is just an act of resistance and resilience in and of itself.”
Partner with others
Maison Danel has teamed up with neighboring businesses to get permits, share space, and more.
Finance in Focus: The power of paying it forward
Aja Evans is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who specializes in Financial Therapy. She owns and operates a private practice in New York City.
Financial therapist Aja responds to real-life money decisions submitted by Square business owners.
TK is showing up for her community in a genuinely supportive way! Entrepreneurship comes with ups and downs, and having a strong sense of purpose can help you, your business, and the community of makers around you, be more resilient in the face of uncertainty.
Strong entrepreneurial support systems create success
While grit and innovation are important qualities that help business owners thrive, research says having access to an ecosystem of advisors, mentors, and development resources (including micro-financing) is just as critical — and that is exactly what your scholarship program has built.
Even small moves can have a big impact
By funding the scholarships yourself, you’ve put your passion for your community into action. It doesn’t take a big financial commitment to make a difference either: Adding a line item to your budget can help you set aside a small percentage of your revenue every month toward something that matters to you. Offering your time to mentor other entrepreneurs can be powerful as well.
By leading with purpose and vision, you’re doing more than growing your own business — you’re creating opportunities for your community to thrive.
1. All loans are issued by Square Financial Services, Inc. Actual fee depends upon payment card processing history, loan amount and other eligibility factors. A minimum payment is required and you must repay your loan as specified in the loan terms. Loan eligibility is not guaranteed. All loans are subject to credit approval.
