Perspective is a powerful thing. In this episode of I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, Jorge Cruz, President and CEO of Marketing Innovations Group a fellow business owner who ran a successful business in Puerto Rico while in his 20s and lost everything during the economic downturn of the 2008 Recession that affected most Americans. In Puerto Rico we have a saying that goes, “when the U.S. mainland gets a cold, we get pneumonia”, and it was so bad for Jorge that he wound up filing for bankruptcy. Being an expert in traditional media, Jorge’s nemesis was digital media. He resisted learning about it and practicing the “new way to market” to his clients. Although Jorge absolutely hated the digital marketing world, upon realizing it just might be a pathway to generating new business, he decided to immerse himself in understanding the inner workings of social media becoming proficient at it along the way. With three kids in tow and one on the way, he and his wife took the courageous decision to try living and setting up business in Orlando, Florida. Jorge says that one day he realized that being able to overcome the challenges of being away from his family for many months while he attempted to start anew in unfamiliar territory, the failures, and setbacks he experienced, surviving an accident where he almost lost his life, all these things have given him a unique perspective. “All of a sudden it hit me, God was not testing me, he was training me to get to the next level,” he shares excitedly. Today, as a successful entrepreneur, Jorge supports Hispanic-owned medical practices looking to establish themselves properly in the U.S. and non-Hispanic-owned ones looking to expand into the Latino market. Digital media has become his playground and he also mentors other entrepreneurs so they avoid the mistakes he made. “People still resist looking at the Hispanic market as a viable customer base to generate revenues, and you can’t ignore us anymore.” And he should know a thing or two about resisting what’s evidently a smart business strategy.