Raised by a single mother in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Elizabeth Colón’s story resonates with that of many Latinas. The threads of motherhood, marriage and family woven together to create the fabric of her life. This, along with the powerful lessons from her childhood stayed with her and inspired to work hard to achieve her true potential. Elizabeth’s work ethic and commitment as a Director of a non-profit led her to create a solid organization that grew from two employees to eight, and over two million dollars in revenue. Always the visionary thinker, Elizabeth realized after seven years, that it was time for her to move on and create her own opportunities.

With only $500 and a vision in her arsenal – Elizabeth would embark on a journey that would be the riskiest of her life – but eventually – the most rewarding. The result of this journey was the birth of Metaphrasis Language & Cultural Solutions, an award winning interpreting and translation company!

Today, Elizabeth is the first Latina President (in over 43 years!) of the National Association of Women Business Owners-Chicago Chapter. She additionally is a board chair for a safety net hospital, and has received numerous awards for her work in business. In 2020, she was one of the recipients of Crain’s Notable Entrepreneur awards.

However, building a successful language services company and a reputation as a successful entrepreneur, did not come without challenges. A lack of support, resources and mentorship made entrepreneurship intimidating and lonely. However, Elizabeth was accustomed to overcoming difficult challenges. She was definitely not going to allow roadblocks to stop her from creating the business of her dreams.

Something she did not foresee was the magnitude of lessons she would learn and the profoundness of the journey itself – which would eventually – impact several spheres of her life.

Throughout her years of entrepreneurship and networking, Elizabeth realized that there are a lot of women in business that think alike and desire to collaborate with one another. They just didn’t have the right outlet to connect and find each other. Elizabeth has made it her goal to pull together and bring forth a new culture to the current state of women entrepreneurship.

Life is not a success-only journey, and no one understands that better than Elizabeth. In fact, she discusses all of life’s ups and downs with a sense of humor, during her weekly podcast, Boricua Talks.

In 2020, Elizabeth became co-producer of the Latina Expo, which is the largest expo in the Midwest that brings dynamic speakers from around the US to speak on business, finance, motivation, leadership and other relevant topics to the Latina community. She is currently available for speaking engagements, focusing on the topics of women entrepreneurship, fear, authenticity and business. 

Despite the ups and downs, Elizabeth knows that her story is ultimately one of inspiration. For those who are contemplating starting a business, for startups who have succeeded but are still trying to find a balance between work and life, as well as for those risk takers who just need a mentor/friend for guidance, Elizabeth is here to help. Her journey has some powerful lessons. And she’s finally ready to share them with you.

What’s Elizabeth’s goal? She is committed to converting fear into fuel, and sparking the fire within women entrepreneurs, through collaboration, empowerment and authenticity.