“To Be Self-Reliant: ‘What We Always Wanted,’” Liahona, December 2021
Blessings of Self-Reliance
To Be Self-Reliant: “What We Always Wanted”
For three Latter-day Saint families in El Paso, Texas, principles of self-reliance have helped them trade stress for financial stability.
Self-reliance brings the Lord’s blessings, says Raul Hernandez, above at his martial arts studio.
It’s 6:00 p.m. at the Yoshida family’s natural health products store in El Paso, Texas—time to close for the day. Julio and Gabriela, with help from their children, wait on their last customers, tidy up, and prepare to head home.
At the same time, 10 miles to the south, Raul Hernandez and his wife, Anna Maria, have just finished preparing their martial arts studio for an evening class. A Liahona magazine adorns the counter adjacent to chairs and a bench where parents make themselves comfortable as their sons and daughters head to the studio’s colorful padded floor.
As different as the Hernandez and Yoshida businesses are from each other, they have something important in common. They owe their success, at least partially, to principles taught through the Church’s self-reliance initiative.
Principles of Success
“If you make the principles of self-reliance the basis of your business, it will grow,” says Julio Yoshida. “It will become stronger and more stable. The self-reliance program also made me stronger and more positive. I find greater meaning in my work and more opportunities when I apply these principles.”
When the Yoshidas opened their business in 2016, Julio was serving as their ward’s bishop. Both money and time were tight.
“When you start a business, you have to be prepared economically and mentally because you might not have a lot of income at first,” says Gabriela Yoshida. “We didn’t suffer any losses when we opened, but our income fell short of what we were accustomed to because we were investing so much in the business. We had to tighten our belts and adjust our budget. We guarded each dollar that went out.”
In 2017, Gabriela, in charge of their family finances, attended a Personal Finances for Self-Reliance course. Julio, in charge of their business finances, took the Starting and Growing My Business course. He says that learning to use financial resources more wisely—both at home and at work—was paramount.
“I became better organized in what we bought and sold,” he says. “I made sure we moved old merchandise first and newer merchandise later. We began purchasing with better efficiency. We eventually got rid of stuff we didn’t sell. We also applied what we learned to our advertising.”
To determine the effectiveness of their advertising, they surveyed new customers to find out how they had heard about the business.
“We advertised on two TV stations, one in English and one in Spanish,” says Gabriela. “Given that many of our clients speak Spanish, we were surprised to learn that the station in English worked better for us.”
Julio Yoshida and his daughter Martha wait on customers at their family business.
Help from the Lord
Raul Hernandez began martial arts training when he was only 6 years old. By age 13, he was teaching others, and by age 17, he had opened his first martial arts studio in Mexico.
“At first, I didn’t know if a self-reliance course would help us,” Raul says of his studio in El Paso. “But our business wasn’t going great, and I didn’t know what to do to improve it. I thought, ‘What can I do without having to spend more money?’”
Thanks to the same course attended by fellow ward member Julio Yoshida, Raul and his wife, Anna Maria, developed some great ideas. They used those ideas to improve their business organization, bookkeeping, professionalism, and advertising.
“We began to promote our business on Facebook,” Raul says. “It turned out great. All of our new clients now come from Facebook.”
Another important idea they received from the course was how to better use their gym.
“We were using the gym for classes only three hours in the evening, Monday through Friday, but we pay rent on it for the whole day,” Brother Hernandez says. “I’m an architect, but I don’t always have work, so my mornings are often free. After I started the self-reliance course, I began to pray about the training we were receiving.”
Those prayers were answered when, “through the guidance of the Spirit,” Raul felt impressed to begin using his gym during morning hours to offer classes on weight-loss management and to give therapeutic massage, which he is trained in.
“I’ve taken other courses designed to help me with my business, but the Church’s self-reliance course is different because of its spiritual part,” he says. “The most important thing we got out of the course was the Lord’s help through the Spirit. The course brings His blessings.”
“The most important thing we got out of the course,” say Raul and Anna Maria Hernandez, “was the Lord’s help through the Spirit.”
“Our Differences Disappeared”
Jorge Rubio, bishop of the Mission Trails Ward in El Paso, likens those who take self-reliance classes to people learning about the gospel.
“People who welcome missionaries into their homes will be blessed if they make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ and keep His commandments,” says Bishop Rubio, who facilitated the class on starting and growing a business. “Like a new Church member making a commitment to follow Christ, Church members who make the commitment to follow the principles of the 12 classes will see great blessings in their lives.”
Those blessings are even greater, he says, if a husband and wife can take a self-reliance course together.
“When a couple takes the same course together, they can help and motivate each other more easily,” Bishop Rubio says. “They are strengthened as a couple because they set goals together.”
Miriam Vasquez, who facilitated the self-reliance course on personal finances attended by Gabriela Yoshida, agrees. When her husband was unable to attend her class, she brought the class and its principles home to him and their children.
“Before the class, my husband and I had different ideas about how to manage money,” she says. But once he grasped the principles she shared at home, they harmonized their financial goals as a couple and family.
“We asked the Lord for inspiration so that each week we could focus on what the program was asking us to do and so we could reach our goals,” Sister Vasquez says. “Our differences regarding how to manage money disappeared, and we grew spiritually because we were able to rid ourselves of some financial stress in our home.”
“We Must Have a Savings”
One of the principles that blesses all who take a self-reliance course is learning the importance of saving money and spending it wisely.
“I’ve been married 25 years, and I always thought I was supposed to pay my tithing, then my mortgage, and then my other expenses. If I had any money left over, I would save,” says Sister Vasquez. “When I facilitated the class, I realized that first you pay your tithing, then you save some, and then you pay for everything else. In less than a year, my husband and I were able to save for a dream vacation.”
That principle also blessed the Yoshida family.
“We didn’t think we had enough money to save any, but we said, ‘We must have a savings, come what may,’” says Gabriela. “So, we started saving, though it was only a small amount each month.”
During the first three years that they ran their business, the Yoshidas worked hard, saved, and sacrificed. Their children also helped at the store.
“We all worked in the family business, and we didn’t have any rest for three years,” says Sister Yoshida. “We had two children serving missions, and there wasn’t money for a vacation. We just kept saving until finally we could all enjoy a summer vacation together. We deserved it!”
It can take a while for a start-up business to begin making money and for a family to build up a savings, but for the Yoshida, Hernandez, and Vasquez families, embracing inspired principles has brought them blessings.
“It’s very important that we pay our tithing,” says Brother Yoshida. “We have had some tight times, but we have always remembered to live this law, and the Lord has blessed us greatly. We are self-reliant. That’s what we wanted.”