The Granger, Ind., woman opened La Nueava Jerusalem (The New Jerusalem) in the basement of her Catholic church in Granger to serve other Hispanic members of St. Adalbert Parish.

Key to the launch was advice and input from Susan Chipman (photo left), director of retail services at Granger Community Church (GCC) in another part of the city, which last year was named Small Church Bookstore of the Year by The Church Bookstore magazine.

Asked to help by the Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI) at St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind., Chipman helped scope out the best location for the new store and advised on inventory—mostly Spanish—language resources—and display.

With Chipman knowing little Spanish and Martinez (center) not understanding much English, the two communicated through interpreter Martha Smith (right), WEI director and a member at GCC. Chipman's advice was "a tremendous help," Smith said. 

"To put icing on the cake, Susan was present for the opening of the store, to make sure everything went smooth," Smith added. "Needless to say, her help was a godsend to Gloria. What a blessing it was for her to have Susan as a mentor."

Part of Chipman's advice was for Martinez to move the small store she was trying to run from the living room of her home across the street from her church to a leased space on the campus. "I loved the idea of being able to help another store," Chipman said.

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