Esmeralda Prieto, who today signs as Esmeralda Boss, arrived in Miami in 2010 at the age of 22, summoned by her father, without speaking English and without knowing how to drive. Sixteen years later, she is the featured guest in the fifth episode of Show me the money, the podcast for Cuban entrepreneurs hosted by Katia Sánchez, where she reflects on the journey that led her to lead seven companies in southern Florida.
Upon arrival, the only thing he was clear about was his ambition: "The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to do something great." In less than a week, he was already serving tables in a restaurant near his home, and in the afternoons, he attended English classes. He lived with his father without paying rent, which allowed him to save almost all of his earnings; he avoided buying brands and, for years, relied on public transportation.
Later, I spent about two years working at Dolphin Mall and six months at a nighttime beach bar, an experience I quickly ruled out: "It wasn't for me; I like to sleep at night."
The real turning point came when her grandmother passed away in Cuba and she couldn’t go to say goodbye: she didn’t have enough money and risked losing her jobs. "That was when I hit rock bottom," she admitted. From that moment on, she distanced herself from the friends who "settled," "unlearned" what she thought she knew, became a Christian, and began volunteering.
That jolt led her to work for two years at a plastic surgery center, where she studied every aspect of the business with the same discipline with which she had previously saved every dollar. In parallel, she obtained her real estate license. When she realized that keeping a stable job as a safety net prevented her from fully committing, she resigned and dedicated herself to selling properties—her "leap of faith"—buying her first house alongside her husband Roland with her own license.
, a spa, alongside a friend and colleague, using modest savings and credit card financing. A month and a half later, the surgery center that had promised to send them patients closed its doors. The sleepless nights worrying about the rent forced her to learn digital marketing from scratch, just as Facebook ads were beginning to take off.
Surveys of her clients revealed the next step: many complained that the surgery centers stopped calling them once they were paid. Just before the pandemic, she opened her own plastic surgery center with her partner, while also becoming a broker and starting her real estate agency.
Then more projects arrived: a gummy vitamin brand for women —whose name combines hers with her daughter’s, conceived after eight years of trying during the three months she tested them— a second surgical center, and finally, FE Medical Center, a Spanish-speaking medical center for seniors over 65 located on Coral Way, Miami, where the episode was filmed.
Today, he works 16 hours a day managing those seven companies, alongside his partner Arianna Rojas and his husband Roland as associates. "I am the calm part; I like taking risks but analyze things, while they are much bolder," he explained. Roland's foundation, Giving Future Foundation, distributes food every Thursday in the parking lot of the medical center.
Esmeralda is the first female guest of the , which has been publishing weekly episodes about Cuban entrepreneurs in exile since October 2026. In her conversation with Katia Sánchez, she spoke about leadership, community, and family, leaving behind a phrase that encapsulates her philosophy: “A victim will never be able to be a leader because they blame everyone else for everything that happens to them.”
When asked which of his businesses he dedicates the most time to, the answer was immediate: "To my family's."
The podcast $how me the Mon€y by CiberCuba is sponsored by Dolphy School. Watch the full episode with Esmeralda Boss here:
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