The Fernandez-Montes Family

Cultural and social revolutions might have forced entrepreneurship to skip a generation, but they couldn't knock it out of Christine Montes' genes. "When my parents came to the U.S., they thought if they worked hard for a big company, they would be treated well, have a pension, and live the American Dream," she says. "But my cousins and I see ourselves being safer and more secure when we're the captains at the helm." Christine's grandparents left Spain for Cuba in the 1920s, built businesses on the island, then fled with their children to the U.S. after the revolution. Those children may have craved the security of corporate jobs, but their grandchildren have other ideas. Christine and her husband Jose (whose family owns several candlemaking businesses in Mexico) run Caromex Interational, a wax broker in Fort Mill, S.C. Cousin Doris Berriz founded FX Realty in Miami, and her brother Bob Berriz owns Terrascape Design Build, a $4 million builder and landscaper in Fairfax, Va. "I like having the freedom to set my own goals, my own schedule, my own expenditures," says Bob. "The great thing about being children of immigrants is knowing we can do whatever we want. We know our parents came to this country not knowing how to read or write English and five years later were successes supporting their families."

Back row, left to right: Michelle and Kevin Deeb (Owners of Miami real estate law firm Deeb Law Firm. Michelle is Christine's cousin.); Christine Montes (Co-owner of wax brokers Caromex International, in Fort Mill, S.C.); Doris Berriz (Christine's cousin and owner of FX Realty in Miami). Front row, left to right: Daisy and Jay Fernandez (Owners of Interiors Unlimited, a carpet and blind installer in Washington, D.C. Jay is Christine's uncle.); Delia "Beba" Fernandez-Berriz (Christine's aunt and owner of Beba's Nails in Your Home in Miami).

Photo by: Brian Smith