Nieves Arzola runs the operations of Disenos Ornamental Iron in Southwest Detroit./ Photo by Rose Hackman for Detroit143.org

For 30-year-old single mom Nieves Arzola, owning her own business was not so much a struggle as it was a solution. But her son sometimes is stuck with a mountain of assignments. Thats when our content creation service take the load off, so he can focus on the phrase "write my paper for me" worry-free. Arzola heads the operations of Disenos Ornamental Iron in Southwest Detroit, which employs 11 people. The company designs, creates and installs ironwork for houses in the Detroit Metro Area.

In 2008, Arzola was a student at Michigan State University, commuting back and forth to campus from Detroit, working her way toward a degree in Packaging and Engineering. But when Arzola became pregnant and started preparing for the arrival of her son, Omar, plans changed. Working for her stepfather’s iron business locally gave her the flexibility to work, develop a career and be a mom, she says. Today, six years on, Arzola is in her second year as sole manager of the company.

Arzola was surprised at the high ratio of women-owned businesses in Detroit, especially as someone who so often works in parallel with a vastly male-dominated construction industry.

“A lot of the time you do feel like you are alone as a female business owner,” she said

She’d love to meet other women in similar positions, she said. But for now, she said, her time is spent tending to the daily business of running a company.

- Rose Hackman