Female Boss on the Move: Eliz Cruz-Irby Is Building a Business With Purpose

From young motherhood to business ownership, Eliz Cruz-Irby is proving that your beginning doesn’t have to define your future. As the owner of LYFE, a licensed adult use cannabis dispensary in Astoria, Queens, she’s turning her life experiences into a business rooted in education, community and second chances. Some women follow a blueprint. Others create their own.

For Cruz-Irby, entrepreneurship wasn’t part of a five year plan. Her journey was shaped by years of hard work, personal challenges and the determination to keep moving forward.

After nearly 20 years managing a physical therapy office, she developed the leadership and organizational skills that would prepare her for business ownership. Growing up in New York City public housing, becoming a mother as a teenager and raising a child on the autism spectrum also taught her valuable lessons in resilience and advocacy. “I have learned to advocate, adapt, and keep going through difficult circumstances,” she says. Those lessons would eventually help shape her vision for LYFE.

Turning Personal Experience Into Opportunity

Cruz-Irby’s entry into the cannabis industry was personal. After her husband experienced the consequences of a cannabis arrest, New York’s emerging legal market presented an opportunity to turn a difficult experience into something positive for their family. Losing someone close to her to an accidental overdose also reinforced her belief in the importance of education and informed choices. With LYFE, she wanted to create a welcoming space where customers could explore legal cannabis, understand the products they purchase and ask questions without judgment.

“I wanted LYFE to offer customers a licensed place where they could purchase products that meet New York's testing requirements, understand what they are buying and ask questions without judgment,” she explains. For Cruz-Irby, the goal is to offer more than products. It’s about creating an approachable experience built around customer education and trust.

Nearly Four Years in the Making

Opening LYFE took nearly four years of navigating licensing requirements, construction, delays and financial pressure. Throughout the process, Cruz-Irby balanced the demands of entrepreneurship with motherhood and family responsibilities. The experience tested her patience but strengthened her confidence in her ability to overcome obstacles. “I can keep moving even when I feel overwhelmed,” she says. Now, she hopes to make LYFE a meaningful part of the Astoria community by building neighborhood relationships, creating local employment opportunities and growing a business that reflects her values.

The Boss Move Is Believing in Yourself

As a woman and minority business owner entering New York’s evolving cannabis industry, Cruz-Irby’s journey reflects the importance of creating opportunities and believing in what’s possible, even when the path forward is uncertain. Her advice to other women is simple: you don’t need to have everything figured out to get started. “You can keep learning, keep fighting for yourself, and keep completing your goals one at a time.” she says. For Cruz-Irby, owning LYFE represents years of persistence, sacrifice and determination. But her story is about more than building a business. It’s about reminding other women that their circumstances don’t have to define their future.

“I hope my journey helps another woman look at her own dream and say, ‘I can keep going, too.’”

That’s what it means to be a Female Boss on the Move.