We were lucky to catch up with Angelica Chavez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Angelica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My business idea of funding a nonprofit came from personal experience. As a kid I went through traumatic experiences and it took me a long time to resolve them. I always thought that if I was able to address these issues at a young age my life could have been different, but that is life right. We go through certain experiences and those are the ones that shape us into who we are today. Forming this nonprofit comes in part from the lack of knowledge I had at a young age, but also because of my mother’s fear of looking for assistance because of her legal status at the time. My mission for this nonprofit is to provide kids with basic resources to boost children’s self-confidence as they grow. When kids do not have the proper supplies or resources it can impact them as they become adults. My vision for this nonprofit is to expand into other countries and assist kids even after their early years of childhood, educate parents on the benefits of taking therapy when necessary and bring in mentorships programs to guide students. Since I am from Hispanic origin and from personal experience, I can say that as part of our culture talking about therapy or mental health is not seen as positive, remember from personal experience, now there are many that do believe it is beneficial. If the gap is not addressed it can lead younger generations to follow the same patterns of seeing therapy, mental health as a negative topic, my hope is to provide the necessary tools to have students be open minded about mental health even when becoming adults. Having an open mindset brings limitless opportunities to everyone.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have always been a person that loves to assist in any way possible, especially when it comes to kids. In past years I loved to volunteer at any event that involved working with kids. At a very young age I knew that I wanted to be part of something bigger than just volunteering but didn’t have any idea of what that consisted of. As time went by, I started to read about the ways that I could build something that came from me and that is when I spent more time researching what a non-profit was and how it worked. I was in the research stage for quite some time, too much I would say. As many may know, doing extensive research can have its pros and cons and can be even more confusing at times, leaving you with the question of how I should get started. With my full-time job and still attending school, I decided to leave it at that. Fast forward and as time went by my life started to settle, and I was able to concentrate more on the topic. The fear of not knowing where or how to start was one of the major factors that prevented me from acting, fortunately and thankfully for the personal growth training that my side business provided I was able to finally initiate the paperwork to fund Becoming a Pearl a Nonprofit Organization and continue with one of my passions. This idea was in my mind for the longest time and now that is finally coming to fruition it fills my heart with joy, especially when I see kids smiling.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The initial capital for funding Becoming a Pearl Nonprofit Organization was thanks to an opportunity that was presented about two years ago. This opportunity involved me becoming a brand ambassador of a naturally based company. Through this side business I have been able to help others find the right personal care routines for any concern they may be facing, of course with patience, consistency and by following the usage directions they can obtain the results they desire. When my customers make a purchase from my website at https://glowingwithangelica.mymonat.com a percentage of those commissions goes to Becoming a Pearl nonprofit organization. Because of this side business I was able to raise the initial capital to fund Becoming a Pearl. After having the initial capital, I have been organizing fundraisers and still a percentage of my commissions goes to the nonprofit account. These two efforts have provided for the back-to-school drives and the toys for Christmas we have delivered so far and hope that with time and the necessary funds to incorporate more assistance programs.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

There are times when I hear people say that social media only shows people’s good side of the story. Social media can be a bit overwhelming at first, but in my case, I try to be as transparent as possible with what I post. When you show your authentic self, it is easier to connect with others. If I am having a good or bad day, I share those moments equally and try to provide a positive tip if the situation was negative or a bad experience. Every morning I post a daily quote, at first it was only on my personal Instagram account but now I also post it to Becoming a Pearl Instagram account. People want to follow accounts that are worthwhile. Being active posting consistently and posting valuable content has been helpful to me. So being consistent and posting valuable content would be my two main tips to building presence in social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://becomingapearl.org/
• Instagram: becomingapearl_
• Facebook: Becoming a Pearl
• Other: Side business website: www.glowingwithangelica93.mymonat.com Personal Instagram: glowingwithangelica