We were lucky to catch up with Valeria Martinez recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Valeria, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Yes, I am much happier being a business owner! Although it always hasn’t been that way. I’m a mom of 2 beautiful smart girls. Being an Event Stylist my work consists of working weekends. There were many times especially in the beginning of my journey, when I was trying to figure out time management, I thought to myself I could just go back to work and work the necessary hours go home and leave work at work. At the beginning I had to work during the week to get things prepared, getting supplies, waking up early and going to bed late, then to just work all weekend, come back home clean and repeat. I sacrificed a lot of family time with my husband and girls. I felt so guilty they would be stuck at home while my husband accompanied me to go do set ups all day. It’s true what they say, you leave a 40 hours a week job to work 80 hours for yourself. I was working more than I ever have. Only a two people really saw the struggle in the beginning. My mom and husband were and continue being my rock. I remember coming home in tears hyperventilating and dropping to my knees because I felt defeated when an event didn’t go the way I imagined. This particular event was one on a windy day, balloons were blowing away, desserts were spilled, table cloths got stained. I had to ask my client for a water bottle to try and hand wash a table cloth. It was the worst I felt in my whole career. Luckily my client was so nice and sweet and understood I was just starting out and truth is I can’t control the weather but I really had to go through that to learn from it and now I know how to better prepare for that. But what I realized in that moment, was that it didn’t hurt because I may have lost money but that my client didn’t get the event they deserved. What really makes me happy is seeing my clients face light up when they see their event come together, the ooos and aaahs. The moment they can’t wait until their guest to arrive to see. I feel so appreciative of my clients choosing me to help them celebrate a special moment in their life. Weddings, birthdays, baby showers. It’ll forever be captured in a picture that will last a life time and that is what makes me happy. No other job or career is able to do that for me. This is what I’m meant to do this is my passion. I’m so grateful I didn’t give up, im grateful for those lessons. I am better at managing my business hours and family time and I couldn’t imagine life without my creative outlet.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Really I’ve always been a sucker for a good party! I guess it really started with my own baby shower, from hand making invitations to putting together the perfect color scheme. Then when my daughter was born everything just had to be perfect every detail had to come together. Sometimes I was limited in what I could do but I made do with what I had! I started to Made jokes on Snapchat asking my friends list to call me with all their event need when I did my best friends gender reveal. Then I realized why does it have to be a “joke” why can’t I really do this for myself? So one day I started and here we are now! Now I provide services from balloons, custom backdrops, desserts, dessert tables, center pieces, anything you would need for all of your life events! No celebration is too big or too small. Not only do I provide this for my clients but also a peace of mind. Let’s be real planning events is stressful, I understand wanting every detail to be perfect. I handle a huge part of your event so you have more time to enjoy the moment. You’re no longer tired because you had to stay up all night decorating or baking. You can be fully rested and ready to party!
A lot of my work is customization. Everything from a treat tag to matching your desserts to theme. Little customized details make a huge difference. I believe that’s what really sets me apart.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
When I first announced my business I had very little following mainly close friends and family. Although I may not have as big of an audience as others I definitely grew a lot in the past two years. I’ve actually had someone private message me about this on how I grew my audience. Really it was to post like no one is watching. I was embarrassed for social media to see my work or promoting my business. I would think they’d say, “what is she doing?” Who does she think she is? Does she really think people are watching/listening to her? But if you’re excited about your work so will your friends and family be! The more people you attract when your energy is positive! So be excited! Who cares what anyone thinks! This is something you love so show it off!
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
Before I started I was working part time weekends as a receptionist. I would have co workers cover my shifts for me when I had events. But it got to a point where it was unfair to my coworkers to constantly cover me or figure out a schedule that would work for me. So I had to make a decision. A lot of my paycheck was going into my business and the little I was making on events would go right back to my business. I knew I had to quit to really put in 100 percent into Event Styling. I saved my last few checks and put in my two weeks. And I never stopped since then. I was posting more, promoting more putting hours and hours of work. I knew the only person that could make this successful was me. I knew I was doing something right when I was booking so much I had to turn away work. I hated doing so, I have a hard time saying no! But it was the best decision I made and now this is my career this is what I do full time!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @aa_create
- Facebook: @aa_creates