We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Rivera recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I currently manage my own social media. I could probably use the help and guidance that hiring a team/company would provide. I struggle with when to post, how often to post, how much or how little to post. I also struggle with what to post on my personal page vs. what to post on my business page. I want to stay true to who I am and make sure that my personality comes through in each post.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In the summer of 2016, I traveled to Mexico with my parents. I was in search of a handmade, hand-tooled leather bag for myself. I had been searching for the perfect bag for about three years and had not been able to find exactly what I had pictured in my mind…until that magical moment when I walked into a small boutique and I saw them: the most beautiful, brightly colored, hand-tooled leather bags I had ever seen! I mean the quality, the colors, and the sheer number of different styles left me speechless! I could not have imagined that these bags even existed, but there they were, staring at me and beckoning me to take them home.

As soon as I started carrying my bags back at home in Houston, I began receiving compliments on them left and right. It became obvious I wasn’t the only one who loved them, and I knew I had to make them available to others. That’s how my business — and my obsession — started.

I couldn’t do what I do without the support of “my village”.

My parents are the foundation of that village and support me in multiple ways. Besides being entertaining, they provide endless encouragement and work every event with me. They’re also my shipping and receiving department, my couriers and my warehouse. I truly couldn’t have started this entrepreneurship journey without their help. As crazy as my days are, I truly enjoy the time we get to spend together and value the memories we are making. I’m so very grateful they wanted an active “retirement.”

I’ve always been a very social and outgoing people person, so interacting with customers is totally my thing. Networking with others, especially women, has proven to be both the most fun part of starting and running a business, as well as the most rewarding and beneficial. The concept of women supporting women is alive and well here in Houston, and I am so happy and grateful to be a part of it. Women love to see other women succeed as much as they love to shop!

I am also blessed to be a part of a boutique in Rice Village called The Hive Pop Up Collective, which has opened many doors and continues to provide me not only with new friends and mentors but also multiple opportunities that I wouldn’t otherwise have. The Hive is comprised of 14 permanent showroom partners who all strongly believe in supporting other small businesses and shopping local. Being a partner at The Hive provides all of us with many networking and learning opportunities and the benefit of introducing all of our family, friends and customers to each other’s brands and products. We love to have fun and have come to be known as “the boutique with a bar” – so come sip and shop and have fun with us, we would love to meet you!

I love that I continue to grow and learn from others who have gone down this road before me, from longtime friends who have run their own businesses for years, to new vendor friends I meet at events. Everyone is always so gracious with sharing knowledge, information, and contacts and so giving of their time. It truly takes a village to start a business and keep it going, and I am very grateful and thankful for mine.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Friday, August 13, 2021. The day I unexpectedly got laid off from my job of 13 years. To say I was shocked and taken by surprise is an understatement. But what a blessing it has turned out to be. Losing my job provided me with the opportunity to turn my “side business” into my full time job. Was I scared? Yes. Beyond scared. Was I excited about the opportunity given to me by an unfortunate situation that was out of my control? Yes. Absolutely! Would I have ever voluntarily quit my job to turn Hide and Chic Shop into my full time job? Probably not. That would have been too scary. I liked the security of receiving a paycheck every two weeks. Am I happier now than I have ever been? Without a doubt, YES! At this point in my life, I’m not concerned with trying to climb the corporate ladder. Working hard for myself instead of someone else, making my own schedule, being able to participate in events without having to ask permission for time off, has been so freeing and liberating. The stress and ridiculousness of office politics and drama, and working for micromanagers is not worth my health and happiness. Getting laid off forced me to have to make the biggest pivot and change I have ever had to make thus far in my life. Little did I know that six years ago when I started Hide and Chic Shop as a fun side business for the purpose of bringing gorgeous tooled leather bags to Houston, that it would become my full time job and my sole source of income.

I am so glad that I followed my gut, pursued my passion, and took that leap of faith, even though I had no idea what I was doing. What I did know was that I was smart enough to figure it out along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hideandchicshop.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/hideandchicshop/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/hideandchicshop/

Image Credits
Ilse Gonzalez with Connect Media Firm, Tracy Feldman with Tracy Feldman Photography