Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Caitlyn Cuadra. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Caitlyn, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Success is only determined by oneself. I knew the level of success that I wanted to reach was going to drive me to move in a direction with gusto and determination like no other. To be successful, you have to take risks and if you’re not willing to step out of your comfort zone and really allow yourself to see through another pair of eyes, you will never find success. When removing components of your life that may feel comfortable or easy like a steady job, a pay rate that pays the bills every month or basic health insurance, you may feel like there is no other choice and that is success for you. I had all three of these things right out of college and I thought, “yes, this is exactly where I am supposed to be.”

The day I signed my paperwork for my first corporate job was a day I will never forget. A cloud shadowed that moment and I knew something was deeply wrong. As I got into the day to day work I found the work I was doing to be tedious and extremely unfulfilling. At the same time I started my corporate job, I also started two side hustles, one blew up and the other took some time as COVID played a role in the business model. Eight months into my corporate job, I took a huge leap and trusted in my side hustles to take me to places I could only dream about. Fast forward to two years later, I am now a full time entrepreneur with three businesses of my own. All three businesses have stretched me to my limits, taken away time from family and friends, and forced me into uncomfortable corners.

Success isn’t easy to accomplish, but for myself I knew that I would be a business woman, work at my own pace, live a life I could create for myself and one day make more money than my corporate job would ever allow. My successes are measured by my achievements, not by my competitors or by what others success looks like.

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 back background and context?

Some, if not most people know me by @caitlynbarbaramarie on socials, but I go by Barb. I’m a full time entrepreneur who thrives on stepping outside of the norm and testing the waters. Ever since I was a young girl, my desire to create was very strong. From redecorating my room every other month as a child, to finding my own personal fashion by shopping second hand and planning my dream wedding 100 different ways. There has never been a one size fits all for me. I dream up different business ideas every week, and sometimes those dreams become an actual reality.

As a full time boutique owner, Interior Designer and Event Coordinator, I switch hats every other minute. You may be wondering how I got my hands into these three areas of business… If you can bare with me, this might be long but here we go.

My very first job was working in a bakery/boutique and then my second job was working in a high end boutique where I became a manger at the age of 16. I found myself working in the service industry and for many years I would go back and forth from working in retail to working in restaurants. These two areas of business I had spent most of my young adult life in pointed me towards two of my main passions, Fashion and Serving. When I first graduated college with a degree in Business and Hospitality, I for sure thought I was going to be a major event planner, and then I found out very quickly large events were not my thing. Then, I took a corporate job that left me with a lot of spare time, so I started hand making polymer clay earrings and I used the income and customers from that side hustle to start my clothing boutique. I left my corporate job after eight months and I used my eye for design, decorating and organizing to bring in more cash flow, but in turn this became my main source of income because word of mouth still lives! A year into working for myself full time as a boutique owner and Interior Designer, I found myself wanting more and so I thought I’d help some friends out by coordinating their wedding, and so in turn I landed myself many more clients in the small events space just looking for someone to plan their special day on an intimate scale.

My current goal in life is to offer people of any status the pure happiness of feeling clothed in confidence, living in a well designed home they can afford and planning an event they will never forget. I want to serve others and having a servant heart has granted me this beautiful life that I get to continuously switch up whenever I please.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building an audience on social media is truly being real an honest with the people who start to follow you. Test different topics of conversation, share different areas of your life and see what grabs the attention of your followers and use that to your advantage. My followers loved to see my fashion, and how I designed my many different apartments, so I shared all aspects of that on my social media. When I got engaged I brought my followers along with me into the planning process so they felt like they were a part of my story.

Don’t use your followers for financial gain, but for a community that thrives off of learning from each other and growing in ways you may never expect. Social media is very powerful in todays world and by using it, you have power no matter how little or big your following may be. I always say testing the water is not just dipping your toes in, it actually means diving in head first to test if the water is swimmable.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Never disappear, always make yourself available. Now, some may read that statement and think, well what about work life balance? Work and life are one when you are a business owner. You are allowing clients into your personal space and welcoming them with open arms and by doing this your clients will trust you and be loyal to you when you take a break for the holidays or decide to go on that two month vacation or just simply need a few extra days to respond to their emails.

I always let my customers and clients know where my time is spent and what I am doing so they never have to wonder if I am available or not. Your name is your brand, therefore you need to ensure that you are not “faking it till you make it” but truly making your brand and name unforgettable with every interaction.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maltandstone.com www.thespruceedit.com
• Instagram: @maltandstone @thespruceedit