We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Citlaly Castro Mora a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Citlaly, thanks for joining us today. Often the greatest growth and the biggest wins come right after a defeat. Other times the failure serves as a lesson that’s helpful later in your journey. We’d appreciate if you could open up about a time you’ve failed.

On one occasion, while setting up a decoration for my son’s birthday, the wind played a very important role in my failure. I had put a lot of effort into making this decoration, and I was very saddened when the wind destroyed it, but it taught me that I need to be better prepared for situations like this.

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

n December 2023, I started doing decorations for my family members’ birthdays. I did it as a hobby, and then I found that I really enjoyed doing this type of decoration. While this was happening, I encountered an economic crisis. A friend of mine once asked me if I was capable of making a bouquet of eternal flowers. I had never done anything like that before since all my previous decorations were balloons. I took the challenge without knowing how to make eternal flowers. That night, I challenged myself to do something I had never done before, and I believed in myself. I saw the opportunity to grow both economically and personally, and I took it. I spent all night watching tutorials on how to create an eternal flower bouquet from scratch. My first work wasn’t the best, but it was my best effort. After that first order, I continued to educate myself about eternal flowers and the art of creating them. I also informed myself about business strategies. Along with my brother, we started growing on social media to promote the business. Since then, I have gotten some customers and asked them to promote my business to their relatives. Each bouquet is a challenge that I’m willing to take to fulfill my passion and bring joy to my customers. My strength to achieve has always been my faith. God has driven me through the challenges and the many obstacles I have encountered in growing this business. Being a mother of three and managing the daily struggles of life has not been easy. Only with the help of God have I been able to achieve this tremendous accomplishment in my life.

I chose the name “Balloons By CC” because I initially started by only doing balloons, and my name is Citlaly Castro, so “Balloons By CC” represents my initials.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Throughout this journey, I’ve faced two major challenges. The first has been the lack of customers, which has been incredibly discouraging. It’s hard to stay motivated when I’m pouring my heart into creating bouquets and balloons, spending late nights on decorations, yet not seeing any customers come my way. However, my faith in God and belief in myself helped me push through those moments when quitting seemed like the easiest choice. Trusting that my efforts would be rewarded and that God would bless me gave me the strength to keep going. The second challenge has been balancing my daily responsibilities as a mother. Raising three kids—ages 6, 5, and 2—while building a business has been overwhelming at times, but with discipline, love, and faith, I’ve managed to overcome it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In December 2023, I began creating decorations for my family members’ birthdays as a hobby. I quickly realized how much I enjoyed it. Around the same time, I was going through an economic crisis, and a friend asked if I could make a bouquet of eternal flowers. Up until that point, I had only worked with balloons and had never made anything like that before. Despite not knowing how to create eternal flowers, I accepted the challenge. That night, I pushed myself to step out of my comfort zone and try something entirely new. I believed in myself and saw this as an opportunity for both personal and economic growth. I spent the night watching tutorials, learning how to make an eternal flower bouquet from scratch. My first attempt wasn’t perfect, but it was the best I could do at the time.

From that moment on, I dedicated myself to learning more about eternal flowers and the art of creating them. I also started researching business strategies. With my brother’s help, we began to grow our presence on social media to promote the business. Since then, I’ve gained some customers and encouraged them to spread the word to their family and friends. Every bouquet I make presents a new challenge, and I embrace each one with passion, knowing it will bring joy to my customers. Throughout this journey, my faith has been my greatest source of strength. God has guided me through the challenges and obstacles of building this business while managing the daily struggles of life as a mother of three.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/balloonsbycc
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ballonsbycc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561152832092
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ballonsbycc