We were lucky to catch up with Estefany Perez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Estefany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I’m Estefany, the co-founder of Flowers Atelier, a wellness company created with my mom. It all began when a safety circumstance threatened our lives in Colombia, motivating us to make a life-changing decision – to sell everything start anew and, move to another country. That’s how Flowers Atelier was born, driven by the idea of finding a home. We decided to create products that make people feel at home, safe, that allow them to connect and slow down.

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’m an industrial designer. I used to work in Brazil, designing 3D models for maxillofacial customized prostheses. Since I was a kid, I remembered that as my dream job. However, after working in that field for a long time, it turned out to be the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. The levels of stress were truly affecting me, so I decided to move on and connect with other passions. I moved to the USA and started working in marketing and photography in New York, where I found that we all have something in common – stress, especially in New York. The non-stop lifestyle isn’t healthy if there are no spaces to reconnect.

My mom and I were sitting in Hudson River Park in the middle of summer, contemplating things that bring us joy. We decided we would love to produce candles, create unique scents, and add a little extra love with CBD. After much trial and error, hand-pouring each one, we finally crafted our first line of three candles, ensuring the products are absolutely safe. We worked on the brand and products for a year and later added our skincare line to create a comprehensive experience. It took us a longer time because we aimed for products with the best quality—natural, vegan, non-toxic, with all ingredients sourced from safe and reliable places in the USA.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Recently, in one of my favorite podcasts, Rob Dial said that the success of the business depends on the mindset of the owner, and that made so much sense to me. Because the hard part of starting a business is being patient and trusting that it’s going to work. At the same time, you need to put yourself out there to do everything for that business to succeed. When you have a business and not a lot of capital, you are the person who is doing pretty much everything. That’s the moment where you truly have to face all the personal insecurities and do things that might be uncomfortable, like sales.

It’s funny that at the beginning, I thought the hard part was done – creating a product we felt proud of and that people would love. But still, the other 50% of the business is selling, talking about your company, meeting people, and for most of us, that’s uncomfortable. However, the life of your business depends on that.

Moving to another country is uncomfortable – learning a new language, adapting to a new city. But there’s always room to feel grateful for having the opportunity and finding the purpose that is going to take you far!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

“Ready” is a myth. I couldn’t possibly know everything I had to learn to start our business. At the time, I didn’t know what I was getting into. It wasn’t possible to be ready.
The only thing that I know is positive energy and a disposition to solve and learn from everything that comes challenging. It is going to be enough to figure it out, continue, and get better. Leave behind limiting mindsets, beliefs, and do the work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flowersatelier.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowersatelierny/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYyA2LaegfE