We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Julyen & Karen Juarez-Sigala a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Julyen & Karen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Just like any small business owners we have our ups and downs. We have easy days and our days of struggles but we wouldnt change what we do for anything. From where we started to where we are today, we love what we do. Happiness comes in many forms, for us our happiness comes from the pride we take in how far we have come. It has not been an easy road and there is still a lot ahead of us. As small business owners we love hearing the feedback on our products from not only our long time customers but also from those who try us for the first time. There is always room for improvement. Like Victor Hugo said,” Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” When things get hard we always wonder if quitting and going back to a 9 to 5 job will be easier. Less stress, more of a set schedule. There has been times when quitting seems easier but giving up is not an option for us. We always take a step back and look at everything we have built in the short amount of time we been a business, thats what motivates us to keep on pushing forward.

Julyen & Karen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We are Julyen & Karen, the owners of Pikosito Riko. We started our business back in February of 2021. We weren’t sure what direction we were headed all we knew was we wanted something different for us. We started with dulces enchilados from home. Devicing a recipe from scratch was our biggest struggle. It took us 8 months to come up with the base of our homemade chamoy and chile powder for our candy. Later on, we developed our website which lead to us offering our shipping to all 50 states. Today we ship anywhere in the U.S, Canada and the Virgine Islands. We have been able to reach more people than we ever expected, and we are so thankful to be able to share our brand past state lines. After a year we felt like it was time to expand our business into something bigger. On March 13, 2022 we launched our concession trailer. We expand past dulces enchilados. Now people can catch us outside rolling around all of the DFW area. Sharing our treats and new creations to share with all the people that have seen us grow from day one. We offer everything from Mangonadas, fresas con crema, fresh fruit cups, fruit-based ice cream, nachos, and much more. We are always trying to improve our menu and come up with new ideas to offer our customers new products to try. We would be lying if we said we are not most proud of the progress we have made as small business owners. Something we want our customers to know that no matter how much we continue to grow we want to remain true to ourselves. The term “quality over quantity” is very important to us. We believe that the key its the quality of the products we offer. We strive to offer our customers the best we possibly can. Its because of them that we have been able to improve our shipping and overall our brand. We couldn’t do it without all of their support and feedback.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Timing is everything. If it’s meant to happen, it will, at the right time and for the right reasons. We didn’t end up where we were going but we ended up where we were meant to be. Our lives have been intertwined throughout our middle school and high school years. Even though we never spoke a word to one another, life had other plans for each other. After 10 years we officially met on April 19, 2019, through a mutual friend of ours. After that night we didn’t speak again till weeks later. There was no denying the connection between us. We became friends and slowly life took care of the rest. We have been inseparable ever since. Is funny how life works. Not only do we get to be life partners but business partners as well. Now here we are, no longer strangers at the right time and for the right reasons. Now that’s perfect timing!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

We believe word of mouth has been the most effective way we have been able to grow our clientele. We love when people reach out to us because they have been referred by someone they know. This is also why we opened up our shipping through our website. We had customers telling their family and friends in other states. Slowly we started reaching beyond our state lines. Not only were we able to build our clientele in our community but also in other states by simple word of mouth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pikositoriko.com
• Instagram: pikosito_riko
• Facebook: Pikosito Riko