We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lisa Gonzalez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?

The best investment that I’ve made so far was to go to school for nursing. Prior to that decision, my husband and I were going through a rough patch. I had a decent job in healthcare but we had 3 children and I was not in a position to be able to take care of them on my own if anything were to ever happen (ie. divorce). I depended on his income. As we went our separate ways, things got harder. I decided to move in with my parents with my 3 young boys. That helped me immensely but I knew something had to change. A few months prior to our split, my youngest was hospitalized for a week with a virus. The nurses were so sweet and helpful and I was so appreciative. I decided to go back to school to become a nurse. I wanted to care for people the way that we were cared for and of course it was more income. Being in school as an adult taught me so much. This wasn’t high school where you kind of “have” to go. You are paying out of pocket and you need to put in that hard work to ensure you pass your exams and complete your classes. I had a full time job, 3 kiddos, and classes at night and 12 hours on Saturdays. I had such a strong support system. I was determined to do everything in my power that would secure my children’s future. As a bonus, I was doing something that I felt would make a difference in people’s lives. I completed school and was given a position making double my pay. Going back to school taught me lessons that would help with owning a business such as the importance of discipline and consistency.

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 started my small business really just as a hobby. My husband owns a performance shop and I started off making shirts to promote his business. I them moved to accepting custom orders. Doing custom work was not very profitable given the time and effort needed for a different design every time. I then started creating my own designs and only marketing those items. I moved to Miami after high school and fell in love with all of the different cultures and their music. This influences most of my designs. I am super proud to see how much my shop has grown from 1 order to over 2250 sales.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I feel what has worked well to grow my clientele is video content that shows a story or something from start to finish. Also, videos that give “advice or how to videos” that help others do what you do.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

You definitely want to show the person(s) behind the company. I think it helps to show people who you are (flaws and all) and be relatable and gain their trust.

Contact Info:

• Website: shopwavesboutique.etsy.com
• Instagram: @shopwavesboutique
• Facebook: Waves Boutique