We were lucky to catch up with Maggie Rodriguez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Maggie, appreciate you joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Starting a business and running the show take a lot of time, dedication and sacrifice; specially when you are a single mom. As much as it may be difficult to carve time away from business and everyday home, school and soccer duties, it is key to plan vacations during the year. Vacations are the only time where I get to completely disconnect 100% from work and the hustle and bustle of everyday life. When it comes to vacations and getting much needed relaxation, the beach is where you can find me. It is the best way for me to disconnect in order to reconnect. It is as time to feel more present and refreshed. Although it is a time to forget about work, I often find that I get clarity and am able to refocus on my goals. Above all, and most importantly, it is a time for my kids to have all of me without any distractions. It is a time to make memories and enjoy being in the moment. Vacations are good for the soul!

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 didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur. I started my life as a teacher, and I loved being a teacher! When my daughter was born in 2005 I was so sure I was going to return to the classroom but once she was in my arms, it was clear I wanted to stay home as long as possible. At the time, I had a side hustle; an invitation and event business. Shortly after my daughter was born, I started a soy candle business, with my now ex-business partner. Fast forward to 2017, and Coco La Vie Home Fragrance and Apothecary was born as a result of reinventing my professional life. I had built many relationships over the years; what I knew was candles and spa world, So I hit the ground running and set out to create a complete line of products, from massage candles, body butter, sugar scrub to room sprays and aroma oils. I knew coconut oil would be the main ingredient in everything I was going to create. As I was trying to decide on a name, after having a rough week, the words “c’est la vie” came to mind. I instantly thought., “That’s it! Coco La Vie!” Now I had a name and a vision for the collection. I had to learn a lot in a short period of time, as the brand came together in less than 3 months. I managed to get to 3 trade shows that year and amazed myself by my accomplishments. I had a 300 pound wax melter in my kitchen, boxes lined the walls of my living room and I worked late nights getting product made and orders shipped. Thankful for my mom, who was helping me every day wicking and packing candles and whipping up butters and scrubs. My dad and kids both have been put to work from the beginning. CLV is family owned and I can only hope that one day my kids decide it is something they would like to continue to build. Everyone always asks if starting over was easy. Yes and no! Starting over was scary and it wasn’t like I wanted to start over but I was starting over with so much experience, so much know how, so much I knew I could do better and different. But starting over also meant starting from the bottom and making a lot of sacrifices to make the new business work. It meant I was going to be right back to square one and wearing 27 different hats. I would again be the CEO, Chief Everything Officer. From shipping and social media to accounting and sales. I was going to have to do it all again. But in the end, there is so much truth to the saying, “the comeback is always stronger that the setback.” It is the most amazing feeling to see success and goals being reached.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Starting CLV wasn’t something I expected to ever do. I was running a successful business but in 2017 everything changed and I had no choice but to start over. I had 2 choices, either go back to teaching or come up with a new candle company in an already saturated market. Teaching was the less scary choice, so obviously I went with the latter! I am strong willed. I am determined. I am a risk taker. I was determined to succeed. I knew I needed to be more than a candle company; I knew I wanted an entire collection of all things coconut. Not only am I obsessed with coconut oil but I love the beach and I wanted to add all the goodness of coconut oil to all the products in the collection. I had a vision and a plan. I had somehow managed to start on the path to success in my new business venture.
Coco La Vie was born in 2017 and I saw the growth I had forecast for 2018 and once again for 2019. Then came 2020, the year started off on a high, hitting the growth gains I expected, and then came March; the world came to a standstill; as did CLV. I could not wrap my brain around the reality that my momentum had come to a screeching halt. After a grim 3 months, not going to lie, (for a minute) I did think of cutting my losses and calling it quits. But my mom and dad didn’t raise a quitter and that was just not an option! So I looked at the bright side of everything, reminding myself that July and August are usually slow retail months, things had to get better and I knew the entire world was facing the same hardship, which made me feel so much better. After all, I decided to enjoy the summer months with my kids and get ready to ramp up in the 4th Quarter, and what a quarter it was.
Resilience is defined as the ability to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Pretty sure the picture next to the word in the dictionary is a picture of me! I do not take no for an answer and I most definitely to not give up. I succeed because I believe I can and I believe I will!

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Keeping in touch with our clients and fan base is key for brand loyalty. We are very active on Instagram and send our customers email campaigns to let them know of new products and special promotions on a monthly basis. We encourage all our followers to join our email list so they never miss out on any news.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ShopCocoLaVie.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopcocolavie
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopcocolavie
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggierdgz/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/shopcocolavie