Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Milinda Hernandez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Milinda, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Hola, friends! My name is Milinda and I am the founder of the magical all hemp-derived canna-company, Turquoise Mountains! Turquoise Mountains is a Latina-Owned CBD company based in Austin, Texas. Our mission is to destigmatize cannabis for BIPOC and Latinas breaking generational cycles. We find joy in educating, uplifting & providing affordable options for the communities we serve. Founded on Latinx, Chicanx & Indigenous values, & lots of self-love, our work is deeply rooted in the need to destigmatize the use of the cannabis plant so that our communities can explore it in a supportive, welcoming & safe space because we deserve that!

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 specialize in curating high quality and affordable full spectrum hemp-derived cannabis goods; everything from a beautiful selection of flower to delicious edibles, adorable gifts and even a magically soothing muscle cream fit for los abuelos!

This business journey started in January of 2020, just before the pandemic was on my radar. With very limited space and resources, a dream, a laptop, and a small desk, my company was born! I did everything on that little desk from the full production, to logo & packaging design, purchasing supplies, researching, accounting and most importantly, dreaming up what this brand was going to be! As a new business owner, sometimes you have to wear multiple hats. This is still true today three years later, but I have learned to delegate my tasks and ask for help along the way.

Today, I am extremely proud of how far my business has come. We have an amazing office and beautiful work space to create in. The past few years have been a whirlwind of growth & challenges for my brand. I have so much gratitude for the hustle which I have embraced, ambition & for all of those who have believed in me since the beginning. Thank you!

I am working hard to represent the Latinx community & continuously work towards our collective healing by sharing our experiences. The BIPOC and Latinx community are building bold representation in the legal Cannabis industry and I am so proud to be part of that. I want to see more women and people of color in cannabis leadership roles. Creating a safe space within this industry has proven to be very difficult. For decades, the BIPOC community has been much more likely to be arrested for cannabis use, than seen creating businesses in this new growing field. There is also still so much stigma around the cannabis industry and the medicinal benefits of the plant.

My brand isn’t just product-based. I also enjoy promoting a healing lifestyle. Cannabis is medicine for many of our gente. Healing through trauma, especially intergenerational traumas which we were born into can be tough for many, and Cannabis can be a life changing solution. CBD can allow many people the time to slow down and meditate, work through traumatic experiences, reduce stress & anxiety, and learn to heal from physical and mental pains.

You’re not a bad person for wanting to give yourself grace, rest and cannabis while navigating this difficult space. Some of us are the first in our family to actually address and work towards healing our ancestral and generational traumas. My advice to Latinas breaking generational cycles is to understand that it is mentally challenging work, and approaching these challenges with self-compassion and self-love will help reduce the pressure we put on ourselves.
We are all working together towards breaking the cycles and the boundaries that society has put on us.

No dream or joint is ever too big! Support BIPOC-Owned Cannabis Brands & Businesses because we are community-made, family-made, land-made and ancestor-made. We can’t do it without your support.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Bootstrapping is the “process of starting a company with only personal savings, including borrowed or invested funds from family and friends, as well as income from initial sales.” For a CBD company, there was not the option to get a loan, even though it is legal across all 50 States. It was just “too risky” for most banks. The phrase to describe how I started my company is, “By the Bootstraps”, and I don’t mean that just because I’m from Texas. My business was self-funded and I took donations to make my very first purchases.

Growing up, my family went through a lot. Hard times can be fuel to persevere! Deep down, I knew I needed to change my situation and find a way to stay hopeful, so I put my head in my books, graduated a year early from high school and got accepted to the University of Texas in Austin. I had no idea what I was doing or how I was going to afford college but I did it. I moved from Houston to Austin in 2009 and have been here ever since. When I graduated college back in 2014 I was in debt, and worked 2 to 3 jobs at a time to pay it off.

I also started multiple businesses that gained attention within my close friends and family, as well as friends of friends but in the end these businesses didn’t last. It’s hard to run a business on your own. I had a Fine Arts degree, with no business background. Most of the time, I used the money to reinvest and I started saving any little bit I could to fuel my next business.

Back in 2020, I had a small “nest egg” of money and was very frugal with my purchases, only buying the necessities. Today, I now have over 40 different products, a small social media presence, a few employees, and I get to pay myself! It’s a dream! If you can be conscious & frugal with your money, you can make it stretch a long way.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been to be authentic to myself and to my mission, which is product affordability and making an impact in my community. I listen to all of my customers’ needs and wants and I do extensive research on what would help them the most. Whether it is motivation, product education, a little humor, or something to relate to, I above all wish for my audience to feel comfortable to be themselves. We have so much going on in our daily lives that trying to be someone else is just exhausting! Let’s reclaim our most authentic self!

Thank you CanvasRebel for allowing me to share my story! Órale!

Contact Info:

• Website: tqmountainsinfo.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/tqmountainscbd
• Facebook: Facebook.com/tqmountainscbd

Image Credits
‘Prayer Hands’ Photograph by Wendy Faz of Wild Mars instagram: @__wildmars https://wildmarsco.wixsite.com/wildmars all other images were taken and owned by myself, Milinda Hernandez.