We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Monica Abrego. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Monica below.

Monica, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My hero is my dad. He came to the US at the age of 18, got his GED, started working for someone, then became a business owner and his own boss. He is living the American dream. I remember him working all the time and to this day still works 6 days a week. He is a natural born hustler and has always provided for his family. The one thing he always told me growing up is “You will understand once you have kids”. That always plays in my head when making a decision in life. We want to provide a better life and need to be role models for not only our kids but our youth.
His hustle has definitely influenced me to start my own business and hustle. Nothing in this life is handed to you, it is earned. And my biggest take away from him is you can do anything you set your mind to.

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 am, now, a part time nurse and I love to craft! Becoming a nurse was not my dream, I did not know what I wanted to do as a career when I graduated highschool. I started working as a receptionist and one day, I woke up one day and thought “I can’t keep doing this, I do not want to do this for the rest of my life”. So I started looking into going back to school at the age of 26 and I had a daughter who was 5 years old at that time. Long story short, I quit my job and started nursing school full time. On the second day of school, I almost puked because I could not believe what I was doing. Out of 42 people who started only 9 graduated and I graduated Valedictorian! I never thought that was ever possible.
Fast forward to now, to take the stress away from work, I started crafting. When the pandemic hit I was making and selling masks to my fellow healthcare workers, then I started making badge reels and many other things.
The benefit that I have in my craft is the type of reels that nurse or healthcare workers use, which they prefer, durability, etc. and that helps me because I have insight when my customers ask which is better for their product and how they use it. Everything I create, I put my heart in it and make it is perfect and my clients are happy with their products.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source for new clients are definitely pop ups or markets. It gives me a chance to meet new people and potential clients in person as opposed to only what they see online. I do not like being in front of a camera, let alone on social media but in person at these pop up events I absolutely love. I am myself and I cater to clients whether they order one item or multiple items. I have a passion for crafting and creating custom items for customers, so I create with my heart.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I recently had to pivot from my job. Back in May I went from a full time nurse to part time. This was probably one of the hardest decisions and scariest decisions I have had to make, especially in the current economy we are living in. But I had to do it for my family and kids. I wanted to spend more time with my kids, and be able to pick them up from school, drop them off, attend school events, etc.
Although it can be tough at times, with the price of everything going up, the time I have had with my kids is the most precious thing I cherish and am happy I was able to do it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://craftynursecorner.etsy.com/
• Instagram: @craftynursecorner
• Other: [email protected]