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

Nellys , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Even before my business was born, I had a running list of names I might use for a future business. Anytime I thought of something I liked, I’d add it to the list. One thing to know about me is that I’m a bit of crazy cat lady, so 90% of the names were cat related. When I finally decided it was time to chase my dreams of starting my own accessories business, I knew it was time to narrow down my name choices. My two cats are the loves of my life, and I knew I wanted to try to incorporate their names somehow. Their names are Cocoa and Nacho, but I thought that sounded a bit like a Mexican restaurant so it didn’t quite fit for a business that was making colorful earrings. My cats are besties and one day they were sleeping peacefully on the couch and cuddling together, looking super cute. I said out loud, “aww! Cocoa loves Nacho!” And with that, the name was born! My business name is Cocoa Loves Grey (Nacho is an all grey cat), and I think it fits my brand and love of cats perfectly.

Nellys , 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?

Cocoa Loves Grey is all about bringing smiles and happiness to those who use our products. We create laser cut accessories such as colorful, bright, bold statement earrings. We believe in the power of color to bring joy to people’s lives and we believe that a cute pair of earrings can make you smile whenever you put them on. Our goal is to make our customers feel like the beautiful, amazing people they are when they add a little extra pop of colorful earrings to their everyday look. They don’t need our earrings to make them beautiful-they’re beautiful just the way they are. We just know that sometimes adding a little something extra to your outfit will bring a little extra joy into your every day life.

I am so proud that this business is now nearly 4 years old and continuing to grow and thrive. I started it from nothing, knowing nothing about running my own business, or even how to make earrings or accessories. I am entirely self-taught and now self-employed and it is truly fulfilling to see how far I’ve come.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my social media by doing what I do best- being myself. I am genuine and authentic and I don’t hide behind my business. My business is me and I am my business. We are intricately woven together and it’s more than just a brand. It’s part of me, and I think it’s important to show more than just perfectly edited tidbits on social media. I share things about my life, day-to-day real life issues, behind the scenes of running my biz, all sorts of things! I get feedback often that people enjoy following my business page because it feels real and relatable and not edited and fake. I think that’s so important, and I’m glad people like seeing the full picture and the real me!

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

I think being authentically me and not being afraid to put that out there has helped me grow. I am unapologetically me all the time, and I encourage others to be as well. As long as I lead with kindness and continue to create a welcoming environment, I think the community will continue to embrace my business and the person behind it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cocoalovesgrey.com
• Instagram: @cocoalovesgrey

Image Credits
Sydney Pearce @castandforgephoto Emily Brooker