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

Vanessa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I hope my legacy will be that I have encouraged others to become evolving versions of themselves in a way that is genuine and true to their soul. For humans who come across myself and my brand that they can see how we can make an impact and create change just by being who we are from a soul level. Authenticity seems like it is hard to find but when you live out of your authentic & genuine self you find that the universe brings you other like minded souls.

I hope that through everything I do, people feel the love, the togetherness, community and that they too feel inspired & that they are represented through parts of my life journey. Transparency and vulnerability have brought me this beautiful brand and I hope Alma De Oro (A.D.O.) encourages kindness, empowerment, representing the underrepresented, and fighting for what we believe in.

Alma De Oro is based and rooted in real Mexican history, in the immigrant stories that occur on this side of the border. Our love for our Mexican and Latino people runs deep because when you don’t have family on this side of the border you learn to lean on your communities and Alma De Oro has built a community that we are so grateful for.

As the founder of Alma De Oro I have been healing and empowering my inner niña (inner child) through this brand and through this brand community because I came from nothing, my family was a lonely immigrant family. I used to sell fruit door to door on weekdays/weekends as a 10 year old to help my parents get by and have worked ever since to now building this brand to what it is today. We are abundant people and seeing this brand grow as it has is thanks to all my lived experiences.

This brand was born of everything I believe in, have experienced and want to create. I combined my empathy with the way I do business and create events for our community. ADO has brought me some of the most genuine life moments that I will forever cherish in my heart. Many of the members of the ADO community have become some of my dearest friends. Those relationships are unmatched. Empathy used to feel like my biggest weakness until I learned it was my greatest strength and through my brand I have been able to create community, create space and take up space as a brown, bilingual first generation Mexican American.

Vanessa, 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?

I got into the jewelry industry through my travels in Mexico during 2019-2021, I became friends with a manufacturing jeweler who planted a seed on one of my stops to buy jewelry from him for myself. He said to me “if you ever want in on the jewelry business, I can help you get in.” So fast forward to October of 2021 I told my friend that I was ready to invest, we got together to design/curate/manufacture and so I began my business with $250 dollars and sold out of jewelry within 1 month. So then I reflected on how fast that was, everything that I did up until that point such as how what I was doing was working, at first our sales were all by word of mouth and we began with showing jewelry at jewelry parties hosted by friends and family. Then we started getting requests to be a part of other events and the ball just kept rolling. Fast forward to 2023 and have been in business for 17 months!

My educational background is business marketing & accounting, I grew up being trained by my parents’ and their accountants through my teens that led me to business school. My original plan was to learn business the “right way” so I can come back home to help my parents be better business owners, my parents and I have a strained relationship which got worse through college so I found myself doing everything I did for my parent’s businesses in my everyday jobs instead. I held a lot of important roles like being an admin, a bookkeeper, an admin assistant, but my true passion was marketing. But I didn’t believe in myself then so I stayed on the accounting side of things because I knew I was good at it and it was the safest option.

Throughout college I saw how natural and fun marketing was for me so a lot of my marketing experience came through freelancing, part time jobs, internships and college experiences. At one point in my life I lived in L.A. and worked for a marketing agency where I focused on branding identity, creating brand books and establishing online presence for new brands and rebrands. It was then I learned this was my favorite part of business world so I kept working in marketing as a freelancer until I was able to finally turn it into my fulltime so all of this work experience has helped me in creating Alma De Oro. I used to be against owning my own business because I knew how hard it could be but once I started Alma De Oro I realized it wasn’t hard because I had been so prepped and prepared by all my experiences.

So now I have built this brand myself through everything I have learned in business and life. The brand has grown quickly and has been consistent which I feel so proud of because I know my brand building model works. This brand quickly brought out all my business coaching strengths to light in a way that now others see what I am capable of and now I am booking other businesses for business coaching sessions. A lot of my moments have come full circle for me through this brand.

I have been able to combine my creativity with my business model and ethics which have proven to be very successful. Our jewelry is made using 100% Mexican Gold sourced from Mexican Artisans. We are a Bilingual Mexican-American owned brand so incorporating our culture was very important hence the name Alma De Oro which Translates to Soul of Gold. The name is inspired by a childhood story of mine. Everything in this brand is intentional and serves a purpose greater than the brand itself. We believe that businesses with real true purpose are the ones that thrive and Alma De Oro has been a testimony of that.

Alma De Oro specializes in the gold industry, whether that be gold filled jewelry or pure gold, our jewelry is all hypoallergenic and nickel free with either a sterling silver base or brass depending on the jewelry piece. It is non-tarnish when following proper care recommendations. We offer customizable jewelry options such as name plates that can be upgraded with different chain styles, it is our most popular item, you can also customize the font. We are also inclusive in the way we offer jewelry, because the jewelry industry is not inclusive of size so this is something we have been conscious of from the beginning.

In our jewelry collections we have a lot of traditional pieces with cultural meaning behind them, we also have a spiritual collection where we have items that incorporate the ojo, angel numbers and protection amulets. Some of our popular services are our jewelry parties because these can be customized and curated for any type of event and it is a lot of fun. Another popular service is our wholesale discount packages for large orders for wedding parties, quinceañeras, beaded recuerdos for any type of party.

One of our biggest community events is our Jewlery Gala. We host an annual appreciation gala for all of our clients to be a part of where we host an auction sponsored by local business we love and work with and all the proceeds go to to a local charity that is representative of the values and mission behind Alma De Oro. In 2022 we raised over $1,000 dollars and it went to a local Charity called Centro Chinampa to specifically aid in the Bodega/Warehouse workers rights and Sexual Harassment awareness workshops. As the founder of Alma De Oro it is important to us that we support the marginalized people in our communities who also support us, who clean and pick our produce, who have raised us, who continue to be pillars in our lifetime. Mexican and Latino people recognize our Mexican Gold when they see it and that connection is so pure, so we intentionally seek out cultural events where we know our gold is known and valued.

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

What helped my reputation within my market is my honesty, business ethics, genuine authenticity and my motivations to help others. I have created a caring and loving brand which is a true extension of who I am in my personal life. Alma De Oro is based on a lot of the beliefs I have myself for this world and my purpose on earth which has created a community of like minded people who also believe in businesses with purpose.

I learned and keep learning everything I can about the jewelry industry to also educate my clients in how to prolong the life of their jewelry so that they can get the most out of their pieces. I have used Mexican gold since I was a little girl and I am an avid user of my own jewelry so people also see how it wears and doesn’t tarnish in ways that are going to stain your skin, because that is our biggest question with customers. When asked about our jewelry it is with always answered with honesty. Our actions through Alma De Oro have shown that we truly believe in our mission and values and want that to be seen through our events, marketing campaigns and partnerships which continues to build Alma De Oro’s Reputation.

Any advice for managing a team?

Managing a team for my business is during my busy seasons, and it has taught me many things. First pay livable and fair wages, treat your employees with care because when you care for them they care for you and your business. Create consistent schedules for your team and communicate as much as possible. Train your employees properly if you are going to set expectations for your employees. If you can afford to treat your employees to anything do so because those details make the difference and increases the likelihood of a long work relationship.

Be willing to pay for help when needed whether that is through services or employees. The real cause of burnout is trying to do everything yourself. Our energy is not indispensable, eventually you will burn out if you do not learn where in your business to apply your energy, strengths and when to ask for help.

Many business’ owners do not hire help or outside services because they want to save money. As a result you also end up exhausting your own mental energy when you do something out of your expertise, you lose your presence in other settings being stressed about something you could have paid for. Hiring help can save us a lot of money in the long run because with help you can go much further in your business. Not investing in specific services outside of our expertise and not hiring help when we should creates moments in our businesses that are less enjoyable because you are doing something that stresses you out all to save some money when the money you would have paid for that service or employee could have saved you all the stressed energy and the lack of presence. When we operate out of a stressed and burnout energy we also can compromise parts of our business that create inconsistencies within our brands. You are more likely to hurt your business by not investing in help when it is adequate which is also part of maintaining a high morale withing your business model. It is all connected.

Contact Info:

• Website: almadeoro.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/almaadeoro/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/almaadeoro
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@almaadeoro?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Image Credits
https://www.anakaren.co/ https://www.instagram.com/anakarencompany/