We recently connected with Yesenia Gonzalez Sotelo and have shared our conversation below.

Yesenia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I ever took was on myself. Learning to put me first and not being such a people pleaser.
At some point I was so worried about what everyone around me needed and what I could do to make their life easier, but I forgot about my own needs.
If it wasn’t for me putting my foot down, I don’t think I’d ever have the courage to start a business. That alone requires sacrifices where you have to have discipline, boundaries, and not care about what others think.
Taking a risk on myself was also taking a risk on all my future goals and dreams.
I feel like I had to take that first step in order to be in tune with myself and have the confidence and wisdom to pursue all these ideas in my head.
It’s not easy because sometimes I act out of fear and it holds me back, but we have to be comfortable being uncomfortable

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.

My name is Yesenia Gonzalez. Im a single mom, work a full time job & run YGS CO. on my free time ! Although I’m more floral focused now, I started my company with luxury picnic set ups around downtown Houston and homes. YGS CO. all came about when a friend asked me to set up her picnic party for her birthday. Everyone around me knows i love to decorate and set up parties and events so it was just the usual. She later brought up how it would be a good idea to have this as a business. I thought about it and knew I had been wanting to start up my own business, I just didn’t know in what.
I figured I’m good at this, it’s fun, why not !?
So next thing you know, I’m using up one of my paychecks to just buy stuff. No plan, no guidance, nothing but a lot of praying and fearless hope lol
I luckily started around Valentine’s Day 2021 & just went from there.
My first picninc client actually asked if I offered flowers and I had previously done bouquets for friends and family so I was like “I can easily go to Kroger and make a bouquet”. I had seen these beautifully wrapped flowers online and tried to re create that. From then on it took off!
Houston weather is so hot and unpredictable so the picnics aren’t my main focus but I do still offer them.
For the moment I’m adding more flower techniques, styles and even doing small wedding and parties. I’m still learning and growing to provide the best service possible for my clients!
It’s definitely been a rollercoaster owning a business but it’s only up from here !
You can’t allow for the losses and set backs to stop you. Instead, use it as a lesson. What did you learn from this? How can I improve? What am I missing? Even if it means starting over, at least you’re starting with more experience and wisdom.
The good days are great. Sales are up, profits up, how can that not be motivation enough?
But it’s the bad days where you need to forget motivation and use your discipline. Remember that it’s not an easy road and it’s trial and error.
I’m definitely not where I want to be at with my company but I know I’m beyond proud of how far I’ve came.
For having the life I do, I inspire myself. I tend to forget to celebrate myself but balancing being a mom & work, & in and out of school, gym is super important for me so I have to mix that in, social life, and running a business, all while still trying to obtain other skills that will help me grow, it’s a lot lol but I manage !
It’s not easy and sometimes I’m better in one area than others and always feeling like I’m not doing enough but I have to remember to breathe. Listen to what I need at the moment, what my body needs. I’ve overworked myself to where my health is just trash and I’ve had moments where I just bum out.
At the end of the day I have the vision, I have the potential and I know what I want.
It’s not easy, but it sure isn’t impossible.

I have bigger goals for YGS CO. & cannot wait to see them through!!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started my business social media years before YGS CO. I think I called it DIY by YGS or something. Back then I did cakes, gift baskets, flowers, pinatas. Anything crafty, I did lol. The following always remained at around 100, never past 130. At that time, entrepreneur wasn’t in my vocabulary and I really don’t think I knew what that meant haha When I decided to bring about @ygs.co_ and recreate the entire page, I was still lost. I would post only when I had an order, my picture quality was low, just the basics. Im honestly still learning and improving as I go, but I can see the difference.
Consistency. The more I posted the more interactions I got, the more my clientele grew and the more followers. Along with consistency, I personally like a clean, neat picture, so I adjust my settings as need be. Keep in mind I just have an iPhone lol. I noticed making reels and having pictures and posts in your drafts and ready to just upload also helps. Social media is a lot more work than people think, so its pretty time consuming.
Getting your friends and family to share your page also helps get the word out!
Social media itself has a lot of people teaching you tips and hacks! Do you research, learn, apply what best fits your business and do it! Use it to your own advantage.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I think a near death moment for my business was end of 2022. I say near death because I was soooo close to calling it quits. I mean don’t get me wrong Ive had the thoughts, because that’s normal as a business owner in the beginning, but never got this close. I have my business registered, aka its under an LLC. I remember writing up a looooong message to my friend who owns a company in starting business and helping them grow *cough cough* (SAS Tax & Business Solutions), well I remember how broken and down I was, but I never sent it. I deleted it. I later brought it up to her when we met to do my taxes and I remember holding back tears and feeling a knot in my throat. She definitely guided me a little and helped me calm down more than she thinks, but man I had never lost so much hope. At that time my creativeness was gone, I was mentally going through some personal stuff, I had school going on, I felt like I was failing as a mother, I was going to the gym 5-6 days of the week. I was DRAINED. But my mind was always on go mode. I always said I’ll sleep when Im dead, Ill stop when Im finished not when im tired. And yes, this probably gets the ball rolling faster and you might be ahead of everyone but when you don’t listen to your body and learn to manage your plate, a burn out is for certain. Ive had a few but never as bad as to where I wanted to forget my business for good.
Besides, who are you trying to beat ? You should be your own competition. Once you realize that your focus should be on becoming better each day, taking it one step at a time, enjoying the journey and setting your priorities, it flows.
We will always have tough days as business owners, but we have to learn how to stop, and think about what we can control in that very moment.
Over a few months and shifting my focus, I got my spark back and realized it was just my emotions getting the best of me. I wanted to hustle so bad and carry more than I could handle, but Ive realized small steps lead to a better outcome. Ive learned to work smarter, not harder. I want to reach the end of my journey and say I enjoyed the process instead of dreading everything that lead me to it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: ygs.co_