Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Chicas.
Brenda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in El Salvador. My Mom and I have been in the U.S. since 1987 (I was three years old). During our early stay in the U.S. my mom and I suffered “life’s struggles” including homelessness. I have vivid memories of being four years old and sleeping on the benches of La Placita Olvera in Downtown L.A. As life went on and I grew up, I became a mom to twin boys. Sometime in 2016, my boys and I moved back in with my parents because my father had fallen ill and money was an issue. We decided to help each other out. They would help me with my boys, and I would help with household expenses. I worked in the legal field for 15 years before calling it quits in August of 2020.
In May of 2020, I was simply scrolling through Instagram the week before Mother’s Day weekend and I came across a flower page, never had I felt such feeling of “this is it! this is what I’m going to do! this is my calling”. It was a weird but positive, strong feeling that took over me. I went to the $0.99 cent store, bought some buckets and vases, and then my flowers. I opened a flower page by the name BC Floral Designs and posted my first picture on May 7, 2020. I got 28 likes that day. My first photo was my o.g. logo that I quickly made on Word. I continued to post pictures that week hoping to get some sales and sure enough, I sold out Mother’s Day weekend. The inquiries kept coming in even after Mother’s Day. I didn’t have a business plan, so I would go to the flower market in the mornings, make the arrangements, and ask one of my family members to deliver it for me while I continued to work my day job as a Lead Paralegal. Inquiries kept coming in and I didn’t know or have a plan on how to handle it all until July of 2020. I spoke to my family, and I expressed that floral design was therapeutic for me and I was thinking of quitting my well-paying job to become a “Floral Designer”. My family backed me up. I officially became a full-time “floral designer” August 1st, 2020.
However, that week, I only got ONE sales order. I was nervous, confused and wanted to retract my decision of pursuing this full time, but my family kept feeding me words of encouragement. As any up-and-coming small business owner, we invest everything (time, money, sleep, social life, etc.) to put ourselves out there. Fast forward to 1 year and a half later, I have met and made many great customers that have become friends. Our designs have been featured on www.shoedazzle.com, www.cipoteculture.com, We have collaborated with our South LA Community Business Leader – South LA Cafe, our posts have received “likes” from the very famous Kathy Hilton, and much more. We are happy to see how much we have grown, and we are excited to see where we will be in the next couple of months. At the moment, we continue to work from our home garage where we are blessed to have an ample space to work on our orders. We are praying to finally be able to open a full-on floral shop.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
By far, has this been the smoothest road to take (deep breath). I have struggled physically, mentally, financially to name a few. The hardest struggle was losing my father just a few months ago. My father was my backbone in this business idea. He always thought of ideas on how to make this grow. I miss him dearly, but even on days when the struggles take over you, I think of him and his words of encouragement and I continue moving forward.
Financially is the other biggest struggle small business owners face. After having a consistent income, I went from having enough to almost nothing. Even now, sales are unpredictable, and even if you want to make a sale, you have to invest and put yourself out there first. Unfortunately, we were not eligible for any COVID-19 relief funds because the business started during the pandemic and not pre-pandemic as most grants required. However, I love what I do, and I will continue to do it until I physically and emotionally can.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
BC Floral Designs – BC stands for Brenda Chicas (my name), I love flowers, color, art, fashion, and what better way to mix all of this than into a “floral design”. Most of my pieces are “Designer’s Choice”. What that means is that I as the designer, get to come up with a design based on the colors and budget that my customers provide. That is what makes us stand out from each other in the industry. Each designer has their own niche, and that’s what makes this industry wonderful. This industry allows every designer to have their own audience. The audience gets to follow the work of their favorite floral designer, someone whom they trust their floral designs. From daily arrangements to memorial florals to weddings and events.
At BC Floral Designs, we do it all – daily arrangements, memorial wreaths, weddings, a la carte event pieces, specific floral art pieces, you name it, we’ll do it. We also love to collaborate with community businesses and be part of community Pop-Up’s. My Salvadoran community and I are getting together to bring an “Easter Pop-Up and Egg Hunt” on Sunday, April 10th, 2022 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the renowned Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne, CA. This will be an all-family event. We invite our Salvi community and everyone else to join us and be a part of this amazing event. We are having lots of Salvadoran foods, sweets, face paintings, and of course flowers to name a few.
At the moment, I am working on finalizing our website, stay tuned for its launching. In the meantime, if you would like to place an order or simply have an inquiry, please shoot me a direct message through our Instagram page at BC FLORAL DESIGNS.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
In the beginning months of BC Floral Designs, I had the luck of connecting with Albert who runs the Cipote Culture Instagram and website pages. Albert connected with me, and he explained that he wanted to bring Salvadoran entrepreneurs together and highlight our work. Since then, we have been featured as a “Cipote on the move” and our Business has also been featured on his website. Albert has created a wonderful resource that has helped me and other entrepreneurs come together to talk about the struggles and highlights of operating a business without competing with each other. Cipote Culture is my biggest resource.
Instagram is another resource on my list. Instagram is not only meant to post your pictures but to also connect with other professionals in your area. You connect from a distance and then become friends, collaborators, and customers. A huge part of taking advantage of the resources that Instagram provides starts with you – your approach. Don’t look at another business owner in the same field as a competitor, rather look at them and their work as someone that you admire for their work and follow in their shoes. There is room for everyone in sales.
Pricing:
- Designer’s Choice Wrapped Bouquets Start at $40.00
- Memorial Wreaths start at $110.00
- Weddings vary, but are usually $2000 and up
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.bcfloraldesigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bcfloraldesigns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bcfloraldesigns
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bcfloraldesigns_?lang=en
Image Credits:
Iliana Garcia Photography
