Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Diaz.
Abby, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story starts in Orange County, born and raised.
I’m a daughter of immigrant parents that immigrated here from Mexico. I’m one of 8 children. Growing up in an immigrant household, one thing that my parents always shared was the importance of education. Ended up in honors classes, APs, however, I didn’t go onto college immediately.
Living in a low-income household, I had to start working as soon as the work permit came through. I was fortunate enough to get work at the age at 15 1/2 at a retirement home. At the age of 17, I got a second job at a coffee shop in Irvine. At the age of 18, I become a manager at the coffee shop. I took the experience of running the small coffee shop and was a lead throughout the rest of my jobs after.
At the age of 23, I became a manager for a business with over 14 employees. This company was an embroidery and screen printing company. I worked with clients like Red Bull, Monster, and other high-end brands. The backbone of the business was production and pushing production through. I decided I wanted to be more customer-centered.
In 2019, I launched Brand Ur Merch to help small businesses and clients have the opportunity in developing brand houses and working with them to develop their brand plans that will be the most beneficial to them in the long run. Brand houses are not just for large brands and can help small businesses increase brand awareness to get them in front of possible clients.
At Brand Ur Merch, we specialize in raising brand awareness through tangible products and digital products. We have helped over 100 clients in our first year and are always excited to continue helping our community.
During COVID, we had to shift to providing more of the digital branding services and marketing. We’ve been managing social media pages, running digital ads for clients, and getting them an average a 10X ROAS.
Brand Ur Merch is now working with local small businesses to help them with all their signage at a fraction of a cost of what they would get it elsewhere. We have also been supplying many local vendors with canopies to help them start doing pop-ups and outdoor dining.
Our mission is to help our community as much as possible.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Entrepreneurship is not a smooth road, and someone that says it is isn’t growing. When I started my business, I started making cold calls to local businesses and local events for hours. I got a great deal of “No’s, a great deal of hang ups, and sometimes no callbacks.
Even when looking for a mentor through any of the free programs in Orange County, I was shut down and the “mentor” said my business wouldn’t be scalable.
And starting a business without any capital was hard. I was fortunate enough to have a brand consulting client from the beginning which helped me cover most of my initial expenses.
Please tell us about Brand Ur Merch.
We are a branding agency specializing in turning your ideas into custom screen printing, embroidery, Direct to Garment Printing, and promotional products. Brand Ur Merch, LLC. is committed to providing the best in customer service, competitive pricing, and quick turn around times. Our team will assist you with planning, promoting, and perfecting all your merchandise marketing campaigns.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Started setting time aside to learn what I didn’t know about Cold Calling. I also would start with a CRM from the beginning. Having the data is important to track and stay up to date with.
Pricing:
- Currently helping businesses with outdoor custom canopies starting at $525.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 2321 E. 4th St. #414, Santa Ana, CA 92705
- Website: www.brandurmerch.com
- Phone: 17144921030
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandurmerch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandurmerch
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandurmerch
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