Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Vera.
Hi Angel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My sister was riding the bus on her way home from school one afternoon. It was nothing out of the ordinary, she got off on the same stop that she usually gets off to get home. However, she soon realized that a white van had been driving at a slow speed at a distance behind her since she had gotten off the bus. The moment she realized this, her first reaction was to begin walking a bit faster so that she won’t make it obvious that she knew she was being followed. This van decides to drive ahead of her and cut her off by pulling into a driveway. Luckily, this driveway that the van pulled into was right next to my aunt’s home which is where we were staying at the time. Three men then decide to hop out of the rear door of the van and run towards my sister. At that moment, my sister runs through the front door of my aunt’s gate and into the home. My aunt had a vicious pitbull in the front yard that would go off on anyone she was not familiar with; which is also what we believe prevented the men from coming inside the gate. I, myself was recovering from a car accident at the time, was the only one home and there was not much I could do; at the time I could barely even walk. I will never forget that facial expression my sister had on her face when she bursted through the door. All she said was “Angel, they almost took me,” and immediately bursted in tears. I felt so helpless at that exact moment. That night as I played the scenario over and over in my head, I realized that I had to do something about this because deep down, I knew that there are tons of cases like these that happen on a daily basis, and that’s not right.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I can’t say it has been a smooth road but it has been a journey that has allowed me and my partner to learn and grow from. I want to say the biggest struggle has been kicking off the business and staying consistent. A big part is believing in yourself that you’re going to succeed in running a business. It is not always sunshine and rainbows in business; not everyone makes it through those horrific storms that hard times may bring. It is important to stay focused on your own lane and not look over your shoulder nor compare yourself to other businesses. One of the greatest feelings is a customer messaging us how they used a tazer to scare off someone trying to steal from them or them using a pepper spray on their way home from work late night to get away. This feeling makes it all worth it and what continues to drive us.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My partner and I were both raised in Los Angeles, in an area that is known for their high violence and crime rate called South Central. We were both raised in low-income single-parent homes so we are familiar with hard times. For this same reason is why we keep our prices as affordable as possible. We know that it is a crazy world that we live in and everyone should have access to something to protect themself with. Not only do we sell these items to our customers, we also show them how to properly use and care for them. We really are out here trying to protect the people from those individuals with bad intentions. We just genuinely care for the well-being and safety of everyone; no individual should have to feel afraid or any kind of discomfort, but I get it, the world is out of control. That is why our slogan is Stay Protected because you just never know.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
To begin with, I believe life itself is a risk, at any moment anything can happen to you or anyone around you. I knew I wanted to sell self-defense items at an affordable price but I had no idea when or where or how to even start. It was late in 2019 and my partner had recently given birth to our daughter Sunny, so our lives definitely took a shift there. Times were getting hard but they were still manageable, however, everything hit the fan when we were hit with the pandemic in early 2020. Not only did we lose our jobs but we were having a hard time providing for Sunny. Shortly after, I was diagnosed with a severe case of sciatica which originated from all the injuries I sustained from that car accident I mentioned earlier. This episode of sciatica had me down for about a month and there was no money coming in. After several hours of brainstorming, my partner came up with a brilliant idea that she came across on Tik Tok, which was to launch an online store. So we decided to go all in on our idea of launching an online store specializing in self-defense items. Despite not knowing how long or what was the turnout going to from Covid, we persevered and have made the best of our experiences.
Pricing:
- Tazer: $22
- Keychain Tazer: $28
- Pepper Spray: $12
- Angel “Safety” Kits: $35-$55
- Window Breaker: $7
Contact Info:
