Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Barrera.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My name is Michelle Barrera and I’m the owner of EnjoySLO.com.
After falling in love with the central coast, my husband and I decided to spontaneously move from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo. During our first few months, we met tons of people and asked for their help on our quest to find the best places to visit and the best local things to do. Unfortunately, there was a big problem…a lot of people we talked to didn’t know what was happening around them. Finding fun events and places involved searching through Facebook, learning through word of mouth, or worse – digging through tiny text in a newspaper. So at this point, I knew I had to create a better and easier experience for our friends and neighbors. I decided to build a website called EnjoySLO to showcase all the amazing events and locations that San Luis Obispo County had to offer. EnjoySLO is a free community calendar. We are also independent contractors and we offer social media consultation, event management, SEO, website creation, and more.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Having your own business is never easy. It takes time, patience, and it tests you and your relationships mentally and physically. You work long hours during the building process and have a lot of late nights and early mornings.
Finding balance is a constant journey with business growth and I had to learn to dedicate a lot of my time to meditation and leadership programs.
What was hard for me was being new to the area, a minority, female, and young. I always felt I had to prove myself over and over. I think a lot of female business owners can relate to this. When EnjoySLO started it was quite common for me to be ignored and for people to address my husband as the creator and owner.
One of the hardest parts is when one thing tips your life over the edge. That happened to me last year when I was working full time, taking on the responsibility as event director of the Edible SLO Magazine Summer House event, and my uncle went missing. I was working super hard and it really broke me. I reluctantly shared this with the community and they surrounded me with love and support. I took time off of social media for a while during this time and focused on self-care.
There are ups and downs. It’s unavoidable but these challenges are what help shape and grow you as a business owner.
Enjoy SLO – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
EnjoySLO is a curated event calendar focused on local life in San Luis Obispo County. We are known for our bright yellow logo and how we promote and organize events.
The thing we are most proud of is that we love to share things in a fun and down to earth way. My husband and I use to throw raves together so we are far from conventional. We approach everything with the same mentality that we had in LA and that was to create experiences for our community. We love to take events and throw a little bit of a twist into them.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
One of my proudest moments was when I solidified a collaboration with Contour Airlines. Honestly, I still to this day can’t believe an airline would want to work with me. I look at myself in the mirror and I still see a nerdy kid in the mirror.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://enjoyslo.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enjoyslocal/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enjoyslocal/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnjoySlo
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/EnjoySLO/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-barrera/
Image Credit:
Hugo Martinez (hmimagery.com) (IG @hm_imagery), Bryanna MacLaury (brymarie.com) (IG @brymariephoto), Jennifer Olson (jennifer-olson.com) (IG@jenjoi), DIVAH PHOTO
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