Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruby Medina.
Ruby, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
L.A Mamacitas began as a playdate group to meet other bloggers, entrepreneurs and Latina moms in my area. Hence the name, Mama Citas which means mom dates. One day, I realized that everything I watched, read, did and talked about was motherhood focused and although I enjoy motherhood, I didn’t want to lose my identity as Ruby. One of the next playdates I organized involved bringing the kids but the conversation was geared toward changes in our careers, exploring entrepreneurship, and bouncing ideas off of each other. I went on to organize about half a dozen more playdates after that but my heart and energy weren’t in it anymore. Partly because I was pregnant with number two, working full-time and also running a family business. That’s when I received an email from Janet, one of the attendees from the playdate that focused on the moms. She was interested in joining forces and after a few back and forth emails, I agreed. My background is in marketing and special events and she has a degree in design so it wasn’t long before our ideas and events became more elaborate. In 2017, we went on to host six events for both our mamacitas community and national brands. This year, we hosted our second annual “Mamacitas and Mimosas” event which focuses on highlighting mother owned small businesses, networking, pampering, introducing our audience to national brands and of course toasting to collaborations with mimosas.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It definitely has not been a smooth road! Janet and I are a great team and for that I’m grateful. We both have a clear vision of what our events should accomplish, what they should look like and how we want people to feel when they are there. However, we are sometimes naive and as much as we would like to think that everyone believes in the power of collaboration, that’s not always the case. We have been burned before and although everything falls into place on the day of, we do experience a lot of disappointments along the way.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with L.A Mamacitas – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We focus on curating events that serve as a platform to empower women and encourage collaborations. We are most known for our sold-out event “Mamacitas & Mimosas” which we are extremely proud of but that’s not all that we do.
We specialize in highlighting and working with hidden gems. This is what sets us apart from other companies. In essence, we operate as a boutique marketing agency combined with a social entrepreneurship. We get hired by national brands to create live experiences. We use our network and hire mother/women-owned small businesses such as local bakers, venues, florists, photographers, and bloggers so that everyone involved in the process benefits from the project.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have played around with the idea of expanding our model to other cities. We have already received several requests and just last month hosted an event in San Diego. That was lots of fun! However, we want to focus on reaching out to local brick and mortars to assist them with their marketing needs. We walk into so many places that have the potential to reach a larger audience and have more clientele but they have zero online presence. I want to help change that. I come from parents who never had a regular 9-5 and operated several small businesses that unfortunately never really succeeded. I think, if only I had the opportunity to help them, then things would have been a lot different. I want to do that for other mom and pop shops. On October 14th, we will hosting an intimate workshop for new bloggers and business owners where they will meet with myself and my team to learn more about marketing and the power of networking.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.la-mamacitas.me
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/la_mamacitas
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/lamamacitablog
Image Credit:
The Medina Creative, L.A Momma Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
