Monday, April 5, 2021

Finding Fulfillment with Tik Tok


As a teenager, Briana Valdez found a career that could have lasted a lifetime. Then she abandoned it. 

And then she really found her calling: entrepreneur.

Briana has become a candy maven*.  She is a Tik Tok maven, too. 

From her shop in Wharton Texas, a block off Monterey Square, she sells candy via Tik Tok, and lots of it. Less than a third of her business is foot traffic; the rest is shipped across the country and even oversees. She captures it all on video.

First, she became a licensed cosmetologist at age 18. She may go back to it part-time someday, she says, but she soon realized it was not for her, day in and day out.

"One day, I said I do not want to do this," she said. 

"I got my job. I quit my job, and I turned my life upside down."

At age 22, she opened The Sweet Spot, 246 W. Milam St. That was just last December. Her mother, Ruth Gutierrez, occupies the front half of the storefront. Mother's women clothing business is establishing its own niche. 

Savvy runs in the family.

Let's go back to Briana.

Briana doesn't just box the order and ship it. She is performance art. You must witness her fulfilling an order — the music, the glitz. Her customers love it. They ask that she make a video as part of the order. They watch on Tik Tok. Really.

Briana started very basic, just the Hershey's and bubblegum stuff. But her eyes and ears were open.

"What I did was I listened to everyone's opinion. People said I should do this or that, and I do try."

She tries pretty good, I think. Wharton Proud.

Briana will be a presenter at the next Business Breakfast sponsored by the Wharton Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and the Wharton Economic Development Corp. It is set for 8 am Thursday, May 6, at 9ers Grill. Amy Morales, president of Kapeesh Marketing, will also be a presenter on the topic, "Marketing Like You Mean It"

*Maven. Some of you may not be familiar with the word. Originating from Yiddish, Maven means someone who is an expert in a particular field or subject.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Betty Boop and movie ratings

The motion picture rating system was developed and is in place through the motion picture industry itself. It is not enforced by law. It st...