Today we’d like to introduce you to Lettmarie Perez.
Hi Lettmarie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Like you mentioned, my name is Lettmarie, but friends and family members called me Lett. I have a lot of roles, but the most important ones for me are being a mom and wife. I have a great support system that starts from my family and extends to some people that I have met along the way, and lets not forget about the amazing longlife friends. I serve in my community in different projects and collaborate with many others small business peers. Gaile is my most recent project. Like many other small businesses that have emerged two years to now, after we went through some of the most critical moments of our time. At the time of the highest peak, when everything was so confusing and unexpected, my husband was laid off from his job, like many others. At that moment, brainstorming about how we were going to continue supporting our family, we decided to use one of my passions, beauty, to invest and create an extra income. Within the whole process, thinking about the correct way to do it, we explored different ways and ideas. Several days later, I thought; I love everything that has to do with headbands and hair accessories! Why not go down that line? I told my husband he has always been very supportive, and without any question he said: “Let’s do it!” With part of its liquidation and with great faith in the project, we made the first investment. When it comes to naming the business, it was a magical process. I put so much thought and feeling into everything I do, and this wasn’t the exception. I remember using my cellphone notes to scribble and scrabble different name ideas. I got all of our initials: “E” for my husband, “L” for myself, “I” for my oldest, “A” for my middle guy, and “G” for my baby girl. I kept playing with it until it emerged -Gaile. My family is my top priority, and it clicked when the name was born. We celebrate our first year anniversary Oct. 5, 2021. Within this whole year, a lot we have accomplished and overcome, from day one till now, I can see a lot of growth, we’ve learned a lot from our mistakes, as matter of fact, we are in the middle of rebranding the business! I can’t see anything else but evolution and bigger goals!
As a brand, we want to emphasize the vision and mission of Gaile Headbands and More., which is to give a woman the opportunity to look in the mirror and realize that beauty lives within her, the exterior is just an adornment that brings out that beauty. At Gaile, we do this through a hair accessory. Seeing how a woman puts on one of our pieces and smiles in front of a mirror motivates herself to get pretty to go out, or simply wear a headband to put her hair back so it won’t bother her on her face to be able to carry out daily tasks. That is why in Gaile, we have everything for everyone, from the most extravagant to the most classic and comfortable pieces. Many people see us simply as another headband, but for us it is the way we are able to embrace self-love and self-esteem. As a woman, sometimes we can spend a whole day without looking in the mirror, we put ourselves in the second and even third plane. Serving as a reminder through a hair accessory is our goal. Knowing the joy we transmit when we see how a girl shares her unboxing video or photo lets us know that we are achieving our mission.
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?
Not at all! Running a business is a daily challenge, emotionally and financially, just to name a few. Very few people start a business with all the bullet points checked, most start as I did, with a dream, a thought, an idea. Having people who support your vision is key to growing and embracing the small business owner journey. I personally have evolved through mistakes. One of the most important things is not to focus on what did not work or what didn’t go well, if not to apply what was learned and do it the correct way next time. One of the biggest challenges we have gone through has been in the area of accounts, we have learned things and methods that we did not even know existed, that is just a bit of the financial struggle we have encountered. I run all the bases, marketing, social media, inventory, packaging, website and so on. Besides the responsibilities of being a mother, wife, and having a full-time job, comes the huge part of keeping a business alive. That hits the emotional struggle. There are times when I feel that time is not enough to hit all the bases – no matter how disciplined you are!, or that the effort I put in is not enough. On top of all that mentioned, let’s talk about the pressure of social media! Wow, it’s another extremely big challenge because even if we don’t want it that way, it’s a two-sided coin, it can encourage you, but at the same time it can discourage you. I have learned that the amount of likes or followers is not everything, although it is important to have an audience, the most important thing is to bring a quality product or content for the existing and possible follower and buyer.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently, I work at a College located in Central Florida as a Community Relations Specialist. Having this opportunity of being in the Marketing field has helped me tremendously. I am a visual learner, and can grasp things very quickly, and as I keep working and doing things on a daily basis, my skills get better and better as the days go by. In the department we have a graphic designer with more than 30 years of experience, from her and from her work I have learned a lot, I think it is one of the greatest advantages that I have been able to apply in my business. Being able to do my own marketing and digital designs is a huge release knowing the investment I’m saving my business from. With my full-time job, I’ve also learned to improve the writing style and the correct and professional form at the time of creating the website and social media posts. Since Spanish is my first language, it has been a challenge, which I think has been surpassed and carried on with pride. Currently, several marketing tools have been developed in the Spanish language thanks to the translation contribution that I have been able to give the College. I consider myself a very creative yet organized professional, so that has been another big asset juggling between my career, business, social, and personal life. I can say that my focus for this year is to invest in my learning, keep working on my personal development, and embrace my rebranded business to show people that is ok, to start again, with more enthusiasm and bigger vision.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I believe that life itself is a daily risk. It is a challenge to cope with 24 hours a day, from the moment you get up until the moment you go to sleep. There are times when challenges come as discreet as choosing what to have for lunch that day. It all depends on the way you see things and your mindset. Speaking of major challenges, about nine years ago, we arrived in Florida with nothing, some suitcases and our one and a half-year-old child in our arms, we stayed with some friends the first weeks, and my husband arrived with a job contact. Within the uncertainty, we gave our child stability, from there we went through 2 more family houses until we reached the town where we currently reside. They were hard months, always with optimism and faith. Little by little, facing challenges we have built what we have so far, working hard and honestly, from 3 now we are 5. If I can give advice to whoever reads me it would be the following: do not allow your fears to be greater than the desires of improvement that you have. Before taking a risk, put it in the hands of God, he will open paths and opportunities, stay humble and kind, no matter what you go through. That has been what worked for me all these years. With that same mindset, Gaile was created, it was scary at first, and being honest, from time to time, it gets overwhelming because evolving a brand is a risk-taking everyday, I just keep pushing, learning, and relating myself with people that have done it, so it eases down the feeling of the unknown.
Contact Info:
- Email: gaileheadbands@gmail.com
- Website: gaileheadbandsandmore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_gaile_5/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GaileHeadbands/
