Elena Flores and Gerald Flores want you to know that authenticity is the key to any successful brand.
The husband and wife duo spoke about their brands Taco Gear and Sew Bonita, their podcast “Sew Taco,” the art of the side hustle and how you too could start your own brand in a presentation in the White library on Oct. 9.
“One thing you should know about us is that we have to full-time jobs and this is our side hustle,” said Gerald Flores. “We come home and we work evenings and weekends.”
Flores, a full-time graphic designer, in 2014 started his brand Taco Gear, an apparel company completely dedicated to tacos. The brand was started after Flores searched for a taco shirt online and was unable to find a design he liked.
That same year Elena Flores began to teach herself to sew as a hobby. That hobby lead her to start Sew Bonita, an apparel company inspired by Mexican culture with bright and bold colors.
The Floreses started their podcast, “Sew Taco,” two years ago as a way to try to help other people looking to start a side hustle and to explain how they do it.
“I think one of the scariest things about starting a brand or a business is just how do I start?,” Gerald Flores said. “Just starting is the scariest part. We wanted to just let people know that it’s a lot easer than you think to start.”
The couple also shared what they discovered to be key when starting your own brand.
Always treat your customers as kind as you can, always interact with your fans and put out good content, and collaborate with other business, they said.
The Floreses stressed one key more than any other: authenticity
“When people see your authenticity, people really relate to you. They know that you’re real,” Elena Flores said. “This is who we are at H-E-B.”
Her husband agreed.
“Even if you don’t have the most amazing product I think if you are authentic, people will get behind it (your brand),” Gerald Flores said.
You can stream all four seasons of the “Sew Taco” podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
