Meet Jesenia Pena

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jesenia Pena. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jesenia below.

Jesenia, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

I grew up in a home with a mom who was super generous. We let people stay in our home when they didn’t have a place to stay. This often meant giving up our beds and sharing with my sisters. Helping others was a core value, one that I took to heart.

In 2015, my husband, Chris, and I moved to Mexico just for fun, but it became a transformative experience. There, we met Pastor Arturo, who showed us what it meant to truly serve a community. His church worked tirelessly to provide families with Christmas meals, wanting to make the holiday special for families struggling with food insecurity. Seeing the need in the community moved us deeply, and we knew we wanted to help.

We started by selling beach blankets, where each blanket purchased would provide a meal for a family in need. That blanket business helped get meals to many families, but it wasn’t financially sustainable in the long run. So, when we grew The Cart Collective, we knew we wanted to keep giving back. Now, 10% of our profits go directly to support these Christmas meals.

This year marks the 9th Christmas meal that we’ll help sponsor, and we’re so grateful. Not only does our business provide unique experiences for our clients, but it also makes Christmas special for families who need it most. Giving back isn’t just something we do—it’s woven into our business, reminding us each year of the impact a little generosity can have.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My husband Chris and I are the founders of The Cart Collective, a small business that specializes in creating unique, custom cart experiences for events. Whether it’s agua fresca at a corporate brand activation, churros at a private celebration, or gelato treats at influencer events. We’ve had the privilege to work with brands like Amazon, Nike, and Lululemon, and the experience has been incredible.

What I find most exciting is our ability to offer highly customized experiences. We work closely with each client to design a cart setup that reflects their brand or event theme perfectly. Whether it’s branded cups, unique flavors, or personalized cart design, we’re all about creating experiences that are tailored to the client’s vision.

Right now, we’re in an exciting phase of growth. We’re expanding our services for corporate events and working to support more small businesses by incorporating their treats into our offerings. I’m also developing resources to help other cart business owners reach the next level, including a workbook and course on how to work with corporate clients. In addition, we’re gearing up for our 9th year of funding Christmas meals, a tradition that brings our team together and reminds us why we do what we do.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I’d say three key qualities helped me the most on this journey:

1. Patience – Growth takes time. There will be stretches when it feels like no one is booking or that your hard work isn’t paying off. But patience is so important. Staying focused during those times helped me push through and gave me the resilience to keep going. My advice is to trust the process, keep putting in the effort, and have faith that the growth will come.

2. Avoiding Comparison – One of the hardest but most important lessons I learned was to stop comparing myself to others. I even had to unfollow certain accounts on social media because it was too easy to feel like they were growing faster or achieving more. Comparison can rob you of your joy and distract you from your unique path. Instead, focus on your goals, celebrate others’ successes, and work hard to reach your own milestones.

Learning from Mistakes – Mistakes are inevitable, but they’re also some of the best learning opportunities. We’ve made plenty along the way, and I’ve always made it a point to apologize, make things right with the client, even if it meant issuing a full refund, and then figure out how to prevent the issue from happening again. My advice is to view mistakes as lessons. They’ll help you improve, refine your processes, and ultimately make your business stronger.

For anyone just starting out, I’d say embrace these qualities as early as you can. Be patient, stay focused on your own journey, and be open to learning from every experience.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents have done for me is to always support me, no matter what. When I started college, I panicked during the first week and wanted to come home. My mom could’ve insisted I stick it out, but instead, she told me to finish the semester, and if I still didn’t like it, I could leave. Knowing I had that freedom and support made all the difference. I ended up not only finishing my bachelor’s degree in three years but also earned my master’s by the time I was 23.

This kind of support has followed me into every big decision I’ve made. When I quit a stable job to move to Mexico, my parents didn’t question it—they were excited to come visit us there. No matter how unconventional my choices may seem, they always believe in me.

Even now, with my business, I see their support every day. Running The Cart Collective takes a lot of hands, and we often need help. My parents and in-laws step in to watch our daughter when we’re busy, and our dads will even work events when we’re short-staffed. They run errands, fill in wherever we need, and truly make it possible for us to keep going. I couldn’t do this without their unwavering belief in me and their willingness to jump in and help whenever we need it. Having them as my support system is truly a gift, and I am grateful every single day.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

The professional photos were taken by LilyRo – https://lilyro.com/

I included pictures taken by us with my mom and with our dads.

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