Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Fernanda Martinez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Fernanda with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Since I moved to Texas at 15 years old, I’ve found multiple job opportunities in various fields such as Baby sitting, Serving, Hosting, Cooking, Real Estate, Marketing, Embroidery machine operator, Screen printing, Retail, Receptionist, Construction, Substitute Teaching, Hair salons, Interior design, and Cleaning.
All those jobs came with strict bosses that pushed me to learn most of what I know today.
I’ve always been the kind of person that learns something and ask myself “How can I make this better?”
So after gaining experience at every job, I would apply that to my business and add my two cents to make it better.
That has allowed me to grow and be more efficient every day!
My strongest points (and tips) when it comes to work ethic are:
– Being early is being on time, and being on time is being late!
– Don’t call in unless you have a true emergency! Your job keeps your bills paid, and your employer is doing their part to give you a job, do your part to keep it!
– You didn’t want to come in today? I get it, we all have those days… BUT YOU ARE ALREADY CLOCKED IN… don’t slack, do your job, and give it your 100%.
– Sense of URGENCY!! Everything is due ASAP!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Hello!
My name is Fernanda; Owner of Get Stoked.
I was born and raised in Queretaro, Mexico and moved to San Antonio, Tx in 2010 when I was 15 years old.
Art has always been a huge part of my life. My mom has a Bachelors of Education and her thesis was about making teaching materials out of recycled waste which technically means she is VERY CRAFTY! And my Dad owns a screen printing and embroidery business, so I was always surrounded by inks, fabrics, threads and color swatches.
Most of my Family members are business owners which highly inspired me to follow the same path.
After working so many different jobs, I decided that art related jobs are what I love the most so I decided to sell crafts on my free time.
Being a vendor helped me grow so much until I was able to invest on industrial grade equipment and materials to manufacture stickers and become self employed full time.
I am currently trying to focus on wholesale and custom orders since markets have not been as great as they used to. After vending for 5 years, I’ve gotten drained and I am the happiest when I’m in my home studio making stickers and dancing.
I am looking to invest in more machines to make production more efficient and upgrade the quality even more.
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?
The first and most important one was the 9 years of art classes I took in Mexico. They were pretty much mandatory but I enjoyed them so much and they were absolutely worth it!
Second, My parents jobs were extremely inspiring to me and the fact that my 3 other siblings were very creative and talented when it comes to art. We had a room at home full of art supplies and fun things and we would hang out there and draw for hours which helped me develop my creativity and skills further,
Last but not least; All the jobs I’ve had in the past shaped me into who I am today and how I run my business.
One piece of advice I would like to share to those who are starting out is: Don’t be afraid to invest time and money into something you are passionate about. If you dedicate the time and put in the money, it will pay off!
Be patient, be consistent, be creative, and enjoy the process.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
My ideal clients are all those who need labels and stickers.
Coffee shops, restaurants, bakeries, skin care products, candles and soap makers, etc. They make the perfect client for me because they need the same labels printed over and over to restock their products.
Artists are another ideal client because they love to turn their artwork into stickers and magnets to sell at a more affordable price than the original pieces.
Contact Info:
- Website: getstokedhandmade.etsy.com
- Instagram: @getstokedhandmade
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernanda-martinez-215558282/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoubkq87QPr0uLmtvQKZKRw
- Other: Wholesale Faire Direct Link: https://faire.com/direct/getstoked
