We were lucky to catch up with Rocio Gallardo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rocio , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Developing my confidence in this business was not easy it has taken time and lots of effort but I have managed to make it happen.
When I started I didn’t know much I didn’t have any experience but I went for it anyway. The result was ok but not great. Over time with endless sleepless nights doing my research learning new skills and lots and lots of practice I have managed to better not only my self but my skills.
When I first started I accepted an order for some Mickey Mouse inspired apples. I said it’s just Mickey what can go wrong? Ohhh boy was I wrong It was a total disaster!
To start off I washed the apples with warm water instead of cold water… because that’s what I thought i was supposed to do. The apples turned white I didn’t know what was happening I now know that it was totally ok it was just the wax coming off lol
Well when I saw that the apples all 24 of them turning white I panicked and went to the store to buy new ones.
Here comes the dipping part. When I started to make treats and apples I used the electric melting pots which they tend to get very hot. I dipped the apples in the black chocolate and let them dry… here comes the part where I had to dip half of the apple in Red chocolate.
I was ready and started off I dipped the first apple and then it became a complete nightmare! The black chocolate started to melt on to the red chocolate and both colors mixed I now had a brownish tone it’s was horrible.
I didn’t understand what was happening I tried it over and over again and nothing worked. I tried different techniques and nothing worked. It was now 3am no sleep at all just trying to fix this problem. Well I wasn’t able to fix it, it just kept getting worse.
I no longer had chocolate I had used it all. I waited until 8 am when the supply store opened. I had to drive 30 minutes away to buy more chocolate and I had to stop by the market to purchase more apples.
The order was due that morning I contacted the client and asked for extra time
I had just a few hours to fix the problem.
I tried melting the chocolate in the microwave instead of the pot and it worked.
I was able to complete the order.
Turns out that the client was happy with her order. If only she knew what it truly took for the order to be completed lol.
Today I can tell you that I create beautiful art. I am more aware as what to avoid and what techniques really work. I’m no longer struggling at 3 am trying to make a simple order happen.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hi everyone, My name is Rocio and I am the owner of Kiki’s’ Treats. I am located in Montebello California just a few minutes from LA. I consider myself a Treat Artist.
I create Beautiful Statement pieces for dessert tables and basically for any occasion. Anything for gatherings, holidays, birthdays and even corporate events. I work with chocolate dipped treats, dessert shooters like cheesecake and custom Apples. I don’t just dip treats and drizzle. I create pieces that are personalized and related to your theme. I love working with fondant and bringing themes to life.
I started this business as a hobby that has turned into a way to generate income for my family while doing what I truly have a passion for.
I have been blessed to be able to teach others how to create a little of what I do.
I have been featured in national tv in Telemundo on Acceso Total where I have given tutorials on how to create holiday pieces and where my work has also been featured not once not twice but about 10 times.
I have had the honor of working side by side with the beautiful and talented Jacqie Rivera on a YouTube series.
I had the honor of being part of La Diva Jenni Rivera Birthday Celebration at her store in Huntington Park.
I have worked for NBC for their Dia De Muertos Event.
I have been featured in Voyage Magazine
I have worked with Sofestively and was featured in their holiday guide for the Dia De Muertos event and also for Winter Wonderland event.
And I have also been nominated 2 years in a row for my hometown of Montebello for Montebellos Favorite Woman Owned business.
And last I have been hired by Altamed corporate to create some beautiful apples for their medical staff.
I am very humbled by all these opportunities it has been an emotional experience to be able to take part in all these awesome opportunities knowing that all the started as a hobby
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back at my journey I can tell you that it hasn’t been easy but it has definitely been worth it. Perseverance is the number 1 quality that I kept a strong believe in. An old coworker of mine would always say that the key to success was perseverance and he was right. Despite the difficulties I keep persistent and that has helped tremendously.
I have a mind set that I am my kids #1 role model and that has kept me going. Always Triple thinking of what to do during the difficult times because if I gave up or just didn’t try hard enough I would be teaching my kids that giving up is an option and it really is not. I always tell them that we don’t give up we work harder and make sure that we surpass any obstacle that comes along.
Believing in myself and how far I can go has been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster keeping this real. Running a business is not easy there will be days where I can sale out in no time and then there are days where making a sale or getting an order was really difficult.
Despite all that I am always looking for ways to better myself and my skills the long hours and sleepless nights have had a tremendous impact in my journey because thanks t that I have developed the skills to better my self and the quality of my work.
For anyone that has recently started on their journey I can give you the same advice that I was given…. PERSEVERANCE is the #1 key to be successful. With this business or any other business nothing will come easy. You have to work hard to achieve your goals you I’ll definitely have hard days, sleepless nights and days where you question yourself if this is the right path for you but if you push hard, and work harder there is no telling how far you will get.
You have to believe in yourself even when no one else does. You have to fight for the dream only you can see because at the end of the day everything you achieve will come from no one else but you.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest moment of growth happened just a couple of weeks ago.
After dealing with little to no sales or orders due to the high impact that the cost of living had with prices of supplies going up and having to raise my prices I started to question myself if this business is really for me. I started to doubt myself and questioned if I should adjust my prices or just take the loss. Then I thought to myself that I have invested way too much money and time on supplies to be able to develop the skills and work ethic’s and that giving up was just not the answer.
Within that week I get the message that quickly stopped the nonsense that I was thinking and feeling. This message changed my mindset and has now been the reason for me wanting to work even harder.
I get a message from Altamed Corporate office they were interested in hiring me for a corporate event. They were interested in 400 apples. I didn’t think about it twice and quickly responded with a yes definitely I can take the order. They asked for samples and after the order was approved I was HIRED not for 400 apples but for 515 apples. Lord have mercy I was beyond grateful and although this was EXTREMELY SCARY I never once thought to turn the order down.
I had gotten big orders or so I thought lol the most I had ever done was maybe 180-200 apples but 500 yikes I said what I always say…. I’ll figure it out and I did just that. Prepping the pieces that I would be using for the apples took about 4 days. The process after that took 3 days to prepare the apples and dip in total it took me 7 days including working over 24 hours non stop to make sure that the order was completed on time to deliver.
I’ll be super honest I wouldn’t of been able to pull this off without the help of my family and a dearest friend that came to the rescue and helped with the final process.
At the end of day 7 I was extremely tired and with tears running down my face, pain all over my body and swollen hands BUT I ID IT!I had achieved the UNTHINKABLE. I could have easily said I am not capable of this but instead I took on the challenge and proved to myself that from now on NOTHING is impossible I am capable of achieving this and much more.
I have learned that my prices don’t matter what matters is the quality of work that I offer and that the right person will be more than willing to hire me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=1w9dym0ahh15n&utm_content=3nu3p5k
- Other: Rocio 323 253-7624 I am located in MONTEBELLO Ca. 90640
Image Credits
All the images I uploaded were taken by me or my family
