Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Carrillo.
Hi Veronica, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I founded Three sixty in 2015 after a year living in Panama City where I was a real estate agent and social media specialist for an international real estate company. It was a time filled with new challenges, great experiences, and new friends but something was missing so I decided to come back to my hometown in Venezuela.
After months of inner exploring, I felt inspired to start a new professional journey by creating my personal brand that will include hand-painted pieces, fashion-forward clothes, and accessories. My mission was to ultimately connect Hispanic women around the world, offering clothing made of natural fabrics to provide comfort, freshness, and sustainability. Three Sixty became a place to indulge my curious mind.
It’s no secret that Venezuela is one of the most oppressed countries in the world, living in a crisis for decades with political corruption, chronic shortages of food and medicine, closure of companies, unemployment, deterioration of productivity, authoritarianism, human rights violations, gross economic mismanagement and high dependence on oil that have also contributed to the worsening crisis.
In 2016, I got my American tourist visa and have the opportunity to buy a plane ticket using my savings from my Panama job. Trust me when I tell you that having $500 or more in Venezuela could mean food and gas for a month… So I took a risk and bought a ticket to Baltimore to visit my dear friend Daniela, she’s the reason why I came to this cool city in the first place.
After working two to three and sometimes four jobs at a time I was able to save enough money to register my small business as an LLC, buy inventory, office supplies, rent a small studio, etc…So I educated myself every day after work to learn the necessary steps that entail having a business in the USA.
I was so grateful for the opportunity life gave me to be here and being able to pursue my dreams, cheesy I KNOW but gratifying. I have an immense passion for what I do which includes: creating my social media strategy, hand sew patches on a jacket, package orders, learn FB ads. I wear many hats, I’m the accountant, buyer, photographer, model, designer, web expert, copywriter, director, and CEO, and I love every part of it!
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?
I could never describe my life as a smooth road. I started working since I was really young. Growing up in Venezuela made me the resilient person I consider myself I am. Moving in the USA has been the biggest decision of my life. Starting a new life from zero is not for everyone but if you’re aligned with your passion and you are resourceful, life will take you anywhere you want to go.
I have faced many challenges, starting from being a female Hispanic entrepreneur under political asylum in a new country building an e-commerce business from scratch without any previous experience.
When you own your own company, a million questions and worries start coming to your head: where and how can I get the money to start, am I gonna be able to pay my vendors, what strategy am I using to sell my inventory, what do I need to be able to buy wholesale, how do I cover all the expenses without breaking the bank, social media, and marketing strategy to create brand awareness, best places to sell, shipping cost, office supplies, and so on.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My unique combination of previous work experience as Social Media Manager for several local and international companies and my current role as a Creative Director in Store Three Sixty has allowed me to learn exceptional abilities to manage business requirements and projects.
I have three years of background in the retail industry, two years as a Store Supervisor at Anthropologie Harbor East, and six years as a social media specialist and content creator building and helping local and international businesses.
This has allowed me to understand customer service standards, collaborate with photographers, filmmakers, bloggers, models, graphic designers, etc, being a strong leader, flexible team player, and thrive in a dynamic and challenging, yet fun environment.
I’m most proud of building my life with my own rules, having grown a business from scratch, and connecting with the most amazing community of women across social media channels.
Any big plans?
Personally, I’d like to continue learning and specialize in social media content creation and marketing so I can help more small business owners like me to build their businesses. Offer consulting and digital marketing strategies applicable to any industry.
As far as my brand, it will continue developing with new collections, interactive content across social media channels to reach a wider Hispanic audience in the USA. One of my biggest goals is to create a crowd funding campaign that will help to raise work capital for the next two years.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@storethreesixty.info
- Website: www.storethreesixty.info
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/store_threesixty/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/storethreesixty
