Meet Victoria De La O | Latina Business Owner & Mom

We had the good fortune of connecting with Victoria De La O and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Victoria, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I worked a 9-5 job up until I was 9 months pregnant. When I had just gave birth to my oldest son, I went into the hospital on March 26th, 2020 with no restrictions and left on March 29th with all the new COVID regulations. As a direct result, I knew instantly in my heart that 1. I didn’t ever want to miss a second of my sons life and 2. I don’t want to risk anything happening to either of us because I needed to be an essential worker. It was then that I knew to be able to have the luxury of raising my son myself, I needed to figure out how I could keep the bills paid from home and pulled that together with my love and passion for the beauty industry, thus creating, Tejana Originals.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Tejana Originals is a brand that focuses on inclusivity. We are set apart from every other brand because we aren’t here just to make a dollar, we’re here to spread the joy of beauty to everyone, not a specific tax bracket. Beauty in 2022 is not for the low income, I’m here to change that. I love being able to tell my clients “Yes this is the same quality you’ll find at Ulta and Sephora but it’s a quarter of the price!” Nothing gets me going more than seeing a woman, teen, young adult or even little girl’s face light up after hearing the item they want is actually in their budget. Of course creating and releasing new products always gets my fire lit because seeing how people react to my products is exciting.

To get where I am today was a long road that is definitely unfinished. I had my fair share of mothers guilt with balancing home and work while being a full time stay at home mom and full time entrepreneur, trial and error with physically creating my apparel as well as writers block when it comes to designing new things. It got very overwhelming at times but what I found helped me, is narrowing things down to one question. “Is it out of my control?” The answer I give myself reflects my next step and plan of action.

Over time I can say that the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to have patience. Being able to understand that it will all come in due time was hard at first. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy instant gratification so when I started my business I was extremely discouraged not having sales in my first week. Knowing patience now, has saved me so much unneeded anxiety, stress and worry. It’s a calming feeling not worrying about when my next client will come through and makes it even more enjoyable when I do get one.

I want the world to know that Tejana Originals is for everyone. Beauty, pride and creativity know no boundaries including monetary ones. Everyone is welcomed here.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting the area I would definitely plan to go my newest favorite eateries, get some entertainment in at a local Barcade, Tinman Social, get some holiday festivities in like going to the local Pumpkin Patch and ending the trip with a fun night out to dance and have some drinks.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank my Creator, for having a plan for me that is greater than I’ll ever know and for guiding me through it all, my parents, who always encouraged me to take the leap and start my business regardless of what the outcome might be and lastly, the father of my children, Andy, thank you for helping me every step of the way from late night orders to long days at popups. Because of these people, my business and I are where we are today. Thank y’all.

Website: TejanaOriginals.Etsy.com

Instagram: @TejanaOriginals

Facebook: Facebook.com/TejanaOriginals

Image Credits
Photographer- Andy Nguyen