00:00I loved being able to talk about something positive coming out from Venezuela, which is the chocolate in our shop.
00:15We use chocolate mostly made in Venezuela, which is unusual.
00:19The countries of origin of the cacao, it's where they're making the chocolate, that's quite unusual.
00:25And we just love showcasing Venezuelan chocolate in our shop.
00:30Venezuela is a beautiful country, but it is going through some really, really terrible times.
00:52Especially when we left, the violence was really terrible.
00:56And we didn't think we could, you know, our families didn't need to grow up in that.
01:01So we were fortunate enough that we were able to move.
01:13We thought, what a great way to bring our Venezuelan heritage with us by bringing Venezuelan chocolate to this vibrant, beautiful city of Miami.
01:21I started very slow and we've sort of grown quite organically because we don't really have that sort of business background, to be honest.
01:45It was a great resource for us as we grew our business.
01:48And then we opened Garcia Nevette about three years ago.
01:52And that's our first brick and mortar.
01:54We really wanted it to be an experience.
01:56So when you come into our store in South Miami, it's like you're stepping into our home.
02:00We have it made really nice.
02:02And we have a huge window where you can see inside the store and you can see us making chocolates and bonbons.
02:07We have a machine that's very Willy Wonka-esque.
02:18We found that people wanted some comfort and we were able to give it to them via our cookies, our cakes, our chocolates.
02:25So we did see a little bit of a growth in that sense because people wanted to send something beautiful and delicious to their loved ones.
02:32Also, because of the pandemic and I was more at home than I was at the business, usually, I was also able to start the 10,000 Small Businesses program,
02:40which was great for us as it gives us more business background than we had before.
02:48I really wanted to empower every woman to discover their limitless glow at every age,
02:58but also to create the most beautiful life that they could for themselves, whatever that meant for them.
03:04And I really, because of my mother, my grandmother, I really understand the power and the limitless power and potential of women.
03:14My mom instilled that in me that I could do whatever I wanted.
03:17She had three little girls and she just felt like, you know, you can do whatever a man can do.
03:22It was amazing because I know we can learn so much from her and she has such a great presence.
03:27And then, you know, meeting all the other business owners, it was amazing as well.
03:31One of the things that I got from the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses is that we're not alone as small business owners.
03:37And a lot of our problems are maybe different contexts, but we do have a lot of similar problems.
03:43So it's great meeting other people who can share your experience.
03:46And in that way, we can empower each other and maybe empower the future.
