Stephany Gomez’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Introduce yourself. Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey thus far
Hello beautiful souls, my name is Stephany Gomez and I am a 22-year old soon-to-be mom, business owner, and full-time student based in San Diego. I am also a former foster youth who entered the system when I was just eleven years old; I lived independently by the time I graduated from high school at the age of eighteen. As a young woman, I’ve faced and overcome a lot of abuse, sexual assault, and neglect, all of which have formed the distinct views that I have on life. I hope that my story and experiences can in some way inspire you, because no matter what you’ve gone through or the lack of resources you may have, you are more than capable.
My entrepreneurial journey can be described like most businesses as a roller coaster, given that I started at a very young age (at the age of twenty), all while still enrolled as a full-time student at San Diego State University. While I had started college to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, after two years I decided that this wasn’t something that I was passionate about. I changed my major to communications & marketing in 2020, which was also the year that the pandemic hit. Like many, I lost my job, but that unfortunate experience opened the door to what would be the start of my entrepreneurial journey, I decided to open up an online women's boutique. I created my own website and managed the whole business on my own; I celebrate two years in May.
What makes your business unique?
What makes Sxoboutique unique is that it is a value-priced online women's clothing store that is dedicated to empowering women of all shapes and sizes - not just physically but also mentally - and instilling confidence via fashion. I am currently working on a bigger project with my husband; stay tuned on what that will be!
What do you do on a daily or weekly basis for your own self-care?
As a business owner, one should always look for ways to grow as a business and an individual. In order to maintain my sanity throughout my busy work life, I love being outdoors, skating, having picnics, or knitting blankets for fun. It calms my mind and soul and re-centers me.
How do you prioritize your mental health?
Prioritizing my mental health is a challenge for me sometimes; sometimes I use keeping myself busy 24/7 with work or business to distract from any pain I may be feeling or trying to avoid. Therefore, I have most recently gone back to journaling and practicing gratitude on a daily basis through prayer or meditation. This helps clear my mind and soul from any negative thoughts that I may be having and instead focus on the good.
What was the most challenging moment in your career and how did you overcome it?
I can truly say that, throughout my career, the most challenging moment was when I wanted to quit during my third month because I wasn't getting the support and growth that I was expecting. If I had quit, I would have never been able to grow my business to six figures after going viral on Tik Tok. It taught me that you must go through the entire process of what it takes to run a successful business. Staying consistent and disciplined yields fruitful results. I would not have been able to overcome this challenging moment in my career if it hadn't been for my husband, who was constantly pushing me and motivating me to be better, and my faith in God's plan.
How do you define success?
Success can mean a variety of things. Regardless of your goals, you are equipped with everything within you to accomplish anything you set your mind to. To me personally, success means the opportunity to have broken generational curses. The ones that have kept us in bondage repeating the same toxic cycles. It takes that one person in your family to start a new generation of self-defined success, healthy relationships, and generational wealth. So, is that going to be you? □
