Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Chen.
Hi Yvonne, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In April 2020, my neighbor (Rafael Barrera) and I were discussing the impact Covid-19 was going to have on small local businesses and brainstorming how we could help. We felt that bringing the community of local businesses together onto a singular platform would be beneficial for numerous reasons. Many small business owners have to do it all and wear many hats. However, not all of them have the time, expertise, or resources to tackle the many facets of e-commerce and digital marketing. Our mission at Vecinos Market is to focus on bringing incremental sales to our vendor base by engaging and hiring the right expertise to bring awareness, education, and fun to the community and “shop local” movement. “Vecinos” stands for neighbors in Spanish and it is a very fitting name for us. The same neighbor mentioned above became my business partner and together, we have put our efforts into launching and growing Vecinos Market.
In our journey so far, we have met so many amazing entrepreneurs who have been brave enough to create their own businesses and products. Most of these products were created to offer healthier alternatives to existing commercial products and/or to offer more sustainable, ethical, socially-impactful methods of production. We want to shine a light on the knowledge and expertise these creators possess to the community so we can learn, grow, and become healthier and more responsible citizens together. We have done this so far with various virtual events, Vendor Spotlight videos, and blog posts available on our website and social media. Currently, a customer can shop on our platform, buy from any of the 100+ vendors and have everything delivered to their door. It is a challenging business model and one we will refine as we move forward but our intention – to make shopping local as convenient as possible – will not change. As we head into the new year, we will focus more of our energy on bringing even more value to the customer by curating kits in various product categories. Whether it is clean eating or clean beauty, we will bring the best of local to our community. The challenge is real – more than a few of our vendors have shut their doors or are really struggling to continue to keep their doors open. Shopping local benefits us in so many ways so let’s support each other and our vecinos!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It certainly has not been a smooth road but we are very grateful. As with our vendors, we have to do almost every aspect of the business ourselves from website design and maintenance, packaging, vendor onboarding, customer service to actual deliveries. Where we have hired expertise are in the critical areas with specialized skills – digital marketing, email marketing, social media, public relations, SEO. This is a significant investment but also the core of our promise to our vendors and we understand that it will take time and effort to bear fruit. Our business model is such that vendors only pay a commission to us if we are able to generate sales for them on the Vecinos Market platform. In this way, we hope to reduce the risk and cost to the vendors. Not surprisingly, the e-commerce landscape is highly competitive this year so demand generation has been even harder than we anticipated. We will continue to try and test new approaches to see what works. This is why we are very appreciative that publications such as VoyageMIA Magazine include features such as this one to help bring awareness and share our stories.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In late 2003, my husband and I moved to Miami in search of a place to live with better weather than Canada. I was hired with Carnival Corporation and for the next 17 years, had a successful and progressive career within the company. My professional background is in Finance, Accounting, and Audit. However, in the last five years with the company, I was involved with Business Development and International Markets. When my daughter was born (she is now eight), there was a switch in my priorities and I started to think about what was next for me in my life and career.
I had a number of ideas and was working towards a Social Impact Company when Vecinos Market was born. I believe it is an example of the universe showing the way at the right time. I think that what sets me apart from others is a tenacity in figuring things out and a desire to continually learn and grow. It wasn’t easy to leave a safe corporate career for a risky business but I have no regrets. Every day, I speak to entrepreneurs and we share ideas and mutually support each other. In particular, I have noticed that the majority of these entrepreneurs are women and many are minorities which is amazing and necessary to expand. I’m most proud of my daughter, who is the light of our lives. From a professional perspective, I am proud of being brave enough to step out on my own and create a business that helps others. Every one of the vendors has done the same thing and I am inspired by them every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
It seems like such a simple question! I think we are always searching for happiness and it seems a bit elusive to me. I’m happiest in moments where I am able to find balance in my life. When I am able to balance time for myself and time for others. When I am able to balance the things I want to do with the things I “should” do. I am definitely happy when my daughter tells me she can’t think of the happiest time in her life because her life is always happy. Also when she tells me I am the best mommy in the world. This isn’t true and she won’t believe it for much longer but it makes me happy to hear it!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@vecinosmarket.com
- Website: www.vecinosmarket.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vecinosmarketmiami/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vecinosmarketmiami
