Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Avila Rauseo.
Hi Andrea, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela where I had the most incredible childhood. I made incredible friends who are still my friends nowadays. However, my family and I had to flee our country in December 2017 due to a countrywide crisis. I was at the time 16 years old when we arrived in Miami. Miami was basically my second home as I used to come very often for vacations, but of course, it was one of the hardest things I have experienced in my life. It was not easy to leave everything I knew to embrace the uncertainty and loneliness that I faced for the next 2 years. Anyhow, now that I am reaching 5 years of living here, I could say it is one of the best things that could ever happen to me. All the hardships that I faced taught me so much and left me with many life lessons. One of the most important is knowing that nothing is forever, everything can change in the blink of an eye, and is very important to appreciate every moment even the bad ones.
After a lot of work on myself, I was finally able to adapt to my new life and see everything from a new perspective. At this moment, by the end of 2020, I decided to start one of the most important projects I will ever have: my own business, Bondi Swimwear. I think that I was not entirely sure of what I was getting myself into, but I have loved every second of the process. I am not going to lie to you, sometimes I have doubted myself and on some days I thought about quitting. However, I have such an incredible support system who has given me so much encouragement and love in those moments when I think I will not be able to do all the things I have done. Parallel to working in Bondi, I am currently working towards the completion of my Bachelor’s Degree in Finance which hopefully I would be able to finish in the next two to three years.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been all but smooth! However, I will not change a single thing. I think a struggle I had and still have is that many people who were very close to me will continuously underestimate me and did not support me. I got comments like “I would never pay more than $30 dollars for a swimsuit”, “why don’t you just focus on your bachelor’s?” or “I only buy from Shein.” Nevertheless, every time I got a comment like this I would immediately use it as fuel to work even harder and prove to them that I am capable of achieving anything I want. The most satisfactory part is when you achieve everything people said you would not be able to achieve. Another struggle that I have faced is being comfortable with taking risks which is very common in entrepreneurship. I think this has taught me to trust the process and my gut. Understanding that mistakes are not the end of the world. Sometimes a mistake is the best thing that can happen to you because you can come up with a better idea.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Bondi Swimwear have being on the market for 1 year and a half now and we have been offering bikinis for any kind of taste. Our latest drop of bikinis is from an incredible Brazilian brand and designer which dropped very unique models and without a doubt I knew we had to include them in our boutique. We love to support small designers from Latin America, allowing us to drop unique models rather than the same style everyone has. With that being said, I am very happy to announce for the first time that we have decided to expand our offerings and give a little change to Bondi by including different brands and different products besides swimwear. We are very excited to introduce Bondi Swimwear & Shop. Swimwear will forever be our main focus, but we want our clientele to be able to complete their entire outfit with their perfect swimwear.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Someone that has been key for me and my business is my mom, she is the most supportive person I have in my life. She is Bondi’s official driver, consultant, and advocate. She has come with me to every event I have participated in and dealt with all my crazy ideas. She has also been there when I am unmotivated and need someone to give me that motivation to stand up again. She has never doubted my ability to achieve something even a second. I am very lucky to have her in my life and could not ask for a better mom.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bondiswimwear.shop
- Instagram: @bondiswimwear_
