Today we’d like to introduce you to Annel Pichardo.
Hi Annel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, thank you so much for having me! I am a new business owner of an online retail store called, Apero Boutique. When I was younger, I always had an admiration for all things fashion and beauty. I decided to dip my toes into the industry in 2009 by making YouTube videos on my MacBook Pro in my childhood bedroom.
However, being a child of immigrants, my parents were not the most supportive of my desire to pursue a creative career; and to be honest, I was very anxious that the kids at school would find out about my little slice of heaven on the internet. And as a result, I decided to pursue dentistry instead.
It wasn’t until I got my masters in 2018 in Biomedical Science that I realized the point of life isn’t to meet the expectations of others but to spend your days doing something that you’ll wake up excited to be a part of.
Throughout my academic career, I found myself playing as the personal stylist for the majority of my friends and it was not until the 2020 quarantine that I considered turning this hobby into a career. I was overjoyed with the amount of support I received from friends and family, and that is how Apero Boutique was born.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh man, the road to opening my own business has had so many different types of terrain.
It took me about a year and a half to build the foundation for Apero Boutique. I was so lucky to have friends and family that loudly supported me throughout this process, but as a STEM major with little to no background in business, I found myself in over my head all the time.
When things got hard, I constantly was repeating to myself: “you can do hard things”. I highly recommend you try it out next time you find yourself overwhelmed. I was entirely out of my comfort zone and didn’t have a community to turn to. My main focus was to make sure I was doing this right and not just doing things to get it done.
I taught myself accounting, administration, marketing, and trend forecasting. It required a lot of self-discipline and consistency. There were many days that I felt like I wasn’t the right person to be doing this, but at the end of the day, I feel extremely proud to know that I could execute any vision I set out for myself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Apero Boutique?
Apero Boutique is an online clothing boutique.
At Apero, we aim to inspire the bold, celebrate the brave, and empower the fearless. Born in the vibrant city of Miami, what started as a concept highlighting the diversity of personal style turned into a passion for finding quality, transcendent pieces for multi-dimensional characters.
Limitations don’t exist with us, and we know there’s more to you than meets the eye. We believe in embracing everything that makes you… you. We’re not interested in fitting into a single mold; we value duality, versatility, and flexibility.
Like personalities, your style has range—and that’s something to celebrate.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson that I’ve learned in this journey is that rejection isn’t a failure.
This process has given me a thicker skin and more confidence in myself. When I first created Apero, I was rejected from so many brands that I really looked up to, and instead of seeing that as a big hard NO, it encouraged me to continue with my vision.
They just couldn’t see where my company was going yet, and that’s ok. Keep going and stay passionate, the rest will start to follow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.aperoboutique.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopapero
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aperoboutique
