I just didn't know what was gonna happen.

And I just thought like, if I do this,

everybody's gonna know, like everyone's gonna know.

I don't have it all together.

This is the Made to Advance podcast.

I'm your host, Brian Aulick.

We're here to inspire and equip you for your best future.

Well, we've got an incredible guest on the show today.

Gladys Cruz is here with us.

She is the founder of La Maising Events.

We're gonna get to that name in a second.

And she's also with her husband, Roger Leeds,

Engedi Español, which is the Spanish speaking expression

of Engedi Church.

She's got two amazing kids

and she is with us here in the studio today.

Welcome Gladys.

Aw, that was such a good intro.

(laughs)

Well, I am so excited to have this conversation.

literally before there was ever an idea for a podcast.

I remember the first time you started telling me

more of your story, and I literally thought,

and I think I may have told you this,

I thought there is gonna be a day

where I'm gonna figure out a way

to be able to hear, for more people

to hear more of your story.

Yes, you did.

So this has been like, I've never forgotten that,

and this proves it today.

Yes, it does.

When I got the text, I was like, yes, Brian.

(both laughing)

He wasn't joking.

He wasn't joking with me.

So, La Maising Events.

And what's the story?

I was like, what's the reference?

And then you told me, but you gotta tell everybody else

'cause you read La Maising Events and you're like, huh?

How did you get that?

(laughs)

So, when I started the business,

I was scrambling, obviously, to get a name.

And I was just like, okay, well,

I know that I wanna create something amazing.

And when people look at it,

I want them to think that's so amazing.

And I also love llamas.

I love llamas.

Yeah.

If I lived, I literally feel always like

if I lived in Peru, I would be the happiest person alive.

Yeah.

So yeah, that's kind of how I came up.

It's Lamazing, it's llama and amazing together.

How often do you get that question

of what's the story with Lamazing?

Pretty often.

Yeah.

(laughing)

It reminds me of when we started in Getty

because everybody is like, what in the world

are you calling this church?

And people actually thought, is it a Spanish,

is it like a Spanish speaking church?

because they didn't know what to do with the word En-Gedi.

So that was a question I fielded a lot.

But you know, the good thing is if you've got a clever name

or a weird name or an interesting name,

people have to ask you about it.

And it's a conversation then.

It's always gonna be a conversation.

So they're asking about it.

Well, I'm gonna rewind the clock like way back.

And you had a very fascinating journey to the United States.

And I know this is kind of like going deep straight away,

but I would love it if you'd be just willing

to share your journey here.

And I think it'll be super fascinating

to those who are listening.

Yeah, so I grew up most of my childhood in Mexico.

I was actually there till I was like eight and a half.

And we transitioned, immigrated here to the United States

when I turned almost nine.

So the story behind that was just,

you know, my dad came here

and he saw a better opportunity for us as kids

And he was just like, "Hey, I need to bring you guys over here."

So when we came here, it was not an easy journey at all.

Like we had, you know, we didn't know the language.

We were little.

It was such a culture shock for us.

And I just, I remember my first day of school, I was just like in the playground crying with

my brother outside because I was just thinking like, "What are we doing here?

I don't know anyone and nobody understands me. And you know, I just

remember it was just a really huge change for us as little kids. My brother

at the time was only four. So he still remembers, but you know, like I feel like

he was small. I felt like I was already like in my own world with my friends and

when I came here it was not an easy, not an easy journey.

Yeah, so you're learning everything new. Do you mind, and I don't know, you know,

you'll have to, I don't know if you feel great

about answering this or not, but like,

do you mind backing up the clock

and talking about the journey here actually?

Oh, yeah.

Because that is-

It's a long journey.

That was a long journey, and it's one

that most people are not familiar with.

Yeah, so, and I've shared this with you already,

but for people that are listening for the first time,

my parents here actually were immigrating illegally,

And when I came to United States,

it was, you know, I was just told

that we were going to go see dad.

So to me, it was just like, okay,

we're just gonna get on a plane and go see dad.

Well, that was not the case at all.

I was, I remember arriving to Juarez at the time

and I just remember one, it was just,

even that was a culture shock for me

'cause it was so different from where we grew up.

And it was just like one of those funny moments

where you realize like, am I still in Mexico?

Or what is this place?

When we came, we had to cross the border

and it was all desert at the time.

I don't remember exactly where it was,

but I know it was like in Arizona somewhere.

And I just, I feel like in that moment,

like you don't know what you're doing.

My mom was like, you know, it's going to be winter

where we're gonna be was December

and we were like packed with snow pants and snow boots

and like a big old jacket, but it's Arizona, it was hot.

And so we were just like walking in this desert.

It was hot, I remember.

Who's we when you say we?

We is my mom, my brother and myself.

And then we were with a friend and more people that were,

Yeah.

We didn't know who they were.

They were just coming with this.

And you had a guide of some sort.

was a coyote that was crossing us.

We were just like, we didn't know him either.

We just kind of, you know, you pay him, you trust him.

Hopefully he gets there safe.

Um, so when we were crossing, I remember one of the biggest things they told us is,

um, do not lose your water and don't get left behind.

And so we're like, got it.

Like, okay.

Um, so I remember there was people that you could see that were left behind from

other groups that were asking for water and you could tell they couldn't walk, they were

weak.

And it was just like really scary and I remember, you know, I'm eight and a half, like I just

remember wanting to help and wanting to give them water.

And the guy that was guiding us, he was like, "Don't talk to them.

Don't keep walking."

And so my mom was just like, "Please, like, no, like, let's just keep following.

Let's just keep following."

And in our group, there were some people that were getting tired, they were running out

of water, we were trying to make sure that everybody was sharing and, and but

the same time making sure that you're also taken care of, especially for my mom

she was trying to make sure that we were taken care of as kids. So the first time

that we arrived to the United States, I guess you could say we actually crossed

a border, we were left behind because we were told that somebody else was going

to pick us up because we were a family. Everybody else was single or male and my

mom was the only one with children. So we were left behind and I remember, I mean

it's Arizona, yes it's hot, but at night it was freezing. I remember like the

ground got really frosty and we were so cold and we were just like in the middle

of nowhere. We had no idea where we were and I was just, I just remember like I

I was super cold and my mom was like,

"We're gonna have to start a fire.

"I'm not gonna let you guys just be cold

"and be left here.

"I don't know how many days we're gonna stay here."

So we started a fire and unfortunately-

And you're straight out in the middle of nowhere

at this point.

I mean, I was pretty much still in the desert,

but I had no idea if we were close to civilization at all.

Like, I mean, we were just told that we had already crossed

and we were already in the states,

but that we couldn't move from there

because we needed to wait for the second vehicle

to pick us up.

So they didn't, and they left us behind.

And my mom had to start a fire for us to stay warm

throughout the night.

And because of that, the ICE, the police,

immigration police found us the next day.

I remember getting woken up by a giant helicopter above us.

It was just like, "Oh no, we got caught."

But we just, you know, we started running.

That was the first reaction.

We're like, "Run."

Then after that, obviously more cops came

and we just got detained.

We got put in jail.

I was in jail for a year and a half.

And then we got deported back to Mexico a couple of days

later and then we tried again the next day.

The next day, oh my gosh.

Yes, we did.

The next day we tried again,

but the second day was probably the scariest.

I told you to talk, I talk a lot, but it's a long story.

Yeah, it's okay.

The second day we were doing fine.

Again, second group, everybody was new.

There was a child with us, there was a baby and then us.

So there was more females in our group, in the second group.

But I don't know, like maybe halfway there,

I just remember a bunch of guys stopping us with huge guns

and just telling us to get on the ground

and separating the males and the females.

And the females were all on the ground on their knees

and then the males were getting completely stripped.

So what they were doing is that it was part of probably,

I don't know if I can say this, but probably narcos

something that we're stealing people, you know, all their belongs.

I mean, when you come, you're migrating, you come with everything you have.

Um, and most of the time it's not things, it's money.

And so they were just getting stripped and all that money was getting stolen.

And so the women and children were on the other side.

And I remember this lady, she was right next to me.

I don't know why I got separated from my mom, but my mom

was at the end of the line.

And this lady, she was just starting to get really paranoid.

She had a really nice ring on and she was like, "Here, here, like,

they're not going to search you.

Like, hold it for me, hold it for me."

And like my mom, she's, you know, trying to be quiet, but at the same time, like,

leave my child alone, don't touch her.

Yeah.

Um, so the guy that's walking around, he notices that I'm trying to hide something.

And all I feel is a gun in my head and my mom just starts crying and I'm, you know,

like just looking down, like, I don't know what I'm doing.

Like, should I look up?

Should I not?

And, you know, he asked me like, ¿Qué tienes en la mano?

Like, what do you have in your hand?

And I'm like, I just give it to him.

I don't care.

It's not mine.

I'm like, this is yours.

This is not mine.

And, um, you know, he started yelling at me, telling me what was I doing?

Was I trying to be sneaky?

And I was like, it's not mine.

Like, and so, um, I think that was probably like one of my scariest moments

thinking like, "Are they gonna kill me here?

"Like I'm only eight, like please don't kill me."

But they were very intimidating, very scary.

Once they pretty much stole everything from everyone,

they let us go.

We made it again.

They told my mom the same thing,

"We're gonna leave you behind,

"somebody's gonna pick you up."

And she was like, "Absolutely not,

"we're not making the mistake again."

So we got in the car, we were crammed as can be

in this little car and we were just, you know,

we were being told to get off and run and go back in

and get off and run and go back in.

And we finally make it and,

oh gosh, I need to go back a little bit.

Before this happened, we were in Mexico.

And so before the second time we came,

and I think it was even before the first time,

I have, it's foggy.

You were eight.

Yeah, it's been a really long time.

But we also got kidnapped and sold.

Oh my goodness.

And then my dad had to pay money for us to be released.

So that's potentially before you even made it

the first time.

Yeah, we were still in Mexico at the time.

And you were kidnapped, not through trying to travel

to cross, just kidnapped for ransom.

We had just arrived and I remember getting off a bus

and the taxi was like, the guy that was in charge of us

like told them our name, like last name

and he kind of was like, yeah, that's what I'm looking for.

And then everyone was like, but you just told them

who we are.

And then I remember like the guy just kept looking

at my brother and I and was like,

oh, you guys are so pretty.

And you guys are like, oh, you guys are so this

and so that.

And my mom instantly, I mean, she had this mom instinct.

She was like, this isn't good.

Like we are in trouble.

And we were in a house.

That's what I'm remembering from that.

Yeah, this was not a good house as I recall.

It just felt so weird.

Like I asked to go to the restroom

and they were very like, make sure you open this door,

don't open that door.

And I was like, but I was a very curious kid.

(both laughing)

So I was like, I need to go see what they said not to do.

And I remember opening the door and just seeing belongings,

like a lot of belongings, shoes, bags, a lot of things that you were like, this is so weird.

And I remember the lady just came up and she screamed at me and instantly like their tone

and behavior changed completely.

They were, we were put to sit down and then we realized like, okay, like they're not here

to help us.

Like, so they asked us for money and then they told us who was waiting for us in the

States and then they called my dad and said that they were gonna give us, you

know, pretty much like asking for money to let us go but they didn't. They sold

us to someone else and that person kept us detained for a week. And it was

like, you know, we were in this dark room and I remember just like thinking like

we didn't have, like they would give us food periodically but the water was

probably the hardest part and we were just, I just don't remember like thinking

"Are we ever gonna get out of here?

"Is this gonna be okay, Mom?

"Like, are we okay?"

Right.

But yeah, that was before all of this happened.

Oh my goodness.

But then, you know, once we made it, we made it.

And I'm here.

So when your dad, I mean, essentially,

they were holding you guys for ransom, more or less.

So when he pays, and he's in the States.

Yeah, he's here in Michigan, actually.

Well, he was here in Michigan.

Okay, so he pays, and then,

But does that have anything to do with you guys getting here

or is that just for you to be released from captivity

from these other people, you know what I'm saying?

I mean, yeah, is there a connection

with getting you into the US

or is that just literally like-

Like paying to get released was just to get us released.

And then the coyote was like a separate thing.

So he had to pay him to cross us two times

because the first time was a, you know, was a fail.

So.

And then you ended up in Chicago

where'd you end up? I ended up here. In Michigan. Holland, Michigan. How did you

meet Roger, your husband? Oh, Roger. Through church. Through church. What church?

Vida Bundante. So he used to congregate at Vida Bundante in Chicago, and we have-

they have a sister church here in Holland. That's right. Now it's come back to me. So was he

here, and you--or were you there when you guys first met? So I was here, he was

there. And then they had a youth group going on and came out here to help us organize some

things 'cause their youth group was a lot bigger than ours. And that's how we met. And

we're like, "Hi."

That's where the magic started. Oh my goodness. Yeah. And then you began actually then...

Well, I don't know exactly know how all the order of events plays out, but like your citizenship

journey was starting before you were married to Roger, right?

Yeah, well, kind of.

I mean, it obviously-

Progress.

Yeah, once you're married to him.

Yeah, so at the time, I mean, I was illegal

since arrival till I was 21.

So it was really hard.

I got let go of a lot of jobs, unfortunately.

I was having a really hard time.

I wasn't your regular six year old trying to drive

'cause I couldn't, because I couldn't have a license.

And so it was just a lot of hard things as a teenager,

'cause even though I obviously went through this journey,

I didn't know what we were doing.

When I arrived here, I didn't know I was illegal

until I literally turned 16.

I took a driver's ed with my friends

'cause it was fun and cool.

And then everybody got their license except this girl.

Oh, is that right?

And so I was like, wait, why can I do it?

That's the first time you realized it.

First time I realized I was different.

Wow.

I was so sad.

I was like, "Not cool."

And I remember my friends, you know, at the time, this was a topic that you wouldn't,

would never do this.

You would not speak about it.

My parents were very fearful.

And so they would just be like, "Don't tell anyone that we're, you know, we're, you know."

So I remember when I found out, my mom was like, "You can't tell your friends."

And so my friends asked like, "Well, why don't you have the license?

We got it.

Why don't you?"

And I made up excuses for two years.

I was like, "Oh, you know, she can't do it.

And she can't go.

works a lot and we don't have money and all the things.

But once I...

I think it was...

I can't remember when DACA passed, but that was my first step into being legalized here

in the States.

So I was on DACA for a while and that just gave me access to working and driving, which

is amazing, and going to school if I wanted to.

And actually, I did go to school for about a year.

And then once I married Roger, then I was able to start my residency, which is residency

for three years.

And then after the fifth year, then you can apply for your citizenship.

Was it a hard process?

I mean, once you were in the residency process, was that like a difficult process or was it,

I mean, or do you go, no, you just kind of go through it and it's...

Well, with DACA, it gave me like access, but because I came here, my entry was illegal.

I actually had to apply for advanced parole.

So I had to take the risk of leaving the country.

And that gave me an illegal entry into the States,

but it wasn't a 50, it was like,

it wasn't a 100% guaranteed

that I was gonna be able to come back.

So when I took that risk of leaving the country

and then returning, I got detained obviously

for a little bit, but in this case, I was, you know,

at an airport, everything was pretty nice.

And I remember just thinking like,

well, hopefully they let me back in

'cause I have a child coming.

I was pregnant with Elena at the time.

And so it is a risk doing advanced parole,

but it gives you a legal entry.

And by giving you an illegal entry,

it eliminates the illegal entry.

Immigration laws are so weird, but-

It's tough.

By having that, I was able to say yes,

my residency process was very easy.

If I didn't do that though, it would have been very hard.

I would probably have to have a 10 year bar,

which usually you have to leave the country for 10 years

before reentering.

Okay, gotcha.

This is an area obviously that a lot of people are,

I mean, some are familiar with,

a lot of people are not familiar

with all the idiosyncrasies of what you've been through.

I have a friend right now who,

their daughter is in Guatemala

and has married a Guatemalan.

And so they're like trying to now move to Michigan actually.

And I think mom and dad are realizing,

wow, this whole process is pretty intense.

They just think they had no idea.

So it's really been a learning experience.

Thank you for sharing all that.

I really, really appreciate it.

And I think it would be,

it's so cool to watch your journey,

watch obviously your marriage and you as a mom,

but, and you've had a variety of other

just different professional roles,

but the newest one.

The newest one.

Starting, yeah, starting your own business.

And let's just, I mean, like all the way at the beginning,

when did you start thinking about starting

your own business?

How did you end up with,

and we'll eventually get to what the business is.

So everybody's just on pins and needles

just waiting right now on the edge of their seat.

What is the amazing event.

Yeah, but like, how did it start?

Well, it started off a very dark place actually

in my life, which is kind of funny.

I was kind of trying new things

to get myself out of my funk.

I was going through postpartum depression

and I knew that I needed to do something outside my house.

At the time it was COVID, we were all like, you know,

just no people, nothing.

And I'm a very people person.

So I took everything that I felt like

I was giving me all the energy.

And so I had a really hard time with my second child after.

And I remember with my therapy, they were like,

you know, you're a very creative person.

Like, why don't you do like something that like

just a creative outlet, think of things that are,

you know, they are just gonna ease you

and bring ground you a little bit.

And I started doing makeup first.

And then I started doing my hair, like hair updos

and nothing was clicking until I got contacted

by a friend that does this in Texas

that we used to, she used to live here.

And she's like, "Hey, you wanna come to the class?"

And I was like, "Sure, why not?"

You know?

The class in Texas?

In Holland.

She was gonna do a class here in Holland.

Oh, she was gonna do a class here in Holland.

Yeah, and so I was like, "Yes, I'll take this class."

And it's gonna be a two-day class.

I was only gonna go for a day,

'cause I was like, "Oh, Elena's birthday's the next day,

"so I'm just gonna, you know, check it out."

And I knew in that moment, like, she was doing something.

Like, I remember-

Yeah, explain the class, what it's all about, what she's-

So she's pretty much teaching us techniques,

how to run a business in a way where like,

where to buy things, how to start a social media page.

But the biggest thing was the technique part.

Like at the time I was putting balloons on a chicken wire

and all my balloons were popping.

And I was like, why is this happening to me?

And then when I realized how she did it,

I was like, this makes so much sense.

But I remember her struggling with these balloons,

she was tying them, her hair was all static.

And I was like, I love this.

(both laughing)

Like why do I wanna do that?

You know it's a calling when you can describe that

and go, this is what I wanna be about.

Yeah, that's good.

I wanna be that crazy person.

But I was just like, I just fell in love with it.

Like, I don't know, they're just,

I was in such a dark place that I felt like

that glimpse of happiness just changed everything for me.

It was just like, wow, I really wanna feel like this

every single time.

And so that's how it started.

No kidding. - A month later,

I took the class in April,

Mother's Day was when I launched,

and I was like, let's do this. (laughs)

Wow, that is so, so cool.

So you knew you had this passion,

and how amazing that it comes from this old friend

saying, "Do you wanna take a class?"

Yeah.

Then did you create an LLC kind of a deal,

or how did you do the business side of it?

This is funny because, again, there was not a lot of business tips, I guess, in that way.

I didn't know that you needed an LLC.

I didn't know all the things.

So at first, I was just like, "I'm going to do a business account on Instagram."

And that's pretty much where I started.

And then probably in September, so this was in May, September, I got inquired about one

of my biggest jobs yet.

And I remember thinking, "They're going to ask me for things.

This looks like a pretty professional place."

They're going to ask me for this.

This is not some six-year-old birthday party here.

This is a big deal.

And sure enough, they did.

And so I was like, "Oh my gosh."

And so I applied for my LLC and I just got an actual business account in the bank.

And I was like, "Wow."

I thought about getting a website at the time, but at the moment I just was like, "I'm just

I'm just going to do a CRM for now, just to make sure my inquiries are looking a little

more professional than just like, "Send me a DM on Instagram."

For those who don't know what a CRM is, explain what a CRM is.

I don't know exactly what it stands for, but it's pretty much, it's a program where I can

receive emails, inquiry forms, my calendar's there.

It shows pretty much everything on my schedule, like who's job is coming up, when I have calls,

and people are paying.

And then a lot of cool automation, like emails,

where if somebody inquires, I right away send an email

letting them know I received it,

and send them a schedule to schedule a call with me.

That is so cool.

Did financially, as far as getting the thing off the ground,

I mean, you've gotta get, when she's showing you

the supplies, you were doing the chicken wire thing here,

and all of a sudden she's got all these,

I've seen your, I mean, you've got,

there's stuff to it here, and special balloons,

and all this other, did you have to put some money out

for to make it all happen outside?

I did.

I mean, I was kind of like, I told Roger after,

like literally that day, I was like, I'm doing this.

And he was just excited that I was excited about something.

But then when he realized like how much money I was,

he's like, wait a minute.

What does this mean?

My excitement level just kind of went down.

So like, what, what, could you mind sharing?

What, what's started off?

How much do you put into it?

I probably put about $15,000 to start.

Wow.

Like inventory, yeah, just start off.

Like probably the first six months.

Good for you though, you took the risk

and you knew this is what I, yeah, I mean,

that's the thing, one of the things I really,

I hope when people are listening,

it may not be that they're called to start a business,

but they, whatever you're called to,

if you're moving, I think if you're moving

to your best future, it's gonna involve some risk.

And I just feel like that's a theme

that we keep needing to talk about

because we're in such a risk-averse society

where it's like trying to play it safe.

And for any of us, I mean, we don't like,

risk is uncomfortable by definition.

And so it's just good to hear,

here you are married to a pastor.

So you guys are not exactly swimming in resources

and you took a risk because you knew there's something here.

And so you've got the resources, you got your supplies,

you start advertising on Instagram.

And after, like in our show notes,

we'll put all of your website stuff and all that

can find you and learn more about your business and see your amazing pictures.

I love looking at the pictures because it's just like what you do is nuts.

But when you started posting stuff on Instagram, stuff like that, how long before jobs started

trickling in?

Take us a little bit on the journey.

Like, was it, "Oh, I had one job and then it was five weeks before I got another one,"

or was it like a slow, steady, up and to the right thing, or was it up and down?

How did the whole thing, how's it work?

And how long, that was again, when did you start again?

In May, Mother's Day.

Mother's Day of what year?

What was I thinking?

Mother's Day of what year?

Oh my goodness, 2020.

Okay, gotcha.

So we've been, this coming May will be four years,

three years, this May will be three years.

Okay, so that just gives us a sense

of how long you've been doing it.

But yeah, tell us like kind of that,

just what the journey has been just with business.

Yeah, well, started, I was right off the bat,

I posted this, like, I didn't start with the garlands

at first 'cause I really, I was scared, like you said.

It was just like, it was gonna be my first time

doing something like that, so I was like,

"Eh, I don't know."

So what I did was I did these little balloon bouquets.

I promoted it on Facebook and Instagram.

It was for gifts for Mother's Day.

And that went bananas.

Like, I was like, "What just happened?"

Like, I'd sold so many of those things.

My house was filled with bouquets.

So that was my start and I realized,

I feel like that was just like a confirmation

for me to like just continue,

which I feel like I can get pretty discouraged

pretty easily, especially if I'm in a season,

in the season that I was in.

So I was just really happy to like feel

like that instant high of like, I can do this.

But then after that, you know,

it started getting a little harder.

I started promoting things, but it wasn't,

I was just doing things at home.

And actually my first opportunity was here at Engedi.

Oh, cool, I didn't realize that.

Yeah, it was, I was asked to do something

for Fusion Night, I believe it was like a,

I think it was a summer party that they were gonna do

or something like that.

It was the end of school year.

And I said, "Hey, if you guys can just supply the supplies."

Is that supply the supplies?

Yeah, they paid for supplies, basically.

Yes, and then I'll do the work.

And it was probably one of my biggest installations.

Was that an indoor or an outdoor?

It was the outdoor one.

It was like a tropical theme one.

Oh, I totally remember that.

I was like, what?

What is that?

This is crazy, it's amazing.

Yeah, and then they were like, yeah, Gladys did that.

I thought, hold on,

it's like a balloon superpower she's got, yeah.

So I remember my mentor, which is Nancy,

she's the one that taught me all these things.

She was like, you are so amazing, I'm so excited,

you're gonna take off.

And she was just like, you know, pumping me off.

And I remember, you know, the reels were very new

at the time, so I was starting to make do reels.

And I don't know if they were new,

I just was getting it on the,

(both laughing)

now that I think about it,

I'm like, I just found it probably really old.

Anyway, but I was like, yeah,

I'm just gonna start doing some reels

and my sister was helping me and my brother was here too.

And I remember that installation took me like three days.

No kidding.

Which is so funny to think about now

because I can whip that up probably like

in less than three hours.

But anyway, it was just hilarious.

Like I was like, why did it take me so long?

Oh, that's a great side point though

on the whole just growth curve with stuff.

You know, when you, I think of the same thing

when it comes to a variety of things I do,

including what it takes to get messages ready and whatnot,

you've just gotta put the time in on the front end,

and that's such an important thing.

And maybe you didn't feel frustrated by the time,

I don't know.

I mean, at the time when I first started writing

just messages, teaching, et cetera,

I just was like, there's so many hours

to have a good message, and I couldn't compromise.

If I tried to cut it short, I mean, it was pretty clear.

You felt it.

(laughing)

To me and probably to everybody else.

Yeah, those are the days that I sometimes get done preaching

and say to my wife, "That was terrible, I wanna quit."

And she would be like, "Don't quit, not yet at least."

So anyway, but that's such a cool thing.

I mean, you're investing that kind of time,

that's a major installation.

And I'm guessing you're gonna say too,

'cause you're like starting to be able

to then tell your story with like, "This is what I can do."

But what a crazy thing to think

that what took you three days is now,

you said you could do in three hours.

That is crazy, that's cool.

So okay, so you started, I'm guessing,

so that was your first big one, then take us through that.

Honestly, that was such a great opportunity to do.

One, because it's in a really, really busy street.

A lot of people were stopping in to just check it out.

Actually, at that night, I believe there was a young guy that came in and gave his life

to Christ that day, which was really rewarding for me.

Because I'm like, "All right."

Sometimes as a pastor wife, I feel like I'm going bananas here.

What am I doing with my life?

I'm over here parties and promoting all the things.

And so it was just like really nice to know that I could still, like, there could still

be so much blessing behind all of this.

And I know it was blessing my life, but it was just cool to see that just that little

thing bless someone else in some way.

But anyway, that opened the doors for the type of clientele that I wanted, but I didn't

know if I was going to be able to get.

And it just opened the doors to so many opportunities.

Because they saw it here or because they saw it then on like Instagram and they were like,

"Oh my gosh, look at that."

On Instagram.

Okay.

Yeah, they were just, it was just a pretty cool, like people were like, "I've never seen

this before."

I mean, this area within itself, like you have your, you know, your balloon artists,

but I think that like, there was still up and coming like, and I, till this day, I feel

like there's still a lot of people that are doing it, but not necessarily as much as like

you think of big cities like LA and Texas.

So, yeah, I was fairly new to the game, but I felt like I definitely put a statement out

there.

I was like, "Hey, I'm here."

Right, totally.

And it just took off like slowly, but it took off when I got my first big client in September.

I was, at first I thought it was a scam.

Oh, is that right?

That's funny.

Why did you think it was a scam?

Because they emailed me and I was like, "How did they get my email?"

And then it was just very professional and it was just weird.

And I remember searching the actual place and I showed Roger.

I was like, "Oh my gosh, this place is beautiful."

He's like, "Well, it's not as good."

I'm like, "What if it is?"

And he's like...

I literally was so skeptical about it.

I don't know why, 'cause it was just like what they were asking for was so much.

And I was like, "This is bananas."

Was it bigger than the Ngeti installation?

It wasn't necessarily size wise, but like budget wise, yes.

And so it was just like.

How can it not be?

(both laughing)

Since you were helping us out so much, but anyway.

No, no, no, but like, yeah.

Yeah, so this is a big project.

It was a fun, big project and I was really excited.

And actually they've been one of my best clients.

Is that right?

Yeah.

Oh, is that so cool.

So basically it's just been slow and steady growth

since then more or less.

Slow and steady, yeah.

And I, you know, I'm excited to like,

every time I post something on Instagram,

I always get at least one client

And it's just really cool to just see, wow,

this is, it's taken off.

It took off very, very quickly.

Last year was probably my shocker

'cause it went from starting a business in May,

ending in December, and it was like,

oh, you know, made some money, but it was like,

hey, it's okay.

And then it went from that to tripling my sales.

And then this year, I'm hoping to increase it by 15%,

which I think I'll get there.

That's cool.

And you've got some people now that help you out

at different times.

I know Roger and I talk about this more

I don't wanna talk about it, but just helping navigate

when you've got, say, it might be two jobs on the same weekend

or something you can't do,

so you've developed a team a little bit

and I know that's something you're pressing into.

I'm trying.

So Sundays was one of my biggest hits last year

where I wasn't taking any Sunday jobs

and I realized how much money I lost by doing that.

And so, but I also didn't wanna compromise

like Roger, me, church.

And so I was just like, I can't do both.

And so I asked Roger, I was like,

what do you think about potentially hiring somebody

on just that for Sundays?

And he said, if somebody wants to, yeah, go for it.

And I had contacted a couple people.

Some people said yes, some people said no,

but then I felt like that person was the perfect fit

at that moment.

And I was like, and I ran with it this year

and it's really cool just to like be like,

there's something happening on Sundays.

Right on, yeah, that's cool.

If you had to say when you look back

on your journey thus far as an entrepreneur,

what would you say that these one or two things

are the biggest challenges to do what I'm doing?

Oof, man.

Obviously, I think I started the business

not knowing a lot of business wise.

Like I could do the creative part of it and that's fun,

but the business part is I think it's probably

what has been continuously has been a learning curve for me,

just figuring out all the things

that I just didn't realize,

like, oh, that's probably important, I should include that.

Like an LLC I included a few months after,

and a website, I'd included it last year.

And I just, I did things a little bit backwards,

but I felt like now I'm like, okay, I'm on track.

But still there's days where I'm like,

I have no idea what I'm doing.

(both laughing)

I think that's what, you know,

they call it imposter syndrome.

And that's a true thing, a real thing, right?

That's a totally real thing.

And I was listening to somebody,

and I might've been on a podcast,

and they were saying that this person was saying

who runs with some big time kind of people.

And he was saying, even at the most accomplished level,

people deal with imposter syndrome in huge ways.

So just a fascinating thing,

just that psychological feeling of,

I don't know what I'm doing, who am I to do this?

And whether it's a small business

or you're in a high profile role

that people wrestle with that.

Have you, when it comes to figuring out

the little different business elements

that you've had to figure out along the way,

has it been like primarily your mentor in Texas

that's helped or have you turned to other people?

Like how do you get the, how do you end up discovering,

oh, I need to do this or that

and here's how and things like that?

I love learning.

That is just something I appreciate about like my mom

and my dad, like just like constantly always pushing us

learn new things and so I just feel like I had a hard time before asking for help

but I think this business has taught me to let that go and ask for help because

I was like I was like the type of person like I got it I got it you know it's

just me I got it and I realized quickly that like no you need you need people to

help you so yes Nancy she's been a huge help you know when I have tough

questions like she's the person I'll go to because she's done her business for

a lot longer and actually her business has increased tremendously since.

And then I have a small community here of what I call my balloon artists with, balloon

by the Michigan balloon, but anyway, balloon artists that I, you know, if I ever have a

question I always go to them.

And then just research.

Yeah, that's good.

Research.

Well, it's a funny thing with, with starting your own business because on the one hand,

You need this side of you that has to be,

I've got this, I can do this.

You have to be, I don't wanna say a lone wolf,

but you have to have a little bit of the,

I'm not leaning into other people

to make this happen for me.

If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen because I owned it.

I'm doing the work, I'm doing the three hour installation.

That's just what it's gonna take.

But on the flip side, you can't live in that place.

You have to lean into others if you're gonna,

and I mean, you can try to do it all on your own,

But even then, what I've found is the more I've learned

and people who leaned into people who are ahead of me,

they just help you move further faster.

And sometimes I've had conversations with people

who they'll say, "Oh yeah, we did it this way."

And I've thought, why did I not ask this question

five years ago?

How much time would have been saved?

How much further would we have been?

I just, and I don't know for me if it was like,

I just didn't even think of asking.

I just thought I'm just doing my thing.

And so I really applaud you for continuing to take that step because I think that there

are so many people that like helping other people.

And when you have hard won lessons, like if somebody comes to you right now and was to

say, "Hey, Gladys, I'm thinking about starting a business."

I think knowing not just your heart, but your journey with your business, you would be like,

"Let's grab coffee.

I'll walk you through all the stuff.

You can do this so much better than me because I was doing it backwards.

And now I would have done this first and all that."

And you'd like share all that in a heartbeat.

100%.

Yeah, and so I think that,

and I think there are people ahead of you

that would feel the same about where you're at.

And so I think that's a cool opportunity we all have

when we've gotten some traction underneath us

with our business or our marriage or whatever.

So you've dealt with some,

and you kind of referenced this already,

some just mental health challenges

and that's been a journey for you.

Maybe you could tell us a little bit about

what those have been like

and then how you've, I don't wanna even say

gotten on the other side.

I don't know if that's a good way to put it,

how you've navigated just mental health challenges.

So in that season, it was really,

it was like that postpartum depression

was kind of like totally weird

because I didn't, one, I didn't really realize

I was in it until like I was in it

and I was like, oh, this is really bad.

I experienced it a little bit with Elena,

but it wasn't anything alerting.

I felt like it went away probably a couple months

after she was born.

And so didn't really feel it, but with Nolan,

it really lingered and stuck, sticked around for a while.

And I think that was the reason why I was like,

what is happening with me?

'Cause it was a year later where I really started to feel

like a lot of the symptoms, like, and you know.

A year after Nolan's birth, is that, that's wow.

That's a long time to have passed.

Yeah, so I was just, and I didn't realize this,

but it could last up to two to three years after birth.

So I was like, what is wrong with us?

But it was just like, wow, like I, you know,

I always heard of the blues, you know,

after one week, two weeks, like I thought that was,

you know, the norm and I, for everybody.

And I didn't realize there was such a thing

as postpartum depression after the two weeks.

And so, yeah, I struggled.

I feel like I've always struggled a little bit

with like depression and I can't really find the root

of it honestly, but at 11, I remember my first thought

of like wanting to hurt myself.

It was more like harm than anything else,

but I just, you know, my family was completely a mess.

There was domestic abuse and we moved

from completely different country.

I was learning the language.

I was having a hard time making friends.

And so I just felt like my life at 11 was falling apart.

So I remember that was like the first feeling.

I felt like a true sadness,

but it wasn't ever like something that I was like,

oh, it's constant or it's lingering around for years.

It was just a couple months and then it would go away.

But then when my biggest serious was my postpartum

where I really felt like, wow,

I haven't had this feeling in a really long time.

And it was just a really dark place.

I was in a really dark place.

the point where Roger was, you know, he didn't know how to help me and I don't

blame him. Like it's just something that it's out of someone's control to to do

and to help and so he did. He advised me. He's like, "I think you need professional

help. Like I don't I don't want to say you're not like I'm not gonna help." He's

like, "I just don't know what to do anymore." And at first it hurt me because I felt

like he wanted nothing to do with how I felt but I felt like he was just so

overwhelmed with how I was feeling that he just couldn't offer anything to me

that like made me feel better. And I think that when we got to a place where

I hurt myself that I, you know, never thought I would get there. Like I was

really... I've always like I always give the, and this might be a little too much,

but I always give this analogy of like when you're when you're thinking when

you're in a really dark place and this was always me like I was would always go

with the pills you know I'd grab the pills and just play around with them in

my hand and I there was always this thought of like if I was not here things

would be better and it was just that power moment I guess for me in a way

like where I felt like if I wasn't here if I just took this and was gone it

would be better better for my kids better for my husband better for

everybody else and in a way, selfishly better for me.

But never did I ever take the action of doing it.

I just, you know, thought about it or looked at it.

Did you tell Roger you were having that level of thoughts?

No? - No, no, I didn't.

It was just more of like my emotions that he just knew of,

but never really knew the darkness

that really was happening.

And that was part of the problem, honestly,

just was so afraid to communicate these things

and let people in in this way.

And people know that like,

hey, I'm actually thinking of not wanting

to be in this world.

Like, what do you think about that?

So when I, sorry, when I did this,

I remember that night,

it was the day before,

like the day of, it was a really scary moment

'cause I had my first huge panic attack.

And I remember my kids, I was by myself with the kids

and I just could not handle anything that was going around.

I just felt like everything seemed so overwhelming.

And I was scared for myself, I was scared for them.

And I just remember closing the door in the bathroom,

crying and screaming like crazy.

My kids are scared, I'm scared for them.

And I just remember calling Roger

and I was like, you need to come home right now.

Like, I'm not doing well.

I think that's the moment he realized like,

"Okay, what's going on?"

Again, not really being honest about how I was feeling,

we got into an argument 'cause he was just kind of like,

"What are you doing?

"What is this?

"What's going on?"

And that made me feel a lot worse.

And so that night I remember going upstairs

and I took action on something I thought I would never do.

And I instantly regretted it,

but I felt like I was too late,

at the same time it wasn't.

So I made myself puke 'cause I was like,

what did I just do?

But I don't know what happened because I knocked out.

And I remember in the morning,

or I don't know what time it was,

it was probably like 7 a.m.,

like I wake up, there's puke next to me.

I feel like I got hit by a train and I'm like,

what just happened?

Like, what did I do?

I started crying 'cause I realized,

Like, if I didn't wake up, like this is gonna,

my kids were gonna see me first.

Like, it wasn't gonna be anybody else and that hurts me.

So I thought like, wow, what did I just do?

Like, why did I do that?

And I remember I was pregnant at the time

and I went to my doctor's appointment

'cause at first I just wanted to make sure I was doing okay.

and I wanted to make sure the baby was okay

'cause I was like, what did I just do?

Like, I just, what did I do?

And I heard the heartbeat and I was like,

okay, everything's fine, I'm okay, the baby's okay.

And I called the hospital, leaving that place.

And I remember I was just driving.

And again, I think I was, I call it passively suicidal.

like I was like, I just want to hit this post.

Like I was just constantly thinking

about not wanting to be here.

And I was battling with that.

Like I was just like, I was mad at myself for doing that,

but at the same time, I was still thinking about this.

Like it was just like this demon, like constantly like,

no, but you want to hit that post.

You want to hit that car.

You want to, you know, get off the road.

And so I just thought like, I need help.

Like I finally like realized like I need to tell someone.

And I called the hospital and I just,

the lady was like super sweet.

She was just like, "Hi, honey."

And you know, like didn't have no idea

what I was calling about.

And then I started telling her and I remember her,

like she was, I can't forget her voice.

It's still like, it's so, it was so calming.

And you probably have never met her.

So she's, here she is serving, answering a phone.

That's probably what she does for her job is primarily like she's on the phone and has

no idea what a big impact she made in your life.

Sorry.

Yeah.

I didn't think I was going to cry.

Yeah, but she did.

She made a huge impact in my life and I was like, "Wow."

She got me there safe and she just said, "It's going to be okay."

And she told you to drive in then?

She told me to drive in.

And then she told me to go in, but she's like, "I'm going to stay with you until you're checked

in."

And so I couldn't talk.

Like I was gone.

Like I don't know what was wrong with me, but at the time, like I just couldn't, like

I just remember looking at the lady at the front desk and she's just like, "How can I

help you?"

And I was just like, and I remember telling the lady, "I can't do this.

I can't do this."

I think my biggest fear was, like,

are they going to take my kids away?

Am I going to get admitted and not see them?

Like, I just didn't know what was going to happen.

And I just thought, like, if I do this,

everybody's going to know.

Like, everyone's going to know.

I don't have it all together.

And I'm struggling.

I almost hurt myself.

And I was so afraid of everything.

And she's like, pass me the phone.

She's like, give her the phone.

I would talk to her.

I'll give her your information.

And she did.

And I was like, you know, right away they got me in

and they took everything away from me,

like my phone and my purse.

And I felt weird 'cause like there was always someone

right next to me, like a nurse.

And I was like, I need to call my husband.

I felt like I was in jail.

I was like, I need to call my husband.

They're like, "Yeah, you'll get a chance. Just give us a second."

I got freaked out when a social worker came in because I was like, "Social workers, that's not a good sign."

Right, totally.

I was just like freaking out like, "Please don't take my kid."

I was just so scared that this act was gonna be...

Something was gonna happen with my kids.

Like I was being a bad mom or irresponsible and I don't know.

I just... I was so afraid and she was like, "That's not gonna happen.

like I'm just here to evaluate you, I'm just here to make sure that you're okay.

And so yeah that was a really really tough season and after that I was there

I was admitted for about a week and I was released you know strict make sure

your therapy every you know every week and I refused medication because I was

pregnant and so I just didn't want to take anything and then two weeks later I

I lost my baby.

So that was not easy.

Like it was just like a really hard season

and it's hard not to blame myself.

But you know, I know they tell me all the time,

like, no, it's not your fault.

Like, that's not, it was just such a natural thing.

Like something was wrong with your heart.

But I think of a month worth of events

and I'm like, man, like I was just not doing well.

Like my body was not okay.

So hard too to think about you're finally admitting

to yourself and to others that you're in a really dark place

and then to have the additional news

of losing the pregnancy is just like.

It was not easy.

Everybody was pretty worried.

My mom was super scared and I don't know if it's like this

for a lot of people, but for Latinos,

depression doesn't exist, anxiety doesn't exist.

And so it was hard to know that my parents knew this about me.

And even after I was let go, they were like, "But why?

Like, you're so good.

You know, your life is good.

Your husband is good."

Like, they were just, they couldn't understand.

And I get it because they grew up in pretty terrible homes

and just scary to even think about the things that they went through.

And, you know, I just, it just, it's this constant battle of like,

I'm blessed, but it's not that like, I just, I think there's this misconception

of like people's lives.

Like you think of, you know, like, yes, I am blessed.

And I always say like, I feel blessed, but I couldn't describe it better,

but it's just a mental battle.

Like I'm constantly in a battle with my mind and I think that it's just, it's not something

to just be like, "Oh, I'm just going to discard it."

And you know, like it's, I hope that it would be that easy, but it's not.

And so...

You've developed obviously a lot of strategies for being able to just, I mean, both initially

and then probably in some ways ongoing, just kind of navigating your thought life and emotional

life.

some of the things that you've done to try to keep yourself in a good place to

recognize when you feel like my mind is going places that I know are not helpful.

What have you done? Yeah, I mean obviously this was back in 2021.

2021 was pretty, pretty learning curve for a lot of things for me. Obviously the

business helped a lot. It just helped me get out of that funk a little bit and

And then periodically, I think that there's still moments of anxiety that happen that

I do, I feel them and until this day.

But most of the time I like to, I like to quiet.

That's usually my go to.

Like if I'm feeling very anxious, if I'm around a group of people or even with my own kids,

like I just like put myself in a room, I put headphones on that like kind of cancel the,

no music, I'm just like to cancel the noise and I just sit in the quiet.

I tend to like in the quiet, I feel like that's where my mind is the most

calm. I feel like sometimes if there's too much going on, I just

feel like my mind takes it and it stays there. The noise stays there,

the conversations stay there. Obviously, like I said, my business really has

helped. I just feel like usually if I'm doing something, then I put

me as a God and I feel like I'm concentrating on something.

Um, I've pray a lot.

I've, this is, has been a constant prayer and I continue to believe that God

will take this away from me completely.

Um, I've seen the fruits of a lot of things.

Like I haven't taken medications since I was released and I feel like the battle

has been, it's been tough, but I'm not like, I know I, and I trust God that I

will be healed.

Like, there's one thing that I constantly tell him,

like, I know you'll heal me.

So most of the time,

some of those like anxiety thoughts happen at night.

And typically, like, I just like end with a prayer at night

and I'm just like, I'm gonna clear my mind.

I'm gonna completely clear my mind.

I want you to take all these things away

and I just want to just relax.

And it really helps.

And, you know, I just feel like, I don't know,

I have those three things and I probably think more,

like I got advice to do, you know, to work out

to do things that are just gonna release a lot more, but timing.

Yeah.

I'm busy.

You're still a business owner, a leader of Vengaria Espanol, a leader of your own business,

and an incredible wife.

So you got just a couple things going on.

Just a couple things on my, a couple hats.

I just wanna say thank you for sharing with all of that journey.

I know it's vulnerable.

Yeah, low heavy, sorry.

In our culture, well, no, that's part of why I was hoping you, and of course, we checked

in ahead of time on this subject, because I don't want to ask questions about something

that you don't feel comfortable sharing about.

But what you said with regard to being able to name where you were struggling and bring

something that was in the dark to light, invite people around you to support you, even culturally

where, and obviously it's not just limited to Latino culture.

I mean, it's where people don't wanna acknowledge

this is a real thing.

So I just think it's really, really important.

And I think it's just such a gift for you

to be so courageous as to name this was my journey.

But also to see your example of there's hope.

I mean, you've taken the steps

and it's not like, I mean, you've done the work.

It's not like you just woke up one day

or you were in the hospital for a week

and the next day you're like, I'm good to go and all that.

You've had to be diligent and intentional.

It's just really, really cool.

So thanks for sharing all of that.

Oh my gosh, of course.

Here's my last question.

Obviously you've got so much going on

and made an impact in our city

and just a million different ways.

When you think future wise of just stuff you dream about

or you go, I hope this happens

or I'm looking forward to that.

And it could be anything.

I was thinking especially about your business

but it doesn't have to be that.

Is there anything that you're like,

I just, I hope we can do this, accomplish that, whatever.

Oh man, there's so many hopes and dreams for the future.

But I don't know, like I've,

I think I would do something more for my business.

I feel like that's kind of what I'm poured into right now.

I want to, you know, hopefully be the biggest in Michigan.

That would be nice. - Yeah, that's awesome.

But I want to start a, I want to have at least one

or two employees that could help me

and just kind of start delegating some things.

I want to have a warehouse and I want to be more

than just balloons, I want to be a rental company.

So-

For like events and parties, things like that.

So I know that's very, I think that's a lot,

but I feel like I just see it growing

and I don't see it slowing down

I just think like, why not?

You know, this has been fun.

It's a fun journey and I wanna continue to grow,

continue to learn and yeah.

I love that.

I love that you've got thoughts that you're not just

kind of in a sense waiting for it to come to you.

And there is a part of where it's right for folks

to wait in a sense where you're not trying

to force everything, but you also need to have a picture

of your vision, your picture of this is where I hope

it could go and you can align your life and your time

and your energy and your resources

towards what that would look like.

So I just, I think it's fantastic to hear your journey

and know that you still are aspiring for greater things.

Your story, Gladys, is so, so cool.

And just thank you for being willing to share it with us.

And I know everybody who hears this

is gonna be so encouraged and challenged.

I feel challenged just sitting here with you, so.

Yeah, well, thank you.

And honestly, I know a lot of this stuff is pretty heavy,

but I just really hope,

I wanted to open my heart to people

I do feel like it's sometimes we keep things in the dark

and like you said, bringing them to light

really changes things.

And I believe that when you have a thrive,

like people around you that help you,

that know what's going on, they can really, really help.

And that has made a huge difference.

So if anybody out there is struggling, don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid to just put yourself out there,

ask for help, and you'll see a huge difference

and how you can handle things.

So yeah, thank you.

That's a great word to end on.

Thanks for being on our podcast.

And look forward to continuing to see your business flourish

and your family flourish as well.

Thanks for being on.

Yeah.

I hope you were as encouraged as I am

by our conversation with Gladys today.

I love her sense of entrepreneurial risk-taking spirit.

She is just pressing in

and she's not worried about making mistakes

and doing it just right.

She's just doing what she knows how to do

and learning as she goes.

What a great example.

And I'm so thankful she was willing to be as honest

and as vulnerable she was about her mental health journey.

And I just hope that if you're listening right now

and perhaps you're dealing with some mental health

challenges and maybe nobody knows about them,

I would just encourage you, reach out to somebody,

a trusted friend, a mental health professional,

and invite them into your journey just as Gladys has done.

We hope so much that these conversations

are an encouragement in your journey.

And if this conversation has been,

please rate us, review us, make a comment,

share this episode with some friends

and let them know that you were encouraged

and built into by our podcast.

That would be a huge benefit to us.

This has been a production of Engedi Church

and we continue to just dream up new ways

of bringing you great content

that can be a blessing and benefit to your life.

Until our next episode,

just know you were made to advance.