ABOUT ME

Hello! My name is Inette M. Vargas Ortiz. I’m a 32 year old entrepreneur, wife and mom to a dog that that I love with all my heart, named Chloé.

I started Lovely Creations by Inette in 2010 with no idea at all of what I was doing. I started by business back then out of necessity. At that time, my boyfriend (now husband) Pablo, moved to the Dominican Republic (DR) to persue his career in medical school, while I was working as an Internal Auditor in a well known bank here in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, my salary wasn’t enough to cover the upcoming travel expenses that at that moment I was going to start incurring so I was able to visit Pablo in DR.

Long story short, I started the business with the help of my mom. We used to only make custom headbands for women and kids, and handmade jewelry. But, the fact of creating everything from "scratch", while working my full time job as an internal auditor, didn’t worked due to the lack of time that I had to spend after work creating all my handmade pieces.

Then, in 2011, I decided to reinvent my tiny business at the moment. I contacted hundreds of suppliers to see which one offered me the jewelry pieces that’ll meet my quality, price, uniqueness and durability expectations. After months of researching I decided to give it a try and I started selling statement earrings and necklaces. I studied my client’s needs and which products they liked the most. Oh, and all of this happened while I was doing all the accounting and the inventory of my products in papers, and while making all the sales through Facebook Messenger. Shopify didn’t existed for me at that time. It was truly a lot of work. But at least I was able to purchase periodically some weekend getaways to DR so I was able to maintain my long distance relationship with Pablo.

In 2018, I heard about Shopify for the very first time. And yes, for 7+ years my entire business was kept in papers (YES, manual!). I carried the accounting and products inventory papers EVERYWHERE so if by any chance someone during the day wanted to do an order, I was able to let them know if the product was in stock or out of stock. So, like must of the things I do in my life, I self learned how to create my own website. I invested many hours of my free time in learning to design my very own web page. My goal was to have it done before Black Friday 2018, and I did it! So, I always say that Lovely Creations by Inette 2.0 was born again in 2018. Many of you have accompanied me on this journey ever since and have continued with me. I am incredibly grateful for all of you who have been able to see the evolution of Lovely Creations by Inette over the years.

Lastly, but not least, in August 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to quit my job to dedicate myself 100% to my online store. Yes, it was a VERY difficult decision. The uncertainty of the unknown, not having a fixed income, not knowing if people will continue to support me... were just some of the thoughts that went through my mind before making the decision to quit my "stable" job. But, you know what? I have NEVER felt so complete and satisfied!

I have never stopped dreaming and believing in the potential I have. Nor have I allowed myself to collapse and be intimidated by what people will say or what they will think about me for not having a "traditional" job.

If you dream of something, DO IT! I promise you that the satisfaction of working for yourself and seeing the results for yourself, IS INEXPLICABLE!

Of course... NOT everything has been perfect and nothing will ever will. Having your own business entails many sacrifices and disappointments that no one sees and that people often underestimate. But, from those disappointments I’ve had so many learnings, great opportunities and a desire to improve even more have emerged from those setbacks 💪🏼

Bottom line, with my story I would just like to inspire you to never stop dreaming, never  stop working for what you really want and NEVER allow anything or anyone to stand in your way. Go for it!

XOXO,

Inette