Meet Fina Meraz | Founder and president of sales and design

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fina Meraz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your show?
TILE DESIGNS BY FINA:
My thought process with starting my own business was Why not me? I knew the business inside out, had ran someone else’s business for years, established business relationships, had a husband who could do my payroll and taxes but had no money. As a risk taker and with the burning in my belly to succeed I had to just GO FOR IT! I had to at least try because in my mind, it was going to work! After going to Score, a mentorship for people about to start businesses they had not only encouraged me but also calmed some of my reserved husbands fears.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
TILE DESIGNS BY FINA:
What sets me apart from others is me, my eye, my staff and our selections. We have a showroom where designers bring their clients in and they are treated like gold so this sets the look and tone of their business. They aren’t taking their clients to a big box store where everything looks the same because we offer a vast selection of tiles.  We have two locations so we can service our entire Coachella Valley and beyond with no problem. Another thing that sets me apart from others is I have my own Tile line named Fantastic by Fina! And now we have our very own podcast, CV Hustle 760.
What I’m most proud and excited about is we are the only showroom in the Valley that has a Porcelanosa showroom within our showroom and a Artistic Tile showroom within our showroom!
How I got today business wise was by trial and error but mostly I have the drive and passion. I have the vision and the competitive fierceness to be a real player in my area and beyond! The lessons I’ve learned along the way are never put all your eggs in one basket and everyone can win. Your vendors win when you use them, your employees win when you treat them well and pay them well and you win when you are running the business and have the freedom to leave on vacation because your staff is amazing!
What I want the world to know is I grew up in a cult (JW) with a single mom but who’s parents didn’t even complete high school. We were on welfare and grew up living in apartments my whole life. In a way, my parents taught me what not to do in life. I knew I didn’t want to live paycheck to paycheck and I needed to educate myself in how to do that because I didn’t have any mentors at home. I want people to know I will always do right by them and I am not here for the short sale but for the long haul. I will look out for their best interest and we really will work with your budget no matter how high end our tile showroom looks!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a weekend long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
TILE DESIGNS BY FINA:
I would take my best friend to our finest Mexican restaurant for food then a night at the casino for a show & dancing! The next day we might head out to Joshua Tree national park because this park is unbelievable. Later that night we’d pick up a Hockey game and then I’d make them dinner at our home. Sunday, we’d go to our favorite breakfast spot, catch a movie, do some shopping then relax in the pool for the rest of the day.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
TILE DESIGNS BY FINA:
I’d like to shoutout to me, for believing in me (yes, Snoop but I so feel this!) I’d like to thank my father who had a free and risk taker personality who passed this trait onto me, I’d like to shout out to the mentors at Score who listened to me, asked the right questions and encouraged me to start my business. I’d like to shout out to my husband who got behind me once he knew I was going full steam ahead, my in-laws who purchased my first signage for my business when we had no money to do so ourselves, I’d like to shout out to all the vendors who gave me free product to start my showroom. I will forever be grateful!

Website: tiledesignsbyfina.com I-pay-solutions.com cvhustle760.com

Instagram: tiledesignsbyfina ipay_solutions.com cvhustle760

Linkedin: Tile Designs by Fina. iPay Solutions Inc CV Hustle

Facebook: TileDesignsbyFina iPaysolutionsinc cvhustle760

Youtube: tiledesignsbyfina ipaysolutions.3213 cvhustle760

Image Credits
Robert & Josephine Meraz