Meet Ashley Yajaira Perez | Owner of Nubes Coffee Bar

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Yajaira Perez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley Yajaira, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Family support is the most important factor for the success I have made. Now I don’t consider myself very successful since I still have a long road ahead of me to reach my goals with the business but with the progress I have made so far, family support is what has helped me. Coming from a family who does not own any business nor have that entrepreneur experience, I was terrified to start my business. However, with the support my family has gave me, it has helped me grow. It all started with my idea to start my coffee business which I shared with my parents, who absolutely encouraged me to pursue my passion. Besides my parents, my sister has been my biggest support who has contributed to my success. Every weekend I wake up at 5am to prep, load up the car, set up and sell coffee. My sister voluntarily scarifies her weekends to sell coffee with me. While she could simply rest or do other activities during the weekend, she chooses to stick by me and help me with everything. On those days that I feel a bit let down when sales are not the best, she is always there cheering me on alongside with the rest of my family. Having that support system and people you could count on is what has helped my business grow and experience some success.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a current college student and coffee enthusiast, I have that insight with my peers being other college students regarding what they look for in coffee shops. While I do not have my own shop yet, I use feedback from college students, who consume a lot of coffee, to tailor my drinks and meet their needs. While my business is still up and coming, I was able to start my business with knowledge I’ve gained through college classes and networking. When I started my business, it was not easy because no matter how much I tried planning before operation, it wasn’t until after I started selling coffee that I learned what the responsibility of having a business is like. Since this is my first business, it is like a trial and error where I’m learning new things along the way. Another thing that has helped is networking. Simply talking to other small business coffee owners, and people in similar fields has helped me a lot since they offer advice and as a community we support one another. As for my story, I want the world to know that , us first generation latinx children are capable of great things, and that we must follow our passions.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For an evening of activities in Los Angeles, I would take them bowling on little Tokyo, then dinner at King Cole Pizza which has the best pizza in my opinion. As for a whole day, I would start off with a hike at the Mt. Hollywood Trail (the hollywood sign) , followed by brunch at Jack N Joes. For the night out, I would recommend going to 1111 night market or getting drinks at Tempo Cantina.

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?
I would love to give my sister, Melanee Pizano a shoutout since she has been alongside me since the beginning of my journey. I also want to give Professor Ramirez from the business department at ELAC a shoutout because through her business class I was able to understand the foundations of starting a business and provided me with resources which have helped me grow my business. Lastly my parents , Ana and Aldo Pizano, who are the ones who pushed me to turn my dreams into a reality. They encouraged me that break barriers and become the first business owner of the family.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nubescoffeebar/

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@nubes.coffee.bar

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Image Credits
Nubes Coffee Bar