Elle Torres Studmire

Personally, it's just how I'm living with Jesus Christ at the center of all my business decisions. I'm very intentional about who I'm called to serve and being a very ethical, honest person in business.

Especially with the consulting side, I think it's easy to go the route of selling an idea of making money to hook people fast, but integrity is more important. Being someone who honors the Word of God, honors people, is more important to me. I think that's the biggest accomplishment on that front.

With the flowers, it's an incredible honor to be part of people's special occasions. When I read the kind of notes that people write to one another - there was one Mother's Day where a gentleman had written to his mom that he didn't deserve her love, and it brought me to tears. There are people celebrating anniversaries, commemorating loved ones. Even though the media will show a lot of the bad things that are happening, I get to witness moments of love and I love to be part of people's happy moments.

Best career advice I've ever received was when I was working in corporate. I was very often the only woman in meetings. My boss at the time told me to make sure everyone knew I wasn't there to take notes. He empowered me to show up confident and strong and command the respect I deserve.

Please understand that success doesn't happen overnight. At the Rose Maven, it took us five years to make a profit. Because I'm a Latina, a lot of opportunities were capped in my field.

When you feel unseen, when things are just not working out in your favor, don't be tempted to give up, even though it seems easy. Continue the path - it sounds cliche, but follow the dream, especially if God has put something in your heart to do, a gift, an idea, something that you're doing differently than other people, continue to persevere, even when the situation seems hard.

Focus on who you're called to serve. I think that's a very important part - approaching your career from a place of service is something that will give you a reason to get up in the morning.

The biggest challenges in my field include standing out online without significant advertising spend, overcoming the feeling of being unseen as a Latina entrepreneur, and navigating long timelines to profitability.

At the same time, we are creating strong opportunities by hosting pop-up stores, creating in-person workshops, and expanding faith-based consulting to better serve Christian entrepreneurs.

The values most important to me in my work and personal life are centering my faith in every decision, maintaining integrity and honesty, honoring the Word of God, and serving and respecting others.