Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Criado.
Hi Valerie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always loved to work and have been an entrepreneur at heart since I can remember. I love doing things that bring me joy and are meaningful to me and I have a crazy passion for creativity and order. Little background on me: I was born in Chile on January 24, 1980, then moved to Peru with my parents and older sister when I was 2. My parents then decided to move our family to the US when I was 7 and realize the good ol’ American dream. We lived in Boston for 2 years and then we settled in Miami, FL, which is where I essentially grew up. When I was 21 years old, while in college and working part-time as a legal assistant at a law office, I opened my very first company, Calligraphy Creations. I wrote thousands of wedding invitation envelopes by hand in the evenings and weekends for various wedding stores and clients, and made some good money doing it! I graduated from Florida International University with my Bachelor’s degree in business AND married my soulmate when I was 22, had my first baby, a boy, at 23, (he was born 2 days after our 1 year anniversary) and second baby, a girl, at 25! Right before giving birth to our daughter, my husband’s job brought us to San Antonio, TX, and we have been here ever since and absolutely LOVE it. I sadly had to close my little Calligraphy business when we moved, and after a few years of taking care of babies while working remotely as a travel assistant for a Miami-based company and being a room mom, a gymnastics mom and a football mom, I found another great opportunity to fuel my love for doing something different and cool (who would have ever guessed): selling fresh Chilean blueberries to HEB with my dad! I proudly did that for 6 years on the side (I just love my side hustles). We would fly in the blueberries on passenger planes weekly and HEB had the freshest, best blueberries ever during that time. Eventually my blueberry gig came to an end, but I was just thankful for the opportunity I was given to do it. Still with my part-time travel job, I embarked on my next entrepreneurial journey- I opened my home-bakery, Val’s Sweet Treats. This completely embodied my passion to be creative and have order. I loved the precision of baking, the art of decorating, and the fulfillment that comes with creating works of art that people can eat. What started as a small little side business turned out to be so much more. I ended up being cast on a Food Network Show, Spring Baking Championship- Season 6, as the only home baker. I put my life on pause and flew to LA for 3 weeks to film the show and fulfill one of my bucket list items- to be on TV. Thank God for my husband who took care of the kids and dogs and my parents who flew in from Miami to help him! It was a 9-week competition and I made it to week 8. I was so proud that I did THAT, and to this day it still seems like a dream. That will forever, without a doubt, be the hardest and most stressful thing I have ever done. My little business really took off after being on TV and I was suddenly booked every weekend for like 6 months out. It was amazing! So many people wanted Val’s Sweet Treats and I was all for it. There were days when I was baking 6 cakes in one day, it was crazy! But like with anything else in life, all good things must come to an end. After almost 10 years of baking and being a part of so many wonderful people’s special events (I’m talking weddings, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, births…you name it, I baked for it!) I decided it was time to hang up my apron for good. With both of my “babies” now in college, and my husband who travels A LOT for work (we are now empty nesters, and I wanted to travel with him!), it got to be too much to be busy every single weekend. So towards the end of 2023, I came to a point where the baking for business was not something I wanted to pursue any longer, but I still wanted to do something, because I felt like I still had so much more to give. What could that be? Like everything else I have done in the past, it had to be meaningful, I had to have a passion for it, yet it also had to be flexible with my current life. I happened to stumble across a franchise named “Bee Organized” so I looked into it. Remember at the beginning of my story how I said I have a passion for creativity and order? Well wow, an organizing company? That was right up my alley! If you know me, you know I am Type A, a little OCD and being organized is of utmost importance to me. There is no better feeling than when I open a perfectly organized closet, drawer or cabinet. Labeling things? I was putting labels on things before that was even a thing! This seemed like the perfect opportunity. So after a lot of talks with my awesome husband who has always been my number 1 Fan, my kids, friends and parents, I decided this was going to be my next adventure. I called one of my closest friends, Rocio Gonzalez, who has always wanted to do something together with me, because isn’t everything more fun with a friend? and I told her I had found the perfect business venture. We were going to be professional organizers! She trusts me (way too much maybe LOL!) so she immediately said, “just tell me where to sign”. In January 2024, we bought the franchise together as 50/50 partners and we officially opened Bee Organized San Antonio on March 11, 2024. Today, we have been open for exactly one year, and it has been one of the most amazing, rewarding and interesting years of my adult life. I couldn’t be happier! I am once again a business owner, I am meeting and interacting with so many different people all around San Antonio, and I can truly say that what we do is making positive changes in the lives for so many
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No journey is perfect and there are obstacles that come hand-in-hand with anything that you do in life. I like to think of myself as the ultimate optimist. I am a “glass half full” type of gal all the way. When there is a problem I find a solution, because one of my favorite phrases that my Dad taught me and I live by every day is: “Everything has a solution. The only thing that doesn’t have a solution is death”. Have I encountered problems and setbacks? Sure, lots of them! But taking a step back to assess a situation, analyze and accept the problem, and find a solution is crucial to being a successful person, both in business and in your personal life
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a professional organizing company that specializes in simplifying people’s lives by creating customized and sustainable organizing solutions that improve quality of life and increase peace and efficiency throughout the home. We approach each project with compassion, confidentiality and without judgment. We are honored to be a part of the process and resulting calm and relief our clients experience in their journey to be organized. We offer complete home organization for any space in the home, Moving and Life Transitions services, as well as concierge services
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I absolutely love to travel and my husband has an international job, so now that we are empty nesters, when I am not organizing all of San Antonio I travel with him all around the world when I can!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beeorganized.com/sanantonio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeorganizedsanantonio/
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/beeorganizedsanantonio
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bee-organized-san-antonio/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bee-organized-san-antonio-san-antonio
- Other: https://www.google.com/search?q=Bee+Organized+San+Antonio
