Tania Sapien is the entrepreneur behind the brand Coco Jewel, which started in 2012 on the street of Palma in the center of Mexico City. Today he has more than 10 franchises and already received 6 mp in Shark Tank
Tania Sapien, director and founder of Coco Jewel , was unemployed when she started her jewelry business with a thousand pesos. She was a pepenadora ” trash collector” in China where she lived for a year in order to learn the language well and open her factory in the Asian country.
Because if you fall, you get up, that is the premise that has made the Mexican entrepreneur succeed. She has triumphed for seven years in the world of jewelry.
At 30 years, Tania not only exceeded unemployment, being in an unknown country and without money, but now has more than 10 franchises and in 2018 closed with sales of 17 million pesos, in addition, now helps other entrepreneurs.
One thousand pesos and borrowed jewelry
In 2012, Tania Sapien was unemployed when a friend told her that in order to support her she would give her a lot of jewelry, she, that not even 20 pesos she had in the bag, asked for a loan to be able to set aside a store on Palm Street in the Historic Center of Mexico City.
Although one would think that a lot of jewelry would be enough to start the business, Tania discovered that in reality, her friend had only given her 20 pieces, which did not fill the main showcase of her shop.
“At first, I did what I did to avoid being bad with people, so far, my friend told me that I would lose those thousand pesos, but I said what a shame, so I looked for suppliers in the Center because that was the Only way I could grow the business. At that time if you came and you were looking for something especially I told you, if I have it, let me have a little time, and I would run to Tepito because there were my suppliers, I would come back and sell it to you, that’s how I was for a year and a half “, the entrepreneur interviewed for Entrepreneur in Spanish.
Tania, who studied Business Administration, started to do great, it was there that she decided to create her first jewelry designs to start Coco Jewel.
The success of the Tania store in Palma street was such that a manufacturer sought her to make her own designs in Mexico, that was the success that would later lead her to the franchise.
The Mexican did not stop there, she took her things and left for a few months of backpacking to China to find a factory that made her own designs, upon returning to Mexico her sales multiplied.
With the success of Coco Jewel, Tania Sapien set out to open her second store in the Gran Sur Shopping Center in November 2013, her investment was recovered in less than a year and with that, she was able to open her third store in Galerías Perinorte in September 2014.
“When I already had the three branches that year I close my sales in 3 million pesos and profit was around half a million pesos, all that I took to pay the consultant who franchised my business,” says the entrepreneur.
Photo: Shark Tank Mexico
Of pepenadora in China
“I am very foolish, I would say too much”, Tania Sapien describes her personality before taking the decisions that have led her to grow her business, one of which was to return to China, but now to live there one year.
The goal of living a year in China was to learn the language in order to find a place to open her factory but to reach that goal, Tania spent around four months picking up the trash.
While in Mexico her franchise model was formed by the consultancy Feher & Feher, the entrepreneur experienced one of her strongest crises.
“While I was picking up the garbage, the suit we used covers everything, so my eyes burned. I started crying and said, I’ll be doing the right thing because before I went to China people told me I was crazy, that I was stuck. I did not know if it was tears or sweat, because at that time I earned 60 thousand free pesos at age 25, and said, what needs to be here, that was the moment I said. I got here, “he says.
The remaining eight months, the Mexican worked as a translator for people who spoke English, but who tried to communicate with local people, so the money she earned helped her to leave the trash and focus on opening her factory.
In the end, she succeeded. His factory opened in China and everything is currently maquila there, so his lifetime guarantee is a reality thanks to that trip. Although several would think that for the economic thing it would open its factory, the reality is that it did it for the materials, which are of high quality and are not in Mexico.
Photo: Shark Tank Mexico
More than 10 franchises
Upon her return from China, the entrepreneur found that her model was very viable to be a franchise, so she started the process. Currently has granted 15 licenses with profits of 17 million pesos.
“As I start to do very well in the business, several friends tell me to do something together, that if we put another store, then a cousin tells me why don’t I franchise my business because otherwise, I could get in trouble and my brand can be stolen, “he says.
Your business model helps make your franchises a success. Every four months brings out a season with exclusive designs, a total of 7 thousand models. At the end of the year, it has 21 thousand pieces.
With an average ticket of 500 pesos, your sales grow between 20 and 30% per year. Tania realizes that the first 10 franchises she gave were to men, only one was a woman, and she wondered why this difference.
“The franchise is worth 870 thousand pesos plus VAT, which gives you a total of one million pesos. At the end we did a market study and discovered that for every 100 people in Mexico who have money available (one million pesos), 98% are men and only 2% are women and that really impacted me, “says the entrepreneur.
It is with these figures that Tania Sapien decides to help women and creates a network marketing program, where the entrepreneurs can have their own franchise with points in the purchase of products.
Although they will not have the franchise in the short term, it ensures that in at least three years they achieve it, all thanks to their points and without needing to have the amount of one million pesos at hand.
Photo: Shark Tank Mexico
The bite of two sharks
Tania sent more than 30 emails to participate in Shark Tank Mexico , but it was not until she attended the Victoria Fest event organized by the Victoria 147 academy , that she met Kira Miret, the program’s producer, whom she told about her case, final, he does not know if it was thanks to that or to his insistence, that the call of the production arrived.
The ‘sharks’ Arturo Elías Ayub and Carlos Bremer, each invested three million pesos in Coco Jewel , for 30% of the company (15 and 15).
Tania went for four million and came out with six, started this venture with only 23 years and today, at 30 goes for more, for continuing to help women and for their brand to become known around the world.
Photo: Coco Jewel
Source: entrepreneur mx
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