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

Hi Cindy, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The single most important factor behind the success of Ella Pocketbook brand is sharing my story and love for travel. Story telling plays such a big part of human experiences and now more than ever it determines authenticity, sets you a part from others, and connects you to others. When you are passionate about your dreams and share your story and mission to others doors seem to open and you are fueled with motivation.

My best advice is learn to really listen to yourself and your story. What is your underlying story themes? What are the lessons that have taught you more about yourself? How can you tell you story?

When you consider those questions you can begin to really tell your story. “Choose a job you will love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius Well, it’s somewhat true. Building your business is a tremendous amount of work but when you harness your skills, you begin to see things come together, and the hard work begins to take off. The journey is everything.

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?
Ella Pocketbook is a sustainable travel bag company for today’s global woman. Ella Pocketbook is for women of colour who travel extensively abroad and locally by enhancing highly functional travel bags with cactus fabric and certified organic canvas while using ethical labor standards within the U.S. The three company pillars are health, self-love/beauty and fashion tech.

One of the important goals of the company is to consider the life cycle of the product. Therefore, the company will develop a restorative bag program where customers can receive repair for the wear and tear of the bag such as a broken zipper or a fabric restorative approach.

Ella Pocketbook seeks to make a product for women of color who travel and have always been part of the travel narrative. It’s important to let the world know women of color in travel have bold, courageous and diverse stories. These travel stories are rich with fascinating stories that are the fabric of the American experience. It is not to be underestimated rather celebrated and honored as 80% of the garment workforce are women of color.

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?
Always check out the beaches such as Del Mar, Encinitas and of course, La Jolla. The chill vibe is excellent for anyone searching to get away from it all. Bring a picnic basket or get a pizza to go in Del Mar at Del Mar Pizza. Grab a beer at Thorn Brewery to be among the locals in Barrio Logan and feel a city vibe like no other. Don’t forget to grab your morning coffee at James Coffee location by Balboa Park to catch all things artsy or simply walk around the park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Yes, I’d like to dedicate this Shoutout series to Silvia Bonilla Zizumbo, a career and leadership coach. She helped me gather perspective as I leveled up with my business. She helped me to learn the habit of trusting myself. I gained new found level of grounding in my business. This unique perspective is wonderful to have as small business owner and leverage it for the improvement of yourself again and again.

Website: https://ellapocketbook.com/

Instagram: @ellapockebtook

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindyrangel1/

Twitter: @ellapocketbook

Image Credits
Jackie Lynn Photography

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