Supporting Women Through Community
Cecilia “Ceci” Flores is relatively young in her career in the home and furnishings industry, but that hasn’t stopped her from diving right in and connecting herself with others.
Ceci got her start in the industry with a transportation business within the furniture industry. This led her to her first ever High Point Furniture Market, where she quickly learned she has a love for talking with others and creating meaningful connections.
Eight months ago she made a change by joining Glen Raven as a Retail Training Associate with Sunbrella. She fell in love with the family-owned business that has over 140 years of history in North Carolina, and in her training role, she gets to connect with retailers across the country and help them achieve their goals while understanding a brand she’s come to love even better.
We sat down with Ceci to ask about her professional journey and to learn about her passion for WithIt. Keep reading for our full conversation!
Q&A
How did you first get started in the industry?
It started when I first went to the market four years ago at High Point. In my previous role I started as a market research analyst and was then promoted to business development manager. I started with manning the High Point Market Booth and then walking the bustling streets of Market to visit existing and potential customers. I had two great mentors and colleagues who were very involved in the industry and with WithIt. I went to work in the booth and also to learn from their interactions with customers. It was perfect for my personality type. I am an ENFP personality type, so a campaigner. I have to be around people. Being at High Point Market where there’s thousands of people around you is so rewarding. I jumped in, loved it from the start, and then always wanted to attend the markets after that point.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My days are incredibly dynamic and no two are ever the same. I go see different areas of Florida and different areas of the country depending on who needs support in training. I start my morning talking with our North Carolina teams. Then I tackle my strategy and analyze which retail accounts need a boost. I prep my training materials, and I stay on top of the latest textile innovations coming out of our mills. I am remote, so a large part of my week is visiting showrooms across Florida. You might find me in a retail gallery leading a lunch and learn, or I could be delivering presentations on the Sunbrella brand story and providing further product knowledge or doing a cleaning demo on Sunbrella fabrics and showing the durability of the fabric. It’s a lot of face time with retail partners and design teams.
It sounds like that works perfectly with your personality type!
It’s definitely right up my alley. One thing I had to learn in a role like this is having more self discipline and autonomy. You have to have a lot of that to achieve the goals while being a remote employee.
What makes you passionate about the work?
I always say learning my personality type and figuring out that my true north star with everything I do is human connection has been key for me. It keeps me passionate about anything I do. Really it just feels like I am confident enough to walk into any room and know these new faces can become friends or peers. Also just being a big believer that I’m never going to outgrow the student phase of my life. I’ll always be growing and learning from everyone around me.
WithIt is so vital because it creates community. It provides more than financial support, it’s also about access. It really does give you a front row seat to our mentorship programs where you can learn from the women in the industry, you can access educational resources and attend networking events that really helped me early in my career. At the end of the day, WithIt provides a community for newcomers.
Ceci Flores, Sunbrella
What’s a lesson you’ve learned in your career?
This is one I learned from previous mentors and still continue to learn: it’s okay to fail. Not every interaction, meeting or training is going to come out perfect. Anyone can prepare and train as much as they want or come with the knowledge they need, but at the end of the day as long as you try your best, then that counts as a win. Wins come in all shapes and sizes.
What do you think you’ve gotten out of your WithIt membership?
You get out of your membership as much as you put in. I always attend the conferences, every workshop, I attend every keynote speaker, I attend the education breakfast. It’s so crucial to learn from other women in all parts of the industry. Whether it’s a panel or individual speaker, the diversity is so great. I think the main thing is it’s helped my imposter syndrome fall away. I’ve walked away with concrete goals and it just gave me so much more drive and confidence. It helped lead to my role but also just helped me when I was a newbie in the industry just looking for a familiar face.
Why do you think an organization like WithIt is important?
This is where I really wanted to highlight the students and scholarship opportunities with WithIt. I was asked to join the WithIt board of directors and I am the VP of Scholarship this year. I want to highlight them because having been in their shoes a few years ago, I know exactly what it’s like. This industry is vast but a little intimidating for a newcomer. This is where WithIt is so vital because it creates community. It provides more than financial support, it’s also about access. It really does give you a front row seat to our mentorship programs where you can learn from the women in the industry, you can access educational resources and attend networking events that really helped me early in my career. At the end of the day, WithIt provides a community for newcomers.
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If you’re considering WithIt membership for your professional journey, find out more about WithIt’s mission here or join today.
