Ilene Arellano is the CEO and Creative Director in Drip Creationz, Inc. Many people don’t think that the seven-figure business is owned by a high school dropout. She dropped out during her junior year then she later turned her passion into a full-time business. After doing the job for a few days, Ilene was already overwhelmed by the numerous demands that she had to satisfy. The need for a team helping her was imminent.
With the help of her two partners (one of whom was her brother), she hired a team that was to be helping her in the company operations as she focused on satisfying the needs of the customers who were now ordering the shoes from anywhere in the world, thanks to the internet.
Inspiring A Lot of People
Growing up in a broken family and a single mother, she grew up at her grandma’s house because her mum was always working around the clock to ensure that she paid the bills. “She worked countless hours and taught me that you could never give up on life no matter how difficult it was,” added Ilene. “I grew up on a dream of being independent and financially stable to take care of my mother. I started my business when I was eighteen years old with my mother and oldest brother’s help.” She said as she added that after dropping out to do her passion, she now has an amazing team that she is so grateful for.
My Team, My Success
Many successful people have different things that they attribute their success to. For Ilene, her team is her source of success. “Thanks to my team, I have been able to achieve this level of success. I found the best partners who excelled in my weaknesses, and I was fortunate that they believed in my vision and trusted me this entire journey.”
Advice to the Young
Most people would love to be in the position that Ilene is. However, the only thing they can do is to emulate her career. She has advice for them, “Find what you’re good at in any aspect of the business and always challenge yourself to do better. Don’t focus on what you’re not good at and excel in what you are great at. Everyone is different and has a unique gift that they should emphasize, so find the right people for your team and not be afraid to give up some power.”
She also advised the young to be ambitious and driven by anything that they are passionate about. She further told them to thrive on challenges and continuously set goals for themselves. “Don’t be comfortable with settling and always look for opportunities to do better and achieve excellence.”
Upcoming Projects for Ilene
She is in the process of developing her own branded shoe from scratch. She knows that it will be their ability to customize shoes taken to the next level. “We aim to expand our clothing side of the business with better designs and higher quality pieces.” She added. They also have new iPhone cases coming out soon, and jewelry is also in the process.
