Meet Mariam Pacheco | Small Business Owner

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

Hi Mariam, what role has risk played in your life or career?
To me, risks are an inherent part of life and self improvement. Without the ability to take on risks, I believe growth is restricted and remains stagnant. Personally, I’m super impulsive and tend to be a little riskier than most. I definitely try and continuously push my limits and see how things go. Of course its good to always try and have a safety net when taking risks, but its not always attainable. Sometimes you just have to trust yourself and the universe to guide you. Of course starting a business is in itself a risk. I saved up for about 2 years, even working 3 jobs in 2021, to be able to harness enough funds to take Kira Kira off the ground. 2 years of constant hard work, simply to build up a brand I had no idea would work or not. I ended up using all the funds I had saved up in getting inventory and preparing a place for launch, no money leftover in case things went wrong. It would’ve been nice to have that cushion, but I was ready to just push and get started. It’s safe to say that risk definitely paid off. I’m still working super hard towards my dreams, but without taking that initial leap of faith I’d still be stuck. Even now I continue experimenting and taking risks with my brand to see what works and what doesn’t. At the end of the day, risk taking is all a part of the process to reaching greater heights.

What should our readers know about your business?
Kira Kira, meaning glittering/sparkling, aims to be a one stop shop for all things Kpop, Anime, and everything in between. Kira Kira strives to bring about the sparkling joy to it’s customers, one collectible at a time. The store specifically caters to 4 categories: anime, kpop, video game merch, and plushies! This combination intersects many mutual hobbies, yet it is so rare to find a store that specializes in all of these seamlessly. I’m super excited about getting to share my love for these hobbies with other people that enjoy the same things and being able to provide a specialized space for those in these communities, especially since finding imported, licensed merchandise can be extremely difficult. Kira Kira is still a fairly new business, opening up only a few months ago in December 2021, yet the growth I’ve experienced in just a few months of being open… exponential. I’m definitely striving towards expanding our catalog and filling the store out more. I know most everyone is super excited for a store like Kira Kira to pop up and I want to be able to cater to everyone’s wants, so I’m definitely working towards diversifying my inventory. My biggest problem right now is not being able to keep up with the demand for product. Due to all the current global issues occurring, overseas shipping has definitely been challenging. I’m currently using around 30 different suppliers to try and have a steady stream of products coming into the store. Kira Kira is still building itself up and still in its baby stages of growth so I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.

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?
Since I’m not from Tucson many of my friends and family come to visit me and for their first times I definitely have a routine down. Most people think of the desert as barren, but Arizona is such a beautiful state and I love to show off the flourishing desert life when I can. I always take people to the Botanical Gardens and the Sonoran Desert Museum. They give such a diverse view of what desert life has to offer, but make sure to pack a lot of water in the summer because it gets really hot walking outdoors. As for food, I definitely have some favorites, Maru Japanese Noodle Shop has the yummiest ramen, Tae Gukgi hits the spot with all-you-can-eat kbbq and has the Korean Rose for boba right after. Ding Tea is also right around the corner from my store’s location and I definitely be sure to grab some boba at least every other day, their matcha milk tea is ah-maz-ing! I also love taking people to Round 1 and showing off my crane game skills.

Believe it or not, a lot of my initial inventory consisted of crane game prizes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My friends and family have definitely been the backbone to Kira Kira. My cousin/best friend, Mary Grace, helped me come up with the name and branding and with almost all the behind the scene workings including moving, packing, advertisement, and so much more. My husband, Sergio, light of my life, has provided limitless love and support always. Pushing me up when I get discouraged and pushing me to reach new heights. My friends Aleh, Leo, and Sai were always available for last minute help with moving, fixing things, and setting up the stage for Kira Kira to emerge. I will forever be grateful to all my friends and family for the unconditional love and support in building up Kira Kira and for believing in me and my dream. As for after Kira Kira had fully blossomed, I’d like to also thank Marco from Comet Collectibles. For a store that’s supposed to be my “rival”, Marco has shown me nothing but kindness and compassion, always there to lend a helping hand or advice to a new budding business. I wish you great success in your store and am forever grateful for the kindnesses you show me. I’ve met so many wonderful people since opening up and I’d love to give them credit and recognition for all the help and kindness they’ve shown me as well. My lovely artists in my artist corner for allowing me to showcase their works and specifically Cuteish Club, Hailee Edmundson, and NotSafeForSelf for all the conversations, help, and support they’ve showered me in. Cipi and Hailee for always helping me with last minute things and making sure I take care of myself among all the chaos. All the lovely event organizers that showed me great kindness and allowed me to grow and promote Kira Kira, thank you to BearyBoxes and Ganbatte’s Bbychan. I’d also like to shout out all the other lovely vendors I’ve met, my neighbor Marvelous Vintage, and my other neighbor/landlord Casa Video for all the advice and help. Lastly, I’d like to shoutout all my customers for their love and support. There would be no Kira Kira without ya’ll and I love you guys to pieces!

Website: kirakiracollectibles.com

Instagram: instagram.com/kirakiracollectibles

Twitter: twitter.com/kirakiracollect

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirakiracollectibles

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kirakiracollectibles https://linktr.ee/kirakiracollectibles

Image Credits
Copyright Emmanuel Chue Photography