Rolling Legacy: How Daniela de la Guardia Turns Cigars into Unforgettable Experiences

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Welcome, everyone, to the Triple Margin Freedom Podcast, a podcast for entrepreneurs,
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nonprofit executives, and leaders just like you and just like me.
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I'm your host, Mark Mathia, and I'm in the Weberized studio again today with
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a very special guest, Daniela De La Gordia.
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Daniela, welcome to the show.
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Thank you, Mark. I appreciate being here. Well, it is so exciting.
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Now, Daniela, you are the founder and CEO of De La Gordia Cigars, DLG Cigars.
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And we met just a few weeks ago.
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And from that interaction, I was like, I've got to have her on the podcast because
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your business model really impressed me and really inspired me because you're
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more than just a common cigar manufacturer.
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You're a purveyor of experiences. So as we get started, can you first tell us
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this, De La Guardia, what's in a name?
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Everything. Being half Cuban, half Sicilian, and having that last name,
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De La Guardia, has always just kind of flew off my tongue or anyone's tongue,
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and I've always loved my last name.
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And being in this industry, there's legacies that have been built,
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and there's history behind the name and how, you know, the cigar industry has
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always just carried through and that would never die. So that intrigued me.
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There's a lot to a name. I strongly believe that. Yeah, I do too.
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When we first met, we were at the Golden Chief and I came up,
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you were rolling cigars and it was so cool. I was like, wow, that's awesome.
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And you said, well, I have to keep this beautiful name alive.
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And it meant something to you. And I thought that was really good.
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Can you tell us a little bit about your history in cigar making?
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And was it your great-grandfather or grandfather that was a lecturer on cigars? Yes.
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It was my great-great-grandfather, Eliseo Gomez, which is my dad's mother's great-grandfather.
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So he was a teacher, and most of his days that he did, he would be at the cigar
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factories in Cuba, in Havana, Cuba, and he would be there reading to everyone and telling stories.
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And I always just loved that fact for the fact that why I enjoy loving the cigar
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industry is getting people together, acknowledging something that you've done.
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It's always some celebration of some sort. There's always a story behind it, something.
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So I felt such a connection knowing that I'm in this industry,
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in this business for good reason.
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And also on my other side of my family, the Sicilian side, my grandfather who
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had, you know, had the farmer's market, he was in business when I was younger.
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And I just remember watching him, you know,
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doing his thing and how he kept going with it and how much he believed in his
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background and how much he wanted to, you know, always make sure that we all
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knew our heritage in every which way on both sides of my family.
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We're very strong on that. I wanted to carry that on. That's really special.
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And so how did your path wind you then to becoming and founding a cigar company?
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It started…
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Pretty much. I was 18 years old. I worked for a cigar company.
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It was the first one here in Omaha, Nebraska.
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I loved the idea. When I first walked in that humidor, I just loved all the
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brands that I've always heard about and knew, you know, some of the cigars,
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my grandfather and my dad or, you know, people that have smoked.
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And it was just interesting to hear, to know the story behind it,
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the families, and how long they've been involved.
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And that really got me thinking, I could do this.
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And I liked my job a lot. I learned about every single cigar brand that was
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out there and their history.
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I thought at that time, I have a pretty good last name, and I want to build a legacy as well.
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So I just kept that in my mind and kind of just enjoyed working.
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I did all the outside sales there, promoted the place, and sold the lockers,
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kept the people coming in.
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I always had a cigar that I could suggest, and that was fun.
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And at the same time, out of nowhere, we had a, here in Omaha,
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Governor Ben Nelson at the time, he went to Sacramento, California,
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and he saw a cigar shop there that he thought it'd be a great idea to have one
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here in Omaha, Nebraska, with a cigar roller in-house.
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So, sure enough, this company, La Casilla Cigars, actually moved there to here,
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opened up a place on 108th between L and Q Street.
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All the Cubans in Omaha just found out about it. They all hung out there,
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and my dad ended up buying the place.
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And he was a doctor. He still is.
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He had two clinics of his own and he
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and that's how i and my sisters were all
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to run the place okay so i left the the
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cigar company that was working at went into the
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cigar company that my dad bought we named it
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something different at la cubana cigars and it
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was a family affair it was a family business that
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we were we went you know we had
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that cigar roller in-house he taught us all of us
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girls how to roll cigars and it's true
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to be told i i we had
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that cigar shop for at least until 2005 or 6
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and learned a lot through those
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years about business and how things are in that industry we did go into business
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with another partner that ended up not going very well and we had to walk away
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from it so i still had it in me that i needed to do this and i and i thought
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it was just the right time to just keep on,
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i you know with the people that i've known in the cigar industry i always had cigars on hand.
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I always you know had other multiple jobs
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that i enjoyed doing what i was doing but i always
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had the cigars on side so at about
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2012 i then started della gordia cigars and that was you know i didn't have
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to have a brick and mortar i knew i could just do this from outside you know
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from my home less inventory less overhead you know all the all the things that i do but what really,
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i i knew what was needed was the entertainment
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part the the gathering part the getting together
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the socializing all that i i really wanted to implement and because you know
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being here in omaha nebraska you know a lot of people here really you know support
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local and i've had such a great followings from since I was 18 years old with
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people that knew that I'd been in the business for a while.
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And I...
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Been asked to go do certain weddings, corporate parties.
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I would get myself out there first with Omaha Taste of Omaha.
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We would do a lot of outdoor public things, got the word out that way.
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And then things just kept on rolling and over to doing a lot more events and
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private events and things like that.
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And when it comes to the cigar, and I couldn't help when the first time you
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told me about your story, I started thinking about Starbucks.
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And in the very beginning, when Howard Schultz went over, I think he was in
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Italy, actually, and it captivated him because it was a place to gather.
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And my experience with that, too, is the thing about cigars is you don't smoke them fast.
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I mean, if you do, you smoke them poorly. And if you take your time and you
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really get there, you almost savor a moment.
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And so right away I said, oh, there's the spark.
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It's any event, anything that you're doing that you want to savor this moment
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and really kind of lock it in because it is special. Absolutely.
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And beyond that, Daniela, one of the things I was thinking about is sometimes
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even when it may not be an event, it could be a special moment.
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And that's exactly what you bring to the table with both being there,
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being present, telling your story and rolling cigars.
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No, that is very accurate. I, you know, from lighting a cigar to the very last
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puff before you put it out, it is all of that matters.
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You know, you are cherishing the time that you have alone or with others,
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but you also have to remember the cigar that you have in your hand also is it's
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it's an art it's an art it's a piece of art and then many hands have made and
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created that cigar that you are getting to smoke to enjoy for those moments that you actually.
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And not many people know about all that goes behind a cigar you know so i i
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i like to make sure i educate people when i'm doing my events as well,
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I think that's very important. And, you know, getting them to really understand
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what they're doing, why they're lighting that cigar, you know,
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why they're cutting the cigar a certain way.
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How to light that cigar is very important, too.
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And then taking that first draw and what you do with that.
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People tend to think that you inhale, you don't have to inhale.
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Well, as I say, sometimes people do, but it's all really, it's,
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you know, taking that time and focusing on the notes.
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Just, you know, you can compare it to a glass of wine.
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Yeah. You know, you can compare it to a lot of these, which I also do a lot
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of tastings to pair things with my cigars.
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But when you do inhale that cigar you're
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you're trying to appreciate the you know the environment
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that the cigar that leaves have come from in you know where and when how long
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has it been aged you know the the whole craft of how it's been rolled you're
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looking at it while you're taking the puff is also very something you know people
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tend to mean or tend to appreciate you know there's all there's a lot to that.
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So just because most people aren't going to be familiar with this,
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and I do want to talk to you more about your business too and your model here,
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but I'm fascinated by the cigars.
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What goes into it? Like, what do you look for? And give me a little taste of
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what I would expect if I sat down with a cigar that you made.
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What goes into it? Well, other than love and passion that people,
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when they are there rolling their cigars, A cigar has three different layers,
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if we want to get technical on how it actually has.
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There's a filler, there's a binder, and there's a wrapper.
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People tend to think when you go into a humidor, the lighter the cigar,
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the milder it's going to be.
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The darker the cigar, the stronger it's going to be. That's not the case.
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When you capture the flavor that you want, it is all in the filler.
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The filler is what is combined with different tobacco from different countries.
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You've got Dominican, Nicaragua, Honduras. You have Ecuador.
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You have Sumatra. You have all these different types of fillers that you can actually have.
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And it's the percentages of those leaves that you put in your hand that will
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tell if it's going to be a mild or to a full body cigar.
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The leaves for fillers, they look different. They're a little rougher.
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They're meant to do exactly, they're meant to give you the flavor,
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the combustion, how it's going to burn. Yeah.
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And the strength on how that's going to all combine. So there's ways to balance
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all that in by the different types of tobacco you put in from the different countries.
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So Dominican cigars tend to be more mild to medium body.
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So when you do go into a humidor, you walk in and you see a Dominican cigar.
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That is telling you the filler is mainly Dominican.
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They're not going to tell you their secret or what they blend that cigar with. Yeah.
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But, you know, all the cigars all come from the same countries,
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but they're just the combination of what that roller put together for that cigar.
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Okay yes the binder leaf has a purpose as well it's a little bit more coarser
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of a leaf that's going to bind the fillers.
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You have that you can actually smoke a cigar just with those two layers if you really wanted to.
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Now the wrapper leaf is to make it really look nice and pretty and smooth and
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the and clean you know and kind of gives you that you know sexy look of it the
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you know some my favorite tobacco it.
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Is the you know there's nicaraguan there
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is and the oily base you know
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yeah sumatra there's just so many different
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types of tobacco through the different textures and
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you just tend to know a little bit more as you if you were to
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see it in front many people know all
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those you know all that yeah so you just go in and
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to see you know mainly people like pick a brand
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that they're familiar with they pick something that probably
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is most expensive they think it's going to be better right and
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it says dominican or nicaraguan people tend
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to like to you know you can't go buy
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a cuban cigar but you know people have their
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their beliefs about the cuban cigar
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and how and why that actually matters do
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you know what makes a cuban cigar but i was going to ask that totally because
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i know that there was an off-brand cohiba that was an imitation cuban that i
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thought was cuban yeah to binnegan bought them but we always race to find them
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and it's really almost impossible to find them.
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So yeah, what's different about it? Because I heard they're the best,
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and in my mind, I believe they are.
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Well, and everyone's, because it's hard to get. Yeah. Everybody wants what they can't get. But...
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You know, there's a time in history that Cuban cigars were actually very, very, very, very good.
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Today, I wouldn't say they're in my top three.
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I wouldn't say that they're my favorite.
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It all does depend on the climates, too. The climate changes everywhere and,
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you know, the soil, everything matters.
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But what makes a Cuban cigar, I just explained a little bit about how,
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you know, you have the different blends, the filler, the binder, and the wrapper.
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You're taking percentages of all here and there.
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A Cuban cigar is all Cuban from the filler, the binder, and the wrapper because
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Cuba can make those leaves, all of them perfectly there. That's what matters to me.
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That's why I would put Cuba aside, that they do better in all leaves because of their climate.
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Yeah, so just the right climate, all in one, all Cuban. Absolutely. Wow.
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Okay, so let's talk about Entrepreneur U. And so 2012, congratulations.
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You've had a long runway. Yes, thank you. You know, you had mentioned some of
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your father's store in the first one, the lessons that you learned.
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I always tell entrepreneurs, like, I'm an entrepreneur. I was a 15-year entrepreneur.
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I'm an entrepreneur again, and I have the scars to prove it because business is business.
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And so you've built a new model now where you're more accessible.
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You're keeping overhead lower, so cost of goods sold is sharper,
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and you're able to deliver experiences. What goes into the experiences that you deliver?
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And can you give me an example of a typical experience that you get to have
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and the kind of moment that you create while you do it? Sure. Yeah.
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Well, for instance, this is a busy time of the year. There's a lot of events that I do.
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Anyway, from March to October, it's pretty busy throughout the year.
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I'm going to an engagement party on Friday, which I've met the couple,
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the son, the couple's mom that's getting married.
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Anyway, they're inviting me over to their home for their engagement party.
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And when they call me, I ask them what kind of thing that they want.
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It's going to be at their home, so that brings a different dynamic.
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Like, you know, how many people are going to be there?
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And I'm going to do, I'm going to stop over there later on today,
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actually, just to make sure, because they wanted me to come by,
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just to make sure the placement is, you know, right.
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They just loved the idea when they saw me roll the cigars right there and then,
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you know, they wanted to, you know, give that as a gift to their son that's
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going to get married. Yeah.
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One-on-one experience it's a small setting which is
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not much you know i do more of
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the bigger corporate events and weddings so they're larger
00:17:28.957 --> 00:17:32.277
settings but this is more intimate which i do love a
00:17:32.277 --> 00:17:35.677
lot yeah i'll get them you know whoever like
00:17:35.677 --> 00:17:38.477
to sit down and roll a cigar and they get to touch and feel
00:17:38.477 --> 00:17:42.057
what you know how to do all the layering
00:17:42.057 --> 00:17:45.517
stuff wow and you know how to roll that cigar speaking to
00:17:45.517 --> 00:17:48.757
them being part of that memory that
00:17:48.757 --> 00:17:51.497
they have leaving knowing that i
00:17:51.497 --> 00:17:54.657
you know i leave i'll leave a few cigars behind
00:17:54.657 --> 00:17:57.537
but it's just you know not them ever seeing
00:17:57.537 --> 00:18:02.157
that ever you know before especially in omaha nebraska in the midwest yeah so
00:18:02.157 --> 00:18:08.957
i'm excited that i get to be part of that i'm always means a lot to me another
00:18:08.957 --> 00:18:13.077
thing you know when i have these events it could like i mentioned it could be
00:18:13.077 --> 00:18:16.297
at a wedding and I'm setting up,
00:18:16.577 --> 00:18:19.157
you know, probably during their cocktail hour.
00:18:19.957 --> 00:18:23.157
And I get to see all these different types of venues.
00:18:23.797 --> 00:18:27.697
I've been to so many different places that I never knew existed.
00:18:28.157 --> 00:18:32.797
That is, you know, there's such a creative side of this that I enjoy,
00:18:32.977 --> 00:18:35.737
you know, learning a lot about people.
00:18:36.357 --> 00:18:42.717
And then not only that I'm physically there rolling the cigars, I'm engaging with them.
00:18:43.257 --> 00:18:47.257
They get to see a cigar rolling happen and all that.
00:18:47.497 --> 00:18:53.277
I customize the bands as well. I do a lot of customizations for them. So I bring that,
00:18:54.297 --> 00:18:58.097
whatever they choose to have, even with corporate events.
00:18:58.677 --> 00:19:02.577
I do, you know, they give me their logos. I put them on the cigar bands.
00:19:03.137 --> 00:19:06.977
You know, there's that for them to keep and always have.
00:19:08.317 --> 00:19:12.577
There's fundraisers. That's another, what I love to do is actually be part of,
00:19:12.737 --> 00:19:15.797
where I can give back to any charity that I'm part of.
00:19:15.937 --> 00:19:18.877
You know, I do a lot of golf courses, a lot of golf tournaments.
00:19:21.237 --> 00:19:24.117
It's just, it's different every time I go somewhere.
00:19:24.897 --> 00:19:31.077
And the people I meet, it just gets, you know, we're all there to enjoy.
00:19:31.617 --> 00:19:36.597
It's always a good time. Everybody's there to reflect on a memory.
00:19:37.037 --> 00:19:42.917
And that's pretty much how and why I do what I do. Yeah.
00:19:43.257 --> 00:19:47.577
Yeah. Just to create those moments of magic almost where all of a sudden you
00:19:47.577 --> 00:19:49.977
take a golf tournament or an engagement party.
00:19:50.117 --> 00:19:54.457
And it's something different because with what you're infusing into it,
00:19:54.597 --> 00:19:59.117
especially with the history and just a little bit you've already shared with us, that sticks.
00:19:59.877 --> 00:20:03.437
You don't just walk away from that. You kind of understand the richness.
00:20:03.677 --> 00:20:06.817
Like you said, a nice glass of wine.
00:20:07.077 --> 00:20:10.437
There's so much more depth to it than just wine.
00:20:11.417 --> 00:20:14.817
It's soil, it's concentration, it's weather, it's earth, it's where it's,
00:20:14.897 --> 00:20:16.697
oh, I love that. Okay. Yes.
00:20:17.157 --> 00:20:20.257
So as an entrepreneur today, you're kind of out there.
00:20:20.497 --> 00:20:25.557
I got to think you're probably a wee bit of a pioneer in the cigar industry,
00:20:26.337 --> 00:20:27.897
female-owned business.
00:20:28.317 --> 00:20:32.717
And I don't know that I know of any other female. How common is that?
00:20:34.537 --> 00:20:38.157
Well, it's not so common in the Midwest. Okay. And, you know,
00:20:38.417 --> 00:20:42.417
I like to be the only one that does what I do.
00:20:42.617 --> 00:20:48.717
And there's some challenges that I go, that it, you know, that comes and goes being a woman in it.
00:20:49.757 --> 00:20:52.717
But I have always pushed through. I've...
00:20:53.667 --> 00:20:58.807
You know, there's a lot of things I've learned and I'm still learning.
00:20:59.247 --> 00:21:06.147
So as an entrepreneur, there is, you know, I've told myself last year that I need to go up.
00:21:06.427 --> 00:21:10.287
I need to be on another level. Okay. I was, you know, I've been doing for so
00:21:10.287 --> 00:21:12.707
many years, the being as a side hustle thing.
00:21:12.927 --> 00:21:20.047
And I, you know, really never took on what I was, you know, developing and what I was actually,
00:21:20.307 --> 00:21:23.207
you know, I wasn't giving as I was,
00:21:23.207 --> 00:21:26.007
as i was wanting to yeah now i'm actually trying
00:21:26.007 --> 00:21:29.487
now it makes sense i'm giving more back to where
00:21:29.487 --> 00:21:32.887
i can scale everything okay to where it's
00:21:32.887 --> 00:21:38.287
a clearer to me where i can you know make my goals and reach them and keep going
00:21:38.287 --> 00:21:45.007
and you know i a year and a half ago is when i quit all my jobs and went 110
00:21:45.007 --> 00:21:51.847
into the into the cigar wow okay i thought i knew then that i could do it because I've had such,
00:21:52.027 --> 00:21:57.367
I've been doing this for so long and I just felt confident. So I.
00:21:57.853 --> 00:22:01.253
That was huge. That was huge for me to, to just make that leap.
00:22:01.253 --> 00:22:06.253
And then I went to a friend of mine that I'm like, listen, I need to make sense of all this.
00:22:06.433 --> 00:22:09.633
I don't, I'm, I am not going to go in these circles anymore.
00:22:09.873 --> 00:22:15.333
I need, and so it's been more clear to me what I've been doing in the last year and a half. Okay.
00:22:15.693 --> 00:22:18.753
And that's, that's a really interesting time.
00:22:19.053 --> 00:22:22.573
You know, when, when you step out and launch on your own, I always say in my
00:22:22.573 --> 00:22:24.993
industry, the coaching industry and the consulting industry.
00:22:25.733 --> 00:22:28.553
You know, you can, you can be a part-time, right?
00:22:28.733 --> 00:22:32.293
And so for a long time, you know, probably like you, I could do that,
00:22:32.313 --> 00:22:35.593
but there's something different when you make that commitment and you step in,
00:22:35.673 --> 00:22:39.513
you become a pro and it's kind of now you're out there.
00:22:39.993 --> 00:22:44.273
What were you, what would you, what did you find the first challenges when you first started?
00:22:44.513 --> 00:22:50.453
What, what did you go to and what did you need to learn first to be a successful entrepreneur?
00:22:51.113 --> 00:22:54.313
Getting over my fears. Oh, interesting. Okay.
00:22:54.953 --> 00:23:03.053
Fears. And I literally pushed myself to do more of the rolling cigars in public. Okay.
00:23:03.273 --> 00:23:09.813
So that was something that I needed to get over. And I knew that would help my business a lot. Yes.
00:23:10.333 --> 00:23:16.353
Because at the beginning of this whole De La Guardia cigar was having my sisters
00:23:16.353 --> 00:23:20.073
involved as girls, women-owned.
00:23:20.073 --> 00:23:22.933
And you know that just i just
00:23:22.933 --> 00:23:27.733
wanted to see you know as women you know taking over the industry at some point
00:23:27.733 --> 00:23:33.613
but it it's being with my family is what really i wanted that that whole you
00:23:33.613 --> 00:23:38.193
know scene of of what i've seen my sisters and i just rolling cigars and being
00:23:38.193 --> 00:23:40.673
a part of other people's you know,
00:23:41.393 --> 00:23:42.993
experiences as well. Yeah.
00:23:44.393 --> 00:23:50.773
But I, the fear, once I conquered that and now I feel like I'm unstoppable.
00:23:51.153 --> 00:23:57.433
Wow. Honestly, I can do now anything I want. Yeah. I don't know. It's getting that and,
00:23:58.331 --> 00:24:02.471
That really felt good. Yeah, kind of pushing yourself public.
00:24:02.791 --> 00:24:04.771
Yes, because a lot of it was all private.
00:24:06.031 --> 00:24:13.011
And if any of the public was more of my sister was rolling, but I knew that I had to do this myself.
00:24:13.651 --> 00:24:17.131
So what were the triggers? What levers did you have to pull to get yourself
00:24:17.131 --> 00:24:20.911
ready to make that change from timid to unstoppable?
00:24:21.791 --> 00:24:23.231
Well, that's a good question.
00:24:24.171 --> 00:24:27.351
Other than forcing myself to... That could be one of them. I mean,
00:24:27.511 --> 00:24:31.571
I, I, I prayed. That's like sheer willpower, prayer. Yes.
00:24:31.891 --> 00:24:36.311
I prayed and I knew that, that my grandfather who I have in my,
00:24:36.531 --> 00:24:38.211
he's a voice in my head all the time.
00:24:38.411 --> 00:24:41.271
He's the one that told me I could do this. Yeah. And that's why I've been,
00:24:41.591 --> 00:24:45.091
this is whole, all these years. He, he passed away in 2003.
00:24:45.771 --> 00:24:50.131
So when I was, when we had a cigar shop and things were not going the way and
00:24:50.131 --> 00:24:54.991
he knew that they weren't going the right way for, for us at the time,
00:24:55.211 --> 00:24:58.011
but he looked at me and told me, you can do this.
00:24:58.471 --> 00:25:01.551
I took that to heart and I believed it.
00:25:01.971 --> 00:25:05.431
And so I needed to continue to believe that.
00:25:05.511 --> 00:25:08.991
And I never stopped selling the cigars, but I knew that I needed to get out
00:25:08.991 --> 00:25:12.311
there more like how I visioned back then.
00:25:13.071 --> 00:25:20.111
So having him by my side, knowing that I could do it and not listening to all
00:25:20.111 --> 00:25:23.051
the noise everybody likes to tell you or...
00:25:23.942 --> 00:25:27.622
Just focus. Yeah. Yeah. Believe in yourself. Nice. Yeah.
00:25:27.922 --> 00:25:33.782
Nice. And then as you continue to kind of grow forward, you mentioned scaling kind of going all in.
00:25:33.962 --> 00:25:39.382
So you're probably like a lot of entrepreneurs and you kind of got to a summit
00:25:39.382 --> 00:25:43.222
of one mountain and now you see another one. Yes. We call that scaling.
00:25:43.462 --> 00:25:48.002
Yes. So what does scaling look like for you? What's the future look like?
00:25:49.062 --> 00:25:53.062
I would. Okay. So my goal last year was to get into 15 new places.
00:25:53.382 --> 00:25:56.062
Okay. So that's where I'm at, 15 places.
00:25:56.402 --> 00:26:00.842
I reached that goal. That is what my goal this year is, 15 more.
00:26:01.822 --> 00:26:05.082
Pretty much I've touched all Omaha and the surrounding area.
00:26:05.142 --> 00:26:06.582
I'm going to go outside of that.
00:26:06.882 --> 00:26:13.822
I want to travel a little bit more and do some public sightings,
00:26:14.062 --> 00:26:17.842
like going to a lot of the public events that they have.
00:26:18.522 --> 00:26:25.882
So I literally got a map out and saw what it would look like all year if I was
00:26:25.882 --> 00:26:31.122
to take a route and each month what that would look like and how long would I be gone.
00:26:31.822 --> 00:26:36.302
I think that 2027 is what it's going to be where I'm going to do that.
00:26:36.522 --> 00:26:39.682
But this year I'm focusing on getting myself into more locations.
00:26:42.182 --> 00:26:46.622
And that would be a retail location, right? These would be all retail locations.
00:26:46.622 --> 00:26:49.802
Experience you're providing for them. These will be retail locations.
00:26:50.142 --> 00:26:55.722
And the experiences that I have provided, that has been all through marketing
00:26:55.722 --> 00:26:59.422
that I've been working on and that I focused a lot also this year.
00:27:00.366 --> 00:27:05.926
Last year where it's now I'm seeing more, you know, the outcome of all of that
00:27:05.926 --> 00:27:09.606
is I've I've been the busiest as I've ever been.
00:27:09.946 --> 00:27:13.306
So in that when I even passed the second quarter yet.
00:27:13.446 --> 00:27:18.306
So I'm really excited how that's going to look for next year.
00:27:19.366 --> 00:27:23.506
But yeah just getting myself into more locations and,
00:27:24.106 --> 00:27:29.246
having people calling me from all across the country really for those events
00:27:29.246 --> 00:27:34.786
experiences that they want yeah to kind of bring them in and make a milestone
00:27:34.786 --> 00:27:39.046
and then as far as team members go is it you?
00:27:39.226 --> 00:27:43.146
Are you creating selling all of it right now?
00:27:43.406 --> 00:27:49.246
Absolutely I call it solopreneur by the way yes it's just me You know,
00:27:49.466 --> 00:27:52.466
I'll have my sister there if I need her.
00:27:52.646 --> 00:27:56.646
I also have another cigar roller. His name is Ryan Hawkinson.
00:27:58.394 --> 00:28:02.574
He's great. He's a great ruler. He's also, he's from Iowa.
00:28:03.414 --> 00:28:07.994
And his wife is a good friend of mine. And now he is.
00:28:08.154 --> 00:28:11.654
He's been doing this with me for a year and a half. So he's been great.
00:28:11.854 --> 00:28:15.554
So he's been helping me plugging in where I can't be.
00:28:15.714 --> 00:28:18.174
Yeah, I was going to say, because you're wearing many hats. I was wondering
00:28:18.174 --> 00:28:20.014
that you have a pretty aggressive goal.
00:28:20.874 --> 00:28:26.314
Yes, yeah. I do all the, I do everything, you know, answering the calls.
00:28:26.314 --> 00:28:28.774
I just now started to automate everything.
00:28:29.494 --> 00:28:34.454
So Nate Garcia, he's in the website world.
00:28:34.654 --> 00:28:39.594
And so he built my website for me, and he's got a team that helps me with all
00:28:39.594 --> 00:28:42.554
the automations and stuff like that, which that's what I was on a call for today
00:28:42.554 --> 00:28:43.294
that I did not know about.
00:28:44.274 --> 00:28:48.534
And that's been good. Yeah. Yeah, getting the connections.
00:28:48.994 --> 00:28:52.314
It's connected with LinkedIn and everything else like that too that's helping
00:28:52.314 --> 00:28:55.454
me connect with people and with the right industries.
00:28:57.034 --> 00:29:01.814
And seen a lot from that. A lot of traction. Yes, a lot of traction. Yeah.
00:29:02.194 --> 00:29:06.194
And then if you would say, if you had any advice that you wanted to give to
00:29:06.194 --> 00:29:09.194
an entrepreneur who maybe they have a full-time job,
00:29:09.654 --> 00:29:13.314
and they're thinking about it and they have a love, that they love something
00:29:13.314 --> 00:29:18.854
and maybe they have something they feel is as important as a De La Guardia name,
00:29:19.811 --> 00:29:25.091
What advice would you give them? Well, first, like you said,
00:29:25.571 --> 00:29:31.371
you've got to love what you're doing, and you don't stop doing it. Always evolve, too.
00:29:32.291 --> 00:29:38.191
Don't just stay stagnant. That's really good. You've got to think outside the
00:29:38.191 --> 00:29:40.631
box of what other people are not doing.
00:29:41.131 --> 00:29:45.751
Maybe create something, and then you have a solution for it.
00:29:46.211 --> 00:29:51.691
But there is definitely, just keep on going with that same, you know, with your passion.
00:29:51.711 --> 00:29:54.611
You're not going to give it up if you love it to do it. Right.
00:29:55.251 --> 00:29:59.351
Which that's exactly how I've been working with all the other jobs I had.
00:30:00.366 --> 00:30:05.286
But believing in yourself is number one when it comes to getting there.
00:30:05.366 --> 00:30:08.746
Yeah, Tony Robbins is someone, I don't know if you've gone to it,
00:30:08.806 --> 00:30:10.266
but I went to Business Mastery.
00:30:10.366 --> 00:30:13.946
It was one of my first stops, which is if you've ever been to his event,
00:30:14.086 --> 00:30:18.826
high energy, way higher energy than Mark Mathiah. But he always says certainty.
00:30:19.846 --> 00:30:25.866
And when you talk about your being unstoppable, I hear certainty in your voice.
00:30:25.866 --> 00:30:31.986
And you've created a model that you've taken some of the pain points of typical retail out.
00:30:32.166 --> 00:30:37.586
Yes. And you've dived into an experience, you know, more than the cigar.
00:30:37.586 --> 00:30:42.206
It's the entire experience of the cigar, which I think is absolutely brilliant.
00:30:42.346 --> 00:30:45.086
It will never die. It will never die. We all have experiences.
00:30:45.386 --> 00:30:48.606
Yeah. We all have our moments, ups and downs.
00:30:49.206 --> 00:30:55.206
Why not have that with the cigar and a few of your friends or just alone? Yeah.
00:30:55.866 --> 00:30:59.926
I appreciate those things. Yeah. And so many times today, too,
00:31:00.006 --> 00:31:04.666
if you really think about it, and of course, I get to bump into CEOs and founders all the time.
00:31:04.746 --> 00:31:08.686
So I know the pace that people run, and I can only imagine the pace that you run.
00:31:09.406 --> 00:31:13.566
And taking that time, I have another partner, kind of a joint venture partner
00:31:13.566 --> 00:31:18.706
in Juliet Funt, and she always says, you need to create white space.
00:31:19.006 --> 00:31:23.446
And that's just space to think. And so many times entrepreneurs I'm working
00:31:23.446 --> 00:31:27.666
with, the best ideas happen in the shower because it's the only time that they're
00:31:27.666 --> 00:31:29.386
not working. Right. Absolutely.
00:31:29.886 --> 00:31:34.406
And so, but, but, but you're, what you're, what you're doing in that experience
00:31:34.406 --> 00:31:38.146
of taking your time to savor a moment with a cigar.
00:31:39.211 --> 00:31:45.151
In your backyard, whatever it is, just to think, I think would really help kind
00:31:45.151 --> 00:31:50.371
of lower that curve that we're seeing right now across the nation in terms of burnout,
00:31:50.731 --> 00:31:54.571
all of this other stuff that can go on. Mental health is down.
00:31:54.791 --> 00:31:58.711
I think there's a lot of ups to being able to savor more moments.
00:31:58.931 --> 00:32:03.471
And I think you have found yourself right in the middle of an epicenter where
00:32:03.471 --> 00:32:07.131
what you offer this world needs. Thank you.
00:32:07.631 --> 00:32:13.491
And being present. Yeah. Just, you know, and being grateful. Yeah.
00:32:15.071 --> 00:32:21.631
Stop, relax, enjoy. Yeah. Stop, relax, enjoy. That's awesome. Yes.
00:32:22.771 --> 00:32:30.011
As we get going, tell me, like, how would someone who's listening to this podcast connect with you?
00:32:30.151 --> 00:32:34.151
What's the best way to get a hold of you and find out more information about
00:32:34.151 --> 00:32:36.151
the experiences that you offer.
00:32:36.571 --> 00:32:40.311
Well, now that I have this wonderful website that I've been working on building.
00:32:41.431 --> 00:32:44.611
De La Guardia Cigars, dlgcigars.com.
00:32:44.831 --> 00:32:46.191
Dlgcigars.com. Got it.
00:32:46.611 --> 00:32:49.471
You can, I have a Facebook page as well.
00:32:50.011 --> 00:32:54.491
It's the De La Guardia Cigars spelled out. Also Instagram.
00:32:55.191 --> 00:33:00.011
But on my website, you can see all the different locations that I have my cigars at. Okay.
00:33:00.191 --> 00:33:04.691
And there will be, you know, if there's any public events, it would be posted on there. Okay, great.
00:33:05.031 --> 00:33:08.431
Where then, you know, you can see me where I actually cigar roll at.
00:33:08.711 --> 00:33:11.851
Which I got to see. It's awesome. Yeah. You got to go. I know.
00:33:12.491 --> 00:33:17.171
It's definitely good times. But that would be the best.
00:33:17.371 --> 00:33:22.011
I always like to conversate on the phone. If you're searching for something, you go online.
00:33:23.007 --> 00:33:27.647
Just call me. I would love to speak with you. If you've purchased anything from
00:33:27.647 --> 00:33:30.887
me before, you can see that my phone number is everywhere.
00:33:31.247 --> 00:33:34.607
Even on my cigar band, I have a QR code in the back of the band,
00:33:34.607 --> 00:33:36.547
so it goes straight to my website.
00:33:37.107 --> 00:33:43.607
Awesome. And so people can know what they're smoking, what cigar they're actually
00:33:43.607 --> 00:33:44.987
smoking, so it takes them to that.
00:33:45.727 --> 00:33:49.807
So, yeah. Very good. That'd be easy to contact. Okay, good.
00:33:50.027 --> 00:33:56.427
So they can reach out, create those events, and any size event really works.
00:33:57.767 --> 00:34:01.707
Yes, and there is an event form that you can fill out. If you have a date in
00:34:01.707 --> 00:34:05.727
mind that you want to reserve, on my website, there is a form that you can fill
00:34:05.727 --> 00:34:08.827
out there, and it will notify me where I'll call you. Yeah.
00:34:10.107 --> 00:34:15.647
So, Daniela, the mission of connecting people and giving them time to think
00:34:15.647 --> 00:34:21.087
while enjoying some of the best cigars around is awesome.
00:34:21.307 --> 00:34:26.987
Omaha is so lucky to have you as part of this community and doing the work that you're doing.
00:34:26.987 --> 00:34:33.247
And I know that I will be figuring out ways that I can have events and have
00:34:33.247 --> 00:34:36.547
you there so we can enjoy those moments because it's just that important.
00:34:36.987 --> 00:34:42.307
And so I'm really excited for you and wish you the best of luck as you continue to grow and scale.
00:34:42.707 --> 00:34:47.087
And I hope you'll stop back in so we can kind of keep track on where you're
00:34:47.087 --> 00:34:48.907
at and where you're growing to.
00:34:49.227 --> 00:34:52.447
Well, thank you for having me here. Yeah. I can share my story.
00:34:52.847 --> 00:34:54.147
There's a lot more to tell.
00:34:54.967 --> 00:34:58.827
You know what? I believe that too. Yeah, you have such a great history.
00:34:59.007 --> 00:35:02.487
But for all the listeners, I hope they'll go out to DLG Cigars,
00:35:02.747 --> 00:35:07.527
dlgsigars.com, check it out, and order some cigars.
00:35:07.647 --> 00:35:11.867
Now, if they want customized banding, do they just reach out to you directly
00:35:11.867 --> 00:35:13.587
for that, or is that on the website, too?
00:35:13.707 --> 00:35:16.767
Absolutely. There is a form also for that on my website, but...
00:35:17.129 --> 00:35:20.509
402-707-4224 is my number.
00:35:20.749 --> 00:35:25.129
Awesome. Everybody can reach me. And I'm guessing I could probably get a B Elevated
00:35:25.129 --> 00:35:29.589
band on... That is a great logo there. Yes, that would look really nice.
00:35:29.589 --> 00:35:30.349
See, that's what I'm thinking.
00:35:30.589 --> 00:35:34.789
Okay, we'll have to talk after this. But hey, everybody, thank you so much for
00:35:34.789 --> 00:35:37.169
listening in to Triple Margin Freedom.
00:35:37.569 --> 00:35:40.389
Daniella, thank you. Thank you for all you're doing in Omaha.
00:35:40.769 --> 00:35:44.189
And keep creating great moments for people to celebrate.
00:35:44.949 --> 00:35:48.449
I'm happy to do this. Thank you so much for having me. You bet. Thank you.