Behind the Brand: How I Hire My Brax Girls

One of my greatest joys in life is my employees. I truly love each and every one of them. If I can do something to boost their confidence, to help them see their own potential, that gives me so much joy. Maybe that came from my mom. She was a teacher, and she cared deeply about helping others grow.

But before I built this amazing team of Brax Girls who now run my brand better than I ever could, I went through many failures. And I’ll admit… one of my weakest skills used to be hiring the right people.

My First Employee: Becky

It was 2005. I was at the Fullerton Jewelry Mart, where I had just expanded my booth into two sections. That might sound exciting, but it came with a challenge, managing both sides in a place where business felt like a constant battle.

At the Jewelry Mart, every customer who walked in was fair game. If you didn’t grab their attention instantly, they’d move to the next booth and you’d lose the sale. It was chaos. My husband used to tell me, 'This is your residency, hard, but full of lessons.' And he was right.

That Christmas, I needed help. There was a sweet older lady named Becky who used to shop with me often. She was in her 70s, full of charm, and always made me laugh. I decided to hire her as my first employee.

In the beginning, she was wonderful, bringing me lunch, working a few days a week, and helping with customers. But over time, things changed. She started falling asleep at work and getting frustrated easily. I knew it wasn’t working out, so I let her go. Years later, when I heard that Becky had passed away, I still remembered her face, kind and gentle. She was my first employee, and in many ways, my first teacher in business.

The One Who Broke My Heart

After Becky, I found someone much younger, full of energy and excitement. I thought I could teach her everything: the business, the sales, the charm of customer service. But what I didn’t realize back then was that personality, class, and ethics are not things you can teach someone, they have to already have them.

I won’t go into too many details, but she became one of my biggest lessons. I treated her like family. I helped her, mentored her, even invited her to my home for Thanksgiving when she had no one else. But she betrayed me.

She stole my customer list, copied my business, my tagline, even opened a store right next to mine. I was hurt, deeply. Angry for years.

One day, my husband and I were walking by her store. She was inside, pretending not to see us, acting busy, avoiding eye contact. I looked at her and told my husband, 'You know what? I forgive her. I’m sending her my blessing.'

A week later, her store closed. She moved out of our city and out of my life entirely. And one lesson I’ll never forget from that chapter was this: forgiveness.

Because even after everything she did, my business didn’t suffer. In fact, it grew. She didn’t hurt me; she pushed me. She was the reason I found the courage to step out of my comfort zone and invest heavily in my business, to bring in high-end designers like Christopher Designs, Gabriel & Co., CrownRing, and many more.

If it hadn’t been for that experience, I probably would have stayed where I was, comfortable, content, and safe. But because of her, I wanted to build something she couldn’t copy. I wanted to elevate, to create something bigger, something mine.

And when I did, my business went to the next level. One of my greatest life lessons came from that chapter: When the Creator wants to give you something amazing, sometimes you have to go through heartbreak or discomfort. Because your heart, your 'vessel', needs to open up to receive what’s meant for you.

Now, whenever something goes wrong or life gets hectic, I remind myself that after every storm comes a blessing. Looking back, I’m grateful for what she did, even though it hurt deeply, because if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

She was a passenger in my life, someone meant to come, shake things up, and push me to the next level. And for that, I truly thank her.

Learning to Hire from the Heart

After that, I hired many people, some stayed for a while, some for only a short time. But each one of them taught me something. Every experience shaped me into a better leader and helped me define what it truly means to be a Brax Girl.

When I say 'Brax Girl,' it’s never about gender, it’s about an energy, a mindset, and a heart. A Brax Girl is anyone who believes in kindness, growth, confidence, and purpose. Over the years, I’ve met incredible women and men who embody that same spirit. So when I say I hire Brax Girls, what I really mean is, I hire people who believe in the mission, who bring love and light into the workplace, and who want to become better every day.

Now, we have core values, not just rules, but the heart of our culture. At Brax, we believe: You must be kind and caring in all that you do. You must have a willingness to learn and grow constantly. And you must have a purpose, a reason to wake up and become better every day.

The Power of a Great Team

One thing I’m most proud of as a leader is that I never say I know best or I’m the reason we’re successful. Because the truth is, success is never built by one person. It’s built by hearts working together toward the same dream.

Every woman on my team brings something unique, her kindness, her creativity, her courage, her energy. I see myself not as their boss, but as their biggest supporter. My role is to empower them, to lift them up, and to remind them how capable and powerful they already are.

At Brax, we believe that confidence is contagious, when one woman rises, she pulls the others up with her.

Together, We Are Unlimited

Today, I’m incredibly blessed to have eight amazing women on my team, true Brax Girls. Each woman brings something special to our mission. They bring energy, loyalty, and love to everything they do.

My employees genuinely love coming to work. Mondays aren’t hard for them, they look forward to being here. Seeing that kind of happiness and excitement fills me with so much joy and reminds me why I do what I do. My goal is to keep the Brax environment always like that, full of positivity, passion, and purpose.

Every morning, I remind them of their power. At every store, we have a board with our goals and numbers, and at the top, there’s a quote from the movie Wicked: 'Together, we are unlimited.' And I truly believe that.

Two of our incredible team members work remotely from the Philippines, and even though we’ve never met in person, they both carry the spirit of a true Brax Girl. Their dedication, creativity, and positivity inspire me every day, and I genuinely enjoy working with them.

That’s what being a Brax Girl is all about. Not just working a job… but becoming her, the woman you were always meant to be.