Celebrating Mother and Daughter Business Duos in Honor of Mother’s Day – Coronado Times

We are celebrating Mother’s Day with a look into four of the many mother-daughter business partnerships in Coronado. While it can have its challenges, these women share how they serve our community while enjoying their time working together!

Shannon Wiegel and Tori Geddes

Shannon and Tori started Crown Meets Sea together in 2017.

What led to both women joining the business? 

We love working together. We make a great team and balance each other well.

What do you like most about working as a mother/daughter team?

We both have our strengths and shortcomings; we cover each other’s back in all situations for the betterment of our family business.

What is a challenge you face as mother/daughter team?

Our biggest challenge we face with the business currently is with Tori being a full-time mom (we are 100% in favor of her current role!), which limits her time with us in the business arena. We are navigating well, and our team has stepped up tremendously to help with the business success. Xander, who is three now, helps at our family business quite often and loves it.

Is there a memory that stands out where you thought “Wow, I am really glad we are doing this together”?

We are thankful to be a part of our community here in Coronado and now with our second location up in Newport Beach on Balboa Island. We work hard, made it through covid and  are working harder still to establish a second location together.

What advice would you give other mother/daughter teams wanting to work together professionally?

Teamwork. We are a team. We ebb and flow, work with our strengths and our shortcomings to help each other and the business. Also, we are genuinely here for each other.

Jody & Allie Esquer

In 1996 the Esquer Family acquired Night and Day Cafe. In 2011, Jody became more hands on in the restaurant. Allie started working at the cafe in 2010.

What led to both women joining the business?

Jody was laid off in 2011 from her graphic design job and during that time her husband Hector brought up the idea of her helping to manage the family’s cafe. Allie had started serving there a few months before with the incentive of getting a chocolate Labrador with her summer money at the age of 14.

What do you like most about working as a mother/daughter team?

Jody retired from the business at the end of 2022; but over the past 10+ years one of Jody’s favorite things about working together was bouncing ideas off each other and seeing the end result come to completion. Allie’s favorite part was experiencing a completely different dynamic than most mothers and daughters would ever get to experience.

What is a challenge you face as mother/daughter team?

Jody: Not seeing eye to eye all the time.

Allie: We did a good job of separating work and family at the workplace but we weren’t perfect. Sometimes work could follow us home which at times felt like we never had a day off. It could be hard to find time to be just mom and daughter.

Is there a memory that stands out where you thought “Wow, I am really glad we are doing this together”?

It was scary at the time, but looking back on it, the pandemic. We, along with all other businesses, were dealing with what seemed to be an impossible time, unsure if we were going to be able to see it through. In that time, we found ways to find a sense of humanity which included delivering burritos to the hospital and our front-line workers that were donated by our locals and SharkTank. We are proud and grateful that our business survived.

What advice would you give other mother/daughter teams wanting to work together professionally?

Hear each other out, make time to just be mom and daughter, don’t take yourself too seriously, respect each other’s thoughts and visions, have each other’s back and lean on each other (she’s your fellow wing woman), and keep boundaries.

Drs. Suzanne Popp & Natalie Bailey

What advice would you give other mother/daughter teams wanting to work professionally together?

Suzanne: Set boundaries. Keep things professional at work and treat each other like if your business partner were any other person, but also make sure to schedule your mother-daughter time. When we go out to dinner, we will establish if it’s a work meeting or family time.

Natalie: I will oftentimes ask my mom if we can go on a walk or shopping as just mom-daughter and not talk about teeth. Also, remember you’re on the same team. Sometimes there can be some competition between business partners, but with family, we are just trying to make the business as a whole successful and remembering that is the most important thing.

Suzanne: Communication! Don’t assume you know what the other person is thinking. We even have code words or phrases when we need more information from each other. Slamming doors can be powerful – but it won’t make your relationship/friendship/partnership better!

Olga Lavalle & Maria Garate-Lavalle

In 2005, Olga began her real estate career. Maria joined her mom in 2018.

What led to both women joining the business? 

Coronado and real estate has always been in our blood. We got it from Olga Stevens, who is Olga’s mom and Maria’s grandma. The business has always been a family business and that is what excited us. It excited us to be able to work together and be able to help each other succeed in life. Selling real estate is also extremely fulfilling, and that is what has kept us in the business. We get calls from past clients thanking us for finding them their home, and that makes working together and in real estate wholesome.

What do you like most about working as a mother/daughter team?

The first and most important is the unconditional love and trust that we have for each other. We have each other’s back and we are always there to help the other person. We can brainstorm better solutions for our clients, and have two sets of eyes on everything. Also, we both bring different attributes to the table and complement each other well. This helps us give better service to our clients and enriches our mother daughter connection.

What is a challenge you face as mother/daughter team?

Our biggest challenge is balancing business and family. We are often so immersed in work that we overlook simple pleasures like going out to dinner, watching a movie or just hanging out as mother and daughter. We try to be very mindful about this and schedule time for ourselves to do something fun.

Is there a memory that stands out where you thought “Wow, I am really glad we are doing this together”?

We have aha moments daily, we laugh a lot and are able to make stressful moments more peaceful. However, the times we are truly at peace and grateful is when the other gets to go on vacation. Running your own business and having such important transactions at stake does not always allow for vacations. After we partnered up, we were both able to take time off and travel knowing the business was in perfect hands back home. We are able to alternate weekends where one can take time to be home and the other is out and about. Having this with someone you trust fully is priceless in the industry.

What advice would you give other mother/daughter teams wanting to work together professionally?

Communication is key! As in any relationship, it is important to voice your needs. When things get stressful, always remember you are family and with love and respect, you can face any challenge. We would also say it’s important to make time for the mother daughter bond and to celebrate achievements together that are not always business related.