Meet Alonso Garcia | Furniture Brand Owner (Garelli Furniture) and tennis player on the side.

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

Hi Alonso, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I had many thoughts, one of them for sure was fear because I did not know how this was going to be and also at the same time excitement for all the things I could accomplish through this path.

This was not a one-day thing, this was a process that took very long, I always wanted to work on something for myself, not somebody else’s dream, but I did not know what exactly this could be, until I found the furniture market and I enjoy it and I. am always looking ways to provide better products and service to my customers.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My first Job was as a tennis coach in a golf and tennis club in Coral Gables fl. I am an ex-tennis player and I really still like tennis, but I did not realize how different is playing tennis vs teaching tennis, and plus the idea that I was working for somebody else’s dream, it made me realize in a matter of two weeks that this was not for me, I quit and started to flip stuff like cars, trailers, etc. on Facebook marketplace to make money at the time.

I was feeling proud of myself because I was making money without a paycheck and that gave me confidence to try something else. I created a little second hand sofa business which basically consisted in buying sofas, cleaning them, taking good pictures of them and selling them.
The business did well the first year, but then I realized that I always had to be working to make money and satisfy my clients.
So I had a very good idea of manufacturing sofas in other continents and bringing them to Miami, totally brand new in a box. The idea went well and that is where I am at now in a matter of 18 months since I quit my job. Now starting to bring other products as well such as Beds, dressers, coffee tables, dining tables, etc.

It is just the beginning of the business but I believe 100% that my business will grow faster that it has been and will be a very good high quality for affordable prices Furniture brand “Garelli Furniture”

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?
Well, I am from Lima, Peru, so I would definitely take them to eat Peruvian food. My top 3 Peruvian food places to eat in south Florida are Pukara, Embarcadero 41 and Ceviche 105. I love sports, especially tennis so we for sure would play some tennis or pickleball. I am also a big fan of the beach; I would probably take them to Los cayos or if we want to surf some waves (which I love to do) I would probably take them to Cocoa Beach or Sebastian inlet up north in Florida!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
In the emotional part of my mind the people behind. everything is always my parents; without them I would not be at the place where I am today. They have always believed in me and the most important thing, they have supported me in all my crazy ideas.

Mindset wise I believe books have also changed the way I think definitely.
One of the books that really got into me was “Rich dad Poor dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It changed the way I used to see paths to grow financially.

Website: garellifurniture.com

Instagram: garellifurniture