Student Entrepreneur Finds Success in the Music Industry
Yovannys Mierez
Yovannys Mierez is the embodiment of the phrase “student serial entrepreneur.” He owns Blazing Suns Entertainment (BSE), a production studio that promotes local musicians, and FLORˑENˑCIA Florals, an online florist with his wife, Cynthia Fernandez. Both businesses are based in Chula Vista, California, where the Mierez family currently resides.
Mierez will earn his finance degree from the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University in December 2020 and will continue to work full-time at his businesses after graduation.
FLORˑENˑCIA Florals, founded in January 2020, is the newer business of his two, while BSE was started in 2016 by Mierez and a group of friends as a money-making hobby. “We had already collaborated on some projects together, which evolved into a few shows and other events,” he said. “When the time was right, it just felt natural to open a company.”
BSE specializes in music and video production. “We’re working with some of the best artists that San Diego has to offer,” said Mierez. “For example, we’ve worked with rappers like Sethii Shmactt, Lil Weirdo, Malosi, and our producer, Afrodisiac.”
At 31, Mierez is a little older than the typical college student, even though he initially started college immediately after graduating high school. “I chose to major in engineering, but after I finished my general ed courses and started taking my major courses, I quickly realized that it just wasn’t for me. So I dropped out,” he said. “I always wanted to finish school and you could say that I only wanted to take a year off. But that actually turned into five years.”
Yovannys Mierez (right) with wife Cynthia Fernandez.
In 2018, Mierez — now an entrepreneur and a family man — re-enrolled at SDSU, this time with a clearer vision of what he wanted to do. “I’ve always been a person who plans ahead and thinks about the future,” he said when he asked why he chose to major in finance. “In high school, a teacher explained how finance involves planning for the future and doing forecasting. I found it interesting.”
His education has made an impact on his small business and he said that he has “put what I’ve learned in school into practice at Blazing Suns — everything from writing emails and organization to managing budgets, bids and taxes.”
Once he completes his degree, Mierez plans to continue to grow BSE and, hopefully, expand into a larger space. “This will allow us to increase the size of our music studio, do video production on a much larger scale, and grow our array of services,” he said. In addition, he and Fernandez are planning to expand into a Chula Vista-based retail shop for FLORˑENˑCIA Florals in preparation for the 2021 wedding season.
Floral arrangement from Mierez' newer company, FLORˑENˑCIA Florals.
As he looks to expand his business and build on his success, the Venezuelan-born Mierez says he inherited his drive to succeed from his family, especially his father, who moved the family to the U.S. when Mierez was a child. “He worked in the petroleum industry and made some successful investments as well. As the country’s economy and political stability started to deteriorate, he took a chance coming to the United States and leaving everything he had behind to give us a better life,” said Mierez. “He accomplished even more success in the U.S. than he had in Venezuela by achieving an important role within a San Diego energy company. Following my dad’s lead, our family was able to overcome every obstacle that was put in front of us. He’s my greatest inspiration.”
