Inspiring Conversations with Elizabeth Porreca and Margot Suarez of MEandWEco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Porreca and Margot Suarez.

Hi Elizabeth and Margot, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
After six months of pandemic life, we planned a mini staycation with our Covid-safe bubble of gal pals. We spent a long weekend at an AirBNB just outside of San Diego and had the most relaxing and lovely time. We hung by the pool, cooked meals, read, and drank wine… BLISS! Once the weekend was over, we felt recharged and ready to tackle reality. After several conversations, we realized this is something that women need, whether the pandemic is a factor or not. We came up with a mission statement for a company that would plan and leads chic and fun weekend getaways for women. The itinerary: for our guests to develop friendships, recharge, be empowered, break out of ruts, and focus on themselves through a balance of enjoyable curated activities and personal time. These weekends would bring out women looking for similar experiences, leading them to a group of kindred spirits and instant besties. What each woman would take away from the weekend would be more than just the impressive swag bag. But rather supportive friendships and a reignited zeal to take back to real life.

But once again… COVID. So we had to scale it back, and our Saturdates were born! Basically, a mini version of what we envisioned for our weekend events. These take place in gorgeous but Covid-safe outdoor environments so that every guest is comfortable and as safe as possible. We have also been able to connect with local female-owned businesses, many of which were also struggling to navigate through these uncharted waters. We found small business owners, just starting out, who found themselves unemployed due to covid, or with less foot traffic to a brick-and-mortar store, looking for new ways to connect with potential clientele. By featuring these talented women in our social media and at our events, we have created a win-win for everyone involved. It has been extremely gratifying to be a part of it!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
MEandWEco is still just starting out, and it has been a fairly smooth road. However, we have been very careful not to bite off more than we can chew. We sought out guidance from the San Diego Small Business Association for the best way to start and the smartest things to focus on. With this as our road map, we have planned and hosted several of our Saturdate events, which have allowed us to try out various vendors, activities, themes, and food to a smaller group of participants. This smaller audience has been vital in providing us honest and candid feedback so that we can make each event better than the last. The biggest struggle has been expanding our reach to more of the women of San Diego.

As you know, we’re big fans of MEandWEco. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
MEandWEco plans custom, glam day events and weekend trips for women that combine health, development, and indulgence. Through these events, women will have opportunities to find their tribe as they focus on friendship, self-development, self-care, self-love, creativity, relaxation, and fun. Families, careers, and non-stop commitments have pulled us in all sorts of stressful directions that women rarely have time for themselves – let alone going on vacation. The reality is… WE NEED TO GET AWAY WITH OUR GIRLS!! Camaraderie is so important for decompressing and connecting with like-minded women outside of our everyday grind. We all need a little bit more MEtime and cocktails poolside for a few days with our girls – away from the homeowner, zoom meetings, deadlines, meal-planning, holiday commitments, lovers’ quarrels, and constant chores!

There is a major gap in the market to bring together women who may not have a tribe to connect with. We bring women together for a day or weekend of making friends, enjoying their MEtime, and having a fun girls’ weekend without the hassle of corralling the cats or making plans. We do it all! We rent the comfy home (that you don’t have to clean), we plan all the fun activities and hire the talent (that you will look forward to), we prepare and cook all the delicious home-made meals (that you can just leave the dishes), we mix and pour all the drinks (cheers), and we are there the entire time to make sure your weekend is amazing – like a bestie who wants to take good care of you on your special weekend! The best part is that you can travel as a solo-gal… no plus one is needed to have an amazing experience because we make you feel like you’re our best friend from the moment you sign up for an event. It’s hard to make friends that aren’t co-workers or your kids-friends’-moms. We get it. We’ve been there too. It’s not like there’s a successful Tinder for making friends. On our weekends, we create a sisterhood-atmosphere focused on acceptance and love. The whole idea is that you CAN easily make friends with like-minded women who just want what you want – a restful, fun weekend hanging out with the girls.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
What’s more risky than starting a business during a pandemic? An event-planning business in the time of social distancing, maybe? While we know this may sound crazy, and we’ve been told it’s not a good time, hear us out. We were both at a point in our lives that we were craving an outlet to be creative, passionate, and dedicated. Coming off the hardest year of her life, Margot had lost her mom and her job in a matter of a couple of weeks and was left waiting for the universe to deliver anything good. Elizabeth had been at her 9=5 for eight years and was seeking opportunities to use her creativity and passion for people to get out of a lingering rut. After numerous chats, initially fueled by wine, we realized that this is something we both needed and could actually make happen. Instead of viewing the pandemic as a showstopper, perhaps we could see it as an opportunity.

COVID left so many women craving human interaction, time for themselves, and fun. It left so many women out of work or facing reduced hours. These women were trying their hands at their own side hustles and were struggling to find ways to make it work in the current climate. We soon discovered that we could provide a platform that gave everyone involved exactly what they needed. By planning mini-day events, we could build our business, establish relationships with women-owned businesses that could run activities and provide products and services, and give women a safe place to gather for MEtime… and WEtime. We could limit the number of people to be COVID safe AND take a little pressure off of ourselves. Like so many people, we learned to think divergently and creatively. It was unexpected, but we made it work. The past year has shown all of us what we are truly capable of. And our little MEandWEco is no exception!

Contact Info:

• Email: meandweco@gmail.com
• Website: meandweco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meandweco/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meandwecofb