Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Perez
Hi Sam, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began my marketing career while attending Cal State San Marcos, where I interned at several San Diego businesses. I majored in Communication and added a Marketing minor during my junior year. I loved the marketing courses I took and appreciated the small class sizes at CSUSM, which allowed me to build strong relationships with my professors and gain a solid foundation in the field. Looking back, I feel incredibly grateful for that experience.
While in college, I interned at Van De Vort, a local San Diego boutique in Del Mar. There I discovered my passion for photography, videography, and writing blogs for their social media and website. I also realized how much I enjoyed exploring trends, fashion, and beauty.
During this time, I began posting on my personal social media accounts, as well as creating content for a YouTube channel and blog. What started as a hobby eventually became a valuable asset, helping me qualify for many internships and jobs. Turning side projects into professional opportunities has been a recurring theme throughout my career. In college, I had many jobs trying out different fields, one of them was helping a family member with digital admin work, where we would regularly meet at a co-working space in Encinitas called Union Cowork. I was the only college student working from the space and remember feeling so inspired by the young professionals working their remote marketing jobs at this amazing office space right on the beach. Whatever jobs they had is what I decided I wanted for my future post-grad.
I graduated college in May 2020, decided I wanted to continue living in San Diego, and began working at Petrucci Marketing, a North County San Diego-based agency. I gained valuable experience in social media management and paid advertising while working with local businesses like Lazy Acres Market, The San Diego Botanic Garden, and The Carlsbad Flower Fields. As someone not originally from San Diego County, this job allowed me to engage with the community and work remotely by the beach, which was exactly what I was hoping for after college.
After a few years in agency life, I wanted to gain experience in beauty and fashion — industries I’d always dreamed of working in during college. Post-pandemic, the traditional job market was tight, but freelance opportunities were abundant. I built a portfolio showcasing independent projects in social media, graphic design, and Facebook advertising and started applying for freelance gigs through a website called Upwork. My days were spent working my 9–5 agency job, and my evenings were dedicated to sending applications and pursuing freelance opportunities.
After over 200 applications, I finally heard back in November 2020 from a Latina-owned bath and body care company called Nopalera. The founder, who was from San Diego, needed help managing Facebook ads for her newly launched business. We connected immediately, and I began running ads for her while keeping my full-time job. Before I knew it, one client turned into two, and then two became six! My side hustle had transformed into a legitimate business. I found a niche in supporting small business owners who needed part-time marketing assistance, which allowed me to further hone my skills. Throughout this freelance experience, I learned a lot about personal branding. I was pretty good at marketing and pretty good at marketing myself!
Eventually, I left my agency job to focus full-time on my freelance work, as my role with Nopalera continued to expand. I took on a part-time Community Manager role, handling social media, paid ads, email marketing, influencer partnerships, and more. Within a few months, the brand’s rapid growth led me to accept a full-time position as Community Manager in 2022. By 2023, I was promoted to Marketing Manager, marking four incredible years of helping build Nopalera from the ground up.
San Diego has become a central hub for Nopalera, with a strong customer base and community support. I’ve loved connecting with the local community through events at boutiques that carry Nopalera, such as Artelexia and Casa Palma Dulce in North Park.
While my primary focus has been on Nopalera—where we’ve continued to grow and expand into new categories like hair care and fragrance—I’ve also continued freelance projects on the side. Additionally, I’ve maintained my personal social media presence, documenting my career journey, sharing insights on work-life balance, and posting beauty and fashion content. Using my marketing expertise to collaborate with brands and businesses I love is incredibly rewarding and genuinely enjoyable for me.
San Diego has given me such a strong foundation for growth, both personally and professionally. From my education to internships to leading marketing at Nopalera, I’ve embraced opportunities to learn, connect, and contribute to this vibrant community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’d say it was more overwhelming than anything. I think the struggles were in the times of me trying to pivot directions. When I wanted to get into the beauty or fashion industry, I couldn’t just apply and get a job because the market was very saturated. I had to get creative with freelancing. Switching to freelancing wasn’t so easy because I had to pay bills and support myself, I pretty much had to juggle doing it all at once. I had a full-time job and multiple freelance clients for a while and I remember putting in some long hours during that time to try and chip away at all the things I had going on. Staying motivated when you’re run down and don’t have a clear direction on where you’re going can sometimes get discouraging.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a marketing professional specializing in digital marketing, content creation, and brand development. I’m most known for my role managing marketing at Nopalera and my personal social media pages. I curate content around my career journey, work-life balance, and passions for beauty, fashion, and wellness. This platform allows me to connect authentically with my audience while showcasing my creative abilities in marketing, content creation, and connecting with others in the digital marketing world.
I’m most proud of the work I’ve done over the last 4 years at Nopalera. When I started with the brand, there were just a couple of contracted team members and the founder. We’re still a super small team of 5 full-time employees and have worked so hard together to grow the company into nationwide retailers, different product categories, TV appearances, community events, and so much more. Nopalera has a deeply supportive customer/community base that I feel proud to have helped build. The brand and founder’s story is very inspiring, so I also feel very proud to be able to spread inspiration to people every day through beauty products.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice to those starting out is to embrace every opportunity, whether it’s an internship, side project, or freelance gig. Start small and use these experiences to build your skills and portfolio.
Network and connect with others—relationships are key in any industry.
Don’t let the fear of other people seeing your work stop you from trying new things. Being seen trying is a good thing!
The traits that have been most instrumental in my career are persistence, adaptability, work ethic, confidence, and reliability. Being someone who shows up consistently, genuinely cares, and does good work has gotten me far.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://samgomezmarketing.my.canva.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samgperezzzz/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sam_perezzzz
Image Credits
Main Photo – Amanda Lopez
