Every issue, GRAZIA USA highlights Game Changers, who inspire, educate, and celebrate individuality, beauty, and style. Meet Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton, the Chillhouse founder and CEO who is building an empire of self-care.

My entrepreneurship journey started about 10 years ago now. So, it’s been a while. It was a fork in the road moment for me. I had recently been let go from my first full-time job due to cutbacks and things like that. And at that moment, I was trying to decide if I wanted to look for another corporate job or if I wanted to do my own thing. Mind you, I never really had corporate experience. I’d say my first corporate job was not corporate-y at all. It was a small team of maybe four of us, and I was the founder’s second hand.

I just never had that experience, and I was really nervous about going into it, about whether or not I would enjoy it or not. So, I was like, “I can’t do this. I don’t think I can work for anyone anymore. I’m done.” Not to say that entrepreneurship is a smooth journey. But, at that time, I was like, “This is just not for me.” So, I ended up asking my husband if he would help me start a very interesting, uniquely positioned influencer agency. At the time, influencers were barely a thing; it was the very early days of Instagram.

I also started my own blog for a few years, and it was pretty well-known in New York, which eventually turned into brand partnerships and influencing, but very, very early on. Then my husband opened up his first business, The Garret in West Village. And so, I became a partner in that. But after a while started to miss in-person connections and having physical space to hang out with friends and meet new people. And that’s kind of how Chillhouse came to be. It was just a combination of things that really led me to that place.

I like to see where the road takes me, a little bit rather than mapping every single step out. But you can only do that for so long until you kind of have to stick to a plan, you know? Decisions may be purely instinctual, from your gut, not necessarily any sort of proof or formula to it. Just instinct, really. And, that’s how I mostly run my business versus having an exact plan.

This year, we’re being very, very careful and strategic about our goals. In the next five years, we definitely want to expand into more products and get into more markets. We see ourselves being a global brand one day. I’m manifesting some sort of hotel partnership to be able to be accessible in more cities one day. For me, I see Chillhouse becoming a lifestyle brand with – of course – wellness, mental health, self-care at the surface, as the main driver and main pillar of the brand, but having other brand extensions that make us a well-rounded brand that you could experience in your home. Or just a different iteration of Chillhouse.

It’s funny because my business is centered around giving people escape from their daily lives, but for me, I honestly just put my phone away and spend time with my baby or take the weekends to just fully step away from it all and live in the moment with my family and be grateful for what we have accomplished so far. Life can be hectic, so I like to identify pockets of time where I’m like, “I need to remove myself. I just need a minute. I needed a spa. I need to do yoga.” I’ve become really good at that, while of course being able to always be there for my team. But I also put boundaries up if I’m feeling overwhelmed. I think I’ve really identified what that is for me, which took me a while to do. Also, having a bit of a routine has really helped me compartmentalize a little bit more.

— As told to Ty Gaskins.