Exploring Life & Business with Dayana Morales of Chalys Cabinets LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dayana Morales

Dayana, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello! My name is Dayana Morales I was born in Mexico but I grew up in South Nashville, I went to school in Nashville and 3 years ago I knew I wanted to give back to my community so I took a job at Conexion Americas, a non profit organization empowering the hispanic community through buying homes, starting businesses, improving their conversational English, navigating systems in their new community, learning their rights and responsibilities, helping their children succeed in school, and bettering their lives through nationally recognized services and programs.

I was a Youth Development Specialist and for 2 years I helped Latino students graduate and supported them in the path to higher education. however not everyone has the opportunity to attend a university and or pursue a college pathway. Since my caseload was a majority of only Spanish speaking students their opportunities were very limited and they often found themselves anxious about their futures. Yes, trade school is another option and a great one however several of my students were limited in the access they had to parent support and were left to fend for themselves. This is where I met Joshua. Joshua came to this country with limited access to resources, family support and a dream to support his family back in Honduras. Joshua worked hard during the summers when he wasn’t at school to learn the art of installing cabinets and with the support of friends he learned to install independently, when he graduated high school he had already mastered the trade.

Since part of my role was to support my students in their next chapters after high school he reached out for support in opening a business, since he was young and didn’t master the language I helped when I could. As we know opening a business is difficult and even more so when it’s not in your native country. Since I saw his passion in the art of installing I took a risk, invested in his idea and made connections. And in January of 2023 we opened Chalys Cabinets Installation LLC! The name Chalys is a family nick name he has from his family and is very meaningful to him which is why its important, family means a great deal to us and Chalys is a great representation of it. Our team is formed by family, neighbors and friends who have become like family, yes I know its a but cringy but its really true! Joshua and I have no idea what we are doing more than half the time, we are two young first generation immigrants who are trying their best to make it. We have had great success thanks to the connections we have made in our community.

Cabinet installation is not a trade that is commonly independent, usually a trim carpenter or a finish carpenter is whom completes the installation so launching a company with only this service was a risk. At the beginning it was not enough to support both of us financially but with hard work and dedication we have seen the fruits of its labor. This is a combination of both of our hard work, Joshua focuses on installing the cabinets, which means a lot of strategic planning, organization and the actual labor. I do most of the forming of relationships with builders, distributers and residential customers who are working on their own. I also run the social media platforms, and I am behind the scenes with logistics for a company to run.
The team that is formed by Jeisson and Cristian who support Joshua in the installation process.

You will see us in bright pink shirts. Yes, I love pink! and most of the industry, for safety is required to wear colors that are visible, and I thought, since neon green seems to be over used I took the decision to use pink. Little did I know this would turn into a marketing trend and now many recognize us as the cabient crew in the pink! We stand out in the crowd and in the construction sites. you can always see us coming!

In all, we had a great first year, we are installing for 18 different builders, cabinet distributors and or multi-family companies. We have got to the point of installing 10 houses a week with different numbers of cabinets on site. We have doubled our social media following, And we have even had the opportunity to be part of KBIS, the Clarksville news, and we have installed for some of Nashvilles most know people.

Last year was a world wind and we are excited to keep building Nashville!

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?
No, like I said before, we are a trade that only installs cabinets. If you are familiar with construction you know that not all of Nashville its built by local Nashvillians. Usually bids come from other states so trying to find my way into those type of connections has been difficult, I am literally just a girl! And some of these relationship have been established for years with other subcontracts who have been great to them so finding something to make us more competitive has been a challenge.
We both have some knowledge in construction but finding someone to believe in us was a challenge.

Also, trends are always changing in construction so learning new skills and being on trend with changes has become difficult in the sense that it is up to us to stay connected and relevant. Like all business I can imagine! And if im being honest, it has been difficult to find mentors who want to help in the industry.

Also, being in a position of leadership with two heads at the wheel has been difficult. We are in an industry that is majority moved by men and being a woman in this role has been difficult in the sense of professionalism and ethics. Sometimes men find themselves feeling a certain way because I am the bridge of communication for certain conversations and have come to undermine me in the decision process of the completion of the project. It’s also constantly a challenge when working with others not everyone will put in the same effort you will because this is something you built and not them.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think I covered this in the first questions! Ha!

We are a multi family, RTA, and custom cabinets installation business.

You can follow us on social media at @cabients_ chalys615 or on Facebook at Chalys Cabinets.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Social media is a great place to market your service, I have used the instagram as a portfolio of our installs and usually is the closer of most of my jobs. I would say 40% of my jobs come from the use of Social Media.

Starting conversations, having great customer service and being honest with what I can take on. I think building relationship is my best advice!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: cabinets_chalys615
• Facebook: Chalys Cabinets LLC