A little bit about my story...
In college, one of my instructors told me I was “scarily confident”. He told me I would be a “shark in the water with the rest of them.”
A previous manager used to call me a bulldozer.
They weren’t wrong.
But I wasn’t always confident. In fact, I grew up very shy and introverted. Like a lot of Latinas I know, I was conditioned to be a caretaker. I put everyone else’s needs before my own and my self-identity was defined by how I took care of the people around me. My family was all too willing to encourage me to focus on others and not worry about myself. Growing up with food and housing insecurities, seeing my parents struggle, seeing our cars repossessed... I knew that I had to figure out how to make sure I could break the cycle and create generational wealth.
Even though I had this feeling deep down inside that I was meant for more, I didn’t know how to do anything it. So for a long time I just ignored it. I didn’t take any bullsh*t from anyone, but I also knew I wasn’t pursing the things in life that really excited me.
After a while, that desire for more grew to a point where I felt like I just *had* to do something...
So I did.
At first I took small steps to get outside of my comfort zone. Then I started to take bigger and bigger risks. I started to get more comfortable with experiencing failure and learning from it. A lot of it has been challenging and sometimes painful, but even when things didn't turn out the way I hoped they would, I never regretted trying.
My first job was as a cashier at Walmart. I worked there for two years before I quit, storming out of the back office, resigning my position in tears because my store manager told me I was too young to get promoted though he admitted I was qualified.
In college, I wrote a blog post about how unfairly unpaid interns are treated after enduring a terrible internship with a large ad agency in Phoenix. It went viral and I received more hate filled messages than I could have ever imagined. Haters reached out just to tell me they were sharing my blog post with everyone they knew so that I would never be hired in the industry again. I even found out that other local agencies were screening their intern applicants to find out if they agreed with what I wrote.
These are just a couple of the experiences that have fortified me.
They were scary. I didn’t know what would happen when I stood up for myself and spoke my truth. What I found out was that with every time I pursued my truth, I felt empowered, even when I didn’t turn out the way I hoped they would.
It’s almost unbelievable how taking little steps can build up to such life-changing momentum.
But even so, I still struggle with imposter syndrome every day.
You know that feeling that creeps that makes you doubt your judgement. It makes you question the validity of your achievements. It makes you feel insecure about your natural talents. It’s the nervous feeling in your stomach that sometimes just appears out of nowhere. It makes you doubt your qualifications. It makes you feel like you don’t belong. It’s the invisible force field that tries to block you from your blessings.
But it’s not our fault we feel this way. In fact, it’s by design.
Impostor syndrome is not a personal failing. We live in a culture and society that has been designed to systematically rob women of their abilitly and opportunity to fully thrive. We are purposefully and actively marginalized. We are made to feel unwelcome when we don’t fit or when we challenge the existing white male power structures. We are forced to navigate a world of endless class, racial and gender biases all the while we are told it’s actually a “confidence problem” we have as women. It seems like we are either not confident enough or too confident and get punished either way. We have to fit in the white and male power structure just perfectly to be accepted. And this is true in all facets of life, not just work and the world of business ownership.
And these feelings of self–doubt:
“I’m not good with money.”
[Women weren’t even legally allowed to have their own credit card until 1974, so it’s no wonder we think we’re bad with money – we just barely got our hands on some!]
“They won’t understand me becasue of my accent.”
“I need more education before I…”
“ I’m not a professional, I just like to…”
“I’m only here to fill a quota.”
Or hiding your success:
“I don’t want to make anyone feel bad.”
We are told to just “stay quiet” and “be happy with what you have”.
It’s not okay to talk about money.
You should just be happy with what you have.
Don’t rock the boat.
This shows up for me in a variety of ways. I feel like I’m not Latina enough because I can’t speak Spanish, but too Latina to fit in the corporate world. No matter how much I accomplish, it never feels like enough. Every milestone I achieve is quickly followed with the thought, “If I did it must not have been that hard.”
But here’s the truth: when you doubt yourself, it’s not because you are lacking… it’s because you are powerful. You are threat to the status quo and the status quo is uniquely developed to keep you from recognizing that power.
But that time is over.
You are ready and able to change your world and the world of those around you. The world of business ownership and corporate success may not have been built for us, but that’s the past, not the future.
I feel self-doubt AND I still insist on the higher salary that I know I deserve. I feel self-doubt AND I still pursue my passions, even though some days it feels like I can’t see the future two steps ahead of me.
I wanted to make six figures in my corporate white male dominated job and I did it. I wanted to be promoted to director and a senior vice president, and I did it. I started business, built a prototype, entered in a pitch competition and won top prize. In my life I have been told MANY times that I was literally not qualified. I was told I didn’t have enough experience. In those moments I realized it didn’t matter if I was qualified or not, I decided I deserved to give myself a shot. I owed it to myself to try. That approach has never failed me.
I might be full of self-doubt but that doesn’t stop me from turning everything I touch into gold, baby! I get it now. I can swat way those creeping thoughts because I know they aren’t my own. Nothing is out of my reach. I prove it to myself every day.
Having come to this realization, I now know my life’s work. I know what the purpose of my time on this planet is.
I have met so many women and people of color who face these same doubts, insecurities and systemic challenges. I see the potential the potential you may not yet see for yourself.
I’ve spent almost 20 years as a marketing and business strategy expert. I have helped businesses of all sizes, stages and industries develop successful strategies to help them make more money. There is a huge pay gap for Latinas – in the corporate world and in the world of entrepreneurship.
I am not okay with that!
My number one goal is to help Latina entrepreneurs and women of color make more money in their business.
Why?
Because economic stability open up opportunities to finally build equity.
Because you can’t live your best life when you’re worried about paying the electric bill.
Because you want to be able to take care of your family, now and in the future.
And simply because you deserve to have nice things! You deserve a nice house, a badass car, the wardrobe of your dreams and to afford nice meals and beautiful vacations. You deserve to enjoy your life without unnecessary struggle.
Our Mission
Being La Jefa means going after what you want and making the dinero to show for it. Being La Jefa means creating generational wealth. Being La Jefa means representing as exactly who you are in all places of power.
Our mission is to empower Latinas to claim everything they deserve and destroy the pay gap in the corporate world and in the world of entrepreneurship by providing mentorship, education, resources and community in a welcoming, affirming, empowering and guilt-free environment.
I will give every last breath of my life to achieve this mission.
I'm taking the world by storm and taking mi gente with me.