Speaker 1: 0:49

I see a lot of Latinas that are ready to start their business and most of the time they feel like they're starting at zero, not realizing that there are many things that they've done in their previous careers or when they were in college or in previous internships, that are already building skill sets that allow them to pivot into the thing that they want to do. I think I'm tired of the narrative of like we are not enough and we don't know what we're doing, when in the reality, we've built more resilience and skills through our upbringing than anyone else.

Speaker 2: 1:35

Welcome to the money cheese man podcast, a fun and safe space for personal finance, investing and entrepreneurship tips, where we get the-me on all things money with sass and humor. I am your host, violeta, a first-generation Mexican immigrant, a real estate investor, entrepreneur, and I am here to help you kick ass in the financial game. Each week, I not only bring you expert tips, but also share the financial game. Each week, I not only bring you expert tips, but also share the financial freedom and entrepreneurship journeys from our own community, because you know, representation is important. So grab un cafecito or, si quieres, an adult beverage and let's get into this week's Money Chisme.

Speaker 2: 2:10

Hola, welcome to another episode of the Money Chisme podcast. This week, I'm bringing you another entrepreneurship story from La Comunidad. With me today is Rosie Arango, who is a life and business coach. First-gen Latina and homeschooling parent, rosie owned a franchise which unfortunately closed during COVID. She then became the chief of operations of a tech company, but now she is pivoting into being a life and business coach. She is here today to share her story in hopes to inspire others to start taking action and to take the leap into pursuing their dreams, while also embracing the journey. Hola, rosie, thank you so much for being here with me today.

Speaker 1: 3:02

Thank you so much for having me on and for everything that you're doing and sharing all these stories with the community. I'm really happy to just share my own personal story so that other people don't feel lonely and can identify with all the similar struggles that we all have when we first start or when we're pivoting into something new.

Speaker 2: 3:23

Yeah, that's awesome. That's why I like to do the kind of stories of the comunidad. Maybe one day I'll actually create like a like the name of for the series or something. But I really like to share, uh, have people come on here and share the stories, because it's important to see, uh, the whole entrepreneurship journey and the ups and downs of that, and so I'm glad that you're here to share your story. So, um, but before we get that, do you want to give a little bit more of a background of yourself?

Speaker 1: 3:59

Sure. So for me, I'll tell you right off the back, my entrepreneurship journey started by simply having the goal of wanting to do more, and this came in the form of I was working under another franchisee owner. I asked to be a manager and she denied me the opportunity. She said I was fine in the position that I was in and therefore I didn't need to move up in the company, in her own business. That fired me up in a way that I just felt like, how dare you say no to me? And do you not want me to, like, build this business with you? Do you not want me to help you leverage all my skills so that I can, you know, bring more business? And at the time I was so angry that I'm like, okay, I'm going to eventually own my own business. So what can I do? How can I take action today? And so, really, I just stumbled upon the idea. I'm like, ok, I can buy my own franchise. I know the business I've been running in with her. She doesn't want me to grow. Next step is for me to put my money into my own business and be my own boss. Call my shots. And I think a lot of it was centered around my ego of wanting more, because I had no idea what a business was like. I had no idea how to run it. But that was the first step, in the first leap of confidence for me. I said, ok, let's do it.

Speaker 1: 5:22

I went to the bank, tried to get a loan, got denied. This whole process started in the sense of, like me, getting no's all across the board. And so the way that I started was I'm going to fundraise and literally got money from my in-laws who had only known for six months tops, and I'm like hey, I'm starting a business, do you want to invest in me? And I asked my family. So I basically did crowdfunding. I got small bits of money from different people that I knew, including my savings. I even took out my loan for school, which I was at Kelsey's and Marco's, and I decided not to use the money towards school and use the money towards the business.

Speaker 1: 6:03

Like now, thinking back on it, I'm like that was pretty ballsy to just bet on me 100%. I'm like I'm not looking back, I'm pouring all the money in there. I'm like I'm not looking back, I'm pouring all the money in there. And so the reason why I share this story is because sometimes there are moments in life where we get so fired up and we know that we're meant for more and we can intuitively listen to that and follow that dream. Or we can stop ourselves and kind of hold ourselves back because of fear or because we don't know how it's going to lay out for us and how we're going to make it happen Right. So that's part of the reason why I like to share how I got started. I basically stumbled upon it. I didn't know I was going to own a business. It was just like you said no to me. That's enough for me to find another way to make this happen.

Speaker 2: 6:52

A lot of us we like to. Once someone tells us like you can't do something just like that, like well, see, well, now I'm going to go do it, you know on purpose, and I'm going to go do this and that. So how is that like journey? I guess we'll start there is from your journey, from being like working for that franchise to now owning that franchise, just because I know some people don't know kind of what a franchise is and what you know. What does that mean? Can you just go a little bit of what does it mean to own a franchise?

Speaker 1: 7:30

Sure. So when you first look into a franchise business, it could be something that is a brick and mortar like, let's say, jersey Mike's or Starbucks. In my case, my franchise was a sports educational program for children. I loved working with kids. I had a background in being a preschool teacher, so naturally for me it was a transition where I got to teach nine different sports to these children and I got paid to have fun. That's the way that I saw it, and the more kids that I had in my programs, the more money that I would make.

Speaker 1: 8:04

And the franchise itself. What it means is that you don't own the rights to the logos, you don't own the rights to the marketing. All the stuff is provided for you and you're basically either paying for the retail space if you're owning a brick and mortar, or you're paying for the name. So everything that comes with the name the shirts, anything that has to do with the logo, the way the company is represented you have to follow their guidelines for everything that the business is. So even though you're an owner, you still don't get the opportunity to do things the way you want to. So you're still kind of and this is where I'm going to dive into a little bit later. You don't get to choose everything and how the business grows, even if you're not in alignment with their standards. So that's the gist of the business. And so when I bought the business, I'm in San Diego and there were no local franchise business territories available where I was at. So the next one was in Manhattan, redondo, palos Verdes, and if you're familiar with the LA area, that's a little bit more of an affluent area and that's about two and a half hours of a drive for me. So there I go again with the ballsy action. I'm like two and a half hours, no worries, I can do that Monday through Friday, no problem. I'm like, I'll make it happen.

Speaker 1: 9:25

And really the first year it meant that I was working on the business trying to secure contracts with the schools, because we get private contracts with them. So I'm knocking on the door, talking to the directors hey, I have this amazing program, let me. Let me give you a little demo, let me give you a little taste, so that your teachers get a break and you don't have to do anything. I'm going to provide everything for you. The kids are going to have fun. If you don't like it, you can say no. So I always made it easy for them to just be willing to open the door to me and just test it out. And I will tell you that area Manhattan, redondo, palos Verdes area is known for sports. They're heavy on sports and they're teeny tiny.

Speaker 1: 10:10

So my competition was very fierce in the sense that there were many other competitors that had been in the area for at least 10 plus years and I'm this 25 year old, looking like I'm 21 at the time, and they're like you're the owner, like are you sure? Is it going to be okay? Can you actually oversee the program? Like do you need help? So there was a lot of questioning on my ability to be able to not only deliver the program, but also the fact that I was young, and they're like I just don't trust you. The same way that another company has been here, another company has been here and the first year was a lot of hard no's like from so many different people, and all I got to say is it only took one person, within the first week that I was in the area, driving Monday through Friday, two and a half hours back and forth, for her to say you know what? I have a program, but you're so sweet and I like your energy, let me just give you the spot so you could try it out. Just just try it out. She's like but I'm not guaranteeing that I'm going to put you on the schedule.

Speaker 1: 11:23

And I'm like okay, that's fine, that's fair, you don't? You don't have to say yes. After she said yes and I got my first enrollment in my program. After she said yes and I got my first enrollment in my program, that was the moment that I was like I did it. I finally did it.

Speaker 1: 11:38

I got into school, I got my first enrollment and then that night I'm like what the fuck am I doing? How do I get more? One student is not going to pay for my rent. One student is not going to be enough for me to like drive back and forth every single day. All the fear had set in and I was no longer pay for the royalties those were due, no matter what. They gave me like six months to be royalty free quote, unquote.

Speaker 1: 12:20

But that meant that I had six months to get a business up and running 100 percent. What 100 percent is for a person that doesn't know about business, right? So I was just like I just need X amount and this is how it needs to happen, and so I made sure to keep knocking on doors, and the thing that I remember feeling and this is what a lot of entrepreneurs have mentioned to me too is that they felt like they were unworthy. And that's what I felt, too. Whenever I would walk in the door, I didn't look like the people that were there. I'm the only Latina owning a franchise like this. I was the only Latina in this franchise business itself. Like there were other 30 women owning these businesses, but I was the only Latina, and so a lot of the time I would feel the energy of the eyes looking at me like what are you doing here? Yeah, like you don't belong.

Speaker 1: 13:12

And maybe it was in my head and maybe it was real in the moment, but I definitely felt feelings of unworthiness come up, so much because I didn't have a lot of resources. I didn't have a mentor at the time, and when I was assigned one from the franchise, it was somebody who was in Hawaii and didn't even understand the laws here in California. So in many ways, although she did have great advice, it wasn't something that I could actually apply. So I felt like I was alone in the business. Nobody in my family had done a business like this before no mentor, no community of Latinas around me. Like my journey was so lonely and I wondered why I felt so alone most of the time.

Speaker 1: 13:57

And now, looking back, I know that I also was stuck in my ways. I also wanted to do everything by myself, for myself. I wanted to prove everybody that I could do it, as if I could do it without any resources or help or community. But it was my ego talking. I didn't want to ask for help. There was help, I just didn't look for it. It was this vicious circle that I was caught in. But I'll fast forward a little bit.

Speaker 1: 14:23

So with that franchise business I learned a lot. I remember losing a contract that I needed at the time. It was going to be an extra like 1200 bucks a month that I needed at the time. It was going to be an extra like 1200 bucks a month, easy 1200 bucks, and it was a very good school that could potentially lead to another 10 grand down the line. So that's why those 1200 bucks was needed in the moment, but it could lead to more money in the next year.

Speaker 1: 14:52

So when I lost the contract I was like oh, it's me, I don't know what to do, I don't know what I'm doing wrong, like I lost it because I didn't negotiate right. I should have said less. I should have said I charge less so that I could get the contract. And my husband being the way that he is, he's like babe no, you know the number that you need to be able to operate, and if you can't go and teach that class and you need to hire contractors, you need to bring in more people, you need to hire so-and-so. Then you know that that money is not going to help. You need X amount to make the business work. So, yes, you lost the contract, but now you know that they're not for you and in a way, my husband has always been my mini mentor because he's always guided me in the right direction. But I hated myself for a good six months and I'm like I should have known better, no matter what I did, I couldn't get that thought out of my head.

Speaker 1: 15:53

So I'm going to fast forward for like three years and I kept doing my thing. I kept showing up, I kept knocking on doors and, slowly but surely, school said yes, my business was at a point where I didn't need to show up every day. I could now stay in San Diego and be with my kids. I was homeschooling already before COVID, so I could stay with my kids and have my contractors do their thing. I checked in with them every like other week, and so I was getting to the point where I could either expand the business, if I wanted to, or downsize it, because I had so many contracts lined up, which is secure money. Downsize it because I had so many contracts lined up, which is secure money, quote, unquote. And then I also had so many schools that were parent paid, which I was great at keeping the numbers high. So I knew exactly where I was in the business, how much I was going to make, and my summer programs were expanding.

Speaker 1: 16:48

And here's the kicker because of the way that I showed up, because of the way that I really focused on relationships and connections with the directors and the school owners, I was granted a $15,000 summer camp for two weeks and I didn't have to pay the school anything for the space. They literally said here just take the students. If you can do us this favor, just take the students and run the program however you want. We love you. You are always making sure that everything's good, the way you communicate, blah, blah, blah. So it was a big moment for me because it told me that, even though I had lost that contract years ago and it took me a long time to get into that school that gave me that $15,000, $15, 15 K contract, it was everything about the fact that I showed up, the safe, consistent building, the relationships that really worked in my favor. And I couldn't have predicted that. And had I lingered more on that one contract that I lost, I probably wouldn't have gone to that school because that school was on the last of my lists. I had a list of schools that I visited and contacted, did cold outreach via email, via phone call, showed up all the things, and I don't know. I still think of that moment. I'm like that is incredible that you trust me enough to just give me something like that because I showed up. So anyway, so that led me to build a lot of skills in sales, a lot of confidence in my ability to do the actual thing, what is required for a business.

Speaker 1: 18:31

And when COVID happened, it was funny because I had been talking for a year before COVID happened that maybe this business wasn't for me, even though it was good, even though there was predictability in numbers. Now, it wasn't for me because I felt like it was in a box when I started it, my ego was the one leading and I didn't build the business that I was passionate about. I built a business out of desire to be better and bigger and all the things, and I wanted to be in alignment with my purpose, but I didn't know what it was. And then COVID happened and I'm like, okay, this is a sign I don't know what's going to happen. But a few months in, I'm like okay, maybe it's time that we shut down the business. And so we did. And I was completely lost because I had no idea where life would take me. I'm like now I went from being this college student to being a franchise owner.

Speaker 1: 19:24

And how do I translate all that into something else? Like I don't know what skills I even have, or how can I tell somebody I have these skills? Like my resume is kind of short and, funny enough, I had a friend who introduced me to some other friend, and this friend was the one that was a CEO of a tech company in San Francisco. And so at the time she's like yeah, I'm looking for, like another receptionist Sorry, I can't think of the word an assistant. She was looking for an assistant and she was telling me what she was looking for. And she's like I'm looking to grow the team, I need help with marketing, I need help with this and all those things. And I'm like, huh interesting, I'm like I'm not really doing anything, like tell me more, what do you need? And so eventually it turned into us working together and she's like okay, you, you're, you were running your own business, like it seems like you have a lot of skills. You know, maybe we can use those skills in the tech company. Um, so I'm like, okay, fine, I'm not doing anything, let's go, let's do this.

Speaker 1: 20:31

And so it really led to me pivoting into the tech world, and at the time I had no idea what that meant. I didn't know anything about technology and the way that they run things and how fast things pivot. So really I was learning on the go again, and this time we did have mentors. I became part of two different accelerators to be able to grow the tech company, and so I was part of the fundraising and how all that works. And again I was one of the only Latinas, and it felt different this time because I wasn't as nervous. Now, knowing what I came from. Having that franchise, I'm like okay, I can stand my ground. It's weird to still see that I'm the only woman of color. But, um, I think I can. I can play, so let's go.

Speaker 1: 21:23

Um, what ended up happening there is that, after traveling so much and fundraising and pitching to investors and doing all the things, somebody asked me a question in an alternate universe what would you be doing? And I said I would be a coach, because I had just figured out that there's an industry for coaches, because we had to get a coach too because of the accelerator and growing the business. And like I would be a coach. And she's like well, why can't you be? And like I would be a coach. And she's like well, why can't you be? And I'm like because I don't know how. Like, what do you even need to be a coach? Like, how do you get certified? Where do you go for, like I guess, the stamp of approval? And I left it at that. But a couple months later I'm like hmm, what do you need? How do you get started? What does that even mean? And so that thought kept lingering and I remember when I was at the tech company, we were in an accelerator in New York and it was in January and it was so cold and that I don't know if it's the coldness, the city but I was away from my husband for the first time and like it was a week that I was away and I'm like that's enough, I don't need to be away from my husband.

Speaker 1: 22:43

I've never been away from my husband. I'm like I don't need to be away from my husband building some company that I don't even care for. Yes, I can do the work and yes, it's added to my skill sets and I'll have more tools, but the reality is that I'm not in alignment with this and this is not working for me. I'm building a business that's pulling me more away from my kids, and when I was building the franchise, at least I could see that I was there and I was present and creating moments with them, and I no longer was. My life had been so consumed by this tech company and how I needed to show up.

Speaker 1: 23:16

Because I became the COO, that meant that it was my business, even though it wasn't my business. That meant that at 11 PM I was writing up new slides, sometimes because we were pitching, and we decided to change the idea and I'm like why am I losing sleep for a business that's not mine? Why am I losing sleep for a business that's not mine? Like that was incredible to me. So I've never shared this part.

Speaker 1: 23:41

But I talked to the CEO and I told her hey, you know what I'm quitting, I'm quitting. I like I didn't give her a notice and she's like okay, well, we can wrap up in in a week if you'd like. No, I'm quitting, I'm done tomorrow. What do you need from me? To close everything out? And so she said, okay, I'm going to send you a list of stuff that I need. Like, I wish you well, this and that. And I'm like okay, sure, like all good, I did everything that I needed.

Speaker 1: 24:13

And, I kid you not, this person decided to reach out to people that we had worked together and kind of say multiple things about me that I would never say about anyone, because she was so upset that I left the company out of nowhere. And it was out of nowhere because I never shared that I wanted to leave, but I didn't know I wanted to leave until I knew it was so sudden, and so it felt like she was trying to burn bridges with a lot of people that I had connected with. The fortunate thing is that a lot of people that she talked to ended up talking to me about it and they're telling me hey, so-and-so mentioned this and they're trying to discredit you in this way and I'm like, okay, let her, let her. At the end of the day, I think you guys know who she is and I think you guys know who she is and I think you know who I am and I have nothing else to say. So I'm okay with the information that's being spread out right now. Letter B it's okay.

Speaker 1: 25:23

And so the reason why I share a lot of my journey is because I see a lot of Latinas that are ready to start their business and most of the time they feel like they're starting at zero. A lot of Latinas that are ready to start their business and most of the time they feel like they're starting at zero, not realizing that there are many things that they've done in their previous careers or when they were in college or in previous internships, that are already building skill sets that allow them to pivot into the thing that they want to do, and I'm here to say you're never starting at ground zero, and this is where I work with my clients to make sure that they understand where they're at, what skill sets they still need to work on and how to get there. And I, as a first gen, I identify as a first gen and homeschooling parent, aside from a life and business owner, and the reason why I say those things is because being first gen to me means that I didn't know how to create safety in choosing something that is quote unquote wrong. I just know there's a right and the wrong choice. Most of the time my life was like that, and so when I chose wrong, those consequences really, really affected my life. I ruminated with thoughts of like I should have known better.

Speaker 1: 26:37

I now know I'm not going to do that next time, instead of thinking of it as a lesson, a lesson that now allows me to move quickly into the next decision or to be able to learn something that I didn't know, because that's the reality we don't know what we don't know, and so I'm really just focused right now on working with Latinas that are ready to just pivot all their skills and not feel like they're so far behind.

Speaker 1: 27:06

I think it's time that we share our stories and really highlight all the moments where we're frustrated, where we're showing up and things don't work, where we're really just being leaders and we don't know that we are, and so I think that it's our time to take up space and really talk about the journey not being linear. So, for me, through all the experience of the franchise and the tech company, what I've realized is that I really wasn't passionate and a lot of the times we stay stuck in our jobs because we feel like the job is our security, we feel like that is what is going to provide for our family, and I'm choosing to think of it as like that job is your investor, your first investor into the passion, into what life you deserve to be living, because I think I'm tired of the narrative of like we are not enough and we don't know what we're doing, when, in the reality, we've built more resilience and skills through our upbringing than anyone else.

Speaker 2: 28:14

We're so into like the trenches that we don't realize all these things until you come out to the other side that you're like, oh my God, like it was the ego, and then I had this imposter syndrome or this fear, low confidence, whatever you want to call it.

Speaker 2: 28:30

And then you go through this journey and then you come out on the other side and then you feel like you reflect. And I think that's where I'm kind of at right now, where I'm learning how to like tone down the ego, because I do have that hard head of like no, how you were saying, like no, I could do this by myself, I can learn everything or whatever. And so now I've learned to like ask for help, find other people that know how to do these things. So you brought up throughout your journey that how you had like either a type of mentor or some type of coach throughout your journey. In our community we have that mentality of where we want to do everything ourselves and we don't really value the coaching or mentorship we see it's just like no, why am I going to pay somebody or why am?

Speaker 2: 29:27

I going to hire somebody. I know how to do it, I can look it up or whatever, and that was my mentality for quite some time, that I could do it myself. But what would you say to those, to our community, to start getting them to start thinking about, like, yeah, you need some type of coaching your life. What would you say for them, like, what is the benefit of a coach?

Speaker 1: 29:54

So for me personally, I'll start with this let's acknowledge the fact that investing in ourselves is scary. And it's scary because the money that we make sometimes feels like it's just washing away so quickly. As soon as we get it, it's just going away. So, acknowledging the fact that it is scary, and sometimes we don't know how the investment is going to come back to us and in what way and every time that we make an investment, it allows you to fast track your results, and sometimes we want to see the results right away. So I will point that out, we want to be like okay, I made this $20 investment and that means that now I get access to you like I don't know, 24, seven let's pretend that that's how much it was and the reality is that so many thoughts are going to come up when you first make an investment. You need to get comfortable with the idea Okay, now I spent this money, now I I'm emotionally invested and now I have to do the work. And so when you're investing, it's more than just paying the money. It's sometimes leaning into trusting yourself that you can do the work and that person or that program is going to help you to fast track those results and what does that mean? So it could mean that now, instead of having to spend 20 hours in a month trying to learn a new skill, now you're only spending five hours, one hour learning three hours implementing last hour, double-checking. It could look like that and it looks different for everyone because every person has different skill sets. So fast tracking is the number one thing. The second thing is that now you're being supported in a way where somebody sees you and that means that they also have been in that same spot. They can help you get out of your own head. They can help you to navigate the struggles of the narrative that we tell ourselves.

Speaker 1: 31:54

So, for example, for me, being first gen, it meant that I needed to ask for help in a way where I wrote all my questions and then I come to you with my questions to make sure that I get the most out of what I paid for. It was never about like internalizing and sitting with it and understanding why am I doing this and how is this important and how does that relate to implementing in my business? So for me, it was very transactional, and so I'm going to say this investing in your business is not going to look like you go into college the traditional setting of like I'm sitting here and I'm going to absorb everything like a little sponge. College the traditional setting of like I'm sitting here and I'm going to absorb everything like a little sponge and make it all work for me. No, investing in you means you're going to take the knowledge and see how you implement it. How does it work for you? How can you take micro steps every day that will lead to the big snowball effect of all these clients and you speaking your truth and attracting people and making value impact choices.

Speaker 1: 33:00

So again, it's scary, it's normal, but investing in yourself doesn't always mean that you are going to get the ROI in the way that you. That you see it. Sometimes it just means that you meet three people in a group. One of them becomes your accountability partner that is now advocating for you, referring you to people that could be potential customers. It could mean the other two people they are working with you on a podcast. They are doing IG lives with you. So just take it as face. Value of investing in yourself means I get to now commit to this journey and do the work and apply it to my business and lean into the journey as best as you can.

Speaker 2: 33:43

As scared as you are, it's normal yeah, oh my god, you hit it like right on the head like I didn't even think about it. Uh, that way that because, as you were explaining it, I was just like seeing flashbacks of myself when I did like these, like little groups or whatever. Because I did do that, I was like, okay, how can I get the most out of like this one hour, or whatever it may be. But I didn't really do like how you were saying that I started implementing it and stuff, and so, with with money cheese may I use that as an example like I did a lot of kind of like, kind of like coaches or mastermind, which is similar, right, but I did the same thing where I took it like I was in school, like I was in class and you know, in college and just taking notes and everything like that. But what was I implemented? Because I was too focused on just getting like the knowledge and stuff that I that now, because I realized that I messed up, I was like you know what I was too focused on? Just trying to get all that knowledge or whatever, that I didn't take the time to actually take action on. What I learned For me, like coaching, is that in itself of getting you to actually take the action, um, but sometimes it's like the, the emotional aspect as well, of like, um, they really hold up like a mirror to yourself and we tend to kind of um, I feel like in our community we kind of overlook the mental and the emotional aspect.

Speaker 2: 35:36

We get to focus on like the physical stuff, like we're going to succeed and all that, but we don't take the emotional, like how you were talking about, like your ego, having to go through that phase, having to work through the oh my God, what am I doing now that I have this franchise and now I have to? Oh my God, what am I doing now that I have this franchise and now I have to go get contracts, and what am I doing? So, working through all those emotions, we tend to like put it in the background, cause I know I did, I put everything in the back. It's like, okay, yeah, I'm scared or whatever. But our community tends to do that a lot. We just like bury it deep and so for me like, uh, coaching also helps with that, like I've had like people where they're like no, you gotta feel it. So, uh, that's what I see, coaching as well.

Speaker 1: 36:25

I agree.

Speaker 1: 36:26

I think it's um.

Speaker 1: 36:27

It's a way to tune inward into the emotions that we never had a chance to express as a child, and the reason why I say that is because I'll share a little bit more of my childhood. The way that I grew up was I was in a box, and it meant that if my mom said you're going to sit on that couch and I'm going to do this organizing for a party for three hours, I'm on that couch for the next three hours. I'm being the perfect little role model for all the other kids. I am making sure that I'm polite and I don't stray away from what they consider good conduct, and so that also meant that I didn't really share a lot of creativity. I didn't get to experiment, I didn't get to figure out who I was as a person, even as a child. And when we move into entrepreneurship, it's the first time we are given a blank piece of paper and it's like here how do you want to build this? What is your vision? And being first gen is like, but I've never done this.

Speaker 1: 37:36

I don't even know how to draw a line. And so, with all the things that we experience in life, there is a beauty, excuse me. There is beauty in having that blank sheet of paper, but equally it's intimidating, because whether you were a child and you weren't allowed to be expressive, or whether you're older and you didn't tap into that yet, it's creating that safety of there is no right and wrong. Like I said before, there is you do it or you fail, and failure is okay. And we don't know how to process failure as being okay. We don't know how to process failure as a teachable moment.

Speaker 1: 38:19

And for me, when I went from being this child who was the role model to my siblings and I always did the right thing, never fought against my parents, and somehow I also needed to know things that I didn't even know. I needed to know like banking, information, translations, legal paperwork, talking to, like school counselors, like I navigated so many different dynamics and I had to learn on the go. But where was that child, who is that child? I didn't know. And as a grown up, when I started the franchise, I didn't know myself that way either. So that's why, you see that, that journey of me starting with the ego and this business and slowly figuring out like but is this an alignment with me? And then again with the tech company, like what would you do in an alternate universe? Be a coach, and why can't you be that? I don't know. And learning to lean into the little nudges that life has given me. Because, at the end of the day, what is success really mean to you? And I'll define it for me. For me, success is being able to have a family, that I can allow my children to be who they are, that I can be fully expressive, that I can show up for the people that I care for.

Speaker 1: 39:38

It's not about money, and I say that because I had the title of the COO to a company and it did nothing for me as a human being. It didn't make me a better mom, it didn't make me a better wife or anything. And then, when I had the franchise and I was trying to prove my worth and prove that I can do it all, it also didn't allow me to tap into my inner child. So now I'm being gifted this blank piece of canvas and I'm saying, hey, how can I bring that inner child with me and how can I honor my purpose in life, all at the same time, while still keeping the fundamentals of business intact, because business is business and it'll still be there. But it's scary. It's scary to do the thing and to do the work.

Speaker 1: 40:24

So I guess all this to say that I want everybody who's starting their journey to be proud, proud that you're stepping into this entrepreneurship journey, proud that you're leaning in and proud that you're doing the work, because when you go into coaching, you're right, you, you get given your coaches a mirror and reflects back information, and it can be as simple as.

Speaker 1: 40:47

But why are you scared and really tapping into that emotion? And that is intimidating, because nobody has created that space for you, for you to cry, for you to feel, for you to to be like it's, it's normal for me to, to just be in this moment and I'll be safe, um. So I guess, last thoughts, with that um, when you get coached, be ready to feel, to identify, to notice and gather information about you that maybe your parents don't even know, your sister, your best friend, your husband, because you're on this new journey of understanding why you operate the way that you do, and sometimes that means that now you know why you've always managed to do the same thing over and over and over in relationships, or over and over in your business, or why you don't show up, or why you do show up but feel bad about it.

Speaker 2: 41:45

So you're understanding all the behavioral aspects of who you are once you start this whole journey.

Speaker 2: 41:51

I don't think people understand, uh, how owning your own business, starting your entrepreneurship journey, they just see okay, it's going to be work, but I'm going to be good with my business and stuff.

Speaker 2: 42:04

But they don't realize the emotional journey and the self, like all that self-reflection you do, like knowing yourself, like like I've learned so much about myself. Things that happened in your childhood affected your business, like your journey and same with me, lots of things that I dealt with when I was young is like it affected me now, when I'm trying to show up, how I talk or whatever, because I'm so used to like yeah, like making myself smaller, so not to draw too much attention, and so now that I'm like trying to do like a podcast and all this stuff on being on social media, like now I have to like open up more and I'm like. One thing I would also add is to definitely go to therapy, because some of these things that come up through this journey you're gonna have to like go to therapy for. So like I think those tend to go hand in hand.

Speaker 1: 43:09

One of the things that I'll remind everybody, aside from therapy, is that if you're not ready to invest in a coach, it could look like as you joining a challenge, you co-working, like. If you see somebody that is offering a co-working space online on instagram, join that co-working space. It could be you joining facebook groups, and I don't mean join, like, just click the button. Okay, that's the first step. The second step is for you to say hi, I'm so in. Oh, I'm looking for you to say hi, I'm so in. Oh, I'm looking for people to maybe do an accountability program. Put yourself in a space where not only you are clicking the button, but you're also attracting people that are in the same scenario as you, and it just takes one, one person that aligns with the journey. Maybe you're at the same starting point or maybe, like they are a little bit ahead, but they understand where you're at and you're comfortable in sharing the journey. Just creating that amiga hood between you and somebody else will really help if you're not ready to invest. And then the other thing is, if you like, to journal, journal about it, and if you don't, I would suggest that you grab your phone and you hit record on your phone and literally speak your mind as if you had your best friend in front of you and then listen to that recording.

Speaker 1: 44:34

One thing is to journal and another thing is for you to read your journal and have reflective moments on what's going on, because that's the information, that's the nitty gritty that you need to understand about yourself.

Speaker 1: 44:45

So, yes, journal, but also go back to it or listen to the audio. And then the last thing is that don't try to run in this journey. I think a lot of times we want to get ahead of ourselves and we see so many people are at different stages in their business and we really want to get to that stage, but the reality is we don't know how to get there at least not yet because we need to do the work that is required where you're at right now, because the person that you are right now probably can't handle that workload or that team or the emotional toll that is taking the hours, all that. You're building towards that. So give yourself some grace for the moment that you're experiencing, for the way that you're able to show up Even if it is one hour a week, it's still showing up and giving yourself that reassurance that every little step makes a difference.

Speaker 2: 45:43

So, for those that are interested in working with you, what kind of services do you provide or like? How can they work with you?

Speaker 1: 45:52

So for me, it's just one-on-one coaching right now, and the reason why I love the one-on-one is because we can really tap into where you're at and for all of us, although we're first gen and similar in experiences, the reason why we take action or not action in that moment is slightly different. So I really like to tap into where you're at emotionally and tap into what your business needs. So it's just one-to-one, catered to where you're at in your process and to work with me. You can reach out to me at rosiearango on Instagram or you can click the link, which I update my calendar monthly because I'm a homeschooling parent and I love to make sure that I carve up time for my kids or activities and things like that. But yeah, you can always just send me a message and we can get started there.

Speaker 2: 46:44

I'll make sure to put all that in the description or the show notes. I'll have that linked if you want to reach Rosie. But other than that, do you have any other final thoughts or tips or advice?

Speaker 1: 47:00

I would just say to learn to just create space and safety for yourself and that and I'm going to say it like this before doing something hard like you showing up on social media and you're going to batch content create a pre and post care routine. What does that look like for you? You go on a walk, you get your favorite coffee and then you do your batching of content or whatever thing that is difficult for you to do, to show up in your business and then, after the fact okay, you know you're going to take a bubble bath, but also make sure that you create time to talk about the journey with your best friend. Creating a pre and post care for the difficult things because, again, we are not used to creating space for ourselves and being able to share a lot of our struggles. We want to make sure that we take care of ourselves when we're doing the difficult thing and honor that bravery. You're showing up, so create that routine for yourself. That would be my last bit of advice.

Speaker 2: 48:03

Well, thank you so much for coming on here and sharing your story and your thoughts, and I always like to do these. I always learn a lot, especially about myself, when I do these, so thank you again for coming on to the podcast.

Speaker 1: 48:22

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

Speaker 2: 48:24

Awesome. Well, that's it for this episode and I will see everyone in the next one. Bye. Thank you so much for listening. Don't forget to like and share this episode so others can also find this podcast. Don't forget to follow me on all my social medias listed in the show notes below, where you can also find resources to help you in your financial journey. If you're interested in becoming a guest on the podcast, you can find that information in the show notes. Other than that, thank you so much for your support and I will see you in the next episode. Bye.