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Embracing an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Unlocking Success and Overcoming Challenges Episode Transcript

00:00 - Nachi (Host)

I feel entrepreneurship is, it's all about innovation. It's not so much that you're like at the top level, but if you're innovative, if you come up with these ideas, whether it's for your own business or for an employer. Welcome to another episode of I'm Not Yelling, I'm Dominican podcast hosted by Nachi and Damaris. Hey, everyone, it's your girl, Nachi, and I'm here with Damaris, the sweetest Leo you'll ever meet. I have to laugh at that one.

00:42

I don't know why, because I am very sweet Okay yeah, okay, we wanted laugh at that, I don't know why, because I am very sweet. Okay, yeah, okay, we want to say that, but anyway.

00:51 - Damaris (Host)

The listeners know. The listeners know I feel like shots fired, but whatever, we're moving right along.

00:56 - Nachi (Host)

Yes, we're moving right along. I'm a Leo. I'm a Leo, okay.

01:01 - Adranae (Host)

Thank you. Thank you, august 6th. Okay, thank you. Thank you, august 6th.

01:05 - Nachi (Host)

Okay, okay, yes, we're in this. Look, I'm surrounded by the Leo, so I'm a little worried.

01:13 - Damaris (Host)

Yes, you're surrounded by royalty. Yes, you're welcome.

01:17 - Nachi (Host)

Surrounded by loud mouths, but okay, wow.

01:25 - Damaris (Host)

Yes, jealousy, but I love you.

01:26 - Nachi (Host)

No, but I love you I love you, I love leo's, my daughter's a leo.

01:30

So you're surrounded by them nachi I am surrounded, but I love it. But anyway, um, I'm so excited about today's episode. We're going to be talking about entrepreneurship but, more specifically, how your mindset plays in the role of success and building support systems and just learning from your failures. I think a lot of us don't realize that that's how we succeed by not worrying about failing, being okay with failure and learning from that. So I'm really excited to have Adranae Mena. She's a dear friend of mine and she is going to share some insights.

02:15

She is the founder of Soar Fearlessly. It's a life and business coaching business services that she provides services to women, and so we're just so excited because, Adranae, I love you. You've had several businesses and you keep going. You find your niche and you take it and you run with it and you're just so great with running your businesses and I just want people to learn from you because I think you have some great insights to share. But I want our listeners to know a little bit more about you. So if you want to take a minute to just share, we'd love to hear about you.

02:58 - Adranae (Host)

Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you so much, nachi and Amaris. I really appreciate you guys. I'm super excited to be on the show with you guys. No, I'm not Dominican, but I'm Puerto Rican. Okay, yes, yes, yes, and we do yell, we all do, we all do Absolutely.

03:20 - Damaris (Host)

Especially the Caribbean the Boogie Down, bronx, the Leo Caribbean.

03:26 - Nachi (Host)

Exactly the Leo.

03:27 - Adranae (Host)

Caribbean. You're louder than the loudest Right. Exactly I always say I have a megaphone in my throat.

03:32 - Damaris (Host)

Your throat chakra is unblocked. That's the beautiful thing.

03:35 - Adranae (Host)

They don't like it. They don't like it?

03:37 - Damaris (Host)

They don't like it.

03:38 - Nachi (Host)

I'm with you on that. Yeah, sometimes we want it closed.

03:45 - Adranae (Host)

Najee's, like I'm going to need you to let me stop Not happening. So, yeah, as Nachi said, my name's Adjanae Mena and, yeah, what an honor to be on the show and, nachi, I love you so much.

03:57

I mean the way we met was just even nothing, but organically, and it's been nothing but a great connection since. So, yeah, so I'm a life coach. I wasn't certified when I first started my business. I just stepped out in faith and started doing what was natural to me, which was encourage women, build women, uplift women and then find the areas that they had barriers in and really knock those barriers out, and so that's kind of how it started.

04:24

My first coaching business was through a network marketing company. So and not sure everybody knows, like she said, I have been a serial entrepreneur that is the right word for me and so I started my coaching business when I was doing another network, a network marketing company, and I reached the top level of the ranking system very quickly, and so a lot of the women were like what are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? And I found that easily it became a coaching business. So my mentor, I was doing calls and then women were like side chatting me or hitting me up separately and wanting to find out like what were my strategies or what were my daily methods of operations to reach a level of success so quickly within a certain like 90 days or so, and so, um then, sore felicity was birth. It was literally sore stands for surpass, overcome all roadblocks and so really pushing through any barriers that come in the way of success and whatever success looks like.

05:27

You know what I'm saying, because success could be at any level. So that's what I say. That's sort of my tagline for Soar Fearlessly. You can soar at any level. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be up here.

05:36

As long as you're above where you were yesterday, then you're soaring girl.

05:39 - Nachi (Host)

All right.

05:41 - Adranae (Host)

I do have a website, wwwsoarfearlesslycom. I have Instagram handles soarfearlesslycom or soarfearlessly at Instagram and then also soarfearlessly on Facebook.

05:53 - Damaris (Host)

Okay, we'll definitely include those in the show notes.

05:57 - Nachi (Host)

And just a fun fact, you mentioned how we met organically you want to tell a story.

06:04

Yes, cause it's just, it's really funny, especially for women that come from New York. We actually met on the phone she had I was working for a company that was managing a phone line, a health coach line, and she was pregnant at the time and she had called to get some resources. And you know, it was just started coach line, and she was pregnant at the time and she had called to get some resources. And, you know, I just started talking and she was just like, are you from New York? And I'm like yes. She's like, are you? My god, my husband's Dominican, I'm Puerto Rican, I'm having a birthday party, a birthday dinner party, can you?

06:54 - Damaris (Host)

come wow, wow, wow, but guess who went. But guess who went, though y'all are a special breed.

07:02 - Adranae (Host)

I love it for sure, for sure. But I'm telling you, once you know your people yeah, you're like wait, hold on a second yes and a phone, you catch a vibe been like maybe 30, 45 minutes ended up being almost two hours like she gave me every resource I could imagine.

07:19 - Nachi (Host)

She scheduled my appointment for my the hospital tour like, yes, no, it was, it was just, but it's serendipitous, it's a true, yes, it's. And it's a good example of the warmth and spirit of Adranae. She is very open and very welcoming, so I can see how she's a coach, you know, and she's a life coach and she's working with women who are just trying to level it up. So I'm so excited to have this conversation with you.

07:50 - Damaris (Host)

Yeah, no, I think that's so dope, and thank you for sharing your resources and your information and helping others achieve what it is that you've achieved and and I think especially when you hear life coach and I think especially when you hear life coach people can take it so many different ways, but it's nice to get a perspective from you like exactly how it is that you go about it and what your group is about. So, with that, to me, part of being an entrepreneur is about it starts with the mindset right, and I think a lot of people may not have a really clear understanding of what kind of mindset do you need to have to be an entrepreneur. What does that look like? What was that like for you?

08:44 - Adranae (Host)

Yeah, and I think that it's a growth. It's something that you grow into. I don't think that you come in and like, oh, entrepreneur, boom, I have the mindset. I think that through life and experiences, it allows you to understand the importance of a belief system. When there is the right mindset, you foster innovation, resiliency. There's so many ways of mindset. So there's personal development, which helps you increase the level of where you are and what you know. There's the learning your craft and really understanding your craft.

09:22

I struggle with people that go into entrepreneurship and they just all of a sudden like I feel like they throw something to the ceiling and they're like, okay, that's it and hope to stick, and they don't. They hope it sticks and they're not. They don't focus on their craft and really understand what their craft is about and why they're doing what they're doing. So mindset is you know so many different levels. It really helps you to problem solve, you know. It helps you to enable you know to. When it comes to helping individuals, it helps you kind of walk them through certain areas in their lives. So mindset is the most important thing.

09:56

When it comes to having a business, I don't think anyone should really even think about launching a business or going, you know, fully, like go you know whatever. I like go you know whatever. I'm terrible with cliches but um, like just real crazy out there and do your business unless you've taken some time to really do the research and know what works for you. And so part of that mindset is just really taking time and discipline. I think when I think of the word mindset, the first thing that comes to mind is discipline. It really is about discipline. It's choosing to be better in your craft. It's choosing to be better for the other person.

10:28

Whether it's a service driven, whether it's a product driven, you know you. You gotta know exactly what it is that you're trying to put out there to the people. Right, because it's easy to sell something or a service. But when you know exactly what you're talking about and you know what you're passionate about, it's really easy. You don't have to sell anybody. People just kind of want to lock arms with you and they want to do it with you Right.

10:49 - Damaris (Host)

I totally agree with that, and I for me. I also want to say that I don't think having an entrepreneurial spirit or mindset doesn't mean that you have to start your own business. You could apply this also as an employee in a corporate setting because, I felt that's the way I was when I was in corporate.

11:11

I had an entrepreneurial mindset and for me that came out in taking initiative, elevating myself and my colleagues. So it wasn't I viewed things like if I do a great job, I'm making my boss and my team look good so that they will pump me up and amp my ass up when it comes time, when I'm in, when when I'm not in rooms, and they're in rooms helping, you know, influence decisions about my career path and it and that worked for me. So I want people to feel like. I don't want people to think that, oh you, just you have to do your own business in order to be, or to have an entrepreneurial mindset.

11:48 - Adranae (Host)

Absolutely.

11:49

I absolutely love that. You said that I still currently have a job. I work for Virginia Department of Health. I always say I'm a public health practitioner and you know, I believe that that's where the entrepreneur mindset started. I took my job and ran my job as if it was my own business. I didn't have to have somebody tell me how to do, when to do. As long as I knew what I was doing and my responsibilities. I was going to do the job like as if I owned the business and I believe that my successes have come because of that, and I've always been the person to like always go back and like grab people with me and be like yo, let's do this together. So I think that's where the success comes into place. It's never. I don't believe you're successful alone.

12:32

I'm not a believer that, like you, stand out here by yourself, I believe that success comes in groups and people. My work bench, you know, connects to your work bench, sanachi's work bench, and so on and so forth, you know.

12:42 - Damaris (Host)

Right, because if you're known as that person, that is difficult to work with. You're not gonna go anywhere, absolutely not.

12:50 - Nachi (Host)

You're just not but that's just how it is right.

12:54

It's like, like you said, Adranae, it's just having that connection with other people and I and I think about you know you talked about honing in your your craft.

13:06

I also want to point out and I think a lot of people fall into this category of feeling or dealing with imposter syndrome because they don't think or believe that they are at the level of I can do this as a business or I can like if you're as Damaris pointed out, if you're working for an employer, that you don't have the confidence to come up with these ideas. I feel entrepreneurship is it's all about innovation. It's not so much that you're like at the top level, but if you're innovative, if you come up with these ideas, whether it's for your own business or for an employer, as both Adranae and Damaris have talked about that's, that's what puts you out there. That's what. Where are you going to gain the confidence of going beyond your current level? You know, getting getting to a point where, yes, I can do this, you know, getting over that imposter syndrome is just putting yourself out there with your ideas. It's that, that's part of the mindset.

14:20 - Adranae (Host)

You said it. That's what I was thinking as you were talking, that's what came to mind. It's it's really your mindset, it's it's it's what you're telling yourself. It's those belief systems, and I believe you did a podcast on imposter syndrome, am I correct?

14:34

I remember hearing one about that and part of that is really your limiting belief. Like it's. It's you know, you. You put your own barrier, like you put a barrier, like in front of your own self, and then you stay stuck in this barrier and like you just don't take the risk. You know like and that's as an entrepreneur or having an entrepreneur mindset, it's the hey, it's resiliency, like if it sticks, great. If it doesn't, doesn't, like it's setbacks, move forward.

15:03

It's you know like it's it's different things, it's not just I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna be amazing at it, absolutely not. I mean, if you don't fail, then you know, and I would say, failing forward like yeah, I think about this is really silly, but this just came to my mind. Do we ever trip backwards?

15:20 - Nachi (Host)

no, we know yeah, right, yeah like that just hit my mind.

15:24 - Adranae (Host)

I'm like, oh shoot, yeah, we always trip forward, right, maybe to the side or left, depending on what where we're at, but we usually trip forward. And so that's exactly how life is and entrepreneurship is you trip forward. So maybe that next step that you trip, you're like, oh, shoot okay. I learned how to do that now. Now I can do it again and I'll trip even better next time, right, I'm gonna trip really far like three feet forward, I might get a concussion but you know who cares.

15:48 - Damaris (Host)

Okay, let's not talk about that. All right, yeah, no, no, no, no, no hidden meaning there, but no, no, no. But how do you cultivate that Cause? I think it's great to say it, but how do you cultivate that kind of mentality, right, that mindset? How did you do it for you, since you have so many businesses, you know?

16:13 - Adranae (Host)

yeah well and and look and I'm, I'm down to to well, so too, and nachi was a. I'm so thankful that nachi was a part of the second launch of my second business, which was a conference for um latina leaders and lifting up latina leaders in richmond, virginia which was wonderful change um, which was absolutely phenomenal. But I'm down to two businesses and I believe that I finally was able to hone in.

16:36 - Nachi (Host)

She's like I whittled it in Just two, Just two guys.

16:42 - Adranae (Host)

But you know what I did so many Like? I did so many different things to kind of find my niche and find the thing that I was really good at, and not just so much what I was really good at, but what I was passionate about, I think you can be really good at a lot of things and really hate it and really like you know I love what I do, like I.

17:01

It makes me excited to talk to women, it makes me excited to have, like, cohorts and women that are building each other up and so um. So when you say cultivating, and what did I do? Um? So when you say cultivating, and what did I do? Um? Well, I do believe that it's important to have a great support system. I think it's super important to have people that um are going to walk side by side with you and believe in you, um, because walking alone is really hard and you know what's that saying Um, no man is an Island, right? I mean, truthfully, you cannot do anything out there alone. If people say, like I'm a self-made millionaire, I'd love to see, like the people behind him, the people that they don't give props to.

17:42 - Nachi (Host)

You're like, you're a liar, I'm a self-made millionaire, Right exactly. You didn't do that by yourself.

17:47 - Adranae (Host)

You had to get somebody to do research and development, all of this that you have to do production. Tell me you did it alone, right? So, um, I think cultivating a, um, an entrepreneur mindset is really believing yourself. Um, setting goals is really, really important, and even if you don't achieve the goals, it's okay to come back and revisit the goals and re and redo them again, right, and just tweak them here and there. Um, mine's, we talk about mindset so much. Personal development is so key If you don't constantly be in a room where you're not the smartest person in the room and you just think that you have everything it takes to be successful. Absolutely not. I mean, I think about like I like to golf and I think about like the top golfers that are golfing out there, they have coaches right.

18:32

So be willing to have coaches. If you can't afford to pay for a coach, then surround yourself with people that are willing to encourage you and cheerlead for you, and be willing to hear the truth when they want to encourage you and give you feedback.

18:46 - Damaris (Host)

No, that makes a lot of sense, and for me, I think about cultivating that mindset, and you just kind of shared a little bit about the fact that, while you may have had many businesses throughout your career, you've come down to two, but now they're the two that you really love and you're passionate about. And I think about if you didn't go through those challenges, or even for some people, they may be afraid, like, oh well, I don't want to have a business, and then it fails. No, that's actually a good thing, because that'll inform your successes. Right, you'll do. You'll know what not to do next time, or you'll know where it is that.

19:26

Oh, my goodness, this really sparked a passion in me that I didn't even know. I really liked this aspect of the business, a passion in me that I didn't even know. I really liked this aspect of the business, and so I think that's so important to really be proud of the fact that, wow, you explored so many different options, because there are many people that don't and are unwilling to do that because they're afraid. They're afraid to fail, and that's something that I know personally, I've had to overcome because it is growing up. It's this idea of perfectionism, and you know how it is in our culture, right, and that that's a roadblock right there. You're never going to be perfect. Who are you perfect for? Oh, because you care about how you look.

20:10 - Nachi (Host)

And no one's perfect Right.

20:11 - Damaris (Host)

And so once you get past that kind of thinking like, wow, it is okay to fail. And actually, if I don't fail, if I don't fall on my face sometimes, how am I gonna know what's right? You know like, how am I gonna know what I really love?

20:23 - Nachi (Host)

you'll never know until you try yeah, it's like stepping out on faith you have to step out on faith. You know it's. It's okay to try new things, different things, and I am all for trying new things.

20:36 - Damaris (Host)

That's the Gemini in her.

20:39 - Nachi (Host)

I will start something. I may not finish it, but I will start. She loves some projects, but that's what it's all about really.

20:49 - Adranae (Host)

Don't you have your BMP certification too, nachi, aren't you a PMP certified?

20:53 - Nachi (Host)

I should be. I do a lot of project management, but I should. I know you've done some project management. I do know that I'm a project manager, but I don't have my PMP Only because I don't feel like going through that whole certification. I'm like for what?

21:07 - Adranae (Host)

I already know you have the qualifications I'm doing it.

21:10 - Nachi (Host)

I do this day in and day out. No, how about like?

21:15 - Damaris (Host)

now she's some 20 something plus. Years ago she she would take these random courses to get certified in this and that and literally do nothing with it afterwards. And so she got certified. I think some PowerPoint presentation nonsense. I found that certificate some years ago. I took a picture of that certificate and that is the picture that I use for when she calls my phone. It's that PowerPoint certification. I'm like you should be so proud of yourself, nachi.

21:47 - Nachi (Host)

It's so funny because I had a friend I was talking to her the other day and you know we were just talking about the different things that other day and, um, you know, we were just talking about the different things that we've been, you know, took advantage of and she was just like, yes, I remember when you was looking into me, you know you was taking classes to be a wedding planner.

22:04 - Damaris (Host)

I was like oh my god, you remember that? That's a real friend. Shout out to Regine, that's a real friend, right there.

22:11 - Nachi (Host)

I was like oh my goodness, that was so long ago. But yeah, I'm always trying something that's good.

22:17 - Damaris (Host)

That's good. How do you know, right like you have to do these things and I think, how do you?

22:21

know, when we, when you think about the qualities and the characteristics of someone that that would be considered a successful entrepreneur.

22:33

I think about for me and I and I feel like you've kind of mentioned this, Adranae is this idea of following your intuition and without fear, and you know, and without fear of talking you out of it, and I think that's so huge.

22:52

I think a lot of people and again I'll just speak to being raised in a Dominican household there is a fear of right, like you won't step out of what you know to be tried and true, because your family members, your parents, are like no, go to college, right, this is the path and this is where you'll you'll get a good job, you get paid well and like, hopefully, you'll have a pension if you go into those right type of jobs.

23:20

And so it's just this already, these limitations in place, and now you're no longer following and listening to your intuition of what it is that you really want to do and you start to get farther down this road that doesn't align with your spirit, right, and and then it comes, and then things start manifesting in your life, the way I see it, what that doesn't work for you anymore. They because you have to be in alignment, to be happy, to be in a joyful space, and so I think to me those are the characteristics of like, being able to follow your intuition and, um, being curious, and actually you know as much as I make fun of you for it. That's, that's a beautiful thing to to follow your curiosity. You're like, where is this going?

24:06 - Nachi (Host)

to lead me. And then you're like, ah, this is leading me, I'm bored.

24:09 - Damaris (Host)

That's you, and then you move on to the next thing. Okay, well, it didn't work out, but right you? You know you satiated that curiosity. What do? You guys think are like other things that that that kind of like show to be qualities I think I would.

24:25 - Adranae (Host)

I think of following your bliss right, like when you're talking about like really just kind of tapping into the things that align with you, like follow your bliss, like if it makes you smile and it, you know, it makes you want to wake up and feel really good about it. That's so key.

24:37

Um, I think about adaptability right um you kind of kind of be be fluid, right because yeah so many different things happen when it comes to entrepreneurship and, um, somewhat like nachi, I did the same thing. I have you know. Let me tell you something. I could probably pull out a whole notebook or like a three ring binder, like the big one with all these certifications. Don't laugh, I just did like mental hate, mental health first aider, okay, okay. Look you're certified. Okay, I'm also a doula. Am I doing doula work?

25:13 - Nachi (Host)

Are you a doula? Oh my gosh, I wish I knew. Wait, how long ago was your doula?

25:19 - Adranae (Host)

It's only been since 22.

25:22 - Nachi (Host)

That's beautiful. Look, that'd be something I'm like, do I?

25:27 - Adranae (Host)

want to do that. I haven't delivered no baby. I don't know.

25:33 - Nachi (Host)

But you've been trained in it. That's what matters.

25:36 - Adranae (Host)

I'm trained. Listen, I'm trained, I'm certified and I could bill Medicaid for my services. Oh, wow, okay.

25:46 - Damaris (Host)

Look why are you not a doula vet?

25:48 - Nachi (Host)

No for real, I'm a part of a service that's part of your service.

25:53 - Adranae (Host)

Seriously, it's under the store fearlessly.

25:57 - Nachi (Host)

It's under the store fearlessly.

26:01 - Damaris (Host)

I'm a life coach and I can deliver your baby Right right.

26:05 - Nachi (Host)

The facts. Oh my gosh.

26:07 - Adranae (Host)

Yeah, so you talked about passion. You know that's like. I feel like, that's like the number one characteristic is like you've got to have passion, it's got to do something for you inside, it's got to give you that fuel, that fire, that you know I'm gonna get up and do this. You know, even if I fail forward or even if it sucks and I don't succeed.

26:25

So, um, yeah, and that's the part I believe that, um, when I chose the name for my business and it was so beautiful because it wasn't anything that I had to ponder for a long time it wasn't something that I was like writing a million different names, it was literally an area of my life that I had to overcome, and it was the fear of am I going to do it right? We talked about perfectionism, right?

26:48

So, same here Go to school, get your education. Get a job that 20, 40, whatever time frame. Same here go to school, get your, you know, get your education. Get a job that 20, 40, whatever time frame. You're at a job, you retire and then you chill. Nah, you know what I'm saying. I'm trying to do things a little crazy, call me crazy if you want, but I do keep my job.

27:03 - Damaris (Host)

You know, I still have you're like, I still get a paycheck listen, listen.

27:09 - Nachi (Host)

but that's what it's all about. You've got your side. Hustle Finance is my destiny, yeah, my job finance is my destiny.

27:16 - Adranae (Host)

Yes, that's right, that's what I say, so I'm not sitting there like, oh my God, is the light going to turn off? No, I'm not doing that. And then I'm transparent with my directors and they know me and they utilize my services. They pimping me for real know me and they utilize my services like they pimping me for real. They utilize my services at the job when I do training and I do soft skill training and all these different things.

27:39

That's part of my coaching business but um, but I love that I'm transparent with them and honest with them because they support me, like I mean, nachi was at the conference and a good percentage of my co-workers were there and my colleagues.

27:52 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah, it was a nice turnout. I really enjoyed myself.

27:56 - Damaris (Host)

I met some great people there.

27:58

And I think also it's having a vision and you kind of touched on that, Adranae, about having a vision right, and I think when you hear vision, some people may get caught up with oh, that means I need to have a plan. And for me I'm like no, you just need to know where it is you want to be and be flexible on how you get there. So your point of like adaptability, because you may think it's one way and if it's not going that way, you might get frustrated and discouraged and stop, whereas you really should use that time to just pivot, figure out a different path to see your vision through. And it doesn't have to be the way you thought it was in the beginning, because usually it's not. Until you try that you realize oh okay, actually I need to do it this way and that's okay, because that's where you find the nuggets, that pot of gold, and that's where it's like oh, okay, the GOD got me.

28:54

Oh, I didn't know, you know things just started lining and you're like I didn't even have to work hard to do that, but because I stepped out in faith and I stepped out in the direction that I felt was right to achieve my vision. You know, I'm getting closer to that and and I think that and the taking risk and you talked about that a little bit and it's but you're taking calculator risk. You're like I'm not gonna go homeless because I still have a job. What you know, I mean like I need to eat.

29:25

I have a family right, but at the same time, if you don't take certain risk, how are you ever gonna know?

29:33 - Adranae (Host)

yeah, right, I I love how you said um, just the vision is key, right, and really I think that when you sit with um folks that really have entrepreneurship inside of them, but maybe they're struggling with fear is that they have the vision but they're so caught up on you know, and then this is this is easy for project managers, like they want to know the a, b, c, d, e you know they want to know the whole layout right, and so those are control freaks right over here.

29:59

Right over here wait um yeah my name is adjuna and I am controlling yes, I am a control freak yes, you have to know the how you you need to know like well, how are we going to?

30:10 - Nachi (Host)

get there and sometimes you don't need to know the how, you just need to. You don't need to kind of make that move.

30:16 - Adranae (Host)

I've been fortunate, yeah, yeah. And so when I think about what you were saying, that body, you were saying that, um, like so okay, just know some basic next steps and then be able to pivot when you need to pivot and that just happened to my business, you guys Like so I was doing a life coaching, a one-on-one life coaching, and I found it to be absolutely draining, I was exhausted. Yeah, one-on-one could coaching and I found it to be absolutely draining, I was exhausted yeah, one-on-one could be drained.

30:39 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah, it's a lot of energies you're taking on too a lot, a lot.

30:44 - Adranae (Host)

And then I had to also like am I like, does the person really need counseling? And I need to tell them they need to go to counseling oh well, she's like I'm not the one she's like I'm not the one.

30:54 - Nachi (Host)

She's like I'm not your therapist You're like, respectfully. I'm not licensed, but I could be.

31:02 - Damaris (Host)

You're like but I'm a doula, Do you have a baby? Are you pregnant? Exactly.

31:10 - Adranae (Host)

I can help you there. So what I did was exactly what you said. I pivoted my business and I found that I'm amazing in cohorts. I'm amazing with groups of women and I encourage these women to not just like learn from what I'm pouring into them, but they pour into each other.

31:27

So can you imagine the synergy. I mean, look at our synergy right now. There's only four of us, right, and so if we're talking about a barrier in our life, if I express something to one of y'all, somebody is going to share nuggets and knowledge and that's going to like put fuel into me and I'm going to be like, whoa, I could do that. So I found that group coaching I am more successful, and not that I wasn't successful, I'm not going to tell you I wasn't. I mean I, I charge a nice amount, I know what I'm worth, I know the work, I know the work that I put into you, as long as you put the work into it.

31:57

But I found that to be so draining and I wasn't getting filled and I was like I'm doing this because I want to. I want to walk away and be like I feel amazing. Like I wanted it to be reciprocal, even though I'm pouring into them. So when I work with women and I started off with five women at a time, now I'm up eight I don't want, I don't know if I'm ready to go into 10, because then you got a lot of boss babes and you know everybody's trying to be the.

32:19 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah yeah, what do you call?

32:21 - Adranae (Host)

it, everybody wants too many trying to stir the pot too many cooks, too many cooks, yeah, yeah, so, um, so I found the. The sweet spot was that you know that eight number was really sweet. So I pivoted my business and that's where I'm at. Do I? Will I do one-on-one coaching? I don't know not right now.

32:40 - Damaris (Host)

I really do love doing the cohort you know what you'll probably manageable, right, yeah, and I'll, and your time is. There's a capacity, there's a limit, so you can only give right. So there's only one of you. But, yeah, you know, your one-on-one coaching. What I put out there for you is that you're going to do it for people who are billionaires and they're like I need a coach.

33:02 - Adranae (Host)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then it's like, oh, you're paying my lifestyle.

33:05 - Damaris (Host)

Thank you, yeah.

33:05 - Adranae (Host)

You hit the nail on the head, so I, I do. I'm not saying that I won't do it at all. I found that at the level that, at the level that I was doing, it was not where I needed to be. And now I started to coach um high performance women, so CEO. Cfo um school administrators principals and then that shifted, because they were already there. They just needed the push and they just needed the support, the holding hands and walk you through the next steps, and that's where the difference was. Okay, nice.

33:33 - Nachi (Host)

And you'll have ambassadors who, ambassadors, who also, who will go out there and do part of your coaching for you. You'll have plenty of cohorts and you have these coaches to support you yes, 100.

33:46 - Damaris (Host)

What? What have you found to be some of the adversity that you face in in your entrepreneurial journey?

33:54 - Adranae (Host)

absolutely. Um, you know it's funny. I think about that. Like in my heart it's wanting to go full time. And am I able to sustain financially full time? Like, do I? You know, I want the freedom of doing this 100% all the time. And so there's always that, that fear. And let's be transparent, I'm not going to tell you that I don't have moments of doubt, that I don't have moments that you know will it sustain. I'll have people that say, oh, my God, you're amazing, like you should do this a hundred percent. I'm like, but I got an overhead of like right.

34:27

Right. So, um, so, yes, um, adversity, you know there's. There's also, um, you know, making sure that I also am working currently now on offering services to organizations and businesses. So a lot of businesses are seeing added value in coaches, and so there's those areas again now where I'm just like, oh man, what if I get all these clients and I still have a job, which means I have to take BTO.

34:56

And you know, it's just so many different things that come up Right. Then there's the self-doubt, and then there's the imposter syndrome. I mean I don't. I mean I don't care who anybody is. I mean, I have a client who's a PhD and that is her number one barrier is imposter syndrome, and she has her PhD.

35:13 - Nachi (Host)

Wow, you know what I'm saying and I'm like dang, I thought I struggled. Right.

35:18 - Adranae (Host)

So yeah, and so I don't think like launching my business financially was a big thing. I really did step out of faith and I just was like I'm going to do what I love to do. And what do they say? You know, do what you love to do and like you'll never work another day in your life, type thing.

35:34

Right and so I'm a believer that if you walk in the direction and you're aligned in the things and you're following your bliss, then I wrote a program called pursue your passion and God will provide provision. Right, so it's, you know, P to the third power like really pursue the passion and the money just starts coming in. It's just inevitable.

35:54 - Damaris (Host)

Right and I I'd like to add to that is the listening to others, meaning sometimes you take on the fear of those that don't understand your vision, and then you get derailed you get discouraged.

36:09

So where? Um, as a human design, my human design is manifestor, and they say, for manifestors, you're supposed to always tell people what you're about, what you're going to do. It's important for me to inform people, but it's not for me to listen to what they have to say about what I'm informing them about. Right, it's not for validation or for feedback, it's I'm letting you know, I'm doing this. And that's kind of how I did it with the, with the podcast, right, nachi, I asked her, I reached out to her like hey, I have this idea, you want to do this with me, cause she's, honestly, the only person I could see being a partner in this journey. And she's like, yeah, of course. And so, as I was going along, I mean I think we, we got through, right before launch, I'm telling people like, oh, yeah, I got a podcast, I'm about to launch it in a couple of weeks, like what? I'm like yeah, I mean.

37:03

I'm informing you because my human design said I should inform you.

37:08 - Adranae (Host)

I'm not asking you for your opinion, I'm just letting you know.

37:12 - Damaris (Host)

Right, but you just also have to be careful, sometimes even sharing what it is your vision, until you feel pretty confident that nothing's going to shake you, that you're going to be 10 toes down, because if you have any kind of doubt, the last thing you need is another layer of doubt to be added onto that, especially if that is what you're supposed to be doing.

37:31 - Adranae (Host)

A hundred percent. I love that you said that, because I believe that in anything that we do whether it be entrepreneurship, school, business, podcasting, like there's always that voice in the background that says you know, really you're going to do that. Like you don't even have a voice for podcasting.

37:49 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, You're so you know what I'm saying?

37:51 - Adranae (Host)

Your voice is crackly.

37:52 - Damaris (Host)

I still hate my voice. You have a high New York pitch voice?

37:55 - Adranae (Host)

Yeah, but you know what it sounds amazing when I hear it.

37:57 - Nachi (Host)

Oh, thank you.

38:02 - Adranae (Host)

When I hear it on the other side, it sounds perfect. When I hear it on the other side, it sounds perfect.

38:05 - Nachi (Host)

Thank, you, yeah, but people could really get discouraged by talking and sharing their dreams with others, and I agree with Damaris, it's just like you want to be mindful of who you share that with. I think one of my biggest challenge is control. I feel like I've always felt like I have to do everything, or I know how to do it, exactly how I need it to look or how I want to do this. No one else can do that, and that definitely hindered me. You know, especially when I had my Bath and Body business, I was the creator, I was doing all the designs, I was doing my own bookkeeping. It was just like a lot on top of raising two small children, because at the time they were five and seven. When I was doing this, I was doing events, doing farmer's market, you know, weekly farm. That was a lot, but I was doing it all by myself and what I've learned from that Is that you, you have to learn how to kind of tap into your support system, similar to what you was just saying, Adranae, before just having. You can't do, you can't be successful by yourself. You, you need a team, not necessarily you employing them, but you partnering with someone and and working that out and finding out the the who.

39:40

And then there's a book that I read recently called who, not now? So the premise is it's not about how you do stuff or how you need to do something. It's about identifying who can take that from your plate and do that task or you know, whatever it is that you need, who is that person? Is it something that you have to do yourself, or can you find someone else to do it?

40:08

And that's actually a conversation that Damaris and I recently had, because we were like well, how do we want to take this podcast to the next level, you know, and we have to kind of look, identify, okay, who can I work with, who you know, who has expertise that I can talk to? That can you know, even if you can't, um, pay them, see how you can work together, uh, where you can give them something that they need, so that you can get something but get back what you're looking for? So that's one thing I think is important is people to kind of, as they're thinking about entrepreneurship, is letting go of control like letting put that to the side. I know it's difficult because we all said it, we all have control issues Right.

41:23 - Adranae (Host)

Right Are we? Are we starting the support group? Yes, yes.

41:28 - Damaris (Host)

Starting with us three. Yeah, how to let go.

41:32 - Adranae (Host)

Yeah, exactly how to. Let go season Hashtag let go season.

41:36 - Nachi (Host)

Yeah.

41:36 - Adranae (Host)

You know, talking about that just made me think about the conference, and so I'll share that, damaris. So I launched the Women Empowerment Exchange ever in Virginia conference that just highlighted Latina leaders, and that was an area of deficit within our state. It was not something that had been done. Any conference I had been to or I'd be a keynote speaker or opening speaker, I noticed that I'd be like one in two Latinas, that's all it was. And so I saw an area and I'm like, okay, we gotta fix this. Now I can tell you today, the learning lesson from that is that, um, I did that with myself and one other person, my assistant, and now I mean when I tell you that that happened in march. I sold out, by the way, the conference sold out.

42:32 - Nachi (Host)

okay, it happened in march it did because because I was one of the late ones to come in.

42:38 - Adranae (Host)

I won't talk about you, nachi.

42:39 - Damaris (Host)

You go ahead and say it, it be your own people Adjanae, adjanae it be your own people, your own people. Adjanae Buying tickets late. I need a ticket.

42:48 - Adranae (Host)

Namani. She sends me a text like a couple days before I was like mom, a couple days before I forgot to get my ticket, and she sees the social media sold out. Yes, it be your own people. No, no, no.

43:06 - Damaris (Host)

Not you. It's okay, my plan was.

43:08 - Nachi (Host)

I was going, I had it in the back room.

43:11 - Adranae (Host)

I'm like, okay, I need to buy my ticket.

43:13 - Nachi (Host)

I need to buy my ticket and then I'm looking at the data, I was like, oh shit, I need to buy my ticket. And then I'm looking at the date and I was like, oh shit, I need to buy my ticket. And as I went to go buy my ticket, it was like ah, sold out. I was like Adranae, um, do you happen to have room for one person?

43:30 - Damaris (Host)

You're like that's exactly how it happened. You're that relative at the wedding you never. Rsvp.

43:40 - Nachi (Host)

And then you like show up like hi, yes, hi you know I was coming. Right, you know I was coming no, no, no, no, no, yeah.

43:46 - Adranae (Host)

So part of the yeah the guy has sorry. Yeah, no, no. That was great. I love that you said that, because I was like, do I throw her under the bus?

43:52 - Damaris (Host)

yeah, that's what we do here I'm glad you did it.

43:55 - Adranae (Host)

So part of the growth in that is now. I'm actually going to launch a interest meeting in August for women who really connected with the conference and want to see it grow. But the learning lesson of letting go of control was that holy cow. It happened in March. I was exhausted. I'm coming out like now, like now. I'm starting to like really just recovering, yeah, yeah just recovering.

44:24

I can imagine and then I mean, I've been asked to do it now. It went from one location to three locations. So where I did it in Richmond this year and I've been asked to do it in Charlottesville, richmond and Virginia, wow, nice. So now I'm planning for three events next year, you know.

44:41 - Damaris (Host)

Okay, come on now.

44:43 - Adranae (Host)

Yeah, I cannot do that by myself at all.

44:46

And if I believe that I have it to do it absolutely not. I will be drained and the capacity and the bandwidth you know I wouldn't have it. So yeah. So I love that you talked about control and that definitely could be a barrier when it comes to that, because we want to like oh my God, I can't even imagine not to get five and seven the kids were little and you're doing the bath, the soaps, the this. I was a customer of yours so, and I know it right, you're doing this you're doing that book.

45:10 - Nachi (Host)

I can't even imagine all of that yeah right.

45:19 - Adranae (Host)

I mean up late night trying to wrap things up, I mean, and you still have your job and you still have right. Yes, yes and working full-time job.

45:23 - Damaris (Host)

So then, how did you build a support system? How? How did you find you did it in your life, at renee um, so we?

45:32 - Adranae (Host)

when you talked about sharing your vision with people, I think that there's two there's knowing who you're going to share your vision with and I probably would say that again and knowing who you're going to share your vision with Right. Because there's some people that that I say pray P-R-E-Y for you. And then there's people that pray P-R-E-Y for you, yes.

45:50

Yes so the number one thing when it comes to building a support system is trusting yourself, and I think that that's really huge when it comes to self-care and I know this is not you know the podcast about self-care, but part of entrepreneurship is really self-care. So it's checking in with yourself, it's inventorying with yourself, it's even checking in with you. Know what I call your like your holies of holies. It's like you know you have that one or two, you know, homegirl or guy for me. It's a guy who really you can kind of throw everything and then they're going to tell you, yes, no, that's too much.

46:23

Like that's going to take an extra year you know so you need people that are going to be honest with you. But the first thing is to trust yourself, and I think what happens is when we're looking to build support systems life we become hurt through life that it becomes very difficult to trust people, Like the first thing that came to your mind, Damaris, when you were doing the podcast was I wouldn't do it with anybody else but my sister, Right, so and that's you. There was no second guess, that was 100% trusting Not.

46:51 - Damaris (Host)

You said Intuitive.

46:52 - Adranae (Host)

Absolutely I'm going to do this. Why there's a trust, there's rapport there, intuitive.

46:56 - Nachi (Host)

Absolutely I'm going to do this why.

46:57 - Adranae (Host)

There's a trust, there's rapport, there's all these different things, and so building a support system really comes number one. Trusting yourself first, right, and then, when you do make the connections to the people that you feel that are going to take it to the next level, to be completely transparent with them and honest with them. Because if you come into a relationship with an agenda and they don't know what the agenda is, then they're going to feel hurt, they're going to feel used. So, hey, listen, you know what? Nachi, you got a podcast. I think that's amazing. Like I'd love to connect with you. Why? Because you know, I think it'll give you more um, you know it'll put you out there If you connect with my, with my business. I'd love to to be completely transparent, and so, the more you're honest with yourself, you're honest with the people that you work with, and people will lock arms with you yeah no.

47:41 - Damaris (Host)

I. It's funny because I also put down for myself, thinking about how do you build a strong support system. I said it's building it firmly within yourself, pretty much what you're saying, like you need to like. This is what I believe and nothing's going to deter me and if I'm sharing my vision with you, I'm going to stand firm on that.

48:03

I'll be flexible on how to get there, absolutely but, I'm going to stand firm in that, and so, and also to your point, like I yes I with Nachi, she's like my confidant, my advisor, you know everything, and so sometimes it's not always a good thing, because sometimes me giving advice to her or her giving advice to me, it's like Freddy Krueger giving advice to Michael Myers.

48:27 - Adranae (Host)

You know what I mean.

48:28 - Damaris (Host)

Sometimes we like, we. Sometimes it's like, oh, I'm not talking to her off the ledge, I'm getting on the ledge with her and we're going to go down fighting everybody with us. You know like. But I her off the ledge, I'm getting on the ledge with her and we're gonna go down fighting everybody with us. You know like, but I'm like, I'll take that any day. I'll take that any day. I'm like that's never gonna change.

48:43

But look, freddy krueger and michael myers have some good ideas no, but dynamic duo right I mean my brother and I say, wonder, twin powers, activate, yeah, okay, I mean they always made a comeback right, yes, all the time. Is that something that you seek out with each of your endeavors or is it something that you just have certain people kind of fill those roles in your life and they're just there throughout your journey, regardless of the business?

49:31 - Adranae (Host)

What's worked for you. So I do believe you need to have, like, you're confident, like the way you have um nachi. And then I do believe you need to have the like-minded folks, because they're visionaries and they're going to be able to see some areas um of deficit, that you have, your blind spots, um. So I do believe in mentors, advisors, like-minded people, um, you know, you know that saying, when it comes to like, show me the five people you're around and I'll tell you who you are right. I think that's huge. Um. I find it to be very important that you have the support of your family, your siblings, your sister, whoever that is. It's really close. They're going to cheerlead for you no matter what, and they may not give you all the direction or advice that you need, but they're in the back going, yes, you got this, you got this right. But you need to have somebody that's already walked that space already and has done it already. Why? Because they're going to be able to share all the ups and downs, the good, the bad, the indifferent, and then be open to always learn.