What feels unique about supporting a business owner through Xcelerate rather than someone who's navigating growth all on their own?

 When we're running our businesses, especially when we start our businesses, we go through such a tremendous growth spurt. We get so used to doing everything by ourselves, which is great, because we learn so much. But then so many business owners get stuck in that mindset of “I have to handle it myself if I want it done a certain way.”

What ends up happening, and what I've seen with so many business owners, is that they either reach a limit and plateau or they hit a wall because they're doing everything themselves. And there's obviously a lack of time and energy and resources, and that will definitely impact us if we're doing it all.

One of the things I've seen is that when women do get expert support, it can change the whole trajectory in their business. It could be finding out about a new lender that completely changes their business, or a new technology that will make their business more efficient. Or maybe it's finding out about a new bookkeeper who will make their lives so much easier. When women business owners are navigating everything on their own, it's just so overwhelming. They have so many other things going on that it can lead to a loss in creativity when they're trying to handle everything.

But when we get support, it’s the opposite: we have more energy, more time, and more creativity. A lot of clients also really like that they finally have someone to talk to. They’ll say: “I didn't have anyone to share this with, or my partner doesn't understand all the intricacies, or my friends aren’t other business owners.” People are so relieved to finally have a sounding board, someone to bounce ideas off of, or just to share a difficult moment and be validated. When we get support, creativity grows, sales grow, and women are empowered. 

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How has Xelerate influenced the way you think about your role in the outcomes you hope to create for women entrepreneurs, both within Xcelerate and within VP consulting?

One of the things I love about Xcelerate is that it's so focused on community building, which is very aligned with my values and the way I run my business. The other thing is that I do feel part of a bigger ecosystem at Xcelerate, and that sense of belonging is a beautiful thing. Xcelerate does such a great job of owner and coach pairing, and I think that leads to success. Xcelerate really listens and understands what the challenges are for the entrepreneurs who are coming to them.

When I get paired up with someone, I know exactly what we're going to focus on. And I really do feel like I'm this match made in heaven. It’s so helpful because it means we can get to the root of the challenge a lot quicker. I feel like I've coached in other places where it's just general, right? “We help people with all topics.”  And that gets some general results. But when the pairings are so specific, I can help clients exactly with what they need. And the results are real, tangible, and that's something I think is very unique to Xcelerate.

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How has the Xcelerate community shaped the way you show up as a mentor, collaborator, and entrepreneur? 

One of the things I really like about this Xcelerate community is the in-person events where I'm able to actually meet my clients. Because after the pandemic, there are so many clients I've never even met in real life, which is so different from the way I used to operate.

It's so nice to get to meet my clients, to hang out with them, and go to events with them. Or I get to go to their pop-ups and actually have their food. It lets me connect with them in a different way, and I think that means a lot to them as entrepreneurs. That’s one of the really cool things about coaching within the Xcelerate community, where you can actually meet one another and see the results.

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How does being both a giver and a receiver of support shape the way you show up for others?

I'm an immigrant and a daughter of small business owners, so I grew up in this world. Ever since I was little, I understood this world, and that's something I bring to my coaching because I always strive to make financial education practical, simple, and bold.

Being an immigrant and growing up in a small business household also inspired me to start my own business. It's always influenced the way I approach things, the way I teach, and the way that I connect with people. And now that I'm a mom, I feel like I can connect so much more to so many more of my clients who are moms and running businesses. It pushes me to think, how could we make this even easier for someone? How could we make it practical and actually help them?

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 When you think about the bigger shifts happening in entrepreneurship, what does changing the face of success in business mean to you? And how does your coaching play a role in that?

I think there should be a lot more diversity in points of view and the way that we approach business. I've seen that with the different people I coach who come from different cultures, backgrounds, and ages. I'm seeing a younger demographic step into entrepreneurship, and that is so exciting for me. Just to see what younger people are doing and really bringing in their culture is something that is powerful for me personally.

It means helping Latinas stop playing small and providing financial education in our first language so we can create profitable businesses and make topics like financial education less about theory, less scary, and make it bold and practical. 

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What has your experience felt like, and what do you feel is the impact Xcelerate has had by intentionally building out a really strong roster of Latina coaches?

It’s been a game-changer for so many of my Latina clients. They’re daughters of mom CEOs who wanted to start a business that then became a family business. A lot of times, the daughters inherit those CEO roles, but it's still the mom's business at the end of the day. And so I have seen that when you do provide coaching in Spanish, just speaking Spanish makes this tension just melt away.

I've seen it where people are like, wait. We can actually speak in our first language, or I can bring my mom to this meeting, and I don't need to translate. And so that is something that's so beautiful because then they start paying attention, which is exciting because a lot of times the moms are not paying attention to things like finances.

It makes sense because everything’s in English–for example, the apps that they're using are bookkeeping systems. So when they finally have someone who can speak their own language, they can let their guard down, and then they become more interested, which is so helpful because even though the daughter is taking on so many of the roles, it's really the mom at the end of the day who is okaying everything.

And so I've seen that when the moms start to understand something like their P&L or how much they should be spending on their cost of goods sold, that it starts changing the way they operate, and they start paying more attention, which then means they can be more successful in their business.

There is an absolute need for our communities to have services in different languages. Being able to share their frustrations, share their challenges, or share their wins in their own language makes people more comfortable and more open to learn, which is what we want.

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Can you tell us about a moment this year when you saw what increased access to coaching made possible for a business owner you supported?

A client who had outgrown her pop-ups, and for her, the next step was wanting to open her bakery. We worked on her financial projections, and she looked at different locations. Some of them didn't work out, but it was so exciting that she now had this resource to help her make decisions and filter out opportunities that would or wouldn't work for her. Because she understood her numbers so well, she was able to get a $100,000 loan. So it wasn't just about the projections; she got a clear understanding of what she needed to open up her bakery. She got a good understanding of how much she had to make, the max rent she could afford, what the build out would cost, and she had so much more confidence.

She got the money, signed the lease, and is now building out her bakery and reaching her goals. It all started with her wanting to get more confident with the numbers and planning, and we did that. It's so exciting that she's now living out the projections and pitch deck we had worked on together.

Another client is a family-owned business with a daughter and mom. And it has been really exciting that very slowly the mom is now talking about the importance of not having such a huge menu or spending so much time decorating her items, or whether to raise her prices. The other day, her kids told me that she did a new flavor and a new decorated item, and that she even mentioned, “We should put this price up higher.” And that both of her kids were like, “Say that again.” She’s now seeing the value of her work and of all the labor that goes into her beautiful products and decorations. It’s such a huge win that her mindset has shifted and grown, and she’s recognizing her value. She's internalized it, right?

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Looking ahead, what gives you the most confidence about the direction Xcelerate is heading in and the entrepreneurs who are rising through our community?

When government funding for small business support was being threatened, Xcelerate stepped up and continued advocating for business owners and providing them with support. And to me, that's a champion, right? Xcelerate was really there for small business owners. It’s absolutely a sign of your commitment to entrepreneurs and to really providing experts to our community, because if you get people who are generalists, we're going to get general results. I really do feel that you're so committed to getting that funding and providing expert support so we can have really great results. And so I think that gives me the most confidence. And yeah, just seeing how Xcelerate stepped up, I thought it was really powerful.