Meet Jefa: Lucy Ortega - By Lucy Ortega

Meet Jefa: Lucy Ortega

I am a first-generation Latina + serial entrepreneur. I run my food businesses – Sierra Mexican Cuisine - and coach other first-generation individuals who have dreams of monetizing their gifts.

I was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, where I experienced both emotional and financial instability. I was instilled with the belief that education would be my ticket “out of poverty", so I dove deep into my studies in search of that “golden ticket.”

I attended Wellesley College, just outside Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating, I embarked on a five-year journey as a secondary science teacher in South LA. While teaching, I accidentally began to pursue entrepreneurship.

My grandfather’s health suddenly deteriorated, and I witnessed the emotional toll it took on my father, who was unprepared financially to deal with the situation. Seeing my father struggle with both the emotional and financial burden made me realize that I didn’t want to go through the same challenges. So I began building my first business that has evolved into multiple businesses. 

There has been a lot of trial and error as the first in my family to build and scale a business. Despite, my mom being the queen of side hustles, she didn’t understand the importance of leveraging social media or how to navigate the paperwork behind “legitimizing” a business.

I also struggled with the decision of leaving my stable teaching career to pursue my food business full-time. I knew that my mission as an entrepreneur was greater. I'm now helping YOU become the confident CEO you are meant to be.

Learn more about Lucy's work:
Check out Lucy's BRAND NEW Website: www.bylucyortega.com

Connect with Lucy on IG: @bylucyortega @sierraguisados @sierraonsouthgate

Buy Lucy's Recipe E-Book: Sierra Recipe E-Book

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Lucy's transformative journey from a teacher to the founder of renowned businesses like Sierra Mexican Cuisine and Sierra Guisados shows the power of resilience and determination. We dive deep into her pivot from money coaching to business coaching, driven by her passion to empower first-generation women and Latinas to overcome their financial fears and build successful ventures.

Lucy shares the emotional rollercoaster of starting a cafe from scratch amid personal and professional upheavals. Inspired by my mother's street food business, she took the leap from teaching to follow my passion for entrepreneurship, even cashing out retirement savings to fund the dream. This episode explores the challenges and rewards of running a food business, highlighting the importance of perseverance, self-belief, and the invaluable lessons learned along the journey.

Lastly, we explore the significance of building a legacy through cultural heritage and the importance of celebrating milestones, no matter how small. We discuss the mental health impacts of going viral and the complexities of maintaining our roots while managing a modern business. Lucy also shares exciting details about her upcoming cookbook project, a heartfelt tribute to her family's cher

Transcript

Empowering Latina Entrepreneurs

Kita Zuleta 0:00

Hi, jefas, welcome to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast. I'm your host, kita Zuleta, a brand strategist and photographer born and raised in the city of Los Angeles. My passion is to help Jefas, like yourself, understand the concept of personal branding, to equip you with the tools and strategies to show up online. Show up, jefa. Join me and your fellow jefas on this storytelling adventure as we dive deep into conversations that bridge the gap between the real, unfiltered moments of life and the journey of entrepreneurship, undeniably relatable. We're all the same, same but different. So grab your favorite mug, pour yourself a cup of cafecito and immerse yourself in conversations that will ignite your passion, spark creativity, elevate your thinking and fuel your determination. I see you, jefa, keep going. Welcome to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast. Hi, jefas, welcome back to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast. I'm your host, gita Azuleta.

Kita Zuleta 1:26

Today I am so excited to be sitting with Lucy Ortega. It has been a long time coming. We have been trying to schedule this episode since last year, so I'm so, so excited to finally and formally introduce you to Lucy Ortega, who is a first generation Latina serial entrepreneur from South Los Angeles. She is the owner of Sierra Mexican Cuisine, a cafe located in Southgate, and Sierra Guisados, a taco stand in South LA. She's also a content creator and a business coach. She enjoys sharing the trials and tribulations of being a first-gen business owner on social media. Under her personal brand at by Lucy Ortega, she hopes to inspire other first-gen Latina women and other marginalized folks to start their own businesses and embody the empowered CEOs they're meant to be. Hi, lucy, como estas amiga, I'm so excited to have you here today. Thank you for being here.

Lucy Ortega 2:24

Hola Kita, thank you for having me and yes, it's been a long time. Do you know? It was last June we were supposed to have this conversation. Yes, yes. Almost a year but it finally came.

Kita Zuleta 2:39

It's finally here and you know what it all has worked out, because now we have so much to talk about when it comes to what's going on with you and how we've been able to collaborate and work together since. So there's so much more we get to talk about now. But I would love for you to formally or I gave the formal introduction, but I would love for you to go ahead and introduce yourself to your fellow jefas. Let them know who you are, what you do, who you serve and where you're located.

Lucy Ortega 3:07

Hello, jefas, so I am Lucy. I am a first-gen Latina serial entrepreneur, born and raised here in South LA. I did leave for a bit to go to college on the East Coast, at Wellesley College, but then I came back. I was a teacher for five years and my second year I started my first business, which was a party rental business, and I fell in love with entrepreneurship. I did not want to be a business owner by any means, and becoming a business owner healed a lot of the money trauma that I had and got me to get my personal finances straight.

Lucy Ortega 3:40

And got me to get my personal finances straight and that led me to becoming a content creator in 2020, when COVID happened, and from there I started to figure out, okay, well, what can I do? And I started money coaching people and one thing that I realized a lot of my clients were actually people working in service so teachers, social workers and a common trend was that we were not making enough money. So then I was like, well, how can we make you have a second source of income or increase your income? And that motivated me to actually pivot into business coaching, because I felt that that was where my passion was in starting businesses and guiding people, because I know building a business, starting a business, is very scary. So now I share my story as a serial entrepreneur to inspire other anyone actually like, specifically first gen women Latinas to start their own business journey, because one is tough but also there's a lot of taboo and expectations that we have as first gen. So thank you for having me here.

Kita Zuleta 4:51

Of course, I'm so excited there's so much there, and I actually am excited that you've named a few of these things, because the first big question, other than introducing yourself, is really the question of how long have you been pursuing entrepreneurship, and I love that you've already named how non-linear your process has been. So I would love to hear, like, what motivated you to start and make this pivot, and then you know really how all of that has you where you're at now. Right, and tell us a bit more about where you're at now going through what you've been through.

Lucy Ortega 5:31

Yeah, so I did not expect to be an entrepreneur. I come from a line of entrepreneurs. My mom's an entrepreneur, her family's an entrepreneur. My grandmother was an entrepreneur, but I did not want to be an entrepreneur. I did not like money. For me, money was I don't want to say evil, but it just was a call the root of a lot of the problems that my parents had in their marriage. So I did not want to. You know, you don't want to be around the thing that's causing you a lot of pain. So I was like nope, you know, I just want to have a regular job. There's nothing wrong, first of all, with having just a job. I think that there's so much stability that I sometimes miss. But I just wanted to have a job and retired and and everything you know. Just go through life and then in. So I, I went like that. That's why I became a teacher. I knew I wanted to work for 30 years, retired, call it a day, and then back in 2018, this is when all started.

Lucy Ortega 6:30

My grandpa and I always say this story my grandfather in Mexico got really sick and I went with my dad and I had no money. So, mind you, teachers don't get paid July and he got sick August. So I was going back to work and I'm like I'm finally going to go get a paycheck and I was in debt. I was like in 10K debt of personal credit cards and I was about to enter my master's program, which was also about to be 10 grand, and I was like I have no money. But I put my flight on a credit card because I'm like this might be the last time I see my grandfather, and I did. And just being there, I felt so guilty because I was like I can't believe that I'm making more than my parents have ever made and you know I don't have kids, I'm single and I was like I cannot even give my dad like $300, $200 to be like here, you know, for your transportation or for something, and I just felt so embarrassed right there.

Lucy Ortega 7:28

And then, and oh, I remember being in the bus on now on our way to our town in Mexico to see my grandmother because my grandfather had to be transported to the city, so we were making like our six hour drive there and I just sat down and I'm like this is not how I want my life to be and I need to get it together Cause I have been saying I was in a budget, I was in a save and it was never happening. I was just never sticking to my word and just being there realizing like man, like my dad has to spend money in pesos, but now, when my dad gets sick, I'm going to be spending money in dollars, and then it's so, so much more expensive here in the States. So that was when I don't know what clicked but I was like I'm going to start a party rental business, I'm going to rent chairs and tables and I'm going to make a second source of income. And it was just like light shining, like my brain just turned on and I just turned around to my dad and I'm like we're renting chairs and tables, and that's just how it started.

Lucy Ortega 8:33

Well, after that, uh, we went to see my grandmother, we drove back to the city where I had internet and I started. I went on offer up the app and I started looking for businesses and I found a business for 10 grand well, 12 grand but she was selling. I was like, look, I'll buy from you if simonov and this at 10 grand. And she's like, okay, yeah. So the next week, when I got back from mexico. I went to my credit union, got the 10k loan, which was like not an easy decision to make, and I bought the business offer wow, where did the idea come from?

Kita Zuleta 9:04

like'm going to buy somebody else's business instead of starting from scratch?

Lucy Ortega 9:15

I used to say the party rental business has been my worst and best business ever. Worst because you know, you meet me. I'm just a five foot tall woman, I'm very petite, and here I was, like I signed up, I went to pick up the materials and it was not until then that I'm like oh my gosh, these chairs are like three, five pounds each, these tables are eight pounds each, 10 pounds each, and it it. But I was, I already bought it, I got stuck with them. So in that, in that way, it was my worst decision, worst business because it was I. It's a not a one woman show type of business. Um, not even my food business a one woman show, but it's just too much.

Kita Zuleta 10:02

Yeah.

Lucy Ortega 10:03

It's also my best business because it opened the door to so many different skills that I have learned and that now it helps my like now when I opened my food or I started my food business. That's not a skill I have to. I have to refine it, but it's not something that I have to learn.

Kita Zuleta 10:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that is so that is so interesting. But, yeah, definitely Really cool to see how that has evolved into so much right.

Lucy Ortega 10:33

So you started there.

Kita Zuleta 10:35

I would love to know about how that party business and that first you know, jump que te tiraste into something like that. How did that then go into Sierra Mexican Cuisine and Sierra's Guisados and the business coaching you know? Now that you're doing business coaching, I'd love to hear a bit more about what you're doing there too.

Lucy Ortega 11:00

Yeah. So I got the business August of 2018. And, oh, the first two months I had no clients. The only clients I had were the clients that the, that Janet that's the name of the lady who sold it to me that Janet would send me here and there, but it was by month two. I don't I don't have my journal anymore, but there was a journal that I had and I said it's been two months. I have only had two clients. I'm really scared because I have a loan to pay off.

Lucy Ortega 11:27

But I put myself in Yelp. I started creating my own cards business. That's the type of marketing I knew then. And from there, in a year and a half so by the end of December 2019, I had paid off the loan, the 10 grand. I had paid off my credit cards. I had paid off my master's or I paid my master's through it and I also saved 10 grand. It was a lot of work. I did burn out. I'm not going to lie. I wouldn't recommend it, but I did all that. And then, because I burnt out, I actually quit teaching February of 2020, right before COVID.

Lucy Ortega 12:11

Biggest regret I have was quitting because then COVID happened. But I also quit because this is the first time I'm going to say it. But I had a social media account, I had a TikTok and it went viral. I know, no, I know social media account. I had a TikTok and it went viral. I know, no, I know it went viral before COVID and my school didn't like it. I thought it was not that bad, but apparently it was bad for them, so I just quit. I should have. What I should have done is not quit, get fired, get a severance pay, but you don't know as a first gen that you get a severance paycheck. Because I was so upset, I deleted my TikTok, and this was before TikTok blew up.

Starting a Cafe From Scratch

Lucy Ortega 12:55

And I was like this is my biggest regret, because I feel like I have been able to grow a following, but I feel like I should have just ignored everything and just follow my passion and my gut for creating content. I feel like I would already been somewhere else, but you learn from our, your mistakes, and I feel like it was just not the time to to have that presence on social media. So I I quit my job and then I started selling tacos de guisado, actually back in 2020. But then one weekend we had public health come by because we were street vending, and then they threw everything away. And then the following week, the rain happened, which is the video that I always tend to show about the tacos. It was not supposed to rain for long, but then it just kept on raining and raining and then a thunderstorm came by. Then the following week, covid hit, so then it just felt like it wasn't meant to be. It was just like, oh my God, like all these signs are just telling me it's not meant to be, so let me just give up. And because COVID came, everything shut down and we just decided not to continue. And that was when I was like, well, let me start creating personal finance content.

Lucy Ortega 14:11

I started not really showing my face because again, I was a little still a little traumatized from like that whole situation at work happening, happening and I lived off my savings. I had saved those 10 grand actually to buy a home. But then, because COVID came and then I didn't have a job, I was like, well, this is what I saved my money for for an emergency, so let's do that. So I used my money for that. I actually left my parents' house home because I was living with them and I went to rent out a room. I went out to rent an apartment with my friend and I a lot of, and people would be like, why would you do that when you have no job? But I feel like I really needed to be away from home. I was also going through like a really tough breakup and I just feel like my life had fallen apart. I'm like I have no job, I have no relationship, I have no business, and then my party rental business had to close down too because of COVID and. But then I was like you know what? I need to go away from home and figure out who I really am, because I'm feeling really lost. And that was the first time I was already going to therapy and somehow I actually ended up meeting my first coach, my first life coach, and that's what kind of sparked like a change in me. So I started creating personal finance content and from there I was like, well, since there's COVID, let's start coaching people with their personal finances. And that's how I became a content creator one more time.

Lucy Ortega 15:42

But again it was like very slowly, because again I did not want to quote unquote, get in trouble, because the following fall I ended up getting a job as a teacher again. So I kept my profile pretty, pretty clean, pretty low, but I think by the end of 2021, again, I had gathered like a following on social media. Again my video started. I have a couple videos that again got a lot of traction. Then my students started following me again, seeing me again, and I'm like, oh man, this is tough, because I feel like I'm not being me, because I have to censor a lot of what I'm saying. Not that I'm like even now I tend to still be pretty, pretty reserved person, because that's who I am, but all just knowing that at any time I can be called back into the office and be like hey, why are you creating content? Or like this is this, is, you know, not not at the best interest of the school? Um, so I think in the midst of that, and then my mom started finally selling in front of her house her food and I would see like people coming in and strangers started coming by and I was like you know what, I want to start a business, but I have always wanted to start a business that had legacy, that had meaning to it, and I would see people come into my mom's front yard and like she had repeating customers and I told my mom, like you know what, like I, I'm gonna rebuild my savings and when I have enough money, I'll leave teaching. And in May of 2022 I didn't even finish the school year I once again quit.

Lucy Ortega 17:23

Midway up, I was was like you know what, I think it's time and I left and I started again as a street food vendor. And it was hard, kita, because there's nothing wrong with being a street vendor. You have to start like I understand why our gente has to do that, but also was like you know my family, what you know, like they sent me off to college for me to have a career and and it was just going against all the the things that all the expectations that my family had for me and they're like what is she doing selling food when she can go get a job? But there was like a lot of meaning, like I had the vision and. But I also wanted to do things a different way and I was like, well, I know, I just don't want to sell on the street because I want to know what's the next step and what's the next step and what's the next step. So the way to get all the documents quote, quote, unquote that you need to operate, you need a trailer minimum or a truck. And I cashed out my retirement to get the trailer. And that was hard because I was like I spent five years building this retirement and because I have no other finance you know, no one can parachute this business for me I'm going to have to do it.

Lucy Ortega 18:54

And I did Pero también at the same time. This was about 30 grand that I had there for the five years of me teaching. I was like you know what? It's a lot of money for people. But I'm like, do I do? I am like I had to ask myself, Lucy, do you believe you're in yourself, that you can make those 30 back and more, and I was like, yeah, I think. So I was like, yeah, like I think I can do that. So I was like, okay, well, and let your future self pave the way.

Lucy Ortega 19:31

So that was where I I had to bet on myself and from there, I mean, I continued and I have learned to do a lot of the paperwork on my own, also, things with a lot of help of others nonprofits and organizations that have helped me out but a lot of the paperwork has been on my own, a lot of the financing has been on my own, and in August of 2023, I actually found a brick and mortar and I was like, well, well, you know where I'm gonna open up a little restaurant and whatnot, but that facility wasn't meant for that. It's a cold kitchen and but you know, you don't know, you don't know anything. You don't know the different types of how things have to work and how either long it takes or how much it costs. Long story short, it didn't work out. I couldn't sell my comida, like my tacos de guisado, so I changed it to a cafe and it was a hard decision because I feel like a failure. I'm like I have failed. I can't, you know, like I don't have enough money to do this, but I was like no, like you know, we're gonna change it to cafe where we're from, we coffee's grown and I'm like you know what, we're gonna start importing that coffee there. I don't know how we're gonna do it, but we're gonna do it and that's where we are right now and and I'll be on.

Lucy Ortega 21:02

Here's another story. Actually, back in 2018, when I started my party rental business, I had thought of starting importing our cafe. So one thing I was talking to my siblings today I was like man was all of this that I'm doing? Because I really wanted to actually import our coffee and for it to be brought here in the states and in la for people to try and for restaurants to have it. It was, it was all this thing, all this saga meant to like that 2018 dream, because actually, I bought. I bought the little bags, I bought, I made stickers and I ended up throwing away when everything went downhill 2020 and, yeah, that's where we are right now. We're going to bring in the lattes, hopefully this summer.

Kita Zuleta 21:51

Wow, that's an incredible journey, amiga.

Lucy Ortega 21:55

Yeah.

Kita Zuleta 21:55

Thank you for sharing all of that, because that's a long journey you've gone through. That's a lot. Yes, a long journey you've gone through. That's a lot, and it's inspiring to see all your hard work.

Kita Zuleta 22:12

And I now get to connect the dots, you know, because we have now been in community at least since last June or a little bit beforehand, right, and which is when we first connected a bit and um, and yeah, I remember we didn't get to do the interview last summer because life was life and for your girl, but then yo me acuerdo, even for, you know, for the jefas who have been around and maybe listened to a few episodes, last fall of 2023, when we were in the middle of planning the show up Hefa experience, lucy actually provided the delicious sandwiches that she has now at her cafe at our event and she so graciously came and also brought from her party rental business, you know, manteles, and offered up tables and things for us to be able to use. And I remember now which, with this context it makes a bit more sense when you first told me, like Gita, I need to change the menu. You know, and I remember, you know, originally, when you had first offered up, you had just told me food. Yo, no sabía que right. Like exactly what you were going to bring that day.

Building a Legacy Through Culture

Kita Zuleta 23:30

But I remember when we finally got together and actually we're planning what's going to be on the menu, you're like, well, it's going to be different now and it's going to be sandwiches. And I was like, como tu quieras, amiga, you're giving us food. Let's have a great time, which the sandwiches have been and are a huge hit, and it's really cool to see now. And I'm so excited for these lattes to arrive because I mean, come on, as you know, as all the jefas know, like I love coffee, so I'm so excited to taste it and try it. And you know, it's been a long journey for you and it's really cool to see now. Right, you know, I've had the privilege to see your and be and visit and eat at your cafe and be able to even photograph you at it and things like that, where you know we're on the other side of this journey that you just broke down for us.

Kita Zuleta 24:31

You know, and I think that's why I love that I get to do this as a part of what I do and for the community, para que sepan, you know, para que sepamos, like this is hard and it's an evolution, just like life.

Kita Zuleta 24:52

You know, jefa, life, as I like to call it, you know it evolves alongside with us and I think it's beautiful that you're seeing even today, as you were talking to your siblings, how it's coming back to that right, and it's coming back to that original idea and vision that you had in your head. And it's really cool to hear that because, um, as you know, I work alongside my husband and so we've been not just married but now in a version of business together for these 10 years. So it has also been a journey and it's cool to also be now what feels like at the beginning again of a new venture or the expansion of the brand or business, owning all of the experiences that have come, yeah, and it also being the original idea that we had had, right, like. So it's just really cool to be in this place and and to be alongside. You know.

Kita Zuleta 26:02

You know we're not the only jefas going through that part of our journey right, where we've been going through ups and downs and twists and turns and to get to where we're at now and trying to do all of the things and all of the healing things to be strong and be able to lead as best as possible for everyone around us, as much as we can, and and do the thing you know, and also not break down and also, you know, have feelings, but also not too many. And you know, going through all the things and, and you know, I just I'm really grateful that you shared all of that because, obvio, it's not easy, even at times, to really reminisce and go through all of those milestones, you know, moments that have happened all for this purpose, right, and it can be difficult, especially when there have been external expectations about what our journey not even just as entrepreneurs is supposed to be looking like.

Kita Zuleta 27:24

But as far as our life goes, I hear and feel you. There goes, I hear and feel you there and it's so much of now, just we like to say in this house pinta tu raya season. You know, and it's just saying this is who we are and owning all of that. And it's also scary, right, because there's going online and I mean you've experienced more than most what the going viral part. You know what that actually means or how it can affect your mental health, or what, even the overstimulation of conversations, even if it's positive, or even if it's positive and you know very negative, or all of the things es bastante to carry.

Kita Zuleta 28:12

You know so many conversations, right, and the constant contact that we have with each other is a blessing and a curse and can be an amazing tool and also something that can harm us, right, and so it's a fine line to dance all of the things, literalmente. So I want to hear more about you know, you mentioned how I mean in all of your journey, but coming back, I mean to even not just where you are now, but where you're heading and what's coming for you. But the concept of the legacy, right. So I was going to ask about your brands, why but I feel like that's a part of it as well right? The mission and purpose behind all of what you're doing, because there's a few things, so I'd love for you to list those things and then what that purpose is behind them yeah.

Lucy Ortega 29:16

So for me individually, so like Sierra Guisados, is to showcase our poblano food. So for for me, it's very, it's very important for us and I would say, as my family even though I tend to do a lot, I I do get help from my family a lot is we are Mexican and there's a strong Latino community in LA, there's a strong Mexican community in LA, but I feel that there is a lack of certain representation of certain cultures, because Mexico does have a lot of cultures, not just one culture, certain cultures, because mexico does have a lot of cultures, not just one culture. And I think for us, growing up, we were very hyper aware of the discrimination that our family experienced in mexico and how they also perpetrated, because I think it was both sides. Like, um, giving you an example, like just an example, how, because we were from a very small town, we were rural, like the moment my mom's family left to the city, or at least the biggest town next to them, they were automatically seen as less just because they were from a rural town. But back in their hometown there were, they were, they were like in the higher hierarchy because they were lighter skin and they spoke Spanish. So just having.

Lucy Ortega 30:37

We, we, we grew up very aware of that and and me and my siblings were very because now we were raised in the US and there's likea different narrative and all these. It's just very complex, pero, but we really, we really didn't want to forget where we came from, even though we weren't really raised with the culture there. Our, our food was very ingrained in us and that and the food that we consume, our poblano cuisine is, even though you, my mom's side, was different, they ate the same food and that's something that is really in our roots and we want to honor that. And and that's what inspired us because and then the other thing is because me and my, my, my mom's family and everyone in their town migrated back in the nineties, and some of them, we, we grew up my siblings and I grew up witnessing how a lot of the men, especially men, never went back because of the immigration laws that we have in the country, and a lot of the people in that region will come to my mom and be like, hey, can you make me X, y and Z plate, because you know I'm really craving it and they don't sell it anywhere else, but you do.

Lucy Ortega 31:52

So we knew that there was something special about my mom's food, because you're not just going to go to a random person and be like, hey, like we really want to try your food. So then I was like, look, if the people in our community, in our hometown, feel like this, I wonder how many other men and people feel like this, like they haven't been in their home country for like decades at this point. And that was what inspired me to to go ahead and try it. And that is one of the things that we get at the stand, a lot Like oh, my, like you just reminded me of my mom's food. I haven't had it in years, or you know, or oh, this was what my mom cooked. And then they like slowly revealed, like, yeah, she passed away like so long ago.

Lucy Ortega 32:33

And just that for us is like, oh, like, this is why we're doing what we're doing now with the cafe the same, the same thing. It's like now we're trying to it's a different market and I mean, you know, right, it's, it's like us, like the first gens, right, we will pay for $5 coffee, $6 coffee. Our parents, they're like what Do you make coffee at home, pero? For us it's just mixing that the lattes, right, like the coffee, with our culture, and I think that's like that's what people appreciate and just having a place, a space where people can come and feel like they're welcome or reminisce of their childhood I mean it's to interpretation of what home was to you. That's the legacy we want to leave in those two places and I think, for my brand is just sharing my story because for me again, like I mentioned earlier, I was the first one in my not only my family, but in my extended family to to graduate from college and have a master's and have a profession, and for me to leave it all behind, they were like, why is she doing that?

Lucy Ortega 33:49

Like she crazy. Like you know she has a good salary. Like you know. Like, why is she doing that? Like she crazy. Like you know, she has a good salary. Like you know, like what is wrong with her? Like is she going backwards?

Lucy Ortega 33:58

And it felt, and even even when I did get the trailer right, it my mom was like you know, like you know, you can just do this.

Lucy Ortega 34:11

Like, like you don't have to do all of this extra steps. And even when I was creating content, when I first started creating content, like para que, like you know, like you're, you're gonna sell. It just takes a matter of time. And and now, um, we, we have, not, we have. We have started growing our following for the guis isados and people come and and they're like oh, like vine, porque te vi en instagram, vine, porque I saw you on tiktok. And then my mom's like oh, like you know. Now they're like, oh yeah, the videos are working. Like, oh yeah, people are coming because they saw you, pero it's like people and I don't want to say people like I, I have. I have felt like very lonely in the journey because one um, despite not being the first entrepreneur in my family, no one in my family ever leveraged or social media like I have no their marketing was just like business is gonna come.

Lucy Ortega 35:10

You know word of mouth or the, whatever way they would do business. And I'm like no, like 2024, with this economy, you have to do like, you have to go the extra mile as a business owner so people can not only buy from you but also know you and have a connection with you. And and I think this is a thing where I think a lot of first gen struggle, especially like especially second business, second generation meaning like they took over the business that their parents started.

Lucy Ortega 35:44

The struggle where my parents and I, you know, bump heads because they want to do business how they have been doing for 20 years.

Lucy Ortega 35:54

I want to do business a different way, but sometimes our methods of business is a little bit more risky, because we either put more money into marketing or we're trying to buy equipment that can make people uncomfortable. I'm pretty sure a lot of us have felt uncomfortable and then a veces pasa algo malo or like it didn't work out the way, and they're like por eso te dije? Why did you do that? You see, you could have waited, pero I think that what I always say, I'm like el que no arriesga, no gana, like if you don't risk, risk, you can't see the profits. And sometimes you have to risk a little sooner to make those mistakes so you can then figure out okay, what's the next way to do it. And for me, I did a lot of mistakes earlier on the business in that it cost me. I wish it didn't cost me, but I also feel like now I know okay, I'm not going to repeat this.

Kita Zuleta 36:55

Yeah, yeah, and I think honestly. I think that can be translated in so many ways for all of us, as jefas or anyone starting a small business, right, like I mean uno se trata de preparar de una manera, but there's still something else you don't know and you're figuring out and you're failing over and over again. You know what I mean. Like you're constantly learning something on the entrepreneurial journey and we each have our superpowers right, which is why the ideal goal is we can hire each other and, you know, have this dream team for everything. Pero until we're there, you know, and we're doing all of the things, or a lot of the things, right. I mean there's always something that is not our superpower. That can be that. And, of course, you know that multi-generational part, or you're even just in business with family or with different views. I mean that was something that the generation thing is a whole separate but very real situation where I think how that affected any aspect of my entrepreneurial journey was a season where we lived with either set of parents, right.

Kita Zuleta 38:08

Like at one point, we were with my in-laws in Arizona for a little bit and then when we transitioned back to LA from Arizona cause, you know, cost of living is quite quite a big jump difference coming back. So when we were transitioning back to LA and with my parents, we weren't in business with them, but the expectation of how much work, right, like when you're in and still under that the household roof, right, you're still just a version of an adult child, right, like it's rude to be on your phone. It's rude.

Lucy Ortega 38:48

You know what I?

Kita Zuleta 38:48

mean Like it's just then, just family time. Or oh pues, si no tienes junta, or an official like for myself, like an official photo shoot or something specific on the calendar. Then it's oh pues, tienes tiempo para hacer algo más. And it's like no, no, no, there's, I have so much happening. Um, so there's so many complications that can come with this journey, because that's what it is right, and we get to learn them throughout this entire process, and we get to do that as we design the life and the vision that we are going towards. So, with all of the wisdom that you have accumulated in all of the learning and trying and risking and failing, forward and still moving and learning from all of these things, what piece of advice would you give your fellow jefas?

Celebrating Milestones and Self-Appreciation

Lucy Ortega 39:44

I would Well one el que no arriesga, no gana. I think that's my favorite one, pero I already said it. But so the other one that I was thinking about today is feeling proud of where you are and what you're doing, because I feel like so many times we know where we want to go, we know what the goal is, or at least the next goal that we have in mind that we're just like, okay, let's do it. Like, because we know we're doing it right, and okay, let's do it a little faster. Now that we don't appreciate, like everything that we're doing the paperwork, the hiring, someone betting, betting on these little things we're're just like it's. It's sometimes in our heads like it's part of the to-do list. But how amazing and proud we should be of ourselves that, yes, it's part of your to-do list, but it's something new that you had not done ever before.

Lucy Ortega 40:45

Yeah, and I think that I want to say that my biggest regret has never been what I, what business I could have done differently.

Lucy Ortega 40:59

It's more like I should have been more proud of myself and celebrating myself at that moment. I think those have been my biggest regrets in business, because, at the end of the day, if you, if my business, if my food and I'll say this and I always say this it's not that I don't believe in my food business, it's just I know it's not the most profitable business I can have as a business owner with my business brain, but I do it because one legacy like I love seeing people, if, yeah, I already made my goal that my food and my mom's food and my grandmother's food has been known by so many more people than it had ever been known, period, like everything now is just like part of the part of my business journey and and I think that's really important to kind of be very proud of those milestones because the next business that I build it's going to be way better and I'm going to build it way quicker yeah, yeah, that I build.

Kita Zuleta 42:12

It's going to be way better and I'm going to build it way quicker, yeah, yeah, oh well, can I just say that I'm proud of you, like I'm not.

Kita Zuleta 42:17

No, sorry, nadia, to say that I'm proud of you, but if I can give you your flowers for all the hard work that you've put in to get to where you're at, and I love that moment that you just got to celebrate, you know, your family's food getting into other people's mouths, literally, you know what I mean Like, but being able to spread that part of your legacy already, you know, with a cookbook and with so many things that you have right, I mean there's. It's just really exciting to be able to see what you've accomplished and absolutely, I think I love the advice of being able to celebrate, where you are, what you're accomplishing, the process, and I think that can be hard for us because, like you said, you know like this is what's next. No hemos llegado a. The next one right, like what's next. And instead of just being the next one, right, like what's next, and instead of just being like no, today we worked hard today and being able to just celebrate that on top of, of course, actual milestones that are happening.

Coffee, Cookbook, and Legacy Sharing

Kita Zuleta 43:21

So thank you for that reminder because it's so, it's so necessary for us to really look at that so that we can continue to enjoy the journey also because if not, we're just stuck in the future and worrying and not being able to celebrate everything that is coming our way. So I'm really excited and thankful and grateful for that reminder because it's definitely necessary. So two really rapid fire questions right before we tell the audience where they can hang out with you and how to support your work. So, of course, you know that we are a coffee loving community. So, when it comes to your cafecito, what is your favorite way to order it or drink it?

Lucy Ortega 44:04

I love the ice Spanish latte. Yeah, it's very simple. It just has condensed milk.

Kita Zuleta 44:14

I mean? I mean it's condensed milk.

Lucy Ortega 44:15

You can't go wrong.

Kita Zuleta 44:17

Really good, awesome. And then the second question is what book would you recommend to your fellow Hefas?

Lucy Ortega 44:28

I would recommend and I have it right here, it's we Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rogers, I think she's so known, and I think the second one I don't, oh, I gave it away by Christina Gutierrez. I don't remember the title, but Christina Gutierrez is such Diosa. I think Diosa is called.

Kita Zuleta 44:55

Oh I am. Diosa.

Lucy Ortega 44:56

I am Diosa.

Kita Zuleta 44:57

Yes, I am Diosa. Yes, yes, yes, that one's been recommended a couple of times. I haven't read that one, but I've listened to. I mean, I consume my books via audio, so I've listened to we Should All Be Millionaires, I don't know at least five or six times now, because we need it. I feel like we need more of that kind of conversational. It is possible. Let's do this. These are the things to look out for. Type thing.

Kita Zuleta 45:23

And chapter five about squad like that is we need that community, you know what I mean. And surrounding ourselves with those people. We need that community, you know what I mean. And surrounding ourselves with those people. So, but bueno, I am so excited to have had you be here with me. Thank you so much for the privilege of allowing us to well me today, hear your journey and, once this goes live to your fellow jefas, thank you so much for sharing so much of what you've gone through and what has you doing, everything that you're doing today. I'm really excited for all that's coming for you. So please let your fellow jefas know where to hang out with you online, how they can support your work and where they can find all of your links.

Lucy Ortega 46:08

Yes, thank you, kita kita, for having me here. Well, people can find me on instagram and tiktok by lucy ortega is my handle, and by lucyortegacom is my website, which is going to be launching in may. So by by june, they should see the new up and coming website that I've been working on and I'm really excited with the pictures that you took of me, of course, so that's very exciting as well. And Sierra Giselle is our taco stand and we are on Instagram and TikTok as well. And Sierra on Southgate is the cafe handles on social media. And the other thing is. The other thing is the cookbook. Yes, thank you for mentioning I have forgotten.

Lucy Ortega 46:56

I'm working on the cookbook. I'm finalizing it right now and it has all of the most of the recipes that we have at this taco stand, and it's just what I call a love letter to, to my family, because for me, the reason I started the cookbook was I. I thought my grandmother died back in 2014, so she never saw me become an entrepreneur. I was the first year in college and she she passed away, and then, in 2021, my cousin passed away. He was the first death in our family besides my grandmother, and that actually was the other reason I went all in because I'm like we only have one life and you can die at any time.

Lucy Ortega 47:44

And I also thought well, what if my mom passes away and I don't know how to cook? I need to have her recipes, because when she passes away, all the recipes she knows are gone with her if we don't figure out how to make them and store it somewhere. So for me, the recipe book is also for our family. So now I'm going to be that tia that is gonna have those recipes and with measurements and directions, yeah, and I'm very excited because I think it's gonna be something that is gonna be it's it's gonna be something that is gonna be passed down through many generations. And I do recommend and highly I it has taken me days and weeks to work on it, but I recommend anyone who wants to save those recipes to do it.

Kita Zuleta 48:37

Yeah, yeah, oh, I love that so much. I'm so excited for the cookbook to come out. Um, we're not just foodies but we like to cook here at Casa Zuleta. So definitely excited for the cookbook and definitely have been. We have been working on it for our family, for ourselves, documenting and at least having you know we still have.

Kita Zuleta 48:59

My husband has his grandmother's still with us and I've had the privilege to cook, loves to cook, and man, she gets down in the kitchen and so I've had the privilege of cooking with her. You know like, well, that's what we do, right for holidays, and it brings me to tears all the time when I'm cooking with her, because I'm like I never got to do this with my grandmothers, neither one of them. You know like I lost them young and I'm like I don't have these recipes and my mom doesn't prefer to cook and doesn't remember these recipes. Or you know, like, and so there's so much that I'm like, and one of my grandmothers used to make quesos and cremas and dulces in El Salvador to sell, and so I'm really excited and it's really special. You know what you're doing and, like you said, definitely recommend anyone. If there are family recipes, let's get these recipes and save them, even if it's just for yourself and your family, because it's just so important to really take that legacy of food seriously. So I'm really excited about that to come. So, bueno, thank you again so much for sharing your journey with us, and have us be sure to follow and support Lucy at ByLucyOrtega on Instagram and TikTok, and also her food Sierra Guisados and at Sierra on Southgate. So be sure to check her out and follow and support all of her work. If you are local to Southern California, go check out the taco stand and also go to her cafe. So be on the lookout for all the things that are coming and come through once those lattes are in the coffee shop, because y'all already know we have a new local coffee shop to go to Jefas, so I'm really excited for that to come through too, thank you. Thank you so much, lucy, for sharing so much of your heart and your journey with us. Jefas, thank you for hanging out with us Until next time. I am your host, kita Azuleta. Thank you for listening to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast.

Kita Zuleta 51:25

Well, jefas, that's a wrap for today's episode of the Cafecito con Jefas podcast. I sincerely hope these conversations have lifted your spirits and left you with a renewed sense of purpose. Remember, jefas, you are not alone on this journey. Our community is here to lift you up, offer guidance and share in your success, knowing that there's an abundance of work for each of us and believing that we will go farther together. If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave a review or share the episode that you're listening to online. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on the incredible stories we have in store for you. Connect with the community on Instagram at Cabecito con Jefas, and reach out directly to yours truly at Quita Azuleta Photo.

Kita Zuleta 52:16

Let's keep these conversations alive, continue to foster connections and continue growing as a united community where the goal is for every jefa to thrive. If you haven't already joined us for our cafecito and co-working sessions, please be sure to sign up to get those invitations directly into your inbox. Come as you are when you can and surround yourself with your fellow jefas. I can't wait to connect with you at a future cafecito. If you're needing guidance on how to take your brand to the next level, I'm here to walk that path with you. Book a free consultation with me and together we'll develop strategies that will feel in alignment with the season that you're in, as well as setting yourself up for the growth that you desire. As we close today's episode, remember that your journey as a jefa is an ever-evolving one. Keep going, pasito. A pasito, you deserve it. Until next time, jefas, I'm your host, quita Azuleta. Thank you.