Meet Jefa: Victoria Carrington Chavez - La Mezcla Creative

Can a creative journey shaped by diverse heritages transform the landscape of brand strategy? On this episode of Cafecito con Jefas, we sit down with the inspiring Victoria Carrington Chavez, the visionary brand strategist and graphic designer behind La Mezcla Creative Co. Victoria shares her unique journey from Colorado to New England, and how her rich African-American, Mexican, and Diné (Navajo) heritage informs her innovative work. Together, we discuss her dynamic collaborations with six-figure brand CEOs and grassroots nonprofits, underscoring the power of community building and the importance of celebrating every victory along the entrepreneurial path.

We also shine a spotlight on the empowerment of BIPOC femme-identifying creatives. Addressing societal challenges like the Latina pay gap, Victoria and I explore the importance of recognizing one's inherent magic and brilliance. As branding creatives I share my passion for turning side hustles into successful ventures and the significance of demystifying creative processes. Our conversation aims to empower fellow jefas to navigate their entrepreneurial journeys with confidence and to foster better engagement and collaboration within their communities.

Navigating neurodiversity in the creative process presents its own unique challenges, which Victoria and I tackle head-on. We share personal anecdotes about managing sensory overload, the importance of systems for success, and the necessity of accommodations for neurodiverse individuals. From creating sensory-friendly workspaces to outsourcing tasks and building supportive networks, this episode is a celebration of resilience, creativity, and community. Join us to be inspired by stories and insights that can elevate your entrepreneurial journey and help you thrive.

Transcript

Empowering Jefas

Kita Zuleta 0:00

Hi, Jefas, welcome to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast. I'm your host, Kita Zuleta. As 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 and equip you with the tools and strategies to show up online. Lots of life has shaped me into the woman I am today, with roots tracing back to immigrant Salvadoran and Mexican parents, an inevitable love for Cafecito, a neurodivergent brain, an obsession for plantitas, the intentional consumption of audiobooks and the joy of sharing life with my best friend, turned husband, of almost 10 years. I'm so excited to have you here. Join me on this storytelling adventure as we deep dive into conversations that bridge the gap between real, unfiltered moments of life and the journey of entrepreneurship. Beyond a podcast, this is a community, a space where Jefas come together to share their stories, learn from one another and create a connection full of support, without competition. Every episode is a window into the stories that have molded us, the lessons that have shaped us, and, while our paths may vary, the emotions and experiences that unite us remain undeniably relatable. We're all the same, same but different. So grab your mug, pour yourself a cup of cafecito and immerse yourself in the conversations that will ignite your passion, spark your 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 Zuleta. Today I am so excited to have with me my new friend, victoria. I'm sure this is just the start of a blossoming friendship. Y'all are going to hear us go into our neuro spicy brains and just be able to have a great conversation. I'm so excited to have this conversation.

Kita Zuleta 2:40

So I would love to formally introduce Victoria Carrington Chavez, a Colorado native brand strategist and graphic designer. Often referred to as pure magic in her industry influences. Victoria is the visionary force behind La Mezcla Creative Co. A branding and marketing agency centered in creativity and community building through creative collaboration. From CEOs of six-figure brands to grassroots nonprofits, victoria has collaborated with a mix of enterprises.

Kita Zuleta 3:23

Her graphic design skills have led her to collaborate with Northeastern University as a guest lecturer for visual storytelling. She has creatively collaborated with notable creative entrepreneurs such as award-winning children's book author, alisa Reynoso-Morris, and singer-songwriter and TikTok influencer Mama Nuz. She earned a BA in communications and Spanish from the University of Colorado, boulder, launching into a career in digital marketing, with a focus on social media content creation and graphic design, a passion she's nurtured since 2010. This year, she will be launching courses to help creative entrepreneurs with branding, marketing, how to Canva. Stay tuned as La Mezcla grows to celebrate communication at the intersection of creativity. Beyond the canvas, she actively supports community and creative initiatives aiming to eliminate the world with vibrancy and brilliance. Victoria, thank you so much for being here today with us. Thank you, thank you for your time.

Victoria Carrington 4:36

I am just thrilled and excited to be here and I'm just so proud of you. I love this opportunity to speak with a successful jefa, a neuro, spicy hermana, and just really celebrate in that we are doing the damn things. We are doing things that are hard, but we are doing them brilliantly and beautifully and I just, I'm just excited to get into some cafecito and some chisme and some conversacion.

Kita Zuleta 5:20

Yes, I love it. I love it so much. Thank you so much for celebrating with me Y'all. I am actively practicing reading out loud. Some of y'all may already know I am dyslexic, so, as reading is a skill set, your girl is actively practicing with these introductions and was edited by the time you are listening these airwaves, listening to this recording. But there were quite a few times where I needed a restart and Victoria so graciously watched and sent all the love while your girl was practicing reading out loud. So I am so excited and would love to dive in and find we got the official introduction that I just read through. But I would love for you to introduce yourself to your fellow Jefas and just give us a small glimpse into who you are, what you do, who you serve and where you're located.

Victoria Carrington 6:11

Yeah, I would be honored and I mean, I think it's so key. An important part of the Jefahood is celebrating each other and lifting each other up and victories, small or big. Like my name is Victoria, like we celebrate it all around here, and so I'm Victoria Carrington Chavez and I am born and raised in Colorado. I'm a proud Colorado native. I currently live in New England and it's intriguing, but I have been able to find and connect with jefes from all over the world.

Victoria Carrington 6:50

I work in, I have my own digital marketing agency called La Mezcla, and that is like, if you're listening to this, this is fresh news, this is the fresh cheese mayo, because I formerly was working under Lilac and Aspen, which was kind of a nod to my two homes. But as we do in business, we grow, we pivot, we shift and La Mezcla just felt like it, just felt like who I am, because, you know, soy una mezcla. Like I'm a African-American, mexicana and Diné, which is at Navajo, and I've been able to embrace all these different sides of my identity and bring them into the artistry that I bring as a graphic designer, as not just a digital artist, but I also enjoy painting, painting and how the community that I serve is. I found that a lot of the people that I serve are those who are finding their power inside the intersections of identity and those who are multitudes and multi-hyphenate and multicultural and just.

Victoria Carrington 8:03

I feel like the world doesn't always celebrate us or doesn't always understand us and tries to put us in like the box, not realizing that we were never meant to fit in the box. And so digital marketing and like branding, like especially being a brand strategist, because that is my magic, I am a branding bruja. I am the branding bruja because I help other creatives see their magic, because sometimes, like I said, the world is like fit in this box and it's like no, mija, you're not meant to fit in the box. And that is a direct line from my mother when I was a kid no, mija, you were not meant to fit in the box because she did not love love. Uh, you know the boxing that the society tried to put on me.

Kita Zuleta 8:46

Hmm, that's beautiful. So I want to hear about how all of that is now pouring into and and came from this original pursuit of entrepreneurship. Right, and I'm sure, as you're saying, this is La Mezcla is the newest iteration. This is what is currently in process right behind the scenes. As she mentioned, it is the fresh cheese mayo, because she is currently in the process of this rebrand, but this is not a new venture. So I would love to know how long you've been pursuing entrepreneurship and what motivated you to start. Like, tell us a story of how you got to where you are now.

Victoria Carrington 9:28

Yeah, so I have been side gig hustling for years Like I would say a good, solid decade. So do not dismiss a good side hustle. I started out as a photographer, so photography is one of my first creatives, I know we're gonna be so such good friends after this. I'm so excited that's why, when I met you, I was like after my story neuro spicy photographer.

Victoria Carrington 9:58

But I started as a photographer and I started out, you know, in my really early 20s. You know, don't let this face fool you, your girl is almost 40. But I started in my early 20s Like, how do I, you know, pay for things? And I just would do headshots for people or I would do, you know, let's do a quick couple's portrait, and that has evolved to then I would start doing graphic design and then people would see my sketches and I like to sketch animals, and they'd be like, can you draw my dog? And I was like sure.

Victoria Carrington 10:34

And then, when 2028, I was, I had a friend who was like, can you build me a website? Cause I had been kind of playing with, you know, photoshop for years and a lot of the different graphics, and I was like sure, so I built them a website that now it's turned into this agency and a really fun story. One of my favorite and how I got really good at Canva is that I taught K-3 in Spanish for a number of years and with my graphic design background, I know Adobe, love Adobe products, all for that. But as a teacher trying to make cause, listen, they gave me a workbook that was older than me and I was like no child is going to look at this and how do I make these fun? I was like they need fun, cute things, so I would make worksheets for the children, but I started using canvas so that I could do it faster as kind of a hack because I didn't have time to really

Victoria Carrington 11:28

deep dive and it's now turned into I give Canva courses, like I help busy entrepreneurs and kind of combine those teaching skills. So where La Mezcla has started, like I started as a side gig and seeing all these multi-hyphenate and all these different skills, I realized wait, I kind of have multitudes in the things that I do. How can I support that intersection of all of these different layers, especially in an industry? Sometimes that tells us to niche down, which I think is really great advice, but it might not work for everybody. Some people might need to balance the kind of different elements of their brand and working with somebody to help them find that balance. And that's really the heart of La Mezcla is celebrating those multitudes and intersections of someone's identity in their business.

Kita Zuleta 12:21

Yes, you know, I love so much that these are the words that you are using for your messaging, because I actually have been in a similar boat and maybe because we attract people that are in alignment with us. You know, like, as you show up authentically, you attract. Like you show up authentically, you attract. Like hey, I'm too, you know what I mean. Like you, you attract your people, right, and so I feel that what has been happening for me also is dealing um at working alongside with a lot of Jefas who are in a season of transition, whether it's from translating their 20, some odd 30 year career to their Jefa journey right and now designing their life accordingly. Or just a pivot, or going owning the titles and the skill sets that we have developed via all the side hustles and things that we have, even if they're for short-term successes right, it was something that we still, with the way that our brains work, we researched everything there needed to know about that side hustle and did it to the best of our ability and made it work. So therefore, we have that experience nonetheless, right. So I think it's been really beautiful to see how so many of us are in this season of our careers where we get to own that multi-hyphenated title. We get to own the fact that we do have multiple roles and multiple skill sets. So I love that you mentioned the struggle of niching down, because I've been talking about this with one of my clients lately and I heard recently. So I think you're going to love this when I say it. It's why I'm so excited about the words you're using, because I heard an example recently about describing a niche. Is the intersection of your skill sets and superpowers. Yes, so then, instead of thinking about it needing to be one thing, it can be literally a combination of all the things, right? Or a combination of two or three of your major superpowers, right, and that is how you best serve, right? So, because you are able to serve with all of these things, you are able to then understand those of us who have all the multi hyphenate different things now, because, also, there is a very big difference depending on the audience or the small business that you are serving, right?

Kita Zuleta 15:05

There is different stages of this Jefa life, right? So then there are the Jefas that are just getting started and it's their first idea and the first attempt at something, so it is a one-track mind. It's all in in this direction, right, whatever direction that is. But then, once there has been multiple of those one track mind rabbit holes, if you will, in the course of the career, we now get to design, like the passive income route and where is our time one-on-one going to go route and how are we going to offer this service and be able to do courses to create accessibility? Because we know the struggle, yeah, was needing to figure out all of these things, not on a whole lot of money. You know what I'm saying.

Kita Zuleta 15:57

Like all of these things that we now get to do for our people, I feel like it's beautiful to see that evolution for you and I think it's cool Like so many things are parallel for us too, because my husband and I started our photo video business right around 10 years ago, or actually 2014.

Kita Zuleta 16:14

So, yeah, at the end of this year, we'll be officially 10 years since we started this pursuit. So then, with all of that, now we are actually in the middle of relaunching our agency, right, so we're rebranding our official one. So then, our agency is what holds Kita Zuleta and Cafecito con Jefas, and then also my husband's Gianni Barumidia and Puro Jogo. So it's just beautiful to see that, and so I love to hear it. And I want to hear more about your brand's way and I know that you touched on it a little bit. You know talking about being able to showcase all these intersections of us and being able to own that as well, but I want to talk about your brand's why, like the mission and purpose behind the products and services that you've been developing, so I want to hear all about your agency, right, like, what is it that you're going to be doing now and creating for your people?

Victoria Carrington 17:08

Yeah, I love that and felicidades. Like it feels really good when you're starting to scale up. It's a lot of work, so we need all the snaps we can get. Yes, yes, yes, one of my biggest whys, I think so I have been called the branding bruja before and one of the biggest whys and the thing that I love is helping people see their magic, helping people see it, and I think that a lot of the people, most of the people that I work with, are generally generally femme-identifying BIPOC people, and what I noticed is because for us, this world is sometimes really hard to live in and society doesn't always celebrate us, doesn't celebrate our magic and doesn't celebrate our gifts and all the skills and all the things that we can bring and let us know that we are valuable beyond a dollar, and then we throw in things that, like there is a Latina pay gap. So my why is that? I want to really empower and inspire people to see their magic, to see their brilliance, to see their skills and see the things that they do really well and then be able to go and turn that, because then they're going to get confidence, then they're going to get more self-love and then they're going to be able to turn that and move that side hustle into the next evolution, but then also make things accountable for them, no matter where they're at in their journey, because, like bootstrapping is real, y'all like, we're doing it, I'm doing it, and like so, and a lot of us especially if we're neuro, diverse and spacey, and then if we're latina, like all those intersections we know how to get shit done.

Victoria Carrington 19:08

So sometimes, when we don't know somebody on, or we don't know that industry or we don't, and so like, a lot of the courses that I'm coming up with are for people, for those d do-it-yourself heifas that are like, yeah, I can do this, I gotta do this. I might not have the funds to pay somebody with, like, with your experience and expertise, but I've got to start somewhere. But then it's also for funds to pay somebody with your experience and expertise, but I've got to start somewhere. But then it's also for those halfas. I don't want to gatekeep, right, and there's some halfas that I've run into that might be like I don't know the process of the conversation of developing a designer, especially around websites, and they might have felt like, oh, I didn't get all the things that I needed or I wasn't sure how to communicate that. So demystifying that process to help enhance those relationships that we need with our collaborators.

Victoria Carrington 19:58

Because the other piece of La Mezcla is we're about creative collaboration and I have found that, as a creative and an iterative, I don't always know how to describe how my brain works. But when I'm having a creative and an iterative verse, I don't always know how to describe how my brain works. But when I'm having a creative collaboration agency and I feel like you can sound off on this too you have to describe to people how your brain works and that's challenging and you have to do that to help enhance the relationships Whereas of maybe other Jefas or other creatives haven't reached that point. So to create courses to demystify it, for Jefas empowers us to be able to ask the right questions of the people we're entering into creative collaboration with, and then we have much better engagement, we have much better results and we can kind of learn to build that relationship.

Victoria Carrington 20:52

And then I also eventually want to enhance and help creative collaboratives to demystify their own processes, which is why a lot of the engagements that I do at La Mezcla start with our branding signature package, which is really you just sitting with me and talking with me and me getting to know you and then being able to be that mirror, that espejo, that's like you are really great at communication, you are really creative.

Victoria Carrington 21:20

You might need some support in this area and really helping you see who you are, not just as a jefa but as someone in this world. And then we look at all the different ways that that positions in your brand and where you want to go. And so I tell the Jefas a lot of times that I work with the more information we have, because sometimes we'll be like, oh my gosh, I see I gave you too much information Like the more we work with, the more that I can help you see your magic. And literally it's become magic and right, and that's where I got the nickname branding and we're sticking with it. If you see somebody else, being the branding like it's not, it I am.

Collaborative Brand Photography Process

Kita Zuleta 22:08

It's the wrong one, y'all, it's the wrong one. I'm the original OG. What I love is pointing out that fact and I think I've had this conversation also with fellow strategists too where it's like the more the way that I like to describe it and the way that I share and kind of kickstart the process with my clients is one I ask a lot of questions. My brain likes to understand, so therefore I ask a ton of questions and all of my questions come from a place of curiosity, because if I don't understand, then I'm unable to translate your brand right Like and I love that it's that you're talking about that because every creative project is a collaboration and I think there is, there can be the misconception of oh, go, fix it Right, just do it. And especially, I'm sure, as a designer, especially right Like, um, and even as a photographer, right when I'm designing or we're planning for a branding photography session, it's like no, no, no, I need your brain, I need you act and you are an active participant because, yes, I'm the one you get to trust me as your photographer. I will direct, I will tell you what to do, but I need multiple planning sessions in advance with you because I need you mentally prepared. I can't have you stressed out, I can't have you like, I cannot remove or edit stress off of your face and also, if I'm shooting, if we, if I created um, a really accessible, um, like photo shoot, right? So it's only 20 minutes for 15 images and it's 500 bucks and I understand that it's still may be a steeper price point for some have us in their journey at the moment, but for what it is, for branding and for the fact that it's literally designed to make you more money. The goal is for it to be an accessible photo shoot for fellow Jefas and being able to build off of it. So it's 20 minutes for 15 images.

Kita Zuleta 24:20

But I have Jefas utilizing two different outfits, four different sets. Like I'm creating stock images, like I'm. We have a process where it's like five minutes here, five minutes, five minutes backdrop outfit one, five minutes sofa outfit one, then five minutes backdrop outfit two, five minutes desk outfit two, and it's let's go. So we have everything because this all happens within 20 minutes of the shoot. But we also have to set up, tear down and Jefa number two is coming for the next hour. So this whole process needs to be streamlined. That can't happen without a plan. I may be as skilled as I am at my job and I have done things on the fly, but I am too old to need to work that hard on set.

Kita Zuleta 25:09

Like we have time to plan this out. Give me some of that time, and I love that you said too with that collaboration we become a mirror, right, because it's your idea, it's your brand, baby, it's your business. Like we can give all the suggestions. As strategists, our job is to download also the data we know and suggest strategies or give ideas. That's what y'all pay us for. But then from there y'all get to make the final decision because it is your brand, right, and that's the beauty of it is, we get to collaborate.

Kita Zuleta 25:43

And then at the end I feel like when the reveal is like, how did you do that? And we're like we talked about this, what do you mean? Like we did this together, you know. So I'm excited to see how you continue to showcase your work, that you are doing and going to continue to be doing with your fellow Jefas, and I love that you're talking about needing to explain also how your brain works. So I want to jump into a little bit on talking about how our brains work. So I'd love for you to introduce your neuro spicy brain to your fellow Jefas and really I'd love for you to share how that affects defines is a part of who you are as a HIPAA.

Navigating Neurodiversity and Accommodations

Victoria Carrington 26:32

Yeah, absolutely. And before jumping into that, I do want to give a market idea of your brand package, of brand photography at $500 for 20 minutes, for 15 images is so incredibly gracious and yes, it might be outside of scopes, but like just to give you a market, like I paid. I paid $200 for one picture with one outfit and it was like a, I think, about a 20 minute session. So, like I just want to acknowledge that you are really using your skillset to give something that is very gracious and accessible to help people on their journey and also acknowledge that magic of that synthesizing this creative process.

Victoria Carrington 27:19

I think that sometimes, because what you talked about was a creative process and as a creative, I constantly feel sometimes like people maybe look at it like it's a light switch right, Like I just turn the creativity on and off, and that is not how it works, especially in branding Like I got to look at all the things I got to. Like you know, it becomes like the. I just imagine that person with all the sticky notes that are like and then I got to thread this and thread this and I'm Danae and I think about these beautiful weavings. Danae are really known for their beautiful weavings and tapestry, and sometimes I explain to my clients no, I'm threading every single part of your brand together, a thread at a time, but if I don't have those threads I can't make that complete beautiful picture. Creativity is not a light switch, I can't just go one and done. And it's also this kind of call to action of really just being gentle with your creative collaborators and honoring our process which is a good segue into that neurodiversity-ness.

Victoria Carrington 28:28

So one of my main whys, too, for my business and going full-time entrepreneur is that I realized I needed some accommodations. I realized I'm a late diagnosis. I got diagnosed last year my official diagnosis and my life has changed, being diagnosed with autism and ADHD, and so I better understand why I move in the way that I do or why my brain really can beautifully thread these things together, but why I struggle with time. Time is so hard, it doesn't exist for me in the same way is so hard. It doesn't exist for me in the same way.

Victoria Carrington 29:08

And I have tried all the different things why when I was a teenager I had like multiple alarm clocks in my this was before cell phones. Everybody I know I'm that old and why I had the different alarm clocks in different spaces. And you know you start to better understand yourself. And I view that as when you start to understand your neurodiverseness and there's so many ways that that can show up you better understand how to accommodate and take care of yourself. And I've spent a lot of time and research in my systems, in my backends, things to help streamline that, that in spite of time, my time blindness, I have systems in my back ends, things to help streamline that, that in spite of time, my time blindness, I have systems in place and that's where I'm really love. I love and celebrate my clients that support and revere the system because, it takes a lot, and so I have multiple calendars.

Victoria Carrington 30:08

I have an assistant that runs multiple calendars. I have an assistant that built a specialized notion for me so I could see certain deadlines, so I could see things kind of move around and it feels like so much work but the less energy that my brain has to spend because listen, just because I have time, blindness doesn't mean that I haven't lived for 39 years having to navigate a world without those accommodations, like I graduated college. However, to graduate college, I didn't realize that I so my neurodiverse-ness and I read somewhere that it's usually five things that can incentivize our brains if it's something that is not a special interest, and so to kind of also back up and give people clarity, so a special interest is something that, even if my brain, even if it's hard, like a time thing, a calendar, if it's something I'm really interested in, my brain will oversee that and not care and then just be like yeah, let's do it because we're about the dopamine so excited.

Victoria Carrington 31:19

There's other ways that our brains can be motivated, and that's deadlines, right, crisis mode, which is why what you said earlier. I just want to acknowledge the fact for a minute that you were like I'm good, I can work in this. Can you please keep in that confidence Because, yeah, your neurodiverseness is like I can fix this crisis, I can do this in a pinch and I can do it well. However, that is really hard on a nervous system to live like that all the time. There's other ways, like rewards, right, I thought it was so sweet that you were giving yourself snaps and the rewards we got to reward ourselves Sometimes I actually this is a meeting to my assistant today because she's very proud I turned in all of my work on the calendar, I told her all the things beforehand and I was like I would like a gold star, please, thank you very much.

Victoria Carrington 32:11

And she was like I will get you one because I need that reward and I'm not saying that to be silly Like my brain literally needs the reward that you did the thing. That was hard, um, you know, and special interests are are some, uh, some of the other ways. So those are just a few things in how I navigate, but it's hard because not everybody understands that and I'm still. I mean, I'm still learning how my brain works because I have spent 39 years in a world that wasn't always accommodating. How I did graduate college was that I was writing all my papers a day before they were due, which at 20 is, let me just say, writing them at 39 versus 20 is a whole different feel on your body. I am too old for that.

Kita Zuleta 33:14

A whole new world. I can't talk about it.

Victoria Carrington 33:20

We can't.

Kita Zuleta 33:21

No, it is not the same. It is not the same y'all. It's been decades since we were functioning at a different level and I think too. I mean thank you for sharing that part of your journey. And, as I shared at the beginning of the episode, I am dyslexic but I am also an ADHD-er. I am a highly sensitive person. I do struggle with sensory processing. So I have had moments where I'm like, is it autism? But I don't think it's autism, I think it's just the sensory part of it. But of course it's so hard.

Kita Zuleta 34:08

I got the official diagnosis for ADHD and dyslexia but I have yet to go down the rabbit hole to see. But a lot of the self-test, I don't fall too easily into that category, but definitely all the like hundred percenters on the sensory processing issues and so, but with what my brain has done because as someone with dyslexia, you know the concept of reading I kind of disassociate, not kind of I completely disassociated from it. So then I told myself I wasn't a reader, right, like I chose, if you will, to own the fact that I'm not a reader, despite my heart like actually longing to like be able to walk into Barnes and Noble and get one of those books, but I knew that I wasn't going to be able to read it. And then also, you know, growing up, getting that like you know, pero si no lo vas a leer, and it's like, yeah, but I want to, but you know what I mean. Like it was just I did not know why. That was the struggle. I now know. And so, therefore, when I I wasn't first introduced, but almost reintroduced to audio books at the end of 2019. And I completed listening to my first audio book and felt, like what is happening? Like I was like wait, I finished. Like I didn't even think that I'd be able to finish that because I had separated, like the ability to complete a book from my radar, like it was not a skillset that I had. Right Now, I like to say it's not a superpower, I have right, but the once I found audiobooks I found it at the end of 2019, mind you so like it was like quarter four, so the last four months, if so, I maybe finished like four books, but four books, excuse me, six books in four months for your girl who felt like I hadn't finished. It wasn't, it wasn't the truth, but it felt like I hadn't finished a book in my whole life Right Like um. So, having that, I was like I felt you know, yes, I can do this.

Kita Zuleta 36:27

Then we went into 2020, our pandemic, personally, started a little sooner. So I was already. I had a lot of extra time, literalmente, in the hospital, like bedside with family members, but the point was is that I had downtime basically throughout 2020 and business shut down all those things. But I dove all the way into audiobooks and, as my brain started consuming more and more, I realized I like science and I like to understand how my brain and my body works. I also was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2012. So that happened even sooner, and so I've been navigating those waters and also dealing with the fact that, with fibromyalgia, there hasn't been a lot of science to figure out all of these things. So as I started learning more, I also had a heavy thing.

Kita Zuleta 37:27

A lot of life has been happening. You know, hey, we all, we've all been going through it, but you know to try to keep it light and very short bullet points. You know I almost lost my husband at one point and so during that season also, I went down the science books of you know his body and how to like, how we can fix it Right, like what can we do and how do our bodies and systems heal? And so we went into like intense, your girl went deep into all the science, like how does our brain work? What kind of hormones is going on? Like, what systems do we need? What rhythms do we need? Like I grew up in a very structured home and very scheduled, so then everything and very scheduled. I was constantly in a state of doing this because I was my nervous system was always because I was getting in trouble, because I was very curious and doing things a little outside of the box and things that wasn't supposed to happen at that time.

Kita Zuleta 38:29

But I learned and I actually have the ability to see time. It's a little crazy because I still will have moments where, like, I'll get lost in my ADHD, like if I'm just you know, I don't I lose track of time. But when I'm able to think, without talking about like to plan or logistically, I can kind of see time like Tetris it's, it's, it's kind of nuts, like I'll we'll talk about it and I'll be like, oh, there's not enough time that we have to like move here and cushion, like I can see it in my head. Very interesting.

Kita Zuleta 39:05

So I've been able to actually and of course I've read time management books like over and over in my head and I think honestly it's been a version of like wanting to fix that part and like kind of learn and train myself how to better the habits and like I've been a self-improvement, like self-help. I think the idea of something I have struggled with in the past and have healed from, but something that I constantly told myself as I would have those hard moments or harder days, was that I was broken. So then I would feel that deeply and especially with not being able to read, or sometimes the executive functioning just like you know, not today, or the brain fog or the body, or so many different things. Those accommodations I had no idea, and it wasn't until even audiobooks was like the first version of an accommodation that I was like oh snap, I recently got AirPods. What Noise canceling in the middle of grocery stores? Are you kidding me? This is changing my life.

Navigating Neurodivergent Accommodations

Victoria Carrington 40:15

Yes, oh my gosh, that's so real and so true. I mean I view it as like there's this meme of like the T-Rex, and then the T-Rex has the grabbers and the it, the, the the thing is it says unstoppable. And that is how I felt when I started, cause I didn't realize I was always giving myself accommodations, but they weren't always popular, right. So like before I was a full-time entrepreneur, like I, you know, was at my nine to five, and I would be tired, or I would be like I would be burnt out, or like I didn't know how to talk to people, or I come home, and that was my life right before. It's like I come home and I just would like sit in front of the TV and I just would like turn into a glob.

Victoria Carrington 40:59

And then I struggled to like be creative and all of these things. And it wasn't until after my diagnosis that I realized, oh, I have a social battery or I um, you know for me what you really talked about when you, when you talked about like dyslexia or feeling not intelligent, like for me it's lazy. That was the thing that always, like I'm lazy because I can't like my mom would be like you're, she's, like you're getting straight A's and your laundry's on the floor, like what Like, and it wasn't until my diagnosis that I realized my brain has the hardest time with that. And now I take my laundry to a service which is like I did not know what to do.

Victoria Carrington 41:39

That's changing the shame as a Latina, like someone else, is doing my laundry. Are you kidding?

Kita Zuleta 41:45

But it was like go to the fluff and fold y'all. Go to the fluff and fold y'all. Go to the.

Victoria Carrington 41:50

But look at him realize that it was so hard on my brain and then, without that dopamine hit, like of doing something like my laundry. Then I would ignore it and it wasn't until my best friend was like and like, listen y'all, like I then, to fix the problem, I'm spending money buying new clothes all the time because I can't deal with the laundry. And I would sit there and I, you know, and I would feel like or like, just, very like, like just lazy and just, and it wasn't until I was like oh no, this is ADHD and I need this accommodation. And my accommodation is that I drop it off, somebody does it, they fold it even, and then I pay them and I bring it home and it immediately goes away into my closet and then I feel organized and then I feel like I can breathe and then I can then use that creative energy that I would burn out on just doing laundry to build websites, to do branding, to do graphics, to create these beautiful things. And so I love that story of like accommodations.

Victoria Carrington 43:04

And like I too, I didn't realize I could wear headphones grocery shopping because grocery store and that was like the whole process. And like I too, I didn't realize I could wear headphones. Grocery shopping, because grocery store and that was like the whole process. And so, to kind of clarify, I'm self-diagnosed autistic but I do have an official diagnosis of ADHD, which you know, therapy and medication, as well as different other. I have other accommodations and systems to manage that and one of the biggest indicators for me that something was off is that I would not go to the grocery store or I'd eat out which, listen, your girl doesn't always have the budget to be eating out, and so then I'm stressed out because I have no money.

Kita Zuleta 43:42

But you need to eat, because then you have no energy, because then your brain's depleted, like it's this vicious cycle. You have no energy because then your brain's depleted, like it's this vicious cycle, and what's crazy? What is crazy is that, as you were talking about the heavy, my husband is also neurodivergent, but it presents itself so incredibly differently, incredibly differently. So it's been a ride navigating, managing both of our neurodiversities and what we each need and what we have learned to communicate, kind of like how you were talking about communicating with our clients. We have now learned to be able to say this shouldn't be heavy lifting, but it is incredibly heavy lifting for me to need to go upstairs right now and go grab my socks. Is there any chance you can go do that for me? And it's like, oh, I got that, no problem.

Creating Systems for Neurodiverse Success

Kita Zuleta 44:37

But we're like in a version of micro-paralysation, because that functioning the flip is really hard to happen at times when we don't, when we're either in a season of micro crisis, definitely major crisis. So much of the managing of our symptoms, if you would call it all of the things that we may need accommodating where our brain needs the additional you know, like just bumper bumpers, if you will. All of that really may seem. You know, like I said, even in how we talk to each other, we're over here like it shouldn't be heavy lifting, but it is heavy lifting, right, and it's just like there really isn't a should or shouldn't. It's just this, the concept of saying it out loud in order to remove the shame. It's just like listen, this is it's.

Kita Zuleta 45:36

It's a hard day today. I'm overstimulated. I am overstimulated. I need to turn off the lights, you know, like I have learned to, for example, when I need to focus, you know, and clock in in the evening. I cannot use fluorescent lighting, I can't. I do not turn on the lights in my office, like, I have a very large window so I have natural light in here, and then that little neon heart turns on at night, and that is it, like I, like it needs to remain quiet. The other, it's pretty loud in my neighborhood, so I found myself with my AirPods and then putting these uh beats, noise canceling headphones on top so that I can still continue to work.

Kita Zuleta 46:22

Um, so I dream of soundproofing my studio, but somehow pretty like. I don't know what that's going to look like, but like I'm like, oh, I just, I want it to be just soundproofed and plantitas and safe and sensory all the things, but really I think to for anyone. If there are fellow jefas that are like I'm hearing your brains, just go all over the place and bounce within this conversation and you're like my people, like welcome. First of all, we love you, we see you, we are you. But also, if you are finding yourself, whether you are in the midst of self-diagnosing or trying to figure out if this is something that it's like, oh, that kind of sounds like me.

Kita Zuleta 47:11

Some of that sounds like me. Some of it doesn't know that, when it comes to neurodiversity, it is such a wide range of what that is. So, first and foremost, just dig into some of the literature. I have plenty of books that I would highly recommend ADHD 2.0, women with ADHD, neurodiversity oh my goodness, there's so many books. So, if you are interested in books and resources, I literally just bought how to ADHD. That's a really new one, so I'm looking to check it out and be able to see what that looks like.

Kita Zuleta 47:50

So, oh, and then, speaking to you, know these heavy lifting items how to Keep House While Drowning, have you?

Victoria Carrington 47:59

read that book? I have not. I'm going to add that to the list.

Kita Zuleta 48:03

It's a very short book and a listen. It's only a three hour listen. It is by a fellow ADHD year. She is a therapist also. She's also on TikTok. I want a manifesting manifest with me that she's going to be on the podcast because I would love to talk to her about it. That book was life changing because what it did was speak to our difficulty and those heavy lifting moments and how to change our perspective and release the. She had a line at the beginning that like. I think I cried the first time I heard her say it. It was a version of like there's no shame. It like oh, what did she say? You are not. You are not an inherently bad person.

Victoria Carrington 48:48

No.

Kita Zuleta 48:49

If you have a messy home or if, in this season, you have dirty dishes or if you need help. You know what I'm saying. So being able to separate that you are a bad person, or as a Latina female wife, or just in general, a Latina female.

Kita Zuleta 49:07

Let's be real right. Supposedly there should be quote, unquote, a way that we're supposed to be, but our brains there are certain things that we may need help with. So that fluff and fold. I don't currently have that set up and it's been on the list. I've been telling my husband I'm just waiting for this money to come in because we're fluff and folding as soon as it's coming. But even still with that, so many times, even that thought right, I viene en un ratito, but how much more time would I really be saving? But how much more time would I really be saving and how much more money would I really be making if all of my clothes was exactly where it needed to be because somebody else washed and folded it?

Victoria Carrington 49:49

Yeah Well, and you, I know, right, right, you save time and money.

Victoria Carrington 49:55

But I remember so what my best friend, mi mejor amiga, told me when I sat, because I felt so much shame about it.

Victoria Carrington 50:03

And I love this reminder and this is something that I say a lot with my I have, I, you know, I met with a client one time and she was like Victoria, I'm in my PJs, I was not going to and I was like no judgments. And I say that time and time again because I, I have struggled and I know that, that shame and that guilt, because I, I have struggled and I know that, that shame and that guilt, and like you don't know what people are going through, you don't know. And so the more that we can add kindness and empathy and compassion and just judgment, like and see people where they're really at, empowers them and inspires them and helps them get to where they want to go. And I just remember me, my friend was like I was, I the, it was like I don't know about this, this fluff and fold, like I don't know. And she was like I want you to put it in your budget as a necessary item, that it is as necessary as food for you.

Victoria Carrington 50:53

Because, so like I also don't have, like I don't have a washer and dryer, like I have to take it to the laundromat and I was finding taking it to the laundromat and then I'm overwhelmed getting to the laundromat and I was like crying. So I feel like too, and like to kind of flip this into into business too, for half as like you have permission and you are allowed to build the system that is going to work for you, that is going to be most successful for you. You deserve it, not just you have to have permission, you deserve it. That is self-love. Do that for yourself, because that is one of the beautiful things about being an entrepreneur. And if you're not sure how to do it this is my other really big pro tip is the half a hood Call a friend, phone a friend, because that is another thing that they talk about in. Like an ADHD and neurodiverse is like you phone you hack right, you let the thing you don't like to do. You have either something you really enjoy, like I will put on a show that I really like while washing dishes. I usually just put on my phone. It's right there, I'm washing the dishes. Um, you, I've. I know people who phone friends, like I've sometimes phoned a friend and been on the phone with my friend while I'm collecting my laundry to take to the wash and fold, and so in my business I phone friends a lot. Actually, that has been a key to success.

Victoria Carrington 52:11

You know, one of my um I've worked with um Ashley's. Uh, oh hey, that for a number of years she wrote half-fin training and or for like a year it feels, it feels y'all, that's how good ashley is. I feel like I've known her for like 10 years. It's, it's been a year, maybe, not even, but ashley has been so good at being like all right, here's business. You know she wrote this bestseller, have been training and she's like here's business. But but then like, how is it going to work for your mind? How is it going to? What's the structure going to work for you?

Victoria Carrington 52:46

I have um, an organizational strategist, um her name is Aisela from Vicarian, who then helps me and I'm like, okay, so now I gotta have a spreadsheet or I gotta do a planner. And she's like which one? These are the different ones, okay, I'm like I got to build a notion, okay. Then I tried to build it myself and I was like no, I don't, I don't, I don't know what's happening. Phone a friend. Can you build my notion? Don't be afraid to do those things. And if money, if money is, is, is is an issue, as it is for many of us, we might not have those resources.

Victoria Carrington 53:21

Diy, find the friend or, you know, barter, do what you got to do, tell people, maybe do like a portion, but like, do not be afraid to build the systems that are going to be successful for you. Then here's the other thing, and I have to practice this. I'm totally shaking my finger because this is my friends reminding me Do not be afraid to advocate for yourself and your client to use the system. So, like I have like a, like I use HoneyBook, right, and that's where I put the proofs up, that's where I send things and I tell clients, put the stuff in HoneyBook. And I've had some clients not do that and I've had to remind them. Like, this is where you put the things and it's because that's for my brain where I go, that is how I'm processing and putting in the buckets.

Victoria Carrington 54:11

I spent time building the system so that I could be successful. So I'm not having to dig through emails, I'm not losing things. So do not be afraid to encourage your clients to use your system. You're the contractor, you're the person and you built the system for you and, honestly, 99.9% of my clients don't have a problem with it. They are willing, they'll work with me, they'll meet, because it's also you know, I'm willing to meet them, kind of where they're at.

Victoria Carrington 54:47

So I know I kind of went into like two different, like balances, but build the system that is going to work for you to be successful, whatever that is, and do not judge yourself, no matter what your past is, no matter what you know, your family, your friends, anybody says because you deserve that and that releases shame, that releases guilt and frees up that energy for us to go and enjoy life.

Victoria Carrington 55:12

We were meant to enjoy life and I love how you talked about the audio book right, because that is you leaning into the accommodations and building systems. So I do both for that same reason. So, with the sensory, my sensory sometimes I need the actual book to rest onto, to read it. That's how my brain is remembering it. But sometimes the words are too scattered on the page and I can't see them. So then I have to pop in the audio book and I used to think that something was wrong with me, too, because I was like how, why do I need both of these? And, in wrapping up, that thought is that creating those systems allows our beautiful brains to do what they do best Brand photography, branding, threading all of those pieces together that other people maybe can't see, that our clients hire us for it allows us to live and thrive not just live, but thrive in our zone of genius that we can be brilliant.

Victoria Carrington 56:20

And then we help other people be brilliant, so thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Kita Zuleta 56:26

Speaking of it's coming. There's so much happening for you and I'm so excited that you touched on that, because these systems and if anyone is like I don't have any systems and I don't know where to start.

Building Empowering Systems for Success

Kita Zuleta 56:41

Y'all feel free to reach out to yours truly. If not myself being able to give you resources, there are plenty of other HIFAs that can help you literally build this out. Yours truly is getting help. It is really something that, if I mean, I am a DIYer, to a fault even and we are practicing asking for help. We are actively practicing being okay with not being in control and letting go of being able to not do all of the things right. Like, growth comes with growing pains and we need the help of others, especially when our mission is bigger than ourselves being able to allow others to come in and help and the systems, for example, that you're talking to and referring to Jefas, if you are newer in business and you're like, well, I don't know about investing in systems like that, I'm just still going to try to figure it out and trust as someone who has been figuring it out and still transitioning into systems and have tried literal. I have started building and stopped and started building and stopped, and it does take time for the learning curve y'all. So if you are in it, learning, keep pushing buttons, keep going, give yourself grace. You are learning something new. These things are hard and it is okay. It is going to take time for us to get into the rhythm.

Kita Zuleta 58:15

That is the new system that we are training ourselves to do, and system can mean many different things, from a paper and pencil planner to a digital thing as much as possible digital now, as we live online and our businesses are online. Of course, the more streamlined that is the better. But really, the concept of a system in general, a plan in general, how you're going to be designing your life, your business, thinking about now, deconstructing the idea that it's supposed to look a certain way, punto, exactly, it just has to work. However, you get from point A to point B to do the work. What is the job If you are selling said service, said product? In order for you to complete that, what do you need, punto? Everything else, the marketing, the branding, all the other layers that'll come after the fact. What you need, first and foremost, is your business, because as Jefas, we need to make money, so we need to make sure we focus on income producing activities and then you can hire as a strategist and to do all your photos and your design and all that stuff when you've been vested and you are ready to grow, because that's what we're going to help you do and we are here to help you. If you got that money up, front girl, we were going to help you set you up Like pero, knowing that not everyone is at that position.

Kita Zuleta 59:43

The goal is for us to really just look at what are your goals, ask yourself the questions of what are your needs, what are your special needs, what are the accommodations that you need? You may not identify as someone, as I said as I asked the question what are your special needs? You might not identify as a neuro spicy person and you may not. You may feel some sort of way with a question that ends with the word special needs, but it is meant in your unique needs.

Kita Zuleta 1:00:10

It is meant with what is it that your brain needs?

Kita Zuleta 1:00:13

What does what is your body need?

Kita Zuleta 1:00:15

What do you?

Kita Zuleta 1:00:17

How do you need to take care of yourself?

Kita Zuleta 1:00:19

Do you?

Kita Zuleta 1:00:20

How do you need to take care of yourself, mind, body, heart, soul, spirit, all of that, your health, how are you going to do all of those things so that you can then put your best, everything towards your business, your creativity and how you can serve others?

Kita Zuleta 1:00:40

So I just want to encourage y'all to keep listening to your body, your brain, how it is that you function, and to own it, own your superpowers, own how different you are and, as you are learning, to support your brain and your body and create these systems.

Kita Zuleta 1:00:56

We're going to ask for help, we're going to look for resources and we are here to help close these gaps for each other so that we can be more empowered, because we do deserve it. We deserve to show up, to take up space, to be able, specialties and superpowers and everything that does make us unique. All of those intersections, all of those identities that we've now, you know, earned over the years to get to where we're at. Let's own this new Jefa title in this season. So I'm really excited for everything that's happening and coming for you. I know we've been hanging out for quite some time and I was supposed to be asking you this question like 20 minutes ago, but before we get going and I know you did give a lot of advice with asking, you know, phone a friend and reaching out and all of these but what now, as we start coming to a close, what do you? What advice would you give your fellow Jefas before we wrap today's episode?

Building Community and Collaboration

Victoria Carrington 1:02:13

Yeah. So I heard a quote once that I really loved in the A Resonate and I changed it a little bit, but you know it's this quote that says a lion doesn't become a lion unless it trains with other lions, and so I changed it to a lioness, Like I need a pride of lionesses, right? Because how often I might, how often we might, go to people who might not be able to help us because that's not the lens that they're moving from. And so you know, find your lionesses, find your jefa hood. I have a picture, because I love bringing pictures of my jefa hood.

Victoria Carrington 1:02:48

That's in Mexico and many of these women I talk to daily. And so you find your jefa hood. You go to things like Kitas Cafecito con Jefas. You go to things like Kitas Cafecito con Jefas, which I got to meet a jefa in real life in Denver. I was traveling for work, and I was like, oh my gosh, I met you on the virtual cafecito and we got to have cafecito in real life in Denver while I was traveling for work, Like it was such a beautiful thing. And so you find those other lionesses you hang out with them, you learn from them.

Victoria Carrington 1:03:26

You lean on them, because this life is hard and you evolve and you grow and you celebrate them and you celebrate with them. And then all of that, the more that you do, that it's all going to come back because I've had those halfas celebrate me, all going to come back because I've had those jefas celebrate me. I've had those jefas be there and show up in really beautiful, amazing ways. And my success I don't want to cry, I'm very emotional too as well, but my success is as much the success of the jefas who are in my, my pride, in, in, in that um day to day with me, that is, that are in the Jefahood. So you know, I, I that quote you know, find, find, do your vibe, find your tribe, just find, find your people and and love them, love them hard. Just find your people and love them Love them hard, love them hard.

Kita Zuleta 1:04:22

Yes, yes, with everything, con todo yo Serio, I mean. And Jefas, if this is your first time tuning into the podcast or the first time you are hearing about Cabecito con Jefas, we do meet every week for free on Wednesdays at 11 am Pacific Standard Time. We get together for co-working, aka body doubling, which is something that for us.

Kita Zuleta 1:04:48

ADHDers is huge.

Kita Zuleta 1:04:50

So if you want an hour of body doubling, you get to do whatever it is that you want. We jump on Zoom, we open up the cameras because the goal is to alleviate the loneliness, but we are in silence. You can have music playing on your end, but we're each in silence, and then we are just working on our individual goals and at noon we then have half an hour of speedy connections and so we have cafecito and just be able to introduce ourselves, practice taking up space, talking about where we are in our Jefa journey and also just kind of updating each other with this is what we're working on, and creating a culture of community over competition y'all, because really, as you are saying, we go farther together and, as I say, in Cafecito, so much of what is out there, there is an abundance of work. Yes, it is why two brand strategists that are in such alignment with so many of the things are still going to serve so many beautiful jefas in different directions and spaces, because we each get to serve our people and we'll be there.

Personal Insights and Book Recommendations

Kita Zuleta 1:06:04

There's going to be jefas, I already know that are going to come to me and I'm like you need to go to Victoria because she is going to be the one that is going to be able to do all of this for you, and that's the thing, that is the beauty of sharing each other's stories and being able to come into this collaborative space, because there is an abundance of work y'all. We just need to show up and go out and get it, because we deserve it. Yes, we deserve to have the life that we dream in our heads. So, victoria, thank you for being here too. Really really quick, rapid fire questions, just to get to know you outside of work, outside of work.

Kita Zuleta 1:06:41

The first question is, of course, we're a cafecito loving community and it doesn't have to be cafecito, but when you do order cafecito, how do you order it or how do you prepare it for yourself?

Victoria Carrington 1:06:52

Oh, so because of the ADHD and the special interest, food which changes depending on the day season. I never really know which changes depending on the day season. I never really know. But what?

Kita Zuleta 1:07:05

I'm vibing on.

Victoria Carrington 1:07:05

Right now is matcha lattes with a little bit of honey and meal and some oat milk. I got a bunch in Colorado and I am for it, so that is what. I'm vibing on right now.

Kita Zuleta 1:07:16

Ooh, that sounds so delicious and so real. Yo, because it was like okay, what am I doing now? What's favorite today? Favorites are like my kryptonite. There's no favorite. It's like what time of day are you talking about?

Victoria Carrington 1:07:32

If you ask me again in three months, it will be a completely different drink.

Kita Zuleta 1:07:35

I promise It'll be different tomorrow. I mean maybe not tomorrow because we have our seasons. It's more seasonal, but okay, I love it Maybe in two weeks.

Victoria Carrington 1:07:42

In two weeks, I'm going to text you and we're going to find out what it is, because it will change. What's the new one?

Kita Zuleta 1:07:46

Yes, yes, I mean and it happens with outfits, it happens with food, it happens with drinks, y'all I'm telling you it's amazing.

Victoria Carrington 1:08:01

I love our brains. Lastly, which book would you recommend to your fellow herpes? Oh my gosh, I would recommend creating your limitless life by, uh, dr s zedon. Like this book changed my life and she has a workbook that accompanies with it. And like, if you really want your life to shift, you do the workbook too. And, um, I would totally recommend that it has been. And like, esther is also a sweet, wonderful human. And like, just like I feel like the more we can celebrate each other and see each other in our beauty, in our brilliance, the like better our worlds will be for everybody. And I love, love, love. How you said, there's an abundance of work and we're creating collaboration, we're creating connection and we're working together. But that book, creating your Limitless Life, has changed my life.

Kita Zuleta 1:08:51

That is the second time I've gotten that recommendation, so it is going on the queue. I need to read it. Let's go y'all. So I'm so excited. Thank you so much for everything. I would love for you to tell your fellow Jepas where they can find you online. Where do you like to hang out? Tell us about your current offers or what's coming soon. Where should they keep up with the chisme about all the new launches and the new rebrand for La Mezcla?

Victoria Carrington 1:09:18

Yeah, so you can find me on LinkedIn, victoria Carrington Chavez. I'm located in the greater Boston area. I'm the one with the really big hair. I know it's braided today, but usually this is a beautiful crown I've got going on. You can find me on Instagram at Wild and Lee. I will admit, I hang out in Instagram the most, so if you slide into those DMs, you will most likely catch me. I hang out in Instagram the most, so if you slide into those DMs, you will most likely catch me. And I also am wild and Lee at Tik TOK, l, e, e, um.

Victoria Carrington 1:09:50

And then, as far as offerings, I'm working on branding signature packages. So that's something I work with a lot of half as a lot of pepas who have built brands but they just want to see who they are Right. It's not so much about what's your brand. It's about who you are and how you show up and what you bring to the brand. Like I would say, keitha is somebody who is a community weaver. She cares about her community, she cares about people, she wants people to have things that are accessible, and so we like dive into that and we find out what is your magic right and then how you're sharing your magic and your gifts with the world, so that is one of my most favorite offerings.

Victoria Carrington 1:10:24

I also have been offering a lot of speaker sheets. Y'all. I know everybody out here trying to get a speaking gig, so if you need a nice speaker sheet which is just like a snapshot that says these are my workshops, like I got you Speaking of speaking, the last place you'll find me, depending on when this goes out, is that your girl is giving a TED talk and it will be in May, and the theme is being human, which there's so many things that we connected on. But being human, being kind and just being you are just things that are really important to me, so I'm incredibly honored at that opportunity. It will be live streamed and most likely, you know, you'll be able to find it on on the YouTubes later on.

Kita Zuleta 1:11:09

So oh, I was so excited. You're going to need to keep me posted on that date so that that way we can maybe try to release this right beforehand or something. We'll have to look at all of it, especially as the release date for the podcast has yet to be determined. I have an idea, but not yet. We are talking about pacing ourselves this year, y'all. So I'm so excited for you, though, because y'all the first time Victoria and I connected over Cafecito she was actually driving home from her TED talk audition, so this is just a full sober moment, because right before we started recording, she was like this is happening, and I was like you got it. So it was just really cool. And, of course, that kicked off so many dreams that we got to share, and, you know, one day your girl's going to be on the TEDx stage, but we're going to be building the skill sets to that. Pero I'm so excited.

Kita Zuleta 1:12:04

I am so, yes, give me the template, because I'm going to need it. I'm so excited for you and would love to be there live watching, to support and being able to send you all the Care Bear vibes, because I'm sure it's going to be brilliant. I am so, so excited for everything that is coming for you and La Mezcla and all of the clients that you're just going to be putting all of this branding magic on, and so I am so incredibly excited for what is coming for you. You're destined for big things. I'm grateful for a new budding friendship and what this Jefa bestie moment's about to turn into. So I'm really really excited for that.

Kita Zuleta 1:12:47

Thank you for sharing your story, your heart, your time and your energy. This is just so. This has been so much fun, thank you. Thank you so much for sharing this with myself and then also with your fellow Jefas.

Victoria Carrington 1:12:59

Yes, thank you so much. It's been an honor, and thank you so much for all the offerings and the beautiful gifts and the things that you bring. You are absolutely a lighthouse. You are like the sunshine and I'm just so grateful to know you and I'm excited for our new bestie vibes, and so, yes, thank you so much and thank you to everybody for listening.

Kita Zuleta 1:13:20

Thank you so much, and thank you to everybody for listening. Thank you so much, and, jevas, thank you. Thank you for spending your time with us, enjoying our different rabbit holes and listening to our brains. Just have a lot of fun together in this conversation. So, if you are new here, please be sure to check out Cafecito con Jefas on Instagram. Join us for Cafecito and Coworking on Wednesdays, but be sure to love on Victoria and follow her at Wild and Lee at Instagram and find her at Victoria Carrington Chavez on LinkedIn. But, jefas, thank you again for listening and until next time, thank you for listening to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast.

Kita Zuleta 1:14:02

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 Kita Zuleta Photo.

Kita Zuleta 1:14:54

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 cabecito 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, kita Zuleta. Thank you for listening to this episode of the cafecito con jefas podcast.