Reset, Reconnect, and Refocus: A Jefa's Journey

Sometimes the ground beneath us shifts so dramatically that we need to completely reset our rhythms and refocus our priorities. After navigating personal loss, two home moves, and the ongoing challenges of entrepreneurship, I'm back to reconnect with my Jefa community via the podcast and share what this season of reset looks like.

The past year has taught me the profound truth behind our community's mission: alleviating the loneliness of entrepreneurship truly happens "one cafecito at a time." When I found myself with nowhere to live and uncertain about the future, it was fellow Jefas who stepped up, offering solutions that kept my family and business rooted in Southern California. This experience reinforced something I've learned deeply since I began this pursuit of CCJ - we aren't meant to build businesses in isolation.

Our community has grown in beautiful ways during this time of personal challenge. The CCJ Casita now hosts over 35 virtual events monthly, from hyper-focus sessions where we work alongside each other to specialized programs led by community leaders. We're expanding our reach through a new partnership with the AmigaHood platform, launching bi-weekly Cafecito and Co-working sessions beginning August 5th.

For those seeking more personalized support, I continue to serve Jefas through one-on-one strategy "sprints," where we clarify goals and create actionable marketing plans aligned with your capacity. Our #JefaLife101 cohort program provides foundational business skills in a group setting, while my brand photography services create intentional images that translate to profit.

At the heart of everything is a common thread.. creating space where Jefas can practice saying their names in rooms of opportunity, define their offerings with clarity, and implement time management strategies that honor all dimensions of their lives. As we approach our third anniversary, I'm reminded that community doesn't just save businesses; it saves us.

If you're feeling disconnected or overwhelmed on your entrepreneurial journey, remember: no estas sola. There's always a seat at this table for you.

Transcript

Welcome Back and Community Updates

Kita 0:00

Hi Jefas, welcome back to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast. I'm your host, Kita Zuleta, brand strategist, photographer and Jefa coach here in LA, working with jefas, like yourselves, to grow their businesses and brands online via simple strategies and pretty pictures pero con profit. And I'm also the founder of Cafecito con Jefas, a community on a mission to alleviate the loneliness that comes with entrepreneurship, one cafecito at a time, also hoping to teach Jefas how to show up, despite how we may feel, through the heaviness of life, the world and all the things happening around us, so that those who are looking for us can find us and see us, so allowing ourselves to be seen by taking up space and practicing saying our names in rooms of opportunity. Now, this community has been growing. I'm man so grateful for what it has evolved into through all the madness and all of the figuring out that has been happening behind the scenes. It's been a wild journey. We're about to turn three years old as a community at the end of August, which is just mind blowing to me, and I'm so incredibly grateful. And I'm really excited to be back on the mic to talk to y'all. I miss talking to y'all. I've had a pretty wild personal past year Ups and downs, grief, loss, moving homes twice, a whole lot that has happened behind the scenes for yours truly, and despite all of the madness that is still going on out in the world and the heartbreak that is happening within our community.

Kita 1:59

On a personal side of things, because all of those things have definitely still heavily affected my business, um, as well as, obviously, my community, and so, um, but on the personal side of things, there's a little bit of leveling out and maybe not that's not even the right word because, uh, we're definitely still looking to make up what has been happening for our business and, as y'all know, as Jefas it's why I call it #JefaL ife right, like, what goes on in our business is what's going on in our life. I mean, I literally was asked in a room just a few days ago, like what's something that you do on your free time? And I was like, oh man, I work, like I work a lot, and recently in my free time I've been moving or unpacking or dealing with storage units, and so it's felt like it's been or, mejor dicho, it's been, a season of heavy work, heavy push, um, and I think that's what I mean by leveling out. You know there's still, you know, work to be done, but being on the other side of the multiple moves, um, beginning to feel a bit more settled in the new space that we're in, that's the part that feels just a little bit more like the ground is beneath us and we get to be here, at least for sure for a year or so, and so that alone allows us to breathe just a little easier, and now we just get to continue working right, like I mean, so much of what the push was back in February to stay here in Southern California, if you aren't filled in with the entire novella, um, back in at the end of February, beginning of March, back in at the end of February, beginning of March, we needed to move out of our home of four and a half years, and so that was a heavy hit, a lawsuit, all kinds of stuff that happened, and so we ended up pushing to stay here in Southern California and so, especially with the businesses that we've been building, the relationships, the network of people, our community is here, our work is here, and so we were just doing everything we can to ensure that we stayed in Southern California and so we were able to stay, and super grateful for fellow Jefa, Lorena, who helped us find the temporary stay in between, you know, moving from our home to where we are now and also this space that we're in now.

Kita 4:56

So shout out to my girl, Lorena Arguelles if y'all are looking to buy a home, looking to strategize to save towards a home, hit your girl up. Lorena is someone that y'all would want in your corner when it comes to shopping for a home here in Southern California. So be sure to reach out to her, shout out to her. So grateful for her, we literally call her our personal angel because in a really dark time where we had no clue how and where we were going to land or be able to stay, she came through last minute and so literally something that we're super grateful for and also just blessed to have a community of Jefas to where we can pick up the phone and say yo, who do you know? what's going on? And be able to have community like, lift you up and push you through. So really grateful for her.

Surviving Transition and Personal Challenges

Kita 5:57

And so that's where now, having been on the other side of these moves, these transitions, you know it's feeling heavily like a reset season, you know, certainly not starting over right from scratch, but starting a new season, new rhythms, is definitely the theme right now for us myself, my husband, here in our home, and so many things that, through what was going on before you know, felt a lot like survival mode and not felt like it was survival mode right, like and if you've been in it before, you know you're only focused on what's in front of you. And despite all the things that was happening for us personally, let alone everything that's going externally out in the world for our community and overall, you know it's been heavy, heavy and also with a personal loss that we had and all kinds of things, it's just felt like hit after hit, you know, and life is life. That's something that if y'all been writing with me, you know I say vida es vida, no para right, like something's always about to happen. And as much as I know, when I'm speaking about having the ground beneath us starting to stabilize or feeling solid ground underneath us starting to stabilize or feeling solid ground underneath us, you know there's almost that like mild fear in the back of my head, like, oh, what's coming next? You know, and and you know, exactly a year after our big loss in our family that just hit so hard. You know we had another loss in the family and you know we have the funeral to attend to next weekend and my suegros are going to come in for a week, and there's still this like different levels of disruption to the rhythm, right, like we have.

Kita 8:08

We still have boxes in our living room that we're trying to sort through and figure out, you know, and needed to empty out the storage unit and see what we're going to do with a whole lot of things that we haven't even been able to look at for the last couple months because we've just been grinding, you know, for the last couple months, because we've just been grinding, you know, and so doing our best now to take that deep breath and reset and say, okay, what are we going to do next? You know what's happening, what's the move, what's the strategy, moving forward and trying to, you know, zoom out and say, okay, what are we really going to be working towards? What are these projects that we're having? What clients do we have on deck? What clients are we looking for? What are we, you know, going to be marketing for ourselves, for the community, for the business? And there's lots of things that are going to be happening, that are happening and so it's a big reason why I wanted to jump on the mic One because, again, like I said, I miss y'all, I miss talking to y'all.

Kita 9:13

I feel like, you know, it's been over a year since I've really gotten to just talk to y'all and that's one of the things that I loved so much about my solo episodes on the podcast. You know, and I've always felt you know a little, you know, I don't know if it's still considered imposter syndrome or like a little bit of that comparison where I haven't come in all structured like like here's point one, two and and three, and I've just kind of let my brain go and just like speak from the heart to y'all, and plenty of times I'll get into teacher mode and I will be teaching, but also so much of it is. Let me catch up and tell y'all what's been going on. Let me tell you what's happening within the community, what's coming, and although we are working now, especially behind the scenes, to bring the podcast back officially, like and relaunch season three and do it proper and start getting other jefas back on the mic so we can share these stories and gain wisdom from each other and be able to support and use this platform to share Jefa stories, which I believe is so incredibly important.

Kita 10:28

You know I wanted to break the silence. I know I dropped a couple episodes that were just like bonus episodes, where it was scripted. It was something that I wrote and I just wanted to read it, share it, put my voice on it. But I didn't do an intro, I didn't talk to y'all, I didn't explain further because I wanted to keep them short and sweet and easy listens. But today, as I've already been talking to y'all for a solid 10 minutes and I haven't gotten to the meat and potatoes of what I'm trying to share, this is what I miss, or what I say when I feel, or have felt, disconnected from y'all, porque no les estoy hablando directo. Right, and, mind you, if you want to know more of the chisme or what's actually been happening in these past few months, your girl, like, started blogging and sharing a lot of what was on my heart through the seasons.

Kita 11:29

So there's multiple blogs up now. There's one on the CCJ website, there's a blog on my personal website that's called Poquito de Todo, and then that's literally just going to be where I get to do all kinds of shares and create there, as well as a specific blog for like my photography, and so that's where I'll be showing, like behind the scenes of my shoots, as well as you know, my portfolio, and really start showcasing my work, and so If y'all want to know a little bit more of what's going on behind the scenes, y'all can always tap into my blog and catch up there. There's quite a few blogs there now to sink your teeth into if you want. Pero ya me hacían falta.

Kita 12:11

As, if you know me, I'm a conversationalist, I'm someone who loves cafecitos, who loves just hanging out, and I learn audibly, as someone who's dyslexic, so it's the best way that I learn, and I'm also a verbal processor, and so that's how I share and that's how I communicate. I'm a conversationalist, and so this is what I've been really excited to get back into a rhythm with, in order to be able to stay connected, at least in this manner, for those of y'all who are still tuning in, wanting to keep up with your girl, wanting to know what's going on with the community. So let's get into it what's going on with the community, and also what y'all can expect from yours truly, at least the ideas of what we're working towards, right? Because, as I mentioned, we're resetting all these rhythms right now down to, like sleeping schedule, y'all. We've been in grind mode and there's been lots of vampire nights, you know. Right now the sleep schedule is off and um. So that's one of the things that we're looking to reset and and get our nervous system back on track. You know, I got to spend a couple months really doing my best to reset my nervous system when we were in our home in Long Beach and just kind of reconnecting with myself, allowing myself to grieve, allowing myself to heal, um, and so I definitely feel stronger now. it's just getting back into that groove and locking that in and we're definitely closer to a position where we can say, okay, let's do that hard reset, you know, and just say, okay, here we go and jump into said set schedule and so a few things that are happening for your girl that is helping with that is.

Kita 14:11

We just kicked off the #Jefa Life 101 cohort last week, so today is about to be session two with the Jefas who joined the cohort and it's a small, intimate group this round and I'm really, really grateful that, although small and cozy, it gets to be intentional and the past couple cohorts ended up being one on one because the girl wasn't at capacity to market and so having now a group to serve to teach, to support, I'm really grateful for the opportunity, grateful for the Jefas who joined shout out to Ashley and Zeyda and Mishka, who's going to be joining us on some sessions so I'm really excited for the growth that's going to be coming from that group, from myself, because, of course, as an educator, you're also experiencing transformation. Right, it may be different on the other side of it but, quite frankly, because of this reset, I get to implement a lot of what we're going to be talking about. And since it is a one-on-one group coaching program, you know the entire curriculum, if you will, is basics right, like it's intro to branding and marketing. We talk about setting goals and really breaking that down and you know time management and being able to really acknowledge our capacity, especially when so many of us, if not the majority of us, in this community, as Jefas, we're high achievers.

CCJ Casita and Community Activities

Kita 15:49

We're not playing. We're not playing with our business, we're not playing with our dreams. We're certainly not playing with our finances. We're over here pushing towards this vision that we have in our head because we believe in it. We're looking to serve, and although finances isn't not the main driver, it certainly is a big part of the freedom we are looking for as Jefa so that we can continue to serve our community and make the impact that we have in our heads and our hearts. And so I'm really excited to continue this cohort and really sink my teeth into pouring into these JEFAS, as well as reaping the benefits really of resetting my own one-on-ones right, like being able to implement these strategies and say, cool, now being in the place, in the season that I'm in now, what is that going to look like for myself, my business, and that's exactly where we are as a household, as an agency, resetting what direction we're taking our brands and extensions of the business. So we have the cohort that is now going to be in full swing, as well as kicking off a brand new book inside of our Casitas Jefa book club. I'm really excited. We had put that book club on hold with all the madness happening, so I'm really excited now to have kicked off this book.

Kita 17:15

The book that we're reading together is Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam, and she is an author, expert in time management and what I love about her work is that she is a researcher, and maybe she doesn't title herself this, but she is a quantitative data researcher and analyzer and she teaches strategies from the data that she's gathered, from what she calls like time studies, and so they may not be, you know, stamped by I don't know all of the big names out there that you need to be an official researcher, but, as someone who I have learned that I am a researcher and data analyzer as well. That is how my brain functions and I get scientific about the things that I want to learn about and definitely teach about, and so with time, I see it like Tetris in my head. Time has always been huge for me, and so I started studying and I think I picked up one of her first books via audio because your girl was an audiobook junkie about five years ago Probably one of I don't want to say one of the first books, but definitely on the front end of my audiobook journey, and if you're at all curious about that, I think it's episode three of season one, where I shared how I was just learning and embracing the fact that I'm dyslexic and that I learn audibly, and so the journey that was learning that, oh, I am smart and I can read. I just learn best audibly and so it felt like the world of audiobooks just like completely changed my life, which I do believe that they did, because knowledge is power and I believe that 1000% I know what people mean by that. Now, when it comes to books books, except the ones I have consumed, they have been mostly via audio, and so I first started consuming her book.

Kita 19:27

I've read all of her time management books and what I love about Tranquility by Tuesday is that it is a book that prioritizes your life and looks at it holistically. That prioritizes your life and looks at it holistically and how she presents the different she calls them rules, but I like to call them strategies In this Tranquility by Tuesday project, as she did with her participants, was that it's designed for us to really just kind of change certain habits and look at our weeks differently and look at our time differently and what we're going to prioritize and also create the space and make the time for what's important in all aspects of life right Not just work, not just playing, not just our health and it's not just about like attempting to quote, unquote, multitask and like skimp out a few minutes here and there. It's like real strategies to be able to take on and look at your time holistically, and so I love this book. Like I said, she has quite a few. I definitely recommend 168 hours as like a baseline introduction to her work, but I believe, as Hefas, this one Tranquility by Tuesday is probably the first one.

Kita 20:49

I would recommend any Jefa to be introduced to her work. Or even wanting to learn about time management or get better at time management, which is so important for us as we manage our own time and wear all the hats. So I'm really excited to dig into this book because, again, as a researcher and data analyst that she is, she not just shares strategies that she's seen in her research, but she literally created a project for these nine strategies or rules, as she calls them for people to not just practice that and implement that rule, but also come back with data. Like what did you see as potential problems, right? Like what are things that were difficult for you? What made it easy? What impact did you see from implementing these strategies?

Kita 21:45

And so it's a really, really great book, highly, highly recommend, and we still have two more sessions where we're going to talk about it inside the casita. So if you are not already in the casita, I invite you to join. The book club is a part of the full casita membership and um, yeah, we have two more sessions, so not um today, as this episode is dropping, but the next uh, tuesday I believe it's august 5th that we'll be getting together, um, to talk a bit more about the strategies that are in there. Um, and if you're not inside the casita, just go ahead and read her book, study it, check it out. Let me know what you think. I'd really love to hear your thoughts.

Kita 22:28

But it's a book that I find myself listening to and consuming every like I don't want to say every season, but every time. I'm in like a season of reset, really, where I'm just, you know, resetting, resetting these rhythms, getting back to basics, like that's what this season feels like heavy for me right now and between the cohort, and like kind of reminding myself of all the one-on-ones and being able to simplify my own strategies to that, as well as partnering that with the basics, if you will, of time management and having myself be reminded of these strategies that are like, okay, I know how to do this, I've done this before, it's now just the implementation piece right, like how can I protect my time, my space, my energy, my focus and ensure that I'm taking care of myself so that I can continue to pour out into all the things that are happening? And so both of those things are like a really great thing. That is supporting this season for myself, as I'm resetting, and I feel like I get to do it in community, which, of course, is the best, and so I deeply believe in the power of community. I never would have imagined that seeking jefas one-on-one for a cafecito, just to get to know them, was going to develop into everything that we are today as a community. But I'm so grateful and despite all the mistakes that I have made and so many learnings that I have done you know I'm far from perfect. I'm definitely recovering perfectionist, which is why I own that phrase, own it as my own. But it's the imperfect action and it's really just a reminder to let things happen imperfectly, because I won't ever be perfect, and so if I keep waiting for that moment, I'll just stay waiting, and so I don't want to allow that imposter syndrome to keep me from doing the thing right, and so that's why I hold on to that and, kind of like, have that as a mantra for myself and for us as a community.

Kita 24:52

So in all of that imperfect action, there's been a lot of exponential growth over the years, many different things that have developed, including this podcast and now our CCJ Casita, which I'm still blown away that we have an app, y'all. We have an app. It's nuts, it's powered by Circle. so so we don't yet have an app that has a CCJ logo on it. That's coming one day. We're going to manifest it, but I don't know how soon. Right now, the app we're in is exactly the same as it would if I had a picture on the top. So we're first taking that imperfect action and building the community inside first and right now, I'm so grateful to have a little over 40 members. It's still cozy, but we are taking that action. We have Casita leaders, y'all, who are also now this month, in July, started implementing more events that they're hosting for us. So I'm so excited about what's going on.

Kita 25:58

So if you don't know about the CCJ Casita, it's our community membership held inside of our platform. It's an app where we get to literally stay connected behind the scenes right, I mean, there is not enough cafecito in the day for us to keep up with all the notifications on all the platforms, at least maybe just for yours truly, but y'all, it's a lot happening out there, and so, allowing for us to have that space to continue to tap into one another, despite the algorithms, past the algorithms, you know, it's literally being able to continue conversations. And then also, we host now over 35 events a month, which are all virtual, a lot of which include hyper focus sessions where we're just body doubling and getting to work. We're jefas, we're busy, and as much as I'd love to just hang out with each other, we really got to focus on getting this work done también. And so, again, the mission of CCJ is to alleviate the loneliness that comes with entrepreneurship. So then, we are literally working juntas through the days, right and able to hold and open up these Zoom rooms just so that that way we can see a friendly face as we're working together.

Kita 27:15

And so, cada quien en su mundo working towards their business, but, we're not alone. There's a constant reminder that someone else is out there working in different time zones, in different places, towards different dreams, but we're doing it together, and so that's really the mission behind having this platform where we get to learn, connect, grow, support, ask questions. You know we have the book club happening in there. We have the Jefa Hotline Room where you can come and ask questions of any kind, and it's not just myself answering these questions, it's your fellow jefa. So you have experts in many different fields, many different experiences, and so you get to tap into the resource that is the community. And then, on top of it, you know, you get to be a part of the Rolodex that we have, and so that's the first place that I'm telling jefas be like listen, if you need somebody, go to that Rolodex first, shop there, see who's inside the casita, see who knows somebody that you may be looking for in order for us to support one another, and so it's a really great place to be. Of course, I'm completely biased, but, being not only a member, a leader, participant of other communities, we have something pretty special in there, and it is, again, imperfect, but the jefas that are there make it so much more.

Kita 28:37

And then, of course, now, with our casita leaders, Nati is hosting CX Power Hour, where she's helping us focus on our client experience, which a lot of times can end up being on the back burner, guilty, where we're less worried about what the experience of our client is once we've landed the client right. You know, as someone who, quite literally, my job is marketing, you know we get caught up in the sexy part of things the front end, the branding, the marketing, the getting the sale and then it's like the back end experience is maybe lacking a little bit or so, being able to kind of start focusing on what that looks like. What can we automate? She's the automation queen and so she has so much experience doing this for big, big name companies. She has so much experience doing this for big, big name companies, and so her taking the time to really guide us through what we're going to be working on. And then we co-work and we actively set the hour aside to focus on our CX.

Kita 29:40

We also have Delma, who's hosting Charlas en Español, so we get in there and we practice our Spanish. So, literally, cafecito, pero en Espanol. And so we're doing what we can to keep it as much in Spanish as possible. It's another safe space for us to just come together and literally we talk about anything from our lunch to how we say certain things. We're literally asking Tio Google all the time, how do you say this? And that Some of us are looking to practice our Spanish so that we can do our jobs in Spanish and better serve our clients. So it's just a really great safe space and if you don't know, you need a Delma in your life like she is awesome and definitely creates a safe space for us to feel comfortable, shame free, doesn't matter the level of Spanish that you're at. Come through if you want to sit with us for charlas en espanol.

Expanding Services and AmigaHood Partnership

Kita 30:27

We also have dates with dinero now with Erica Dox-M artinez, so she's hosting Dates with Dinero. If you've been to cafecito and co-working, basically you know what dates with dinero is where you body double for the first hour. But with Dates with Dinero, you're focused on a money task, and so the goal is for us to, just like with CX Power Hour, focus on our money right and set this time intentionally aside for us to look at our numbers, to look at our budget or create income generating activities through that time, and then she holds the last half hour for us to talk money and then you have a trauma certified money coach in the room to be able to answer any questions, give advice and be able to strategize together. And then we also have Bia, who's hosting pause and presence inside of the casita and it's literally a safe space for us to come and just pause and prioritizing, taking the time to reflect and talk about. I mean, the first one that we had just last week was talking about transition, so your girl was like heavy in reflection and just feeling the support, not being alone through this process and just so grateful for that time. And the beauty of how be a hold space is always know thinking of support and also providing the tools to strategically work through. As an experienced social worker as background, you know she knows how to hold space and meet the moment and so I'm so grateful for her for holding that, like Jessa and Jannel and now Sophia and Araceli hosting hyper-focused sessions all throughout different times. So we're making ourselves available to be able to serve the community and really be able to say okay, we're busy y'all.

Kita 32:21

We have themes going on, you know this Wednesday. So if you're listening to this, on Tuesday, tomorrow your girl's going to be hosting our monthly strategy calls, you know, and that's something that comes with the membership también, where you bring a question and it's like jefa hot seats, like how many questions can jefas get in during this hour? And we literally it's like a mastermind every month. So not just myself but fellow jefas come into the room, we bring your question, we put a timer on because once we get started, more Jefas will jump in and, uh, we can literally talk for a whole hour just on one of the topics. But the goal is to talk through as many topics as possible, and so I set a timer for 10 minutes for us to attempt to wrap the amount of like pouring out and strategizing and problem solving and like sharing resources in the chat, in these strategy calls, where we literally just come together and think through whatever's going on for us, and it's a great way to end the month and prepare going into the next month.

Kita 33:28

So if you're inside the casita or thinking about joining the casita on Wednesday, we have one both in the morning and in the evening. So it's a really, really great place to just kind of bring our heads together and think big and challenge one another, support one another and hold each other accountable. So there's lots of things happening inside the casita and that's what I mean when I'm talking about. You know, inside the casita, part of our membership includes a lot of different types of activities, you know, beyond just cafecitos, although we do have cafecitos where we just get to be. You know we call it chisme, but it's not like the toxic chisme where we're talking about other people. It's more like tell me the chisme about you, like what's going on with you, and because we're genuinely wanting to know what's going on with each other.

Kita 34:18

As jefas a lot of times is the space where we talk about work and sometimes it ends up being a strategy call Because, you know, maybe it's venting about like how exhausting social media is and I don't know what to do here because that's literally what's on our mind all the time. We're hipas, this is what it is. So it's the legit behind the scenes part of being an entrepreneur and we don't pretend to have it all together, to have it all figured out. We're over here literally just in it, juntas. So if you are looking for an active community to just be with, allow yourself to be seen, come practice with, to come figure it out with, we got you. There's a seat at this table.

Kita 35:07

There's a couple different ways to join. You know our membership's $55 a month, right, but then Nati, the automation queen, has helped me behind the scenes to set up what we like to call our guest or our sala membership, so that membership for the first month. You get to take a look around as a guest and have full access for your first month, come to all the events, check it out, see how much you'll be using it and then, si, no, if you want to remain simply a guest at the end of that month no longer have access to certain cuartitos like the book club or the hotline or the shameless plug room or the focusy flow room or the hotline or the shameless plug room or the focusy flow room, like there's different rooms and themes that you'd lose access to, but you'd still have access to and remain on the rolodex, which is huge, as well, as you know, the podcast room, where I'll be dropping not just the podcast announcements but any version of behind the scenes or extra content that's going to be coming through in this new season, as well as the show up hefa room, where we talk about showing up online and supporting one another and where you can say, hey, look, I did the hard thing and posted. Any engagement would be appreciated as well as introduction room where you get to see who's all inside the casita. So there's still plenty to gain from and a limited number of events that are available through the sala guest membership, which now will be cafecito and co-working every week on wednesdays, and then yours truly hosts a couple hyper focus sessions. Whenever I host them, I'll post it inside the sala so that that way, everyone has access to it. And then now, what will be also included for our jefas inside the sala? Of course, the casita.

Kita 36:53

But now for any jefas who are inside of the AmigaHood, Cafecito con Jefas is making a comeback, so we are now officially back inside the AmigaHood as CCJ Now. Now, y'all this is really exciting for me because this is a relationship with the Amiga hood that I've had now going on for years. I've been a leader inside of the Amiga hood for three years, or this is going to be the third year now, so it's just really exciting to be able to go back in and serve in this manner. I had already been hosting Cafecito and Coworking for like six months before the opportunity came up to become a circle leader, and so, in 2023, I had the opportunity to serve inside the Amiga hood as CCJ and was hosting Cafecito and Coworking on Fridays in addition to Wednesdays every week, and so that was so great, met so many jefas in that way and it was just a beautiful time and expansion. That happened like exponential growth, exponential growth. I was not ready for what was coming with having that additional, not just secondary day, but through this platform that already has so many jefas and resources as a community member as well, I've met so many amigas, so many jefas through that space and I'm just incredibly grateful for it. So getting to serve in it yet again in this manner is going to be truly great and I'm really looking forward to it.

Kita 38:43

This season will not be every week to start and not on Fridays. It's actually going to be on Tuesdays now that I'll be bringing Cafecito and Coworking back inside the Amiga hood. And so it is a free platform, free community, so it allows for us as CCJ, to serve the community in another way that's free as well. So if you know, if you're on the CCJ invite list, our email list, you get a weekly invitation to join Cafecito and Coworking for free. That's been happening almost for three years now, and then we expanded into the casita, into our paid membership that I was just talking about. And so now, through the Amiga hood, we get to expand and serve into that community as well.

Kita 39:31

And for y'all, yet another way to connect, another day for us to have Cafecito and Coworking. It will be bi-weekly on Tuesdays, starting on August 5th, so not today when this episode is dropping, but next week and as of right now it's already on the calendar for every other week through the end of the year. So I'm really, really excited to see what's going to be developed in that space and how we'll get to connect with even more of us through the Amiga hood, and just really grateful to be able to give back and serve and continue to connect through that way. So if you are not already a part of the AmigaHood, again it is free. The link will be, if not already, in the Cabecito con Jefas bio so that you can join the AmigaHood, join the CCJ Circle and get access to that, and their platform is hosted by Mighty Networks, so kind of like Circle. so. For the casita, you know, same same but different. And so if you're at all familiar with what these community platforms look like, it's a little bit like a combination of what Facebook groups is used to be, as well as like Slack, if you will. So so many of these platforms are, like I said, same, same but different. So, although it's yet one more app, but it is one more way to connect, one more way to serve, and so we're just honored and excited to see what's going to come from this expansion. So really excited to see what's going to be happening there. And, yeah, like I mentioned, we'll officially be bringing back the podcast at the end of August, Really hoping to officially launch and bring it back for the CCJ birthday at the end of August and be able to bring it back in full swing leading up to our big relaunch of season three, to drop some solo episodes to keep y'all posted on what's going on with yours truly, with the community, what y'all can stay tuned to, and then be able to officially bring back our interviews and heva stories and also using these episodes for myself to practice sharing how y'all can work with me.

#JefaLife101 and Client Services

Kita 41:49

So being able to break that down a little bit again, if you aren't familiar with my work and what I do for a living, as I mentioned, I'm a brand strategist, I'm a JEFA coach and I'm a photographer, and so that menu of services or offerings that I have does serve Jefas in different areas of their business. So my job primarily is to get in the trenches with Jefas behind the scenes. So that can be at different levels, of course. I work with Jefas one-on-one, and so as a strategist or a coach whatever role they really prefer me to be in even as a coach, I'm still very much so a thought partner with my clients. My superpower is to ask clarity questions, enforce what they already have inside them and be able to be their cheerleader and be able to think through and strategize how to get said thing across the finish line. And so I have a wide, wide array of experience not just my own, but with my clients as well growing their brands, growing their business and being able to navigate these waters that are being online and doing so strategically. So there's so many ways to grow a business.

Kita 43:18

I'm not going to tell you that I am the best coach out there or the one to fix all your problems. That's not me. I'm certainly also not the coach to tell you just to do more. That's not me. I'm certainly also not the coach to tell you just to do more, because it's why I teach pursuing holistic entrepreneurship, really marketing at your capacity.

Kita 43:35

But if there are any, you know, gaps or questions about how to market yourself, what to prioritize when it comes to showing up online, what steps to take, because, man, there are so many strategies out there that can be implemented and will be successful if you implement them, but a lot of times it just feels like you have to do all of them, especially as high achievers. It's like I need to do all of them all the time right now, and it should have been ready yesterday, like that part is where I really work with my clients to clarify what really is going to serve them in this season, versus the expectation that we have for ourselves in our head, that everybody has, for us to be everywhere all the time on. So that's really how I support my clients behind the scenes is to really flesh out what is important and is going to move the needle in my business right now, what to focus on. So I get to do that one-on-one and, man, the transformation and the clarity that comes from that is just insane. What have us do after our time together, during our time together? I mean so many beautiful things have come out of these, what I like to call strategy sprints. So I serve my clients for eight weeks one-on-one, and I have I've had a few clients talk about it and talk about how I serve like brand therapy, because I get to and I hold space for my clients to just brain dump, like tell me what's on your heart, tell me what's on your brain, all the main things, and I get to sit here and I catch it and none of it surprises me and then I'm like, okay, cool, so then what do you want to focus on first? And if I can give you my recommendation, this is how I would move and really just asking those questions again, those clarity questions, so that they can come up with the answer that fits best for the season that they're in currently. So that's one of the things that I love doing. It's the favorite part of my job is really getting to work alongside my fellow jefas, one-on-one, building their business, setting up their brands behind the scenes.

Kita 46:04

I mean down to pushing buttons. I've literally just taken a session to teach fellow Jefas how to use Flodesk or how to push buttons behind the scenes on their website to take those scaries away from the actual creation, or even just how to navigate Instagram, you know, push these buttons in order to create a story or a reel. You know so many people online just assume that we know all the things, or we can just Google it or YouTube it, and sure, there are tutorials out there, you know, go find them. I'm not the person that's going to be making tutorials, at least not yet. So there's so many things, so many resources out there to do the learning, but so many times it's just that missing piece or it just takes an hour to learn to push this one button, and some things you got to learn from the experience of pushing the button which is why I like to push buttons with my clients, and so it really is just dependent on what my client needs.

Kita 47:06

But it's this eight weeks of working behind the scenes together to really gain momentum, and that's something that I really pride myself on is the fact that in working with me, my clients do gain momentum, do gain that clarity, and in practicing with me, it just gives them the confidence to be able to say, oh, I got this With me. It just gives them the confidence to be able to say, oh, I got this, I got this, I know what I'm doing and I'm like, yeah, you do so, go, do it, go, fly, and it's just beautiful to see that on the other side of these sprints, and so that's one of the big ways that I serve my clients, as well as, of course, now the cohort, which is also an eight week sprint, as well as, of course, now the cohort, which is also an eight week sprint, but because it's a group program, it's structured with specific topics that we go over. I teach for about 30 minutes each session 30, 40 minutes, and then we do have a hot seats where, kind of like the strategy calls inside the casita have also come, have also come. They'll practice introducing themselves, because defining the introduction, that bio, is just so incredibly important. To show up in rooms of opportunity to get confident, sharing who you are, what you do, who you serve and how you serve them.

Kita 48:21

To a potential client, to someone that you're in a consultation with, someone who you're on a consultation with, someone who you're on a sales call with someone who you just met on a random Tuesday, it's so important to be able to confidently, comfortably, talk about what it is that we do for work, especially as jefas, who mostly market ourselves online or work from home, it's so important for us to be able to introduce ourselves and clearly state what it is that we do, in order for other people to know who we are, what we do, who we serve and how we serve them. And that way, if we're talking about it, whether it's themselves or someone they know they may be like, oh that's what you do, oh, I love that, I'd love to hear more. Or, oh, you know what? I know somebody who's been looking for someone exactly like you hear more. Or, oh, you know what? I know somebody who's been looking for someone exactly like you. And so, as we get comfortable with sharing what it is that we do, talking about ourselves, saying our names in these rooms of opportunity, even if it's not in that moment, we get to start planting these seeds and sharing with others about our work, making it easier for ourselves to be seen and found by those who need our services, who want our support and want the transformations that we know that we can provide. So, again, that's my big job as a strategist, as a coach, through these eight weeks. But, like I said, that's a specific curriculum it's 101. So it's the basics, like it's why so many of my more advanced Tevas work with me one-on-one. But if someone's just looking to get started with practicing seeing their names and with practicing their introductions, with clarifying their offers, that's something that can happen inside of the group program.

Kita 50:01

And, as I said, we just got started with the summer cohort, so their next one will be in the fall. I believe we're starting October 7th. So if you want to circle that date, we'll be going from October 7th through I believe it's November 25th. So we end right before the holidays and we do end our cohort with a 10 day show up Hefa challenge, and so not only do we prepare for it as far as mentally and prepare for the posts, but also we take this momentum that we all as a group do as far as showing up online, supporting one another. I leverage the CCJ platform in order to be able to showcase the JEFAs who are actively participating in this challenge, and it'll be right before the holidays, right, leading up to that Black Friday sale, right. And so, at least that's for the fall one We'll be having a show up jefa challenge at the end of this cohort, which will be the first week of September, I believe, those first 10 days leading into Hispanic Heritage Month.

Kita 51:10

So the Show Up Jefa Challenge does get opened up to the entire community. So if you're listening to this, you are more than welcome to start preparing yourself for that 10 day challenge, and those prompts are on the CCJ IG platform so you can check them out and take a look at what kind of prompts we're talking about. Those 10 days really can be heavy lifting for anybody who's not already comfortable showing up online, who hasn't shown up in this manner, but also can really help define again even the practicing part and thinking through the part of how do I want to show up online, how do I want to introduce myself, how, what am I going to share about myself, my why and why I do what I do. And so that's a big part of that show up JEFA challenge and what we do towards the end of our cohort. So that's what gets covered and gets accomplished inside of that eight week cohort.

Kita 52:12

Of course, I do also offer one like 90 minute sessions for Hefas, who may not be ready to jump into a whole sprint but just need like 90 minutes of clarity, like let's just chew on this thing. And so I tell my clients even when they book, you know, to bring as many questions as they can. Sometimes I ask them for an advance so that that way I can prepare and be able to have as much of any knowledge or advice or information or resources prepared for this session and we knock out as much as we can and talk through as much as we can in this session so that that way JEFAS can walk away with clarity, they can feel confident in the direction that they're going. And I also offer time audits and so, as I mentioned earlier, I've been studying from Laura Vanderkam and from many others, but she is my favorite time management author and I've been implementing not just her strategies but many, many different strategies to be able to figure out what my own process is for time management.

Kita 53:20

And as a creative, as an ADHDer, as someone who lives with another ADHDer whose ADHD presents very differently and quite literally on a different rhythm, and have also created schedules for myself and for many other jefas in different fields and industries and different structures and levels of capacity, I am able to co-create a schedule with my clients. So these time audits are only 45 minutes, but these time audits really allow for jefas to look at their schedule just a little differently. And if a jefa comes to me with an advanced Google Calendar that just has so many things on there. The challenge at that point becomes where can we create space and where can we start saying is this as important to keep on your calendar so that you can sleep, so that you can rest, so that you can rejuvenate? If you're looking to create this thing, and that is a big priority for you right now, when are you going to do it? Because time, it's either one thing or another that needs to happen in that same block of time.

Photography Services and Final Reflections

Kita 54:37

And so really being able to take those 45 minutes and co-create a schedule that allows for looking at our life as a whole, not ignoring different roles because I know I'm guilty of it in the past where I'm like, okay, well, I'm going to do this here, and I'm going to do this here, and I'm going to do that here, and like I literally don't even put lunch on the schedule or I don't put dinner on the schedule, and then it's just like, oh, when is that going to happen? I am starving, I need to eat, I have a headache, so really looking at time holistically. And so, therefore, I create a weekly schedule for my clients that co-create with them, looking at the 168 hours in the week, not just creating a daily schedule, because, especially as Jefas, things change day to day all the time, and so if we're able to create this ideal structure for the week, then it allows us to have this direction and be able to see when we're going to take the time to work towards those big goals that we have. So that's what I do when it comes to the time audits and that's what that means when you look at that on my menu of services, menu of services. So it's that's a big part of my work and how I show up for my clients behind the scenes on the strategy side. And then, of course, as a photographer, I'm a brand photographer, so I serve my clients by creating pretty pictures with profit in mind, and so each one of my photography sessions include a strategy call, not just for the photo shoot, but also like what are you going to use these images for? Right and so for creating intentional images for your brand. We're looking at all of the details. We're looking at all of the details and I ask clarity questions that then start answering these defining things for these Hefas and their brands and really thinking about how these images are going to be implemented, how they're going to be created, and I'm honored to say that I'm pretty knowledgeable about what it is that I'm doing, not just in general as a strategist, but as a photographer.

Kita 57:05

I have the experience to create, in a small amount of time, a library of images that gives plenty of variety, not just pictures of you smiling at the camera, because, if you're anything like me, just smiling at the camera feels like incredibly painful to think about. So what I like to do is create like these behind the scenes. I'm a documentarian when it comes down to it, and so I like to document you in your zone of genius and recreate what would be a scene. That is your jefa life, your work, how is it that you show up for work? And so I encourage jefas to bring their different tools, different chingaderitas that they want in their space, their decor, thinking about their outfit, so that it would then be fitting to the entire feel of the brand and how they want to be showing up online. So we really get into strategy in multiple ways, and also we map out the literal day space flow of the shoot in advance, so that that way, I don't know about y'all, but I like to know what's happening. So therefore, as the jefa in front of my camera, you know what is going to be happening, what the overall goal is. We create a Pinterest board so that way we have inspiration, we know what we are working towards, because it is also a co-creation process.

Kita 58:38

I cannot take a picture of someone excited if someone is like scared. I cannot change the emotion on someone's face, and so my specialty really is creating this safe space for HIPAAs to feel confident, feel seen, feel comfortable, and especially for those of us who like to know what's going to happen, having that plan in place really helps, like, remove the stress of what's happening next. Right, and just needing to wait for direction. So we really create this safe space for you to feel comfortable. You know what the plan is is, and then we do all of the planning, the strategizing in advance, and then come the day of I'll direct and I get to say cool, this is what we're going to shift to next. Great, we got the image we were trying to get to in this space. Do you feel? Good, I show you what's behind the camera. Cool, cool, cool. And we get to keep moving, but at that point I'm leaving you done, we've done all the work in advance to prepare so that the day goes as smoothly as possible, without needing to figure it all out the day of, because that's just stressful. Nobody needs that.

Kita 59:54

So we're able to create a wide variety of images of not just, of course, the classic headshot smiling at the camera, but also the in action. You and your element, as well as yours truly, specializes in stock imagery, so therefore, I also create these detailed stock images that you can create that don't include your face or only include your hands, or just include aspects of you, so that you don't feel like you need to be sharing a picture of you smiling at the camera every single time that you create a post online. So being able to showcase so much of what gets created in a short time frame because we have a plan. Your girl's a fast shooter. My fellow photographers know exactly what that means. That means I'm like click, click, click, click, click. I'm steady, just creating the entire time, and so, especially with a plan, I'm like working as soon as we get started. There's no stop when it comes to my camera, unless it needs to think a little bit, because you know we're manifesting a new camera within the next year, but you know we ain't there yet. So for now, my handy dandy camera, who's been with me from the gate, helps me create these images, and I know how to work it. I'm pretty good at what I do Not the best, far from it but I'm good at what I do. I create a safe space for my fellow Jefas to feel good about the images that they're going to see.

Kita 1:01:29

On the other end and bonus I create proofing galleries. So then you get to select your favorite images, because I have learned from far too many experiences in the past, especially like with my brides back in the day when I was shooting weddings like I would select my favorites, and my favorites would be like the big smiles and like just the joy that's radiating from them, right, and then be like, oh well, my teeth and I don't like this side, and oh, you got me with my really big smile. Like you see all my teeth and I'm like, yeah, you're happy, but cada quien, we each look at ourselves uniquely, specifically. We know which smiles we like, we know what our eyes look like, we know, you know, what little aspects of ourselves we may be extra critiqueful of, and so you get to select your favorites. So depending on the package right, for two hours you get 100 images. For one hour you get 50. And then the minis, when I run them, which the next one will be at the end of August, august 24, in Riverside. So for my headbats in the IE, we'll be hosting the first round of IE minis on August 24th, and those are 20 minutes for 20 images. Now it may seem like obvious for a lot of people, especially with the culture now that is content creation, like oh facil. Let me tell you that I can guarantee 20 high quality hero style images, from headshots to action shots and stock imagery, in 20 minutes, because we go in with a plan and your girl is experienced.

Kita 1:03:16

I love what I do. I've been doing it for over 10 years now. I have photographed and documented and created for big names on big stages, and so I have lots of experience to create quickly. And so it's why I don't have extended time for my photo shoots, because if I shoot any longer, I'm shooting thousands and thousands of images when I can get the job done in a shorter amount of time. And so I'm really proud to be able to say that your girl is pretty good at this aspect of things. So you know, the JEFAs who work with me are ready to level up when it comes to the photo library that they're looking to create with online, and so I'm just really grateful that I get to do this with clients who I genuinely love and we get to co-create for their brand and business and also see how they implement it towards their marketing.

Kita 1:04:21

These images aren't just a luxury, they're literally a tool to generate income online. So these images that's why I say pretty pictures but a profit because there is an ROI, as long as they get used and they get implemented, which unfortunately, I've had many clients invest. We co-create the images and the images just sit. You're not going to get a profit from these images. I mean, I have seen websites change dramatically with the imagery that we create. I mean social media presence changed completely, like, have us using the same image or multiple images that I've created for their speaker, keynote roles? You know there's so many different ways to implement these images, especially when we come in with a plan, a strategy, and we do it on purpose. So creating these intentional images can be again in different time.

Kita 1:05:37

Links of my photo shoots. The majority of my Jefas will do one hour photo shoots, which now is 50 images that I include there. But it's just a really great experience to create alongside my fellow jefas, and I love it. Again, if you're interested in a mini, that next round is going to be in Riverside on August 24th, a Sunday, and I believe I have two, maybe three, slots left for that day, and minis are only offered on the days that I select because I do include studio time with it. So therefore, I already have a curated studio that I have ready. I prep the sets, you just bring the details yourself, your outfits, and we knock it out in 20 minutes. So it's a great short, sweet, efficient way to refresh your library of images so that that way, you can level up your presence online. Level up your presence online. So if you are looking to level up at any level your imagery going into Q4 to finish off the year and start next year, strong, hit your girl up. It's a really great time to get on my calendar so we can start planning for your photo shoot and get those images ready for you going into the next quarter.

Kita 1:06:59

So that is a little bit of my work, on top of, again, what I do here with CCJ, which is the mission to alleviate the loneliness that comes with entrepreneurship and so really just showing up to be able to hold space and connect. A big foundation of what I do every week is Cafecito co-working. Again, we get together and body double for the first hour and have that like productivity hour, power hour together, and then we actively practice getting to know one another, practicing saying our names in rooms of opportunity, introducing ourselves. So it's really just a place to come, be productive and also network and just connect with fellow Jefas, know that you're not alone, get the support and also get to know maybe your next Jefa bestie. It has happened.

Kita 1:07:50

I am so excited and proud to be able to say that many, many relationships, partnerships, collaborations, businesses have happened with Jefa's getting to know each other in this space, and so I'm really looking forward to what's going to continue to evolve, continue to come in the season of expansion. So we'll see. We'll see what is going to be coming for these next few months this next year. I can't believe what is going to be coming for these next few months this next year. I can't believe we're going to be celebrating three years at the end of August and I'm just, I'm so grateful. So, yeah, that is a glimpse into my work behind the scenes.

Kita 1:08:32

If you want to check out any more information about how to work with me or, you know, just get a visual on what it is that I do, feel free to check it all out on my website, kitazuleta. com, as well as jumping into the Cafecito con Jefa's website so that you can get to know a little bit more about the community and what is going on. That's where the Casita Chisme blog is living, and so you can keep up with all the things that are going to be happening within the community on our website. And, of course, be sure to sign up for our ccj invite list, which is our email list. You'll for sure get at least the emails on mondays for what's going on in the community that week, the invitations to cafecito and co-working on Wednesdays and now every other Tuesdays inside the Amiga hood and, of course, once the podcast comes back whenever an episode drops. So be sure to sign up for that email list.

Kita 1:09:30

And if you are at all in a season where you feel lonely, please, please, please, reach out to myself, reach out to a casita leader, reach out to a fellow jefa, because we are here to support you. No estas sola. If you are at all in a position where you are looking to grow your brand and business online and looking for the support of yours truly, I would be honored to sit with you, to walk with you, to support you this season. So feel free to book a free consultation with yours truly and tell me a little bit about your brand and business, where you're at, and we can talk about what the best version of support will look like for you in this season. So have us keep going.

Kita 1:10:08

I know it can get hard out there. This entrepreneurial journey is a wild, wild ride and it takes a brave soul, a wild heart and a lot of strength and determination to keep going. So it doesn't matter what season you're in. Know that, if not myself, other fellow jefas, we've gone through it too. You're not alone, and this space, this community, is about making sure that you know that there's always a seat for you at this table, jefa. Ensure that you make it. Join us, because that is how the loneliness gets alleviated and, honestly, that's where this whole thing started.

Kita 1:10:45

Yours truly was so lonely, so scared, in one of the hardest times and seasons in my life, and I just started to reach out to fellow Jefas and one day decided to invite a group and say, hey, y'all want to come and have cafecito together. And it hasn't stopped since. And so community has saved me, has held me up, has pushed me through, has lifted me up, has referred me out. I couldn't be more grateful with how this community has changed my life. So for those of you who are still listening today, who have been with me from the gate for any amount of time through this journey that has been Cafécito con Jefas and this #Jefa life we live, I am grateful for you from the bottom of my heart. Las amo de todo corazón.

Kita 1:11:37

So thanks again for tuning in to this very special episode of the Cafecito con Jefas podcast. I am your host, Kita Zuleta. Until next time. Thank you for listening to the Cafecito con Jefas podcast.