Laura
Marcella, thank you so much for joining us today. We're really looking forward to this conversation, I expect it'll be a lovely and deep one. And as we are big fans of storytelling, we'd love to hear your story. So tell us about the start of your entrepreneurial story.
Marcela Andrés
Thank you first of all for having me. I'm super, super excited and honoured to be here this morning with you or this evening as we know that we're across three different time zones. You know, my story really begins back in my mother's apartment, our apartment when I was a little girl, I didn't know it at the time, but she was building my entrepreneur muscle. We grew up in pretty extreme poverty. She was an immigrant to the country and was navigating becoming a single mom and all the things that come in living in poverty. And she one day said, you know what, I'm gonna teach you about business. And she went to a big box store that you can buy in bulk and she bought chips and she bought M&Ms and she bought drinks, and she told me that I was going to be able to sell all these items from our apartment. And, you know, I learned a lot of things. Embezzlement was one thing, do not eat your product! Because I loved M&Ms and I loved chips but I also learned that you you could buy something in bulk and then you can sell these items as different pieces. And again, I don't know that at the time I recognised that skill that she was developing in me, but it certainly started at that very early age.
Laura
Yeah. So what did that then lead to? Because that's pretty cool. I actually really, really admire your mom for that because, you know, I know as a mom, I'm a mom to two kids, single mom too, so totally can relate to that experience. And I want to teach my kids about being resilient and being entrepreneurs and hope that they learn lessons like that. So what lesson did you learn other than they don't eat your own product? That's a really good one.
Marcela Andrés
That was a really good lesson. Thankfully, I've never done that. But yeah, I think I learned a lot about being able to tell people that you were selling something. I think I also really learned that you wanted to treat people with a lot of respect and just have fun in what you're doing. And so what that ended up leading me to is as someone who started selling candies and chips and coke from our apartment, I saw the opportunity to make money, right? And I thought, my gosh, I want to make a lot of money when I get older and I don't want to live in the poverty that we live, although there was a lot of joy, I will definitely admit, my mom made it really beautiful and very caring. And yet, there was a lot of times that I wanted things that we couldn't afford. It set me on a trajectory of pursuing a degree in Business Administration and in Finance. And there was twofold reasons to that. First, I was like, yes, I want to make a lot of money but then I would see these women and they would dress up in suits and I was like, I want to look like them as well. So I pursued a degree in finance and all things were great. I was doing really, really well as one who pursued finance in my early 20s and then life took me to live in my mother's home country and that's where my career really took a pivot. And I realised that it wasn't, that life wasn't just about making money, it was about giving back and having joy along the way. And in my mother's home country, which is Mexico, I became a classroom teacher and that's where I just saw the power of education and I had seen the power of education, how it played out in my life. And then when I came back to the United States, I helped open schools. So I pivoted into the education field, left the finance field and from there, I have built an entire career, which I'm excited to tell you more about.
Vicki
Yeah, and not only built a career Marcela, but also written a book about. So we're really excited to hear more about that too.
Marcela Andrés
Yes, definitely. So when I opened up schools in the Austin area in neighborhoods very similar to the one that I had grown up in, beyond using my operational skills and financial skills and also really tapping into this power of education, what I saw and what I experienced was working alongside families that represented my mom.
It just really touched me when I would see parents show up to the school and genuinely want support to navigate the educational system. And I feel like I was kind of straddling two worlds as I have on many occasions, but in particular in this role, because here I had this wonderful level of education and had lived the experience that these families were living. So I understood my life had been a bridge to this past history of mine. And it just gave me a passion and desire to study, I would say, the field of Family Community Engagement, which I didn't know was a field until I continued exploring and interrogating this question, this thing that was thumping in my heart, like how can we help families become the best advocate for their kids so that they can live out their hopes and dreams.
And that led me to Harvard Graduate School of Education, where I met Dr. Karen Mapp, who is a renowned guru, who's also been to Australia, who will be here in Houston next month and she's a phenomenal woman. And I dreamt of studying under her leadership, when I met her I had the opportunity to study under her. And when I got back to Texas after Harvard, helped open or not open, designed a statewide family engagement program for the state of Texas and loved that, did that with a lot of joy. And once that program was completed and I was designing the second version, the opportunity unfolded that I should probably open up my own business because A, going back to that apartment, I've always been an entrepreneur.
And B, a lot of people across the country were calling me and saying, can you come and do what you're doing in Texas for us? And I'm like, no, our funder is only funding Texas work. And then it became, well, why not? And so then I founded DesignEdEngagement in 2019.
Laura
That's amazing. And what was that start like when you first launched and you've started to expand? Like how hard was that? Because a lot of people are afraid of taking that leap because you went from something secure and well funded and you knew exactly what to expect versus now starting something yourself. So a lot of people, that first step is the part that holds them back. So tell us about what that was like for you.
Marcela Andrés
Yeah, there were some internal things and there were some external things. The internal ones, I would say, were a little difficult, right? And there was a lot of mental models of like, am I good enough? What am I doing? Am I ready? Do I need to go back to school? Do I need to create a massive plan like they say, do I need this? Do I need that? A through Z through Q through FR 756. Like everything comes through your head, right? And if that wasn't hard enough,
I had an amazing friend, Rob, I know you're going to listen to this, and Madelline, they've just been incredible champions of me for a long time and during their birthday dinner, Rob's birthday dinner, he mentioned it's like jumping out of a plane. Like you have to know you have a parachute around you and when you need to pull that parachute, wear your parachute.
And that's exactly what it's like. When you open a business, you don't know when you're going to hit the ground, you know you're going to hit it. But you also know that there's going to be people that you can pull on to cover you. So the internal w as hard. But thankfully, I had people in my life like Rob and Madelline to say, you got this. You can do this.
Now the external, you know, on that same vein, you also have people, that are like, “Girl, what are you doing?” And one of those people, believe it or not, was my mom. I know! She came from a really great place though, you know, she taught me about business, I know she instilled these business, skills in me, but you're right, Laura, she knew that I had the highest paying job that I had had in my career. She knew that I was secure. She knew that I was on a trajectory. And she was like, wait, how are you going to let this security go and go to the unknown? But at that point in my career, after everything I had lived, after the pivot I had made, I told her “Mom, there's just no way that I cannot. This is my life, it's inside of me. If I do not do this, I feel like I'm going to die.”
That was probably the novela speaking of me being a little girl watching all those novelas, but that's the way I felt. I was like, mom, I got to do it. She's now on board, obviously.
Laura
I think it's so normal for parents to want to protect their children, exactly. She saw that you had security and now you were stepping into the unknown. So she's just like, are you sure? And that surprises a lot of people when they first start entrepreneurship, when they tell the people closest to them that they're going to do this thing. And those people are the ones who go, are you sure? That might be a bad idea. Why are you doing that? And then they're shocked because they're like, well, I thought you were going to support me first.
But it's often not true, but it always comes from a place of love. I do believe it's from a place of love and care and concern, but you have to know that and expect that, that they're going to probably be the ones who might try to talk you out of it, right? But then when you have the conviction inside of yourself, that's what pushes you through. And they're going to get on board. Of course they are. Once they see how serious you are, that it comes from your heart and is something you have to do.
Yeah, that's amazing. So what does that impact feel like to you? Because now you're being able to impact so many more people. What's that feeling like? That has to be amazing.
Marcela Andrés
It is amazing. It feels surreal. I feel incredibly grateful for all the life opportunities that have come my way from making that bold decision. You know, I think that every experience has been leading me to even where I'm at now. And interestingly, I feel like it's only the beginning. I feel like I get to one summit in this entrepreneur journey and then I can see the next one. I'm not there yet, but I can see it and it feels incredibly exhilarating to know that what I'm on a mission to do is I can see it, can hear it and that's just exciting and it gets me up every morning with a lot of joy and ready to do really fun and hard work.
Vicki
Yeah. Marcella, please share with us what is the next summit.
Marcela Andrés
Yes, well, like you mentioned, I did release a book in December and that was amazing and a whole journey on its own. And now I think that the next summit that I see is doing a movie. I want to, I really want to do a documentary movie to bring life to this this reimagining of a model of how families, educators and community work together.
And I think part of it is this real aspect of showcasing the behind the scenes. The hard working, the love that families pour into their children and then also elevating the tensions that they face from structural systems that make it very difficult for them to really help their children.
You know, if you would have asked me this in 2019, I don't know that that's what I had. But now that I've been doing some work, I'm like, well, not only do I want people to read about it, I want them to see it. And I feel like a movie is a great way for them to see it or a documentary.
Vicki
Absolutely is. Yeah, I wasn't expecting that response. So exciting for you.
Yeah. And this is mostly for minority or women of color with their children, right? We're not talking about mainstream American education system, is that right?
Marcela Andrés
Well, I would say mainstream America has changed its demographics. I think one of the things that we take for granted is we're time warped. We have this, we have a system that doesn't reflect mainstream America and mainstream America is very diverse now. So I would even say that it's for all of America to really rethink, actually all the world. Cause one day that's another summit is to go global. And I really think that it would benefit all families to really rethink the way we collaborate. It really comes down to humanity. We don't get to pick the circumstances that we're born into, but we do get to pick how we help one another to have a better life. So, I think to start, because you can't, what do they say? This idiom is so funny, because I'm like, I would never eat an elephant, but that idiom, you eat an elephant one bite at a time.
You know, it's such a massive vision that I do believe that my initial work has been heavily in the Latino community as a daughter of immigrants, as one who speaks Spanish, but really the end goal is for all children, regardless of their economic status or familial makeup to benefit from partnerships.
Laura
Yeah, let's talk a bit more like what those partnerships are because I think that's a really good point. And I think education is a place that really needs to evolve. I think it's been in the same place for a long time. You know, as a mother of kids going through an education system, I see it from the outside looking in now and I can see the gaps, I see how, especially with AI now, how much it needs to change. What, what do you see is the main need for it to help these kids become the most successful versions of themselves as they get through the system and then graduate and move on in life. I'd really love to hear your opinion on this.
Marcela Andrés
Mm hmm. Yeah, I mean, I do think that we have to rethink education. We are living in a global world. I do think that some of the systems that we have in place are just what Pablo Freire in the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed talks about, of the banking model, just pouring knowledge to children instead of instilling and inciting critical thinking and love of learning and joy of learning. That's what education should be like. You should be a child that can come to school that is extremely excited to dig into something that you're passionate about versus like here's the set curriculum and this is what you got to learn. So I think that needs to change and that's like, that's I would say what they call this technical challenge, right? The way we educate our children. On the adaptive side, meaning the things that we have to change around beliefs, behaviours and mindsets, it's really how we come together. And right now there's a lot of discussion around funding and the structures of schools and the policies and school safety, right? There's a lot of issues. And what we need to do is come together as different interested groups of people who are invested in the leaders of tomorrow. And the leaders of tomorrow are the children that we have in schools today. And so when we think about these issues, we need to have these coalitions so that we can have conversations of how we can ensure schools are safe so that our kids can come to school and do their job, which is learn, and how we can ensure that systems like public health are supporting our students so that they have all the necessities that they need and we don't put that pressure on the schoolhouse. We can have conversations around housing and workforce to ensure that kids are living in safe environments and can, again, lift off the burden of being homeless or these issues, these determinants that really put pressure on the schoolhouse. So there's a lot to unpack. We would probably need a lot of time together to talk about that, but you can have me talking all day, every day about the things that we need to change.
Vicki
We do like to solve the world's problems on this show so you know we've made a good start today.
Marcela Andrés
I love that. I love that. Well, I love thinking about how to solve the world's problems so you got your gal.
Laura
We have to. We have to talk. We have to talk about it because even if I'm not capable of solving a problem or you're not capable of solving a problem, somebody listening might be. Right. So that's why it's important to have conversations. And I do absolutely believe education is at the core of society. Everything evolves around that. And like you were saying, it's about the partnership of everything. It's home, it's health, it's safety because how is a kid gonna come to school excited to learn if they're worried about their safety or if they didn't get breakfast or if they have family problems, right? So much of it is beyond just walking into a school and there being a perfect education system when there's all these other factors at play as well. So it's huge and it's not easily solved at all, but it is so important to have these conversations because it affects people of diverse backgrounds and coming from poor areas and stuff so much more than those who start with privilege. So that's why we have to continue to have these conversations. So thank you for doing what you do. And I love your mission. And I'm 100% on board with you having this documentary because I do believe you're right. People see it, it's a whole lot different than reading about it. You know, it's it's putting it right out there and I think you're gonna put that into the universe by just talking about it. Netflix is calling Let's do this let's do this, just let them know.
Vicki
Steven Spielberg, if you're listening.
Marcela Andrés
Come through, come through.
Laura
But that brings up a good point, right? It's about action and it's about taking action. So talking is important, but so is taking action. So what action are you taking? Or how can you inspire others to take action if they're there and they have something that they're super passionate about. It's super important to them that it's something that is going to have impact in the world. What's the next step?
right? Having the conversations are important, but what's the next step? What are you doing?
Marcela Andrés
Yeah, I think individuals who have this vision, and I think all of us have this vision, I think sometimes you're going through life and because of your life circumstances or because of things that you've experienced, that vision can be really deep in there. And I think that's maybe what Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs teaches us, right? Once you start going up the hierarchy, then you can do some, excuse me, self-realization work.
But if you don't have basic needs met, makes that very difficult. And so what I would say is take care of yourself, right? Take care of yourself, that's number one. And as you take care of yourself, I think it's instrumental to surround yourself with people who believe in you, who are going to tell you it's possible. And I've come to realise that I have been building my dream and community all along, all along. And I think that's where it's at. And not to say that I haven't had people who have said, wait a minute, take a pause or have been there, but for the most part, the people in my life have really surrounded me and have loved me and have championed me and so to individuals who are listening right now, after you've taken care of yourself and you interrogate your being and you're like, what do I want to do? What do I dream of? What brings me joy? Then find people that you can run with that are going to make you faster. And just by running with different people that are going at a different speed, you're just going to automatically go at a different speed. And so that would be my tip.
You know, I will say too, because I've lived this, right? As a Latina founder, I know and I have lived that we're disproportionately funded. And that's a big thing when you're starting a business, right? And so what I would say to that is also just be very thoughtful of how you're gonna move in this journey, because it is hard and there has to be your own personal plan. And I do think that as a society, we have to rethink how we distribute funds so that people do have the opportunity to live out those dreams that are within their being.
Vicki
Thank you for those incredible tips. I love them and I would love to drill down on each of them, yet when you talk about being disproportionately funded, I think it's important for us to explain, really spell out to our audience what that means. It doesn't mean that you you can't access funding that is available to everybody. Yet
I'd love to hear your definition and what do you mean by that.
Marcela Andrés
I will say that there is a lot of great pieces of research to back up that statement, right? It's not just my own experience. And I will shout out this report that Wells Fargo did a couple of years ago around Latina funders in particular. I do think that access to capital, while it's there, it's not equitably distributed. And I think that, you know, if I lean on my own experience, when I have tried to access capital, it has been very difficult. Now, granted, there's been a lot of learning along the way. For example, I didn't know you ask for money when you don't need money. Who knew that? Right. So that's knowledge capital that I didn't have. But now that I know that when you're making money is when you ask for money. And that doesn't make sense in my head. Like I would have wanted to ask for money when I need the money, because why would I ask you for money when I have the money? But nonetheless, that's something that you need to know. And so there's, there's that, but then there's also generational wealth. I think that's a really big thing. Like I mentioned, I'm a daughter of immigrants. We do not come from money and so I cannot tap into a rich aunt or uncle or my parents because they can't cut me a check to say, okay, well go try to play with your dream. And not that that happens or not that when somebody cuts you a check, you're playing with your dream. But in communities where you have generational wealth, the pain is less. You can tell your Uncle John, like, hey, can you cut me a check for $100,000 and I'm going to do this thing and you don't even tell him what that thing is and then you get that $100,000 check, right? But to that, to that, what I will say, even though this is a reality of being disproportionately funded, I will tell you I have personally engaged in these different creative fundraising mechanisms to raise money in my community and I have gotten comfortable with making an ask to be supported because you know, it's a dream. I'm building dreams of community and I'm telling people come alongside me, I'm doing this thing and they have really showed up for me and thus I've been in business for almost six years, almost six years.
Laura
Congratulations. It's not easy and only 50% of entrepreneurs make it to year five. We know those statistics. So the fact that you've made it past year five, hey, you're in the top percent, right? It's really important. But I think you've made a really good point there about the community coming with you and supporting you. So when it isn't as easy to get an uncle to write a check how do you build a community that then will support your vision as well? And I think that is the lesson for the entrepreneurs. Like you may not have it necessarily handed to you, but there are communities of people that need what you have and want to support you. And maybe they can only give you a little bit per person, for example, but if everybody comes together, it can be a massive impact, right? But also they're benefiting as well. So if we think along those lines, we're not thinking about what can I do? What impact can I, me, Laura have, but what impact can this community that I'm within have? Then all of a sudden it feels less about me, it's about we, and they all want to support and jump on the bandwagon. So it's a little bit about changing the language, changing how you look at it, changing how you talk about it, who you talk about it to. You can use platforms like this. You can use social media. You can use documentaries. You can use lots of different platforms to get the message out there and to gather that momentum of support. And like you said earlier, it's not necessarily who you think it's going to come from, which might be your immediate friends and family. By the way, friends are like the last person to buy your widget when you're selling one, right? But like, it's about the people who you build, that community you build. So getting out there and talking to them is really important.
Do you do any speaking engagements as well? Is that something that you do?
Marcela Andrés
I absolutely love that experience. And I have, I do take on speaking engagements. It is, I think, an opportunity to share out what you've written in a way and what's on your heart. And I think that it's nerve-racking because you're in front of an audience, just like the way you're putting your words in a book, you're sharing your heart. But nonetheless, I do think that it's.. to somewhat, to an extent a liberating experience to just share and really prepare a message for people who are listening to you. I can think about one experience that relates to this. I was invited a couple of years ago to speak on being your best version, Mi Mejor Versión. And I remember just thinking and designing for that session and thinking that I was gonna have a room filled with Latina women and I wanted them to walk away knowing that they were capable and that they had all the tools within them and among us, right? And after that experience, it just filled my heart to see so many women just light it up and come alive and think that it was possible for them to live their dream. And so the power of spoken word and sharing with somebody a word, even though you don't know them at all, is.. it's incredible and I love it and I want to do more of it.
Vicki
That's such a beautiful way of influencing people's hearts and minds and, you know, inspiring them just not in that moment, but they take that away and then they inspire others. That's really the ripple effect. It's so powerful, so impacting. And Marcella, we love to talk a bit about the hero's journey and you've shared with us, I think, well, you have a quest and the quest has many peaks.
And you've shared with us what a couple of those peaks have been and will be. Amongst, along the quest, you generally would meet a mentor to help you on your path. And you've mentioned Rob and Madelline, so thank you to those guys, because without them, you wouldn't be here with us today. And by all means, fill in the gaps. But I'm curious what the dragon is.
What is the dragon? What is the greatest challenge that you've experienced in your journey so far?
Marcela Andrés
Yeah, I feel like that dragon is at times - that dragon is like a chameleon. I would say like a chameleon dragon it changes and there's been these different identities that this dragon takes on. I think at times it does go back to this internal dragon trying to attack my being like, what are you doing? Like, you really think you're going to be doing this and you know, I have to be like, yes, yes, I am, you know, and put your weight - or there is sometimes that I'm like, no, you're right. You know what? And I'm just going to sleep a little bit because you've crushed my heart right now. And that's okay. Because sometimes the dragon wins for the day, but you get up the next day and you're like, all right, let's go at it again Dragon, and you just got to get up and do that.
But the other thing that I would say that I think this dragon forms into is the pressures of the systems that are in place. I think one of the systems is, and Laura, you were kind of alluding to this, I think sometimes because we live in a capitalistic society, I think we're conditioned to think that we can do things on our own and you get so focused on like, I'm going to get up and I'm going to do this and I'm going to do this and I'm going to go here. And it's me, me, me, me, me. But that dragon really deflects from this collective effort. You're not alone. And when you have a vision, you really have to bring people alongside with you, including that dragon. Then you, have to say like, let me, let me harness your power Dragon, to amplify what we're doing here. And so I would say that it's certainly more sense of that. And I may have mentioned this early, like it's it's sometimes not even slaying that dragon, but it's dancing with that dragon. And it's saying, like, be part of this, because, you know, without you, I can't do it. And that goes into like more existential thinking, right, of this inner voice that you have. And that dragon is there because there's something that's trying to protect you against. But if you really tap into that dragon and say, thank you, dragon. And how can we work together to make this happen? I think that's where it's really at. I think the dragon and I are in a great place right now.
Laura
I love that dance with your dragon. Yeah, because I think we do need to embrace it, like especially the internal stuff and realise that everybody has it. You know, I was listening to I don't know if you know Marissa Piers. She's like a hypnotherapist to a lot of famous people and she didn't name names, but she said you'd be shocked at this most famous actor who you would just think is the most confident, self-assured person in the world would get on stage, but right before he got on stage, would throw up in a bucket, you know? And just the nerves would get them too. And I think when you start to realise that it's a human experience, that it's all normal to be self-conscious, to have that inner monologue saying, who am I to do this thing? But who are you not to do this thing, right? You gotta flip it sometimes.
But I think also it kind of keeps us… if you were so confident and you had no issues with self-belief, I think you'd stagnate where you are. I think there's some of that like, am I good enough? That makes you driven to research more, learn more, have more conversations, absorb more information so that you can continuously make yourself better. And I think the things that you learn in your collective experience, different experience of things you've been through is what makes you you and therefore is the gift that you can then give to others. I think that's the message I want to share with entrepreneurs today. It's like you are this great thing because of your collective learnings, experiences, life, childhood, the traumas, all of it. It's how you've grown through that, danced with your dragon or slayed it or whatever you needed to do, but know that it's all human experience.
I think that's what changes it. And that's what gets you on the stage, as nervous as you might feel being on it. But then like you said, you ended up with the impact, the power of impacting all of those women and giving them the opportunity to grow and to maybe learn their voice and maybe do their thing. And I just think that's so, so important to get across to people. Like it's just normal. Don't let it stop you is the key.
Marcela Andrés
I agree, don't let it stop you.
Laura
What advice would you give? What advice would you give to people who were you, or to yourself, 15, 20 years ago? What advice would you give yourself if you were like, should I build this parachute? I'm really scared to jump out of this plane right now.
Marcela Andrés
Yeah, no definitely. wow, 15, 20 years ago. I would say that, you know, in my wildest dreams, I don't think that I knew that I was gonna be here today. And the advice that I would give myself then and the advice that I give folks now is dare to dream, just dream and wake up every morning with the belief that things are possible and you know, I had read this quote a while back and I'll probably butcher it but it said something about “Dream so big that God grabs a bucket of popcorn to watch, and say “Girl what are you doing next?” and I love that. That has stood with me because I often am wondering like God am I like, do you got a popcorn bucket? Are you looking at me? And that brings me a lot of joy.
And I think that's how we should wake up every morning with that hope, right? Like when we're little kids, we're dreaming about all these things. We're dreaming of dragons actually. And I think that's what we have to tap back into is even our inner child and not let all these doubts, all this fear put a shadow on what is possible.
Vicki
Marcella, you have such words of wisdom. We're called Resilient Entrepreneurs for a reason. Resilience means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?
Marcela Andrés
You know, for me, it means to keep going, to never give up. You know, it has not been easy, but it's knowing, knowing that I have a purpose, I have a vision and that I need to work really hard to surround myself with people who can make me bring this vision to life and for me, that's what resilience means. It's just showing up every single day and with a steadfast belief that it is going to happen. It may not happen in my lifetime, it's a massive system that I'm trying to change with people. But if I wake up every single day and do the work and bring people along with me, I think that's the resilient part.
Vicki
What will happen if you don't do it. If you're not on this path.
Marcela Andrés
Yeah, it's like what I told my mom, tapping back into the novella, I'm going to die. I just don't know how to put it. There's been times when in my company's history that I'm like, man, I don't even know how I'm going to make payroll or I don't know how this is going to happen. And it's, some people have been, well, do you think it's a great time for you to go get a job? Like I have a job, right. But like a W2 job. And I'm like, no, no, it's not a good idea because if I do it, I'm going to die and I don't want to die. And I know that's coming from a place of resilience and not wanting to give up and maybe stubbornness. But I do genuinely feel like when you have something and you see something that is possible, you do everything that you can. You find the people that you need to find to help you make that vision come to life. And that's where I'm at right now. Like no matter what, I just keep showing up and I, I'm determined not to quit.
Laura
That's it. That's it right there. That is the heart of entrepreneurship. It is so real and the perfect message for anyone who's out there who is struggling, you know, because it is, it's not an easy ride. It just is not. The journey is tough. There isn't often a path. You've got to like forge your own one. And you've got to be brave enough to ask, you know, the community around you for help when you need it, for support, for mentorship, for guidance, for coaching, for mental help, whatever it is, but you've got to be able to work with other people. And I think a lot of solo entrepreneurs don't realise that either. You know, they kind of think, it's just me, I'm just going to do this thing, I'm going to sit in my office and I'm just going to do this thing. You can go so far that way, but you need the community to really take it bigger. And if you really want to make impact, and we love talking to and working with people who want to make impact, it's gonna need more than just you. And it's an important message. So thank you. I really appreciate this message today. I think you're really impacting people by sharing this and sharing your story, being vulnerable and being honest, telling your childhood experiences to today. It has a great impact and it's important.
Marcela Andrés
Yes, thank you so much. really, really have enjoyed the journey as difficult as it has been. And I am really grateful for the opportunity to share with your listeners. And I hope that someone sees and not sees, but hears this message and says, you know what, I can do it too. I can do it too. And my hope would definitely be for all women, especially Latina women, because representation also really matters. And so if you're listening and watching, you know, tap in.
Vicki
Yeah, and we'll definitely be including places in the show notes, all your details and how people can follow your work and get in touch with you if they're thinking of creating a documentary on a really important topic.
Marcela Andrés
Yes, yes, that you can also message me. I'm on all the socials and I would greatly appreciate that.
Vicki
Well, you've learned how to ask, you just asked on this show, and I love that you did that. We'd to wrap up with three key takeaways, each of us having our own. Laura shared, I think, at least one of them just now about community. Can I go first?
Laura
Okay, of course.
Vicki
Because you always steal my three! Okay, I'm gonna say take care of self. Take care of self was number one and number two is choose your community and number three is dance with your dragon. Love it.
Laura
Yeah, I really like that one too. Definitely building on that, the community is surrounding yourself with people who believe in you, the right people around you too, bringing them nice and close I think is really important. I also like what you said really early on about knowing who you can pull as you're building that parachute. Like who are the parachute people? Like who are the ones that you can pull on that just lift you up a little bit as you're falling to the ground, trying to figure things out. I think that's really good because it's not always who you think it's going to be. Sometimes that surprises you, right? And I really love - dare to dream. Yes, dare to dream.
So how about you, Marcella? Do you have some takeaways from today you want to share?
Marcela Andrés
Yes, I mean, first, the fact that it's three women on the call, I think there's something to be said about building alongside women, not only are we women, but we're different. I think we're in different life stages and I think there's so much power in women community. And so the representation this morning, I really love it. think another takeaway from me for me is you know, I love this idea of the resilient entrepreneur and it just really warms my heart to be seen and to like have you all have this platform to share out with women and listeners across the world that, you know, there is this, this, this, I don't even know how to say it. There's something, this magic inside of you that you can make it possible.
And I would say that the last thing is, you know, this idea of this dragon, I feel like there are different variations of it. And it feels kind of playful now, right? But I can understand that sometimes it can feel very daunting because the dragon can be scary. And I like this idea of, really working alongside people to have a good time with the dragon.
Laura
Yeah, yeah, it's just such a great way to frame it in a different way. You know, when it is scary, when it is overwhelming, let that dragon, you know, can you find a way to play with it? Can you find a way? Don't always slay it. I think, like in a past episode, we said to ride your dragons. Why don't you just need to ride it, right? Like take control of it. You know, you own it. And it can just be a normal part of you. And it's important to have these conversations so we realise this stuff is normal. We all go through it. The journey is such a common one, even when we come from very different backgrounds, very different life experiences, and are doing very different things in whatever this entrepreneurship life is for you. But the journey is so relatable. So thank you for sharing yours, and thank you for this amazing conversation. We just can't wait for your documentary. Please let us know when it's live. We'll be the first in line. We'll be there for the premiere. Do you have like a premiere? Come on, invite us to the premiere. We'll come. We'll come to Texas. That'd be amazing. Congratulations on what you've accomplished so far and all the best for the future. Because I know it's an important and impactful one you're creating. So thank you.
Marcela Andrés
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And thank you again for having me. It's really been a joy this morning.