What Are You Going to Do About It?
Overcoming Self-Doubt to Push Ahead with Big Plans For Your Life
Hi, friends! 👋🏿👋👋🏽 Glad to have you as part of the Generation Si! community. This week, I’m focusing on someone who never thought being a business owner would be possible. Ruby Colón, the founder and CEO of Latin Raices Catering (Note: “raíces” means “roots” in Spanish), shares how she went from a mindset of “That’s for others…” to a mindset of “Why not?”
In this issue, you’ll learn the following:
🌴Why you can’t just decide you want to be in something involving “cooking”
🌴How support can come from a person you wouldn’t expect
🌴How it’s normal to be your biggest fan and biggest critic
🌴 Meet Ruby Colón, the entrepreneur behind Latin Raices Catering…
REFLECT ON YOUR EARLY INFLUENCES
Ruby Colón’s childhood memories go back to being with her mom while her mother worked at a restaurant.
“I used to be sitting in a corner of that kitchen… just watching my mom grabbing these fresh ingredients that the business owner would come in with. Like, he would come in with all these, like, boxes of plátanos (bananas) and papas (potatoes) and all this stuff.”
Instead of being bored by it all, Colón was fascinated.
“And then when the owner wasn’t around, she’d ask me if I wanted to peel potatoes… I would get so hyped. I would get so excited.”
Colón’s stepfather also had an impact at home. “He’s the one that brought in the… different flavor profile. So he was always making hot sauce… fermenting, like, the chilis and peppers and whatnot.”
PLAYING IT SAFE WON’T GET YOU ANYWHERE
He encouraged her to not be afraid of trying new things, particularly in the kitchen.
The problem is, Colón didn’t believe she was capable of being an entrepreneur.
She says she was just keeping her head down, working and “playing it safe.”
THE TIP JAR (Tips provided courtesy of Ruby Colón)
STARTING OUT: “Try it all, you know? Learn your interests first. Like, learn about yourself. What is it that sparks the passion in you?” She then suggests you get experience.
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: Colón says you may want to cook in a restaurant as an executive chef. But you could also be a private chef for intimate gatherings, or you may want to open a restaurant.
“Get experience because it’s better for you to get that [experience] and be like, ‘Hmm, maybe this isn’t my thing.”
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “Stop putting the ‘no’ before you try.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: “Maybe baking is something you’re strong at, you know? Start playing around with the idea. You know what I mean? Get feedback from those around you… A lot of us, at this age, we don’t want to move forward because of stability. So once you get that good feedback… while you’re still working your job, do your research on what it takes to start a business. Attend a seminar… attend a networking event.”
She says the important thing is to get out of “your comfort zone so that you can actually put in your mind that this is a possibility vs. this is way too far for me to reach.”
STARTING OVER: “The #1 piece of advice to those that have already been years and years in their career and are wanting to just move through it [is], why not?”
Colón wants you to check your happiness meter. If it’s low because you’ve been “playing it safe,” she wants you to ask yourself, “What are you going to do about it?”
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: “Don’t start a business, don’t run [a] business… without creating a business plan.”
“This business plan is the foundation and map to see where your business can be, what it is… I didn’t do that. And that was my biggest regret…”
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: Ruby Colón says the best advice she got came from her mom. Her mom told her, “Cuentas claras conservan amistades.” TRANSLATION: Clear accounts preserve friendships.
Colón believes this can be applied on a personal and professional level.
“It’s so important for me to be transparent with the client…. Once you learn how to put people over profit, the profit is going to come. Connecting with the people is the most important thing… I let them know the good, the bad [and] what could go wrong.”
YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN A LIFE-CHANGING MOMENT WILL HAPPEN; BE OPEN TO IT
Colón was hesitant to go out into the world.
But, then, one day, while working at an events venue, a co-worker, who also happened to be a family member, approached her with a question.
It changed her life.
“Hey Ruby, I know you like to cook. And I have this lady that… is doing a 40-guest event. Very small. Are you interested in cooking?”
Colón responded, “Well, that’s not my expertise. Jan, what do you mean? What are you talking about?”
Colón knew what was happening to her.
DON’T FALL BACK INTO OLD PATTERNS OF SELF-DOUBT
She got scared.
“I took a step back. And I was like, ‘No, I’m not gonna commit to this because I’m not familiar.’ But, then, another piece of me was, like, ‘But what if you can commit to this? What if you can actually learn about this?’”
IF HESITANT, ASK QUESTIONS AND KEEP EXPLORING THE OPPORTUNITY
So she decided to get more information and realized it was a pretty simple job.
Colón got up the nerve to say she’d do it. And then she immediately told her boss about the side job.
Colón didn’t expect her boss’ reaction to be one of full support.
She’d never had anyone in such an important position tell her, “‘Mama, here you go. Like, go ahead! I will provide you the platform… If you feel like you’re going to fly, let’s do this! If not, you tried, at least.’”
The doubts and hesitation didn’t fade, but she fought through those feelings as she did a preliminary tasting with the client.
WORK THROUGH BEING YOUR INNER CRITIC BY BRINGING OUT YOUR INNER CHEERLEADER
“I was hella nervous… I was, literally, my biggest hater and, at the same time, my… you know, the pusher, the cheerleader. So, fast forward. [The client] ended up loving everything. She ended up giving me a deposit that same day.”
The opportunity made Colón ask herself, “Now what are you going to do with this, with [this] huge blessing?”
“Girl, are you going to run? Are you going to stay?”
In Part Two, you’ll find out how Ruby Colón answered that question and what she learned in the process that she wants to pass along to you.
INDUSTRY: Food (Catering)
STARTED BUSINESS: January 2018
LATINO CONNECTION: Parents and stepfather are Puerto Rican
EDUCATION: High school diploma
DREAM JOB AS A KID: “Believe it or not, I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian. I don’t know where that came from…”
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “Oh my God. Have more than one business… It’s because something in myself is telling me, you can do more. You can grow so much more into the person that you already are…”
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
AI FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
You keep hearing all the buzz about AI (artificial intelligence). But, practically speaking, how can you apply it to your small business? Find out in this webinar, which will feature examples. Here’s more info:
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
“Getting Started with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools”
Saturday, August 12, 2023
10:30 a.m. EDT – 12:00 p.m. EDT
Online Webinar
FREE
https://www.sba.gov/event/33668
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
EFFICIENCY FOR EFFECTIVENESS
When you’re efficient, you’re saving time, aggravation and, hopefully, money. In this recorded webinar, you’ll learn five strategies to help you transform your business into a lean, mean, efficient machine. The strategies that will help your business in terms of productivity have an added bonus of helping save your sanity. To find out more, check out the info below, as well as the link:
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
5 Strategies To Run a More Efficient Business”
Recorded Webinar
On-Demand
FREE
https://www.score.org/event/5-strategies-run-a-more-efficient-business
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
Realizing you can do something is the first battle in achieving any goal. But some people didn’t grow up with that mindset instilled in them.
It just wasn’t in the realm of possibility in their world.
Turning a moment of confidence, however brief it may be, into an action can be the difference.
For some of you, it’s easy to be bold. For others, it’s excruciating for you to make not even a leap, but a hop or just to dip your toe in the water.
But if you can recognize those “moments” and capitalize on them with action or, at least, view them as an opportunity to seek more information, you can build that muscle of momentum.
Ruby Colón acknowledges the back and forth she played. Success is not a straight line. It’s a series of steps forward and back.
This story was important for me to write because some of you may not have grown up with people around you encouraging you.
Even if you did, like Ruby, maybe what you saw around you didn’t seem realistic with the hopes and dreams you had.
Every positive force, word or opportunity seemed pitted against reality.
And that leads us back to the idea that you have to find that strength within you to push ahead.
You need to train your mindset to convince yourself and others that you are not bound by what your current reality looks like.
It’s summarized with eight words Ruby spoke to help you frame your next step: What are you going to do about it? #theskyisNOTthelimit 😺
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