I recently attended my first Latina conference hosted by The Dream Lab. In this post I’m going to share my top 3 conference takeaways so that you can implement them in your life and then go out and change the world!
Now that live events are beginning to take place again, I was so excited to attend my first Latina personal development conference this past weekend in New York City. When I saw the lineup of speakers, I knew I had to make the trip up north for this in person day event. I was elated when one of my close friends decided to join me. We made the trip together and got to meet amazing people.
The host
The Dream Lab is “a personal development community for daughters of immigrants” as stated on their Instagram. It was created by Aubrey Diaz Robles and Sabrina Castillo, both northeast natives. “Their goal is to build a community for women to feel empowered and create a vision for their lives through 1:1 coaching, group coaching, live sold-out events, as well as through their podcast, The Dream Lab Series Podcast,” according to their website.
The conference
The Self-Made Mujer Conference: Confidence Edition is the third event hosted by The Dream Lab. This conference was centered on building confidence around relationships, money, ideas and success. The conference was a one day live event that consisted of 4 panels of Latina speakers speaking on the aforementioned topics.
I learned about this event on Instagram through Jannese Torres, the founder of the Yo Quiero Dinero Podcast. Jannese has been the catalyst in my entrepreneurial journey being that she inspired me to not settle for less. I even learned how to start this blog you’re reading thanks to her blogging bootcamp course. She teaches women all things personal finance as well as how to start their own businesses. Jannese was one of the speakers at the Self-Made Mujer Conference.
Conference takeaways
There were definitely some recurring messages shared throughout the event. It felt so liberating sharing space with Latinas from all backgrounds from different stages in their life journeys. I loved how it was a safe space for us to learn and grow together in a judgment free zone.
Everyone is doing scared
One of my conference takeaways from this weekend was that everyone is doing it scared. Most, if not all, of the panel speakers were the first in their family to start their businesses. Many of them had people around them not understand their dream so they had to hold the vision for themselves. That is one of the most important things you have to do when you decide to be different.
Everyone has to start somewhere and they all were scared. In fact, Carolina Flores, co-founder of Hi Hello Labs (a podcast production company) shared that even her most well known clients with huge podcasts are STILL scared. The fear never goes away. The trick is to feel the fear and take action anyway. With time, the fear becomes more manageable but you have to start (or keep going) even when you get scared.
Become who you are looking for
Another of my conference takeaways is that you need to work on becoming who you needed when you started. Yes, there are now more Latinas paving the way and that is a gift, but you still have a sense of responsibility too. You need to become who you need in order to inspire and pave the way for the women that are coming after you.
Instead of dwelling on not having role models who look like you, take action anyway. Don’t let that be an excuse for you to not follow your dreams. As First-Gen Latinas, many of you have already been the first to do other things in your family such as graduate high school or college, etc. So continue paving the way and become who you are looking for and needed when you started your journey.
Believe in yourself
The final takeaway I have to share with you is that you have to believe in yourself because that is what will push you through when times get hard. The desire to succeed has to come from within. When you listen to your inner guidance and trust yourself to “make it,” you’ll move mountains and you’ll accomplish your dreams. However long it takes.
Getting external motivation from other sources will only get you so far. You have to believe in yourself in order to truly succeed because when you have that belief, nothing will interfere with your goals and dreams. Your belief in yourself will keep you going. You are capable of whatever you decide to do.
Bonus: Create your own opportunities
I had to come back and add another takeaway that came to mind shortly after publishing this post lol. You have to go out and make things happen for yourself. I’m all for creating a vision board and manifesting, but you won’t reach your goals without taking aligned action too. Camila Ramon, Peloton’s first Spanish speaking instructor, shared how she decided to email Peloton on a Friday morning. She did this with fear but also knowing that the worst thing that could happen was to get a no. Well, just a few hours later she got the response she was hoping for.
Camila is Peloton’s first Spanish speaking instructor. She had no proof that they would say yes to her since there were no other instructors similar to her. She figured “why not?” And it paid off. You may find that you are the first to create what you’re looking to create. Don’t let that stop you. Go out and put yourself out there and create your opportunities. If you wait for them to come to you, you’ll be waiting a very long time.
Final thoughts
This conference consisted of panel speakers from different industries. From media, real estate and online businesses to product based businesses and fitness too. It was an honor to share a space with all of the badass Latinas who can show us anything is possible. They were all super humble and down to earth. I am so grateful they took time out of their busy lives to share their journeys with us.
So there you have it. My conference takeaways are to take action even when you’re scared, become who you are looking for and always believe in yourself. Final thought, I was super excited to meet Jannese Torres in person as well as Sandra Velasquez, founder of Nopalera. I completely fan girled when I met them and took a picture with them. I feel like I can type a full blog post on both of those women alone.
Sandra’s story is beyond inspirational because she started her luxury bath and body company only 3 years ago at the age of 43! Please go on The Dream Lab’s instagram and look up all the guest speakers so you can get inspired some more. Did you attend the Self-Made Mujer Conference? What is your biggest take away? Let me know on Instagram. My DM’s are always open.
Let’s work together!
- If you’re really ready to create the life you want
- If you want to increase your happiness and feel more confident in who you are
- If you want to trust yourself more and live on purpose
I can help you! Schedule your clarity call to work with me HERE!
Leave a Reply