Buckle up for an incredible journey with Erika Cruz, a former tech professional turned successful business owner. Erika's story stands as a testament to courage, resilience and the power of a shifted mindset.
She shares liberating insights on how she overcame her battles with self-doubt, navigated the financial roller coaster of entrepreneurship, and turned her business into a multi-six figure success - all within a year! More than that, she reveals her passion for empowering Latinas to step up with courage and live lives they adore.
We'll also be getting deep into the nitty-gritty of money mindsets, unearthing their pervasive influence on our financial habits and goals. By challenging the narratives we've been led to believe about money, we can create a more positive and empowering dialogue, one that drives us towards financial well-being.
Listen in as we share a personal story of financial turnaround, offering insights on how you could mirror this success. Towards the end, we'll delve further into Erika's journey towards financial freedom, the strategies she used to pay off debt, save money, and manage her finances. This episode is an invitation to take control of your financial narrative and take steps towards a brighter future. You can't afford to miss it!
Find Erika on Instagram: @theerikacruz
Find out more about Erika here: theerikacruz.com
Listen to her podcast here: Ch*ngona Revolution
You Might Like:
Buckle up for an incredible journey with Erika Cruz, a former tech professional turned successful business owner. Erika's story stands as a testament to courage, resilience and the power of a shifted mindset.
She shares liberating insights on how she overcame her battles with self-doubt, navigated the financial roller coaster of entrepreneurship, and turned her business into a multi-six figure success - all within a year! More than that, she reveals her passion for empowering Latinas to step up with courage and live lives they adore.
We'll also be getting deep into the nitty-gritty of money mindsets, unearthing their pervasive influence on our financial habits and goals. By challenging the narratives we've been led to believe about money, we can create a more positive and empowering dialogue, one that drives us towards financial well-being.
Listen in as we share a personal story of financial turnaround, offering insights on how you could mirror this success. Towards the end, we'll delve further into Erika's journey towards financial freedom, the strategies she used to pay off debt, save money, and manage her finances. This episode is an invitation to take control of your financial narrative and take steps towards a brighter future. You can't afford to miss it!
Find Erika on Instagram: @theerikacruz
Find out more about Erika here: theerikacruz.com
Listen to her podcast here: Ch*ngona Revolution
You Might Like:
the money stories that we have sometimes are so deeply rooted that money is a very scary topic to talk about. It's scary to have conversations with your partner. It's scary. One of the things I noticed coming up for me was I was afraid of being judged with how I spent my money because I come from poverty and now I'm not.
Allison Baggerly:Hey, this is Allison, and welcome to the Inspire Budget Podcast, where we talk all things budgeting debt and saving money. Today we have an incredible guest, erica Cruz. She is a coach, a speaker and the dynamic force behind courage-driven Latina. From making a daring switch from a six-figure tech job to starting her coaching business in her childhood room, erica has grown her business to multi-six figures in just a year. She's dedicated to empowering Latinas to live a life they love and to lead with courage. Today, we'll be diving into how to master your mindset and overcome self-doubt, particularly when it comes to money. So, whether you're ready to take your financial health to the next level, or you simply need some inspiration, you're in the right place. Let's dive in, erica. Welcome to the Inspire Budget Podcast. I'm so glad you're here today.
Erika Cruz:Thank you for having me. What an honor. I'm so happy to be here. I really am.
Allison Baggerly:I met you in Puerto Rico at a conference and I found your journey, your story, really inspiring. I wanted you to be able to come on and share your story because I think that it can inspire others. So can you share a little bit about your transition from a tech job to owning your own business and then tell us what your business is about?
Erika Cruz:Yes. So I did the whole American dream went to school, got a job, landed a job in the tech industry and I thought I was going to be in tech for maybe a year. And then I always had this goal of, oh, I'm just going to go start my own nonprofit. But then I got into tech and I ended up staying there for eight years and it wasn't until the pandemic, when healthy people were passing away, that it was really just this reality check If I leave this planet, if I pass away due to coronavirus or anything that you know, I mean, anything could happen.
Erika Cruz:Would I be happy with the way that I live my life? Would I be fulfilled? And the answer was no. And I think it was just one of those moments where I didn't have much to lose. And I think, really, when I asked myself the question of well, what's the worst thing that can happen? And the worst thing that could happen is, if my own business didn't work, I could just go back to tech. And I think I had this big realization where I was like so pretty much, I am in the worst possible situation right now Because I was currently in tech. So let me tell you how the business came about and how I made that transition.
Erika Cruz:So I had I thought I was going to leave tech because I went through yoga teacher training and I was like, okay, this is it for me, I'm going to become the Latina yoga instructor and this is going to be my exit. But I graduated from yoga teacher training at the end of 2019. So, of course, in 2020, when all the yoga studios closed, I was like, well, that plan went out of the window. But it's so crazy because yoga teacher training really got me into mindfulness and into meditation and just self development in general. So, when I was already creating content on Instagram and and TikTok which everybody at that time laughed at me right, they were like, oh, that's the Kids app. But I started to create content on TikTok all about mental health, all about mindfulness and then the pandemic happens and we're all stuck inside losing our minds. So my content went from no followers to 500 followers to 5,000 followers. I remember I went from 12,000 to 25,000 followers in one day.
Allison Baggerly:That's how quickly.
Erika Cruz:TikTok was growing, yeah. And then I started hosting these free workshops because people really liked what I was talking about. So the workshops were how to stay motivated during the pandemic and how to overcome self-sout, how to grow your business on TikTok. I mean, I did all the different workshops and at every workshop people started asking me if I provided one-on-one coaching, and I didn't even know what coaching was. So I was Googling. I was like what is coaching From there, from those different workshops and from having growing an audience and growing my personal brand on TikTok, I ended up launching a group program called at that time.
Erika Cruz:It was called Purpose Driven Latina and it was meant to help people find their purpose and help them take action on that, and I think everybody in that moment was just questioning what they were doing in their career and in their lives. So it was really one of those things where opportunity was really met with preparation and that's how my business took off. And I did both for a few months. So I stayed at my tech job. I launched my business in end of July, beginning of August of 2020. And I stayed at my tech job until the first of November, okay, and then I went full time in my business after that.
Allison Baggerly:So what do you do now? What does your business look like now, now that we're kind of back in I don't know quote unquote normal life, if anything's normal. What does it look like now, and who do you aim to help?
Erika Cruz:Yes, so my business now is I run a coaching business and I'm also a speaker, and then I will also do things like brand deals for QuickBooks or TurboTax. So I still create content, but the main focus now is my coaching business and I mainly work with women. So I have a group called the one that was Purpose Driven Latina is now called Courage Driven Latina, because what I realized was not just about finding the clarity. We all, at some deep down, have that clarity. It's about having the courage to go after what you want.
Erika Cruz:So inside of that program, what I help people do is I help them take action on a courage project, and that courage project could be launching a podcast, showing up on social media, growing a business, being the first in their family to go to therapy, dating after a divorce anything that requires courage. That's what I help them through in that program. And then I also have a mastermind, which is a higher level program that wants more focused on entrepreneurs, also focused on women, not only Latino, though anybody's welcome, anybody's welcome. Encourage Driven Latina too. The only reason that the name is that is because that's kind of like what had taken it helped it take off, and because we do talk about the cultural expectations, but I have a client who's like Filipino American and it's the same stuff, right, it's like I don't have any great type of thing.
Allison Baggerly:You really help people just have the courage to do something different in their life, right? I love that I speak to women about budgeting and money and just laying a strong financial foundation, so I guess I'm wondering how do you think that this can show up with money? And have you ever worked with clients that are like overcoming or trying to gain courage around their finances?
Erika Cruz:Yes, yes, I feel as if I'm probably the perfect example of this because, as the founder of Courage Driven Latina, I go through a variety of courage projects myself. It feels like every phase of my business and in my personal life I'm constantly experiencing courage projects. So I've had a lot of clients who have the desire to become a money coach, but their own mindset around, oh, but I'm not a financial advisor, or this isn't what I studied at school. Yet these women are so well read, They've gotten themselves out of debt. They've helped their entire family become financially free, Right. So a lot of what I've supported them through is the mindset and the courage to actually go and do it, and I think the transformation for them is when they really begin to ponder well, what happens if I don't do this? Who won't receive the help if I don't do this? Because sometimes staying in our comfort zone yeah, we, I mean really, how comfortable is our comfort zone? But think about all the people's lives that you could be changing, that you're not. So I've helped a lot of people in that department, but myself, I think for a long time I didn't have the courage to really even look at my money, and there was a big time where I just didn't want to go back to tech.
Erika Cruz:And it's so funny because when I left tech to start my business, I moved back into my childhood room and I was like I'm going to be there until my business makes money and once it makes money, I'm moving to LA or Mexico City. Well, fast forward three years. I'm still in my childhood room, and it was. It wasn't until last month that I was like you know what I really need to face? My money right now. And once I looked at how much money I actually had in my account, I was like it's so crazy how the story I've been telling myself about my finances has kept me here. But I could move anywhere I want. If I wanted to uproot my life and go to Europe, I could do that as well.
Erika Cruz:So back to your question about courage and about money. I feel like nothing is really about the money. It's about what money gives us. Yes, yeah. So I think the money stories that we have sometimes are so deeply rooted that money is a very scary topic to talk about. It's scary to have conversations with your partner. It's scary your. One of the things I noticed coming up for me was I was afraid of being judged with how I spent my money, because I come from poverty and now I'm not in poverty, and so just the fact of not having money in the past has caused you to have these like I won't say insecurities, but these fears.
Allison Baggerly:These like lingering fears about judgment because you've come from poverty. It's very interesting because people would think that, oh, you're only being judged if you don't come from poverty, but that's not true. That's not true at all. Today's episode is brought to you by my budget to build wealth. Here's the truth.
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Allison Baggerly:So let's say that someone is trying to overcome their money mindset or even just like kind of just like dealing with imposter syndrome with their, with their money. Maybe someone saying, hey, I really want to be able to pay off this debt. I have student loans, I have car loans, we have some credit cards, but there's no way I'm going to be able to do it. I think I'll always have debt. My I've grown up and my family has always had debt. I don't make enough money. I mean, obviously, like I like to talk about the math of that right, how it's possible, but so much of it plays into the mindset of it. So can you walk us through, maybe, how someone who is having those types of feelings could look at their money themselves differently?
Erika Cruz:Yes, definitely. So I love that you mentioned this, especially regarding the feelings, because feelings are what influence how we act. So, while you could have I'm sure there's so many people who follow you and you're giving them I mean, I've seen your content, it is incredible. I love it, I thank you Soak it up like a sponge and I love that you take real life scenarios and you're like Okay, well, this is how we can budget, you know, so you could give them all the formulas, but if they still have the belief about themselves that they're really bad with money, then they their brain is always going to look for evidence of that story that they're telling themselves.
Allison Baggerly:You need to repeat that because that went over some people's heads, or we need to like pause and rewind? Yes, and I want you to repeat that again.
Erika Cruz:So your brain is always going to look for evidence of the story that you are telling it. So it's important for you to be aware of what story you're telling yourself, and if that story is I am bad with money, you're going to come find evidence over and over and over about how you're bad with money.
Allison Baggerly:Yes, I want that is a really good journal, like prompt. What story am I telling myself? Because we could be asking ourselves that about money, about our health, about parenting, like I'm a parent and it's very easy for me to fall into the story of like, oh my gosh, I'm screwing my kids up, yeah, right, but that's not true. I'm trying really hard and I may be making some mistakes, but screwing them up, so I love that. So I want to challenge anyone who's listening to just write that down on a sticky note. What story am I telling myself? And then I guess like, what like, do I like this story? Yeah, is that.
Erika Cruz:The next question Is this story helping me become the version of myself that I'm looking to become? I?
Allison Baggerly:love that. So let's take the person that is in debt. Like I want to almost like workshop this right. Someone's in debt. They're telling themselves I want to be out of debt but I can't because I don't make enough money. I come from a family with debt and everything is so expensive these days that how am I ever going to have enough money left over to actually send to debt? Yeah Right, so the story would be that like that. That's the story.
Erika Cruz:Yeah. So the story is you're telling yourself that, oh yeah, this is just it. I'm just not good with money. This is how things are. This is hard and where is the? Where are you inspiring yourself to change from that thought? You're not. You're not going to take an. Yeah, you're going to take inspired action to do something different from that story. So there's actually a bunch of different teachings around this. Even neuroscience has this, where it's like your thoughts impact how you feel, which impact the actions you take, which impact the results. But cognitive behavioral therapy Same thing your emotions influence the actions you take and obviously, the actions we take dictate our results. So the most important thing to notice is what we just mentioned, which is the story that you're telling yourself. So this is where I am a huge journaler. I mean, I have a journal in front of me right now, so I love it.
Erika Cruz:Even just as you already had prompted the audience, the listeners, the story I'm telling myself about this circumstance is, and then fill in the blank with whatever that story is and ask yourself do I like this story? Is this story going to help me reach my money goals or whatever goals you're looking to reach? And then what I would have you do is I would have you challenge that. Is this actually true? Do I need to continue to believe this? So let's say I'm just bad with money. Well, is that true? Do you have evidence in facts that that's true? And just challenging that, and then think of a better feeling thought and a better feeling story. Well, what's the story you want to tell yourself? And the fact that you're even listening to this podcast right now already lets us know you are working towards a better money mindset and better money habits. So maybe the new story becomes I'm getting better with money every single day and the changes that I'm making right now are going to help the future generations, because just because something has happened in generations before doesn't mean it has to continue happening.
Erika Cruz:And I also want to be mindful of not shaming anybody, because we obviously learn our money habits from our caregivers. So a lot of times, it's not even your fault that you have these stories about money or about yourself. It's not your fault. But you do have the power to change that. And the whole point of really identifying the story you're telling yourself is that you get to rewrite that story.
Erika Cruz:And I think sometimes we can get into and I say this with a lot of love we can get into this victim mentality of like, oh, but it's not my fault and no, it's not your fault, but it is in your control to change that and you do have the power. So I want people to think about their life like a book or like a journal, and they're the ones holding the pen and, even though they were maybe unconscious of the pages that came before, they get to change that narrative. So, if you are the holder of the pen, what do you want to write with that pen? What is the story that you want to tell yourself? About you, about money, about what you want your future to look like?
Allison Baggerly:So you actually have a story of how you turned your life around financially in just 12 months, right, and I want to talk about that. Can you share that story and then maybe give us some insight into, like the thoughts or what changes you actually made to be able to turn your financial situation around?
Erika Cruz:Here's what happened being my tech job, I was paid. I was. I was a 20-something year old making six figures. So to leave that behind, especially coming from immigrant parents who had a third grade level education and they have worked labor intensive jobs their whole lives. There was a lot of drama going on in my brain about this, a lot of guilt, a lot of shame with how am I going to walk away from this. Quote unquote stable, right, with all the tech layoffs now or like, is that actually stable? But at the time it felt like a very stable job.
Erika Cruz:The story I was telling myself, which was not helpful, was how ungrateful of me to leave behind a job that gives me benefits and pays me such an abundant paycheck when my mom is still cleaning houses and my dad does yard work, and it took a lot of courage for me to follow what I actually wanted. But I think that question that I asked myself, well, what's the worst thing that can happen? And the worst thing was that I could go back to tech and I did have some money saved. I had enough saved for at least three months or so, which isn't a long time if you're leaving a stable job. But there was a few things that did need to happen, and I really had to swallow my ego and move back into my childhood room, which I've always been an extremely independent individual. So that was very difficult. A lot of pride involved, right? Yes, exactly.
Erika Cruz:So I come exactly, and when I come back here, I think, though, that because I was no longer paying three or $4,000 of rent in Silicon Valley, I removed so much pressure from my business that I allowed myself to take more risks in how I was running my business, which then, within 12 months of leaving my job, I actually ended up doubling the salary that I had in tech, so I ended up creating a multiple six figure business from my childhood room, in the middle of lockdown and the pandemic. I had not met any of these people in person, and it was just such a you know, sometimes we don't think these things are possible and it was such a mind blowing experience of, in 12 months, I doubled the salary that my job gave me, and I think the point I want to make here is that sometimes we think that our job is the source of our abundance, but the job isn't. It's you and I was giving tech so much power.
Allison Baggerly:Oh my gosh, what did you say? Say it again. We think that our job. Say it again. I need to hear this sometimes.
Erika Cruz:We, and it's not just our job. But sometimes we think our job, our partner, our parents are the source of our abundance, but they're not. It's us, because if you're laid off you can go find another job, and it's crazy how much power we give these jobs when it's us. We're the ones that are doing the work, and our work and our value can go anywhere. It's not oh what, it's not just there where it's valuable.
Erika Cruz:And I think that was the big epiphany that I had from starting a business, pretty much through social media, from my childhood room and now I've been able to help my mom. I think the reason I'm still here is because I help her with her mortgage, which is a quarter of the price that I was paying for rent. So I'm like, yes, I can help you retire, I could pay for your mortgage. And so funny how I was like let's swallow the pride and remove the ego. But now it's actually one of the most fulfilling things, and not from an ego place, but it's so funny how, when you can put your ego aside and actually follow what's calling you, in the end it ends up being the most fulfilling thing anyways.
Allison Baggerly:Wow, how wonderful to be able to say that you're helping your mom and that you've uncovered this, that people go to therapy for for years and years and years to see that they hold, I guess, like you said, the pen to their life and their journal and that their abundance comes from within. So, oh my gosh, I love that and I feel like there's so many ties to this with just the way we see money and our finances and seeing like if you get laid off, it's going to be okay, like things are going to happen in your life and to your money and ultimately, you hold the pen to all of that. And even if things happen to you, it doesn't mean that you're destined or for failure or doomed right.
Erika Cruz:Exactly.
Allison Baggerly:Oh my gosh, I love that. Well, erica, where can our listeners find more about you, because I know they're going to want to check out everything you have to offer?
Erika Cruz:Yeah, so I am the Erica Cruz, so that's T H E, and then that's Erica with the K and then Cruz is CRUZ. So that is my username on Tiktok. On Instagram that's also my website, and I also have a podcast called Chingona Revolution. Chingona means bad since Spanish, so it's the bad revolution and that you can find on anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Allison Baggerly:Awesome. We'll link to that below. At the end of all of my interviews, I like to ask you a couple of questions, just to get to know you a little bit better. So here's three of them. The first one is what is one thing you're looking forward to?
Erika Cruz:I am looking forward to moving out of my mom's house. It is time, so hopefully, by the time this episode comes out, I will be living my best life in either Los Angeles or Mexico City. I love it?
Allison Baggerly:How are you going to decide? How are you going to narrow down where you want to go?
Erika Cruz:I'm going to Los Angeles for a month next month and then I'm going to Mexico City for a month a month after, so I'll have made my decision by December. I'm trying them both on.
Allison Baggerly:I love that Okay. So my second question is what's one money mistake you've made that you would tell everybody to avoid?
Erika Cruz:Holding on to my money in a savings account Like a regular savings account.
Allison Baggerly:Just letting it sit there. That's a good one, just like abandoning it. It's like I'm just going to leave you there, yes, so where would you recommend putting it? Otherwise?
Erika Cruz:Where do you have your money now, or the S&P 500, because I'm like if it's just going to sit there, let's let it sit somewhere. Yeah, so either high yield savings or some type of index fund, or, if you're into the stock market, then do that.
Allison Baggerly:Yeah, I love it. That's a good one. And my last question isn't actually a question at all. Just finish this sentence. My favorite thing I've ever spent money on is myself.
Erika Cruz:Like my personal development. Oh yeah, Like whether it's therapy or coaching. Yeah, like investing in me, because in the end, I am the creator of the money, so the better. The more I invest in myself, I feel like everything in my life improves.
Allison Baggerly:Oh, what a wonderful note to end on, Erica. Thank you so much for joining us. I know that people are going to find so much value in and you and what you have to offer in your story.
Erika Cruz:Thank you so much for having me and, yeah, if anybody listening to anything away from this episode, send me a DM. I love hearing from people and, allison, I will let you know when I am in your area of the United States because I would love to see you again.
Allison Baggerly:Oh my gosh, that'd be great. Bye. I hope you enjoyed today's interview with Erica and, ultimately, I hope that the Inspire Budget podcast helps you live your best life and reach your money goals. If you're loving the podcast, it would mean the world to me if you would leave a rating or review. It helps us just stroke the algorithm's ego and get noticed by even more listeners out there. I'll be back next week, same time, same place. See you then.