May 30, 2023 | Podcast, Your Business

Business Ops Necessities for the Prosperous Empath with Alicia Lozano

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About the episode:

I’m excited to share this conversation with Alicia Lozano, a Business Operations & Change Management Consultant, who partners with minority women-owned small businesses AND corporate side hustlers who are ready to take their business full-time to simplify their path to wealth. Alicia helped me early on in my business as I was starting to refine my processes and SOPs. She helped to take me from Excel expert to a ClickUp enthusiast and my business is better for it. In our conversation, she shares more about how she sets each of her clients up for success as they uplevel their businesses. I’m confident that whether you’re a new entrepreneur, wanting to create a new revenue stream, or just ready to make more money while working less hours – this episode is for you.

Topics discussed:

  • How Alicia’s brain works as a Business Operations & Change Management Consultant and how slower processing works for her
  • The steps that Alicia took to go from working 13 hour days to 4 hour days and the importance of having compassion for yourself and the way you run your business
  • Getting comfortable with creating and leaning on automation, systems, and SOPs
  • How Alicia helps her clients feel confident in each of the processes she creates for them
  • The aspects of Alicia’s life that helped create some of the creativity and envisioning of her newest business pivot
  • Why we need to encourage more transparency in the online entrepreneurship industry

 

About Alicia:

Alicia Lozano is a Business Operations & Change Management Consultant, who partners with minority women-owned small businesses AND corporate side hustlers who are ready to take their business full-time to simplify their path to wealth.

She helps streamline their client experience processes through done-with-you and for-you operations strategy and consulting so that they can start to fully experience life and have the extra income to invest in the causes that will change the world.

She is the founder & CEO of an online community called Zero to Entrepreneur.

The Zero To Entrepreneur mission is to keep minority women-owned businesses growing by simplifying the right business actions at the right time in order to have their business fund the causes, passions, and dreams that change the world!

Her credentials include a graduate degree in Organizational Development and Leadership, seven years of Human Resources, corporate coaching, consulting, and training.

Alicia is a wife, and dog mom to four rescue pups, and enjoys a good enchilada plate!

 

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Click here for a raw, unedited transcript of this episode

 

Catherine A. Wood 00:03
Alesia, welcome to the podcast. I’m so excited to have you here.

Alicia Lozano 00:07
Thank you so much for having me.

Catherine A. Wood 00:10
For my audience, Alesia has has done some of the math, her magic in the back bounce
backbones of my business. So I’m just super excited to have you here today to share you with
my audience, because I think your work is pretty amazing. And working with you was like a
total amount of magical experience. So thank you. Totally. So maybe you could just we could
just kick it off by you sharing a little bit about who you are, and and your story. Yeah, for sure.
So

Alicia Lozano 00:45
my name is Elisa Lozano, and I am from San Antonio, Texas. Born and raised. I lived in
California for like a little bit like eight months. It was awesome. That’s a story for another day.

Catherine A. Wood 00:58
But what’s it? What’s it?

Alicia Lozano 01:00
Oh, in Southern California, kind of up and down Southern California. So Valley, North Hollywood,
which was amazing. Because it’s super artsy in North Hollywood. Yeah, so it was good times
when I was dancing and acting. They’re crazy. Yeah. Um, but yeah. So most recently, I, I came,
I have an HR background. So I came from HR for seven years, and focused in employee
relations and employment law. And then I decided that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. And
like some people that might be listening to the podcast that maybe started their journey the
same way. I had no idea what I was really good at and what I really wanted to do. So I went on
that journey for about three years, until I landed on writing my very first SOP. And that was just
a friend of mine who randomly asked me if I would help her in her business. And she’s like, I’m
actually hiring for this. And I know that you’re like, trying to be a coach, you’re trying to do all
these, you know, other things. But I need help with my back end, like, is this something that
you would do? And my mouth said, Yes. And my brain was like, What the heck is an SOP? But I
was like, determined, right? Like, I mean, and she’s a friend, and definitely knew all my skills at
that time. And so I was writing my very first SOP for her business. And I had a literal, physical,
energetic shift in my body. And I knew that after three failed businesses before in different
spaces that this was it. And so about two months later, I quit my job and started it started the
industry of operations. I didn’t even know what to call myself, I think I was doing more in her
business, I was doing more of like an OBM role. Because I was doing some team management, I
was doing process improvement and creation of SOPs, and all in putting systems together. And
I started to find that I found like, I just saw gaps. And I’ve always just been the person to see,
like, a few steps ahead of like, Hey, this is like this. If This Then That theory of like, figuring out
like, Okay, let’s prepare for this. Or let’s look at that, if this happens, like, let’s have this
template or do that. So yeah, so I was really able to nurture my skill set and operations in her
business. And then from her, like, thankfully, and luckily, because I know, this isn’t always the
story. But I was able to have like client after client based on referrals. And so I just kept getting
experience after experience after experience. And so until I did it, that’s also another story for
another day. But yeah, so that’s how I started in operations. And so now I’m an operations
consultant. And

Catherine A. Wood 04:11
I’m so happy that I know what both of those acronyms stand for. Yeah, but for my audience
who maybe doesn’t like can you? You said SOP? OBM. Yep. Do you want to just maybe define
them?

Alicia Lozano 04:26
Absolutely. For sure. Thank you so much. So an OPM stands for an online business manager.
And I officially I guess, I think in the online world, like there’s a lot of fluid fluidity in the labels
that people have as far as like are the titles that people have and the actual work that they do.
So I think an OBM essentially is supposed to be somebody who is managing helping with
managing the team. They could do some some ops and process management, a lot of project
management. It’s all about that man. judgment roll. But I know a lot of OEMs who are also
implementers. So that’s why I say there’s a lot of like, fluid fluidity in like what somebody does,
they really have, you really have to ask like it, it could differ between OBM to OBM. And then
SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedures, which are essentially, the steps by step by
steps that you take to go from point A to point B in your business. So that could mean that an
SOP can be a way of documenting a process a business process. So, you know, this podcasting

process and and like, you had to book me, and you had to ask me questions, and then we had
to schedule the event. And then we have to have the event. And then there’s essentially
probably a million steps, right, that go into, like, what happens after we close this interview?
And so that process from like, A to Z, could be documented on a standard operating procedure?
Yeah.

Catherine A. Wood 06:04
So when, when you worked kind of behind the scenes in my business, you helped automate
some of those processes. And you also helped kind of draw out some, some mind maps for how
things could look that kind of if then, thing that you were just talking about? And yeah,
something I noticed, as you were working is like how much I appreciated, admired the way your
brain thought. So how does your brain think?

Alicia Lozano 06:32
I don’t know. I think that, you know, as I as I do more of this work, I feel like, a lot of what
comes up is just noticing the detail. And then being able to forecast what that next step could
be, like, the possibility of what it might look like. So things like, you know, if somebody books a
call, and what happens, and if somebody doesn’t book a call, what happens like just something
like that. And so I just think that that’s, I think my brain has always operated that way. And so
I’m just doing this work and operations, I think, brings it out a lot more. So yeah, to answer your
question, how it works, I just think that I, I enjoy thinking through things, I also noticed that I
am a slow. I’m a slow processor. So I think that goes into how I operate too. So I always thought
it was like a learning disability. Because I, if you asked me a question, like I’m not the first
person to answer or like, I’m not the most witty, right, like I’m not like, I’m also not good with
what people call like clap backs. What’s further, it’s like, were you like you say something, and
if it’s snarky, and then like I say something back to you. You know, there’s some people that are
like, really good with the comebacks, right. They call them slap backs. So I’m not really good
with the comebacks, but I’ll definitely be the person that will be in the shower, like two hours
later and be like, Oh. So yeah, I think that that goes into the way that my brain just processes
information is slower. And I think there is a test called I think it’s like the Colby, which I haven’t
taken but I’ve looked up some research about operators and like how they’re always a number,
don’t quote me, but I think they’re always like a number eight or something like that. And they
are the what they call, like slow starts. And so I think that I just naturally, that’s just who I am,
and and the way that I process information. So

Catherine A. Wood 08:47
yeah, I mean, I appreciate you saying that, I know that you and I were chatting before we hit
record about how we’re both highly sensitive people. And in some of the research that I’ve
done for myself about being an HSP like, something that’s been really healing for me is learning
that one quality of HSPs are that we are deeply and highly conscientious and deep thinkers,
which means that we’re naturally slower processors, because we’re thinking through all the
potential consequences or ramifications or, you know, for me, like it’s, I think more from I don’t
think the way your brain thinks like, I don’t necessarily think from a systematic way of thinking

but I do think from an emotional realm, like, how will this person feel and what could be the
impact and, you know, all of like, all of the how this will affect other people how this will impact
me like I kind of think through that lens, but it does have me respond slowly. Yep,

Alicia Lozano 09:51
yep. Yeah, that’s interesting. Yeah, I’m still learning about HSP and just Like, I think we, we
talked a little bit about it before. How have given me myself compassion for like this, I guess it’s
like a label, right giving ourselves this label, but also a better understanding of why we act the
way we do or why we might say things the way we say them or just different or why I feel the
way that I do. And I think that, yeah, I’m still learning this new world, but it definitely has give
also given me compassion for how I operate the business, for sure. And in my in my
capabilities, and limitations of like, what feels good and what doesn’t for sure.

Catherine A. Wood 10:40
Well, I’d love to like, I’d love to shift gears there. Because, you know, last year, when we were
connecting, and we were part of a community together, like you were you were promoting on
social media all the time like this, your four, four hour daily work week? Yeah. And four hour per
day, right. There we go. And, and I wonder if there’s a connection there with, you know, what
you’re just sharing around, working for hours and giving yourself compassion and allowing
yourself more kind of grace to build your business your way? And what that has looked like for
you?

Alicia Lozano 11:23
For sure. Yeah. Like, I think that to make the transition from working like 13 hour days to just
like, I like literally, it was day and night. Like, I made the decision in the very next day, I cut my
hours to four hours. And I think that it, I think there was a lot of building that took me there. But
I did feel a lot more compassion of, but it was all it was compassion. But I think compassion was
the result. I think what came before compassion was actually anger. Because I was just upset
that I had to be working so hard. And I was tired. Like I mentioned, I had a few businesses
before. So if you are listening, and you’ve been on this, like entrepreneur wheel, and like trying
to like make it work, and like trying to really find yourself, like there’s so many different
nuances that go into being a successful entrepreneur, and there’s so much skill set. And there’s
so much like awareness that oftentimes when that’s not developed yet, right, we’re not like,
quote, unquote, making it and I think that up to that point, even though I had seen some
success, I wasn’t hitting where I wanted to be. And so and I was working like double time, right.
And I had been working double time, like that for years, and pushing and pushing and pushing
and pushing. And so I think that I was just ready mentally to just stop and say, like, if it burns
down, if it burns down, like it is what it is. And I and so that was like more of like, my attitude.
But after that, I think that what came of it was definitely compassion for just an understanding
that, hey, like, literally, maybe a month after I did that, probably even sooner, I think I close,
like, my biggest deal ever on like a Word document. And I am somebody that would never send
out a Word document as a proposal or any like, because it’s like, you know, better, right, and
I’m like, I know better, I can make this beautiful and I but it was like something new that I was
asked for. And so it was custom. And I was sticking to four hours. And I didn’t have any time to

create this beautiful proposal. So I just threw my hands up and said, Here’s the basics, like this
is what I do. And what I can do, I did that in about like 15 minutes, sent it over, gave them the
access, like old school, gave them the access to the link and booked the client that way, which
was my largest client to date at that point. So yeah, I think especially that, that like those
moments were supported of my idea and what I was doing, I think it really did help me with the
compassion, of like, accepting that I don’t have to work as hard. And so the it brought that
more awareness like there is another way and then we talked about earlier that I got back to
working hard because I got back to pushing new offers. I got back like I’m building the
membership out. But I also know that like I’m conscious of that I’m making the choice and that
it doesn’t have to be this way. But I’m making the choice and I think that goes into some other
things like psychological bakes and we probably I’m like probably room for my therapist, right
but like I think that, yeah, so that’s the definitely, to your point we had, I grew some
compassion for myself and the way that I wanted to show up and, and run my business for
sure.

Catherine A. Wood 15:11
But and I also hear, I mean, first of all I love, I’m so happy that you shared that because, you
know, my audience is really interested in building a business that supports their ideal lifestyle.
And I hear that through your willingness to just, like pull the boundaries up hard, right, four
hours a day that is it, like it actually allowed you to reassess what’s possible. And if you more
access to, you know, reinventing your business, on your own terms, and by your own design,
and then not when you choose to work, or over assert yourself like it is on your terms, and you
know that you have the capacity to pull back the reins again, when the timings right. And, you
know, something I talk about a lot is like the reminder that there are stages in every business,
and at different stages of business, there are different things that are required of us as
visionaries, and that is completely okay. Yep. Absolutely. And I hear like, how much permission
you’re giving yourself to really embrace the stage that you’re in?

Alicia Lozano 16:27
For sure, for sure. Yeah, like I said, it’s the awareness. And also like, the reason that I was able
to, I think it’s important to explain the reason that I was able to do it from one day to to to the
next, because I’m also a person that doesn’t like to, like, talk in theory, or like to make people
think that like, if they can’t do it from one day to the next, that they’re not, like, good enough,
or whatever. But I think it’s important to also say that the reason that I was able to have that
type of business is my offers were aligned, I had systems already in place. And I had two team
members supporting my business. So because of that, I just had to, like, let go. And I had to,
like, trust my systems, and like, do all of that in order for this to actually happen. But But yeah,
so that that needs to be in place, too. Yeah, for for you to have a realistic, you know, if you’re
gonna pull back that much, I think you realistically you need to have those things in place. Like,
at least for me, I don’t know about anybody else’s path or what they’ve done. But for me, that’s
the only reason I was able to do that. Because I know that the only reason my marketing was
kept up is because I had somebody writing my captions, I had somebody posting my content.
So you know, all of that was, I just had to show up to a call once a month. And literally, my
blogs, everything would be done for me. So my marketing was pretty much on autopilot. So
yeah, so just things like that, I think it’s important to note that if you are trying to cut back that
you recognize that those are some of the foundational things that need to be in place.

Catherine A. Wood 18:07
Oh, totally. And I also appreciate you just shining a little bit of the light about what you also do
for your clients in the in the back end, like the automation and the workings that you help
become seamless.

Alicia Lozano 18:24
For sure. Yeah, it’s helpful. I mean, I think that I feel like if you fight systems, there may it may
be because you’re not like people are influencing you to do things a certain way. Versus like
understanding that systems. Yes, it could be automation and tech and all of those things as
well. But systems could also be a process for just making your task easier. Like I what comes to
mind is like a name for everything or a place for everything and everything in its place, right.
Like even just having some organization around business. Like that’s a system like every time I
create a doc I’m going to create it in this way every time I create this type of Doc I’m going to
place that Doc into this particular folder so that I know that I don’t have like five or six versions
of the same thing it because I know that I’m always referring back to this particular folder. So I
think when it comes to systems it doesn’t always have to be that but automate definitely
automation and like getting all that mean you saw to from like our work like it does make your
life easier and will cut back time and you don’t have to do it yourself or pay somebody else to
do it for sure.

Catherine A. Wood 19:52
Yeah, I mean, I I am. I mean personally, I’m a bit stubborn and If I for one, like always have
loved spreadsheets and something that I appreciated when you came in to my business was
you helped take steps and processes that I manually data that I would copy and paste manually
into a spreadsheet, and then you helped me put it in two, a lookup table that then tabulated
automatically. And I was like, stunned. And I think it was just a reminder that we’re typically
conditioned to rely on the natural order in which we do things. And that because it’s easier,
right, and then we forget that, you know, there’s there could be a system that makes this even
simpler and easier. If we were willing to allow the support that is trained, well resourced in
these areas of business, which, you know, we likely have no business to be in.

Alicia Lozano 20:59
For sure, for sure. Yes, I’m glad you said that, too. Because I feel like sometimes, that’s, that’s
something that comes up for people when they think of systems or like, you know, seeing my
intake intake form and things like that. That people, yeah, they’re worried about. Someone said
it this way. She said, I’m worried about you putting in like, like, steps to like, check off that I did
the step. Do you notice like she like she’s that she did the step. And now you have to go tell
another tool that you did this step? And so like, that was like her worry of like, okay, cool. I
know this exist, I know that this could be better, but you’re gonna ask me to go and like, do this
checklist or something like that? You know, and I think that just remembering that system
should meet you where you’re at. And, and if you like spreadsheets, like, you know, what came
up for me was like, air table, right? Air tables, like a good. It’s like a spreadsheet on on steroids.

So like, even something like that would be an easier transition than going to something like
monday.com, you know, or if you like, very, like you don’t like anything, like, too colorful and
too crazy that way, like monday.com wouldn’t be for you like just things like that. But I think
you have to, you have to work the system and not let the system work you when you’re
considering that. And yeah, let go just like any other business, right? Like I don’t, I’m not an
expert in marketing. So I’m gonna let that go. I’m gonna let somebody like tell me, especially
with like copywriting like emails, like, currently, I’m writing my emails, but I had somebody
writing my emails previously. Because I love to write. But like, I don’t necessarily like to write
about operations. Like sometimes it’s just a little boring, right? I don’t want to talk about a step
today. Okay. Okay, you know, and so, yeah, there’s, there’s that.

Catherine A. Wood 23:08
I also hear and what you’re saying, like, just something I hear a lot with clients that like, as
business owners, we don’t want to be ruled like we don’t want to be told what to do or dictated
by our systems or our employees. I wonder like, do you encounter that when you’re trying to
help your clients offload tasks?

Alicia Lozano 23:32
I don’t know if it’s like that. They don’t want to not when not when I’m hired, I would say, for the
sales calls don’t end up. Clients, I would say that there might be a little bit of that. But I think
once they make the decision to hire me, they’ve decided to let go this area of the business for
sure. But I do see that, you know, they are a little bit worried about what the process looks like.
And if it really, truly would help them or if it’s going to just like, create more work or if it’s going
to break like those are some things that come up. And so in my consulting calls, I do like, I have
a team of five that I’m working with. And in our we do calls like collectively to get their
feedback. And so they can make sure that I’m building it for them, which is also kind of part of
change management, which has to be included when you’re consulting, for operations. But I
think in those calls, like just I do a lot of reassuring of like this is for you. You want your sales
process easier. You’re doing too many steps by delivering x. So in order to do that, we are
building out your sales system and then also gathering that feedback like if it is a team
gathering the feedback for the team If I’m just working with the CEO, gathering that feed, a lot
of feedback from the CEO is just so helpful in like, and really digging in. And sometimes I have
to dig in like, two or three layers down, because what came up maybe originally, like, they get
in there and they start working it and it’s like, oh, well, like, what if this happens, right? Like,
oh, this, like, the system doesn’t work for like this scenario, right? And I’m like, Okay, now that
I’m aware that that scenario is common, I can let’s build this out. Even better, right. And so I
think that, yeah, so those are some of the things that I have to do. And just consulting is just a
lot of reassurance sometimes of like, this is for you like limb and a lot of questioning, of like
how they actually operate, so I can understand and it takes me back actually, to, if anybody
that’s listening is familiar, or if you’ve organized before, like your home, like I really, I used to
walk through, I used to be a professional organizer, funny, read, read string, follow it back. I
used to be a professional organizer, and I used to be in people’s homes, and I used to walk
have them walk me through their process. So I was organizing their office, walk me through
what it feels like when you walk into your office, walk me through what is when you sit down?
What do you necessarily grab? What do you like to see on your desk like that? And I do that in
my consulting calls of like, let’s walk through this process, what is happening? What is where’s

Where are you feeling the friction? What’s the problem? Like, where’s that at? So through the
discovery of the intake call, and the consulting, that’s, that’s usually helpful and helping people
feel a little bit more at ease. And I’m, like, perseverance, I always say like, is that’s like a value
of mine. So like, if it doesn’t work, like we’re gonna make it work, like, we’re gonna like, figure it
out. Because if something doesn’t work the bird like version one, like, what we’re going to do,
I’m going to ask like, a million questions. And we’re going to make sure that like, this is
designed for you, and we reach your goal of like, cutting downtime, or whatever it might be. So
there’s that too.

Catherine A. Wood 27:13
And love that. I mean, I love kind of putting the pieces together of all your professional journey
and how all of those skill sets support the trajectory you’re on. Because, you know, I know in
the past, you and I have talked about that you also have some coach training skills under your
belt. Yeah. So, right. So I can, I can just appreciate how that skill set could really support you in
getting all the layers of questions with your clients, helping them under helping you understand
how they work, where they get stopped, and how and then helping them also talk through how
a system would make their work easier, which would then naturally help them become more
and more enrolled in the system. And I think the degree to which we have buy in, in a system is
the degree to which we will work the system. So yep. Which actually brings me to the next
piece, which I’m super excited to chat about, which is your new business. Because you know, I
think last time we chatted on the phone, like you were like I was just seeing your four hour day
posts everywhere super inspired by all your long runs, and your your dance videos. And I’m
wondering like, well, first of all, did that did kind of falling back on your work schedule? Did it
create some of the creativity and envisioning of this newest business pivot? Yeah, um I don’t I
don’t

Alicia Lozano 28:53
think so. I don’t think so. I think that this, so I and we chatted a little bit before I always had this
like, concept, even like looking back three or four years ago when I was so like a quick kind of
timeline. So I started out as like digital organizing professional home organizer. And then I got
on this personal development like journey and I wanted to be a coach and a motivational
speaker. And so I dabbled in those areas as well. And then I hit this like, crisis or like, what feels
is a crisis right at the moment of like, what am I going to do with my life? Like, why does it feel
this way? And I think that throughout that journey, there was this like, this mission and this like
concept of like, what I really wanted to do and like, what just kept coming up for me it was just
like this theme. And I think that this year, I just did decided that I was not going to wait on like
developing this, like mission inside of me or this, like, this theme that just came up. But I think
that just like anything like we, we evolve, our awareness just gets like we become more self
aware and self aware. And I just don’t think that that process can be rushed. So do I think that
the four hour work day? Gave me the space to do it? No, but do I think that it was part of the
story in like, getting to where I am today, for sure. Like, you know, definitely was, for me, when
I was working four hours a day, it was like a quantum leap. Like, it was like my mind, like, you
know, sometimes if you have these like, moments, you can feel like your mind your mind
rewiring, or your like your, I don’t know, I just I kept like, if you’re not seeing I see this, like little
turn key thing. And I’m like, it’s like this unlock, you know, or something, something happens
and you’re, like, feel it like, Huh, oh my gosh, like this new thing or whatever. But, um, so yeah,

so I think that the new business is being born. I don’t think that it’s like, fully actualized in like
the end result. But where I landed is the zero to entrepreneur. That’s the new business name.
And essentially, like, I say that, like, I want to simplify the journey to like wealth for the cause
driven entrepreneurs. And I do that through like, clarity, community skills, and system. And
what’s interesting, and why I say it’s like, not fully actualized or evolved is that I feel like, as an
entrepreneur, those are the four pillars that kept coming up. And when I sat down to like, build
this new brand, and I didn’t even know it was I literally had no idea that I was building a new
brand, I was trying to rebrand my consulting business. And then literally, this was born. And so
it’s so weird to me to even talk about it, because I’m like, it was just something that just poured
out of me. But I what poured out of me was that these four pillars of like, in order to go from
zero to entrepreneur and like be to get through those hard times in the middle of like, when
you’re not making money, when you’re like, when you want to give up when you’re in these
moments of pivots of like, you don’t really understand yourself, and you don’t understand what
you’re doing. There’s these four things that just came up. And that was you either looking for
clarity, you need community, you need to level up your skills, or you need systems. And so my
consulting business business falls under zero to entrepreneur under the systems, right,
because I’m still consulting with systems and operations, and I can give you the skill set. And
then everything else like the clarity and community and skills like I’m bringing in, by the end of
the year, this will be fully launch, but I’m bringing in experts, like a someone, a coach to talk
about how do you get clarity and I’m bringing them into a space, that’s going to be highly,
highly vetted. So not just like any Joe Schmo, and bringing them into a safe space that that any
zero to entrepreneur, any entrepreneur can come in. And when they’re looking for these four
things, they can come in and get clarity, community skills, like sales skills, right? We think
about like, entrepreneurship, a lot of us didn’t have formal training as salespeople and so if you
feel like that’s missing from your, from your puzzle from the from your pie, to get you to where
you want to be, then I want you to come to zero to entrepreneur, and I want you to, to know
that when you come here, that what you’re the content that you’re consuming, is safe, and it’s
also vetted from people who know what they’re doing. Right. And so, yeah, so that’s, like, you
know, those four pillars, so I think that’s still being born. And right now, I mean, systems is
systems and that’s where, you know, my expertise will stay and I will bring in, I’ll bring in my
friends to help you with. I will, I mean, I’m just, it’s so crazy to me, because even when I look
back and and anyone listening, I’m sure that you have the same experience of like, looking
back on like all these building blocks that has brought you to where you are today. And when I
think about community, like I have amazing women like you like in my community, and it’s like,
I just think about like, I can tap into you and I know that you want to give back and I know that
if you saw an entrepreneur that was struggling, like you wouldn’t just leave them on the side of
the road. And so what They tap into my network and ask them for help, like, I know that they’re
gonna want to give, and they’re gonna want to be there for these entrepreneurs who need
these little things. And also, they may be someone that, you know might be, have had some
success and they hit a stall or something, right. And they may be looking to zero to
entrepreneur to get a mentor, a seven figure, mentor, something like so I have this vision of
like, when we’re in the journey, and you reach a point of like, when you have that low that you
there’s a peak and you have that valley, I want you to come to zero to entrepreneur, I know
that you’re going to be taken care of by the community that we build, and you’re gonna get the
skills or community or clarity that you need, or systems that you need to keep going on your
journey because we have to, it’s hard, so hard.

Catherine A. Wood 35:51
Totally, it really is. And I think humanizing the journey, humanizing your willingness to talk
about your journey is something that I think is very connective for you and other people. And

about your journey is something that I think is very connective for you and other people. And
it’s something I really appreciate about you. Like, I frequently notice your willingness to be
vulnerable on social and share about those peaks and the valleys. And I don’t know if I
comment nearly enough, but I really admire your willingness to share all about your journey,
because I think it gives others permission to do the same, and have more compassion for
themselves wherever they are along the way, as well.

Alicia Lozano 36:35
For sure. And I just think it’s, it’s hard because I don’t do it all the time. But I do it when I have a
moment. I always say like, a moment of like, where I feel like a badass or something, you know,
when I’m like, Okay, I could do this, right? It’s almost like when I have when I have my shield up
that there’s protection from, from people not attacking me, but like, judging, right. And it’s
always in those moments of when I write vulnerable things. But I think, to your point about
people getting feeling like they have permission, or at least not feeling or hopefully feeling less
alone. It’s because we don’t talk about not making money. And the months that we had to go
through, we don’t talk about not having the skills in our gaps, right. We don’t talk about that.
And I think the reason we don’t talk about it, and maybe rightfully so. And I’m not saying I’m
going about this the right way, but we have to present a different Persona Persona to and I
think what we think is and maybe this is true, a marketing expert, but I think what we think is
that if we present a messy version of ourselves online, or incomplete version online, that we
are not going to be taken seriously, or we’re not going to be trusted, and nobody’s going to buy
from us. And then that taps into that, like, well, then how am I going to have a business? And
how am I gonna make money and like all of these things, and so we keep those things gated.
And I think if you’re not a person who doesn’t want to share, okay, but if you’re a person
inclined to share want to support others in that way, then you know, I always say, like, just
share it. And it was cliche, cliche as it sounds about, like, you know, everything will work out,
and then the, your people will find you, I, I believe in that. And it’s work to believe in that
because it’s still a very, like, I’m still very much like, getting my voice and learning that, like,
I’m in the process, right? I’m not like this, like, I’m not Mel Robbins, right, like this big thought
leader. But I, but I definitely know that at my core transparency is of value. And I think that,
especially on podcasts and things like that, I always tried to share the whole story. And I think
that when people do tell their story, like I made 100k in a month, what they’re not saying is
that they have, you know, a corporate longstanding corporate client, right, they have this and
this and this, and they’re just trying to sell this idea. It’s like, no, like, I made 100. But like, I in a
month, but I, you know, have seven years, where, like, I was making under 20k. Right, like, and
I had to go through that, you know, and I had to like, you know, I just think that if we hear that
less people will give up. I really do believe that Katherine, I think that if people hear that less
people will give up because people think something’s wrong with them when it’s not working.
And I know that because I felt that, you know, and I know if I’m feeling something like someone
else has to be feeling the same way. And I’ve taught I’ve spoken to other entrepreneurs who
are in tears about not being where they want to be and like having to go back to corporate or
do other things and it’s just like, you have to just bear down, down and get through it. You will
get Oh,

Catherine A. Wood 40:00
absolutely, I mean, you know, one thing I’m both extremely proud of myself for and, and have
to lean into is like this idea of self sufficiency. I am an extremely self sufficient person, I can
manage my emotional world, I have all the tools in my toolkit, like, I am really great at self

manage my emotional world, I have all the tools in my toolkit, like, I am really great at self
regulating, and like generating myself. And one of the consequences of being so self sufficient
is that I show up as having no needs to others. And I know this about myself. So in those
moments where I am struggling, like, I know that other people aren’t going to know to check in
with me because I, I am very practiced as showing up as the strong girl, right, the one who
always has it together. And so I love what you’re saying, because having, having the
willingness to be transparent about when I am struggling, or when I need encouragement, or
acknowledgement or some normalization of where I’m at, on my journey, like, I know that it
gives permission for all those other highly ambitious, highly self sufficient Empath
entrepreneurs who are so practiced in handling their own needs while prioritizing other people,
right. And so, I really appreciate you speaking to this, I think that it’s a huge, it’s a huge belief
of mine, as well. And just like, like, I have a value around humanity, like just trying to practice
being more human. Because I think, you know, so much of the world that we live in today, the
social media and the filters, and just all of the artificial illness of, of life. can add, I don’t, I guess
I don’t want to say artificial illness, but I think I’m thinking of like, you know, with the AI
movement, like there’s just so much less and less humaneness in how we show up and in what
we do, and I think that there is such a need for it. And, and I so appreciate you speaking to it.

Alicia Lozano 42:29
Yeah, thank you. And I also think that we, they have this like saying, right, like real recognizes
real. And I think that you’re the word that came up was consumer, but your audience, right,
your audience, they can tell when you’re not telling the whole story. Like, I feel that and I think
that I think it’s because people have been burned in the past that they’re more aware of like,
oh, this person didn’t, this person presented this way I bought into this person, and I followed
this person, and I trusted this person, and then they were not that person, you know, and then
so I think that that makes people more aware of who they’re trusting who they’re following, you
know, where they’re putting their money and all of that and I definitely am not a advocate for
being transparent to the point where it’s harmful for you. You know, where it’s like you know,
you want to talk about your divorce or something like that, like you don’t have to like say
everything right, I definitely think that it’s at your, your own scale and what you want to share
but but I have to agree that you when you share and you become more human like people
really need that and you can really, you can really help somebody like really, you know, with
your story. Well,

Catherine A. Wood 44:05
thank you so much for today and for sharing your story with with my audience like this has
been such a refreshingly authentic conversation and, you know, as we wrap there’s a question
that I asked all my guests which is really like what do you think has made the difference for you
in becoming a prosperous empath?

Alicia Lozano 44:31
What comes up for me is compassion. I think identifying as an empath there was a period in my
life where I was like, No, I’m super cold. I’m super like, like driven and like this, you know, this
way and, and I didn’t think that I had a lot of empathy for Were people. And I think as I healed, I

started to feel a lot for people. And I started to realize that the empathy was always there. It
was just things I had to get through to recognize it. And so I think at this point in my life,
appreciating that even though I’m a person that feels other people, and feels them deeply,
that’s okay. I can be sensitive, I can be empathetic to others. And that is okay. That’s okay. It
doesn’t make me like, we are like, less driven or like any of these other things that I still want it
to be. And so I compassion, I think, has helped me be prosperous. You know, a little the end of
the year, last year and like this year, and I just in embracing that. I’m gonna feel the way I feel.
If I cry, that’s okay. Because that’s just not that everybody has that same reaction, but that’s
how, you know, I identify with feeling and being an empath and then just like learning to about
about it, I think it’s been helpful. So I think just accepting myself and compassion for myself has
helped me. be prosperous.

Catherine A. Wood 46:31
Beautiful. What a lovely message to end on. Thank you so much for today, at least Yeah, this
has been a joy.

Alicia Lozano 46:38
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Bye.

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Mindful Spending & Navigating Lifestyle Creep with Cris Caruso

In this episode of the Prosperous Empath®, I’m sitting down with financial advisor and UNBOUNDED Mastermind Alum, Cris Caruso to talk about a phenomenon that many people have experienced in recent years: lifestyle creep. Cris has been in the financial services industry since 2004 and a financial advisor since 2008. Beyond that, she has pursued additional education in understanding how our behaviors shape financial outcomes by earning the Behavioral Financial Advisor designation from Think2Perform. She also earned the Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor credential prior to 2015 as a way to support her LGBTQIA+bclients and continues to use this knowledge to work with unmarried couples and non-traditional families. You’ll appreciate her unique experience throughout today’s episode as she speaks on lifestyle creep, or lifestyle inflation, which is overspending on things that you don’t actually need as your income increases. When you’re early in your career, your spending habits focus on must-haves like housing and groceries. But as your income increases, it’s easy to lose track of what is a necessity and what are simply too many luxuries, and to just keep buying more. Cris and I discuss both values-based and practical strategies on how to identify the areas of your life you should spend generously on and where to be more mindful to reach your long-term goals. How do you live in alignment with your money, especially as an entrepreneur and an empath? You’ll get an answer to this question as you listen to our thought provoking conversation on purposeful spending, the importance of allowing yourself to have fun & fabulous experiences, and more.

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The Prosperous Empath® Podcast is produced by Heart Centered Podcasting.

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