Today I am sharing a transparent behind the scenes of where my business is at and where I plan to take it in the next year. 

2024 gave me so much reflection, it helped me see what I really want in my life and business. Today’s episode I am bringing it back to my old school podcasting days, sharing my truest thoughts and tough moments and sharing the goals that scare me. 

I hope this gives you all the permission to start over again, begin again, and let yourself be that person you so badly want to become. 

Cheers to 2025, let’s do this! 

PS. 1:1 coaching is open and will be closing next week. If you want to learn how to scale your coaching business, manage your mindset, and get clear on where you want to be — click here to book a sales call with me.

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Learn more at catdelcarmen.com.

Transcript:

[00:00:00] My name is Catalina Del Carmen and I am a wife, mother of two, daughter of immigrants and rule breaking business coach for women of color, coaches, creatives, and service professionals. I spent years trying to figure out the online business game, creating fashion blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram pages, email lists. All of the things with little or nothing to show for it. Now I run a growing multiple six figure coaching business, keeping things radically simple so I could spend more time with my babies than my business inside my programs. Show Up Real and Show Up & Lead Mastermind. I teach my clients how to build an online community using authentic revenue generating content that doesn’t require them to be everywhere. Whether it’s your first four figures in business or six figures in my mastermind, less is more when you are committed to growing your impact and revenue at the same time. In this [00:01:00] show, I tell the whole mother effing truth about what it takes to build and scale an online business. I don’t gatekeep. I don’t tell you half the truth. I keep it real and I will challenge you to do it as well. Welcome to Show Up Real podcast. What is up y’all? Welcome back to Show Up Real happy new year. I hope you are doing well. Y’all I have been Not here for you. The last couple episodes during this Christmas break, I didn’t show up and I broke one of my roles, which is if you’re not going to show up for your podcast, you let people know, you let your audience know. And I didn’t do that. And I just want to take full ownership because I feel so, so, so bad, but I don’t feel too bad because I got a lot cooking and I’m excited to bring it to you here. And we’re going to start with today’s [00:02:00] episode. So I have some episodes with guests that are going to be coming out throughout the month, but alongside those episodes, I also am going to be talking I’m all about storytelling this month, and I’m so excited about it. And this really came about because pretty much all of last year, I have been helping my clients inside Show Up Real, create more content, become better copywriters. Um, share their stories. We have these templates that we use. They’re not templates. They’re like content prompts. I should say their content prompts for you to help you create more content and the way they are written, promote you. sharing your story, right? So it’s, it’s kind of the prompts are kind of asked in this question form and you, when you [00:03:00] answer it, that becomes the actual copy. And I’ve been encouraging my clients to use it and all the tools within Show Up Real. I was recently, right before I went on Christmas break, I did a handful of. different content reviews. And for the content reviews, I realized that so many people are not sharing their story enough. I feel like a lot of the content that I’m hearing and I’m seeing, and, and I, I have content like this. It’s not that this content is like, Bad. But what I’m seeing is that a lot of folks aren’t sharing their stories and they aren’t giving perspective to the topics that they’re talking about with a story or any like some, some of them don’t have stories at all. And [00:04:00] Storytelling has been such a huge part of my growth, such a huge part of not only helping me sign clients, but me getting better at what I do in terms of copywriting, in terms of marketing, and in terms of growing an audience. So I’m going to be doing a series within this podcast. It’s all about storytelling and every single episode I’m going to be sharing how you can share your story and make it so it connects with people and converts into clients and or converts into growing your audience. The reason stories are so impactful is because they create connection. Um, so I’m going to be talking a little bit about how to share your stories, how to create a connection with your ideal audience, and it makes you more memorable. They feel [00:05:00] like they know you better. They trust you because you’re willing to share the story, right? And there’s so many ways that you can tell stories. And that’s what I’m so excited about. I’m also hosting a workshop at the end of the month on January 31st all about Storytelling. I’m calling it Selling with Stories. It is a three to four hour workshop where I’m going to go through teaching you exactly how to share your stories, create your signature stories, and give you a basic Uh, a variety in terms of how you could share your stories, what stories to share. Should you share stories from the past? Should you share stories from the present? We’ll talk all about that during, um, the, the workshop, but also throughout this month on the podcast. So I am so, so, so excited. All right. Thanks. Now I want to talk to you about the point of today’s [00:06:00] episode. So on today’s episode, I wanted to talk to you about beginning again and starting over again. I’ve been reflecting so much in the last quarter and I’ve made some really big decisions in my business and I have some very lofty goals, which I will share with you at some point. And They’re kind of freaking me out. They’re like really freaking me out so much so that I’m very scared to say them out loud. And I, I don’t know. I’m in this place in my business where I feel like I’m starting over again and. It feels silly to say that because I’ve created like, you know, I’ve had so much success in my business and I’ve made a lot of money. I mean, I haven’t made, I haven’t hit all my goals, but you know, my business has provided me a [00:07:00] lot, you know, it’s provided me a lot. And I’m at a place in my business where I know exactly what I need to do. And it’s, It’s sort of what I’ve been needing to do for a while. And last year I spent a lot of time resisting the work of doing the thing. And it’s just gotten me into this place where it feels like I’m starting over again. And I felt this in my business before many, many times. I remember feeling it when I had my baby. And I went on maternity leave and I remember coming back from that maternity leave was such a whirlwind and so much growth. I remember at the beginning of 2022, I want to say, I was very much in my head because my first pregnancy was so hard and the first trimester was extra hard. And I remember at that time, I just felt like, I had the [00:08:00] weight of the world on my shoulders and there’s so many times in my business where I feel like, okay, I’m starting again. And right now I’m in this place where I feel like I have to really disrupt the pace of my business because the last, I don’t know, three years I’ve Broughten in somewhere between, let’s see, a hundred and I think 150, 140 maybe to 300, 000. Like it’s, it’s kind of like dabbled between there. And right now I’m in a place in my business where I have to. Kind of switch a couple things up. I have to do the work that my business needs or my business will just decline. So lemme give you a little bit more background. So instead of being so big, vague. So one of my biggest goals for this year and one of my goals that I set last year that I just [00:09:00] didn’t give enough attention to was growing my audience. It is so important in my business right now to grow my audience. It’s important for everybody to grow their audience on a regular basis, but. The truth is that if you grow your audience and you continue selling and you continue creating valuable content, you will grow your audience. You’ll just do it at a slower pace. Okay. But what I’ve learned is I really, really want to, not only does my business need me to grow my audience, but it. But I want to grow my audience. One of the revelations I had in the last couple months in Q4 has been really answering the question, what do I want? What do I really, really want? And this question has been so important to me because, uh, I think it was August and [00:10:00] August, my older son, PJ, he’s five. He started kindergarten and we got him into this school in this really great school district, which is right next door to us, actually. But We got him in the very last minute. It was like, we found out he was going to that school, like a week before school started. And because of that, we weren’t able to opt into the child, like after school care. So what happened was that I have, like, I decided that I would cut down my week, my work week from, you know, 40. It wasn’t 40, it was more like 30 hours a week, maybe 30, 35 hours a week to a significantly amount less. And pick him up every single day at two on the dot. And, um, Making that decision was a big one for me because I really struggled with like, I want to be [00:11:00] the person that picks them up every day. And I want, like, I deeply want that as a mother, but I also know that my business needs my attention and time. And I struggled with it. And towards the end of the year, I started really asking myself that question like, what do you want? Not just what do you want next year, but what do you want in five years? What do you want in 10 years? And I realized that I hadn’t really created a plan for myself, which I used to do a lot of, but I really hadn’t created a plan for myself. And what I realized is I want to spend a lot of time creating content that grows community. I want to grow my following. I want to grow my impact. And I really want to get to this place where my content isn’t just about selling my programs, that it’s also about kind of getting back to the root of like helping my people [00:12:00] get the results they need. And when I, I think the last couple years, I’ve just dabbled so much with trying to, I kind of just got in my head around getting so strategic and getting things so perfect that my Results were, I mean, I, I, I, I shit on my results a little bit, but the reality is this time last year, I think it was this month. I, or I think it was February of last year. I hit 300 K in 12 months. So like, let’s be real. Like I, like things were well, like things were going well. Right. Things are going well, but, but mentally I didn’t really take a moment to own. that I had created that. So I found myself with a lot of, I hate the word imposter syndrome, but like I, the way I call it is what the, [00:13:00] a way that Stacey Bayman, one of my mentors calls it. And she says, um, success and tolerance. I’ve had my own success and tolerance that I’ve really, really, really struggled to like, just comprehend that I am a person that brings in that much money in her business. And. I’ve been insecure about it. I mean, just to be like, real with you, like, it’s, I’ve been so, I’ve just been in my head about it. And I’ve done so much self coaching and I’ve done so, like, I have an amazing therapist. Um, but I realized that like, I had to take time and I have to take time to just like realize what I’ve created and also, also come to terms that I want to grow more. I think for a long time, like my image or like what I share, [00:14:00] I mean, I’m a person who loves growth and I know that and I, I do love growth and I want to grow. Um, but when I really took time to slow down and ask myself what I want, I realized that I do want a lot more. And I also realize that I’m very, very scared and nervous to take up more space and to be bigger and to have more bold opinions or more unpopular opinions, or for people to think I’m this way or that way. And I’ve realized that I’ve realized that like, I have so many thoughts about getting bigger and taking up more space. And when I was journaling just like a month or two ago, I remember writing down like, if I get bigger, if my life gets bigger, if Paul and I together, my husband, [00:15:00] If our life, like if we become more successful than we are now, our family and friends aren’t going to like us and they’re going to think these things about us and I’m going to feel like I’m a part of this huge problem in this capitalist society. And I just, it’s, I remember just starting to flow with like different thoughts and beliefs that I had about getting bigger. Which seems so silly because, you know, I feel like I have like two personalities and like one personality is like, yeah, let’s go, bitch. And this other personality is like, is just trying to come to terms that like, I want more and like being okay with that. So I’ve been grappling with like a lot, a lot, a lot of stuff. And, um, [00:16:00] and, and one, I will say one more thing that like, I have also realized how blessed I am. Like I, my family life, my, my husband and I, we’ve put in so much work in 2024 in our marriage and we are just doing so great. And we have two beautiful kids that are healthy and like, we’re, I’m just very grateful for my life. And I think because of that, I’ve also realized that like wanting more feels very like, unimportant. And this, it’s so funny because I remember feeling this way. Like I remember feeling this way in 2020 before my business really took off and before I even made, you know, actually created my business. I remember feeling like there are other things in this world that are more important. And [00:17:00] there are like, I just remember thinking about How like, I don’t need all the growth or I shouldn’t need more. And I’ve realized that like my husband and I were having this conversation because I, we, we, we talk about this stuff a lot and we talk about like, okay, what if we do more? You know, get this house or make this much money. Like what would we want for our life? Like we, we, we have those conversations. And I remember telling him that if we create these things that we want to create at like this next level, we’re going to trigger a lot of people with our, like with not with our success, but with our joy. in success. Cause I told him like, I don’t want to grow bigger. Like I don’t want to build more wealth, become more wealthy, get a bigger house. If we’re not going to learn and actively [00:18:00] Heh, heh, heh. But um, Love it! You remember hello? Yes. Love you. Love you. You were beautiful. Yeaaah. Especially when for people like us, we’re already the most successful people in our immediate like family. We’re not like the most successful, but I mean, yeah, we, we, we are, we’re like the, you know, like we’re the, the quote unquote, like wealthier, rich, um, tía and tío, right? And both of our families, like both of us come from super humble beginnings. Our families are, are, we both, at least for me, like, I still deeply, deeply, deeply, I’m very attached [00:19:00] to my family, my sister and my mom specifically, in wanting to go to school. Like help them and elevate them. And like, I have dreams of like paying off my mom’s house and buying my sister, uh, like buying my sister a brand new car. And like, I want all of these things in the next five years. And As crazy as it may seem, um, having the audacity to want that, right? Having the audacity to think bigger and to really, really, really get clear on what you want. It’s just something that I’ve been doing so much thinking about and so much reflecting on in the last, um, probably six months now. And. It’s been really good for me. It’s been really, really good for me because it’s challenged me to really look at my business and make [00:20:00] decisions about my business that are for me and that work with my life and what I am building. And yeah, I feel like this is a little, like a little diary that I’m saying out loud because it’s the truth. I mean, this is like the truth of where my head’s at right now. So. Um, that being said, all of that being said, I am really excited about this year. I’m going to tell you some of my goals. Okay. I’m just going to tell you. I’m scared to tell you. I’m going to tell you. In 2025, I want to create a hundred thousand followers on Instagram specifically. Instagram and threads maybe together. And so that’s one of my goals, which is so, for me, that’s crazy because when I started, like before I [00:21:00] ever, before I ever had a business, I was a blogger and I had, um, I dabbled on YouTube a little bit. I have a handful of videos on there and I really wanted to become an influencer. Like that’s what I wanted to do and like a lifestyle influencer. And now I’m at this point where it’s so funny because I feel like I’m at this point in my business where my business needs me to really be serious about growing my following. And it feels like that goal of mine never really left. And That instead of growing a following back in 2020, I decided to really go all into my coaching business because I wanted to make an impact with the, the, the audience that I had right then and there, like right then and there. So that’s what I did. And I built a business and I, for the last three to [00:22:00] four years, I’ve been building this business. I have been really like. I’m really developing my skills in marketing, my skills in selling, my skills in leadership and operations and running a business, right? Like I have, I’ve just grown so much experience. I run a whole multiple six figure business for years now and I feel like right now is the time where for me what it feels like is like God is tapping me on my shoulder and be like, it’s time. It’s Time Cat. And I’m kind of scared shitless, but we’re doing it. We’re going, we’re going forward with it and I’m doing it scared. Like I’m doing it nervous. I’m doing it super imperfectly. And I hate, you know, one thing that I like, I just don’t love about myself, but also I know that. It’s, it’s good in so many ways [00:23:00] is that I’m, you know, I do, I’m very like imperfect, messy, right? A little bit, not so much messy, but I’m very real and raw. And I know that’s what people like about me, but I also hate, I shouldn’t say hate. I also don’t like, I don’t like, that uh, the, the, the realness so much because it is so vulnerable and it can be so vulnerable sometimes. So that’s one of my goals. I want to hit a hundred thousand followers on Instagram. And I read the, the reason I really want to challenge myself outside of Well, for all of these reasons, which are very important, but I also want to challenge myself. I want to challenge myself to something that feels scary, and I want to do it by also being an example of what is possible for my clients inside Show Up Real Because Show Up Real is a content and community building program, and that is the program where I really teach all of the marketing and sales skills that I’ve learned in the last four years. And really, if I think about it, more like five, six, seven years from when I started creating content back in, I don’t know, what was it? It’s like 2017 or something like that, maybe even 2016, I think. That’s when I really started creating content. I created a blog and I had YouTube channels or channel and I, you know, I used to, I had, I was, I had a fashion blog and my old name was Cat in Blouse and then I wanted to do lifestyle influencer stuff and I called myself adulting cat and then I would talk about like just. Growing up and like adulting and that kind of all led me to build a following on social media. And when I really started taking that seriously and going [00:25:00] for it and going into building my business and started my podcast and when I did all that stuff. I, that was the audience I sold to, right? Like I, I built an audience and then I sold to them. And I feel like right now I’m in this point where it’s time for me to spend some good quality time growing my audience and really figuring out how I could do that while also selling to my audience and finding this middle. Which, you know, I, I really don’t have the answer to, I mean, I do have an answer to, right? Like I, the strategy that I’ve put together is purely based off of my content strategy inside ShowUpReal. And I love the strategy that I am implementing and that I will be implementing, but it still feels fresh and new and scary. And, Like I’m starting over like it still [00:26:00] feels like this many years in like I’m starting over and as a person who has studied business who reads so many business books who knows, I mean, I could tell you the founder stories of so many companies that you probably use and know of because I love business and I love this stuff and the reality about businesses is that they’re It’s you, like there are seasons where it’s time to move and it’s time to take those big risks again. And that cycle is never going to stop. It’s just never going to stop. There’s always, as long as you want to grow, there are going to be big risks that you’re going to have to take. And sometimes that risk is. You know, investing some that sometimes that risk is switching your niche. Sometimes that risk is just completely doing something different. That too. And I feel like I’ve been [00:27:00] called to do so, so much. this year, but I’m focusing on growing my audience to 100k. I want to bring in 300k in my business. I’m, I secretly, I want to get 500k in my business, but it’s less about the money right now. Like, I mean, obviously 300k is a lot of money, but you know, I’m not, I’m not trying to make all the money fast. I really want to give some room for me to have a learning curve in growing my audience and just like figuring that out. That’s important to me. And then, um, lastly, which I didn’t mention, one thing I want to do, I don’t know if this is going to happen this year. I told Paul by the end of the year, I want to do it, but, um, I really want to buy a business, like a different business. I want to [00:28:00] invest in a local business. Um, Uh, there’s lots of ideas in terms of the type of business I want to, want to buy, but I’ve been really doing a lot of homework and just reading a lot of articles and really interested in buying, um, kind of blue collar businesses. So I’ve been really looking into HVAC businesses, HVAC being heating and air, um, I’ve been looking into laundromats, car washes. Um, and other blue collar ones like, uh, carpenter businesses or plumbing, the, there’s a lot of big, giant corporate businesses that are buying out smaller local businesses. And um, I hate that giant companies are going in and paying out these people, which I get it from their perspective. It’s great. But [00:29:00] the fact that like these giant companies are now going for these blue collar, um, jobs. And I, I should say like businesses like trades, right? Like trade businesses, the fact that they’re going after these and will have Um, the, the, the power of really predicting the market in terms of what they charge to get your house fixed. For example, if you need your roof fixed, if a giant company is. If they, if they monopolize all the roofing companies in the United States, then that means that they get to charge a lot of fucking money and it’s just going to put homeowners and people in a worse place. So anyways, I won’t get into that right now, but I’m really interested in buying a business in the next year or two. Um, I don’t [00:30:00] know how that’s going to work on my plate because I, I really need to learn how to simplify, but I’m ambitious. So that’s the third thing. And yeah, that’s it for right now. Okay. I felt like this was a diary. Like I was just thinking, I was talking and thinking out loud, but I had been meaning to do this because. I feel like I’ve been kind of hiding from my audience in terms of telling them like the truth of how I feel. And I know this is vulnerable. And I know like some people will listen to this and be like, Oh, I want to be with, you know, I want to listen to somebody who You know, is not going through thoughts and reflections and growth, whatever. Um, that’s cool. I don’t really give a fuck. That’s a hundred percent cool. I, uh, I really, really, really want to create an [00:31:00] episode where I was just honest with you about where I’m, my growth, about where I’m going and Um, what are some of the plans for the year? So this month I’m going to be talking all about storytelling. There will be some guest episodes that we put out and I really want to make a commitment to just be really, really honest about what it is that It’s what it looks like to grow a business from multiple six figures to a million in the next couple of years. Um, I’ve been trying to, to go for that, but I’ve also prioritized my life and I’m happy I did. I’m so, so happy I did. And yeah, now I’m at a point where. Although I have a two year old and a five year old and this shit is crazy, um, in the next five years, I would say, three to five years, I really, [00:32:00] really am committed to growing this business to, to a million dollars plus. So I’m going to really commit to being frank and honest and open with you about my growth and what I’m learning. And I, I hope you like it. I hope you get something from it. I hope you get value from it. So the next month I will be talking more and more about storytelling and not only will I be telling you about storytelling in terms of everything I know for sure, but I’m also going to be testing out some new content when it comes to storytelling and I’ll be kind of teaching you as I go as well. So I’m so excited about it. I hope that this episode gives you a lot of permission to start over again, a lot of permission to be a whole ass human in your business and permission for [00:33:00] you to really do what you want and to want more for your life. Um, and to take things at your pace. and make sure that you are not burning your fucking self out. All right. I will see you on the next episode. I send you a big hug. I love you and I’ll see you next week.