As an international speaker, author and business visionary. Alicia Sanchez impacts audiences around the world with her vibrant bold and audacious approach to living life. Individuals, Corporations and Universities have been impacted by her relevant relation, and riveting message of unleashing your truth. Alicia’s philosophy is non-sugar coating, but her delivery is sprinkled with stories of lessons learned, humor, all with the objective of making sure your audience leaves with quality and actionable content to make a difference in their business or life. She uses her experiences and knowledge from her leadership roles working for leading companies and some of the world’s largest brands such as ESPN and American Express. Alicia Sanchez also has a Podcast and Book series Dear God, Are we there yet? which was dedicated by Michael Bernard Beckwith Founder of Agape International Spiritual Center and author of Spiritual Liberation and Life Visioning and one of the authors of the book “The Secret”.
Where did the idea for “Dear God, Are We There Yet?” come from?
It all started with a fantastic, large, loud, loving hard working Dominican family. I was the only girl out of three boys, and my parents were entrepreneurs before I knew what that word meant. I grew up in a creative environment and decided to study Fashion right from high school which led me to experience fashion weeks as an intern with Oscar de Renta and Carolina Herrera. I launched my own fashion line Favala Designs and opened a fashion branding consulting agency; Fashion is a Business. Later on, life happened, and I encountered many health-related roadblocks leaving me wondering what’s next in my life. In the midst of business and fashion, I stumbled upon writing. So I began writing and published a book, I began a podcast and let my voice sing interviewing guests with a message, story, or conversations. In the midst of life, one day I was reflecting on my travels, my life my experiences, and all the people in my life that helped me along the way. I began to pray which sounded more like ranting and raving and asking questions Dear God Why, Dear God how, Dear God when and I was spitting out the mouth when this little burst of energy came over me and I just started to write the first outline of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life; helping people, help people.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
When you have children there is no typical day! Every day is different. I have my 19-month-old daughter and my 9-year-old niece residing with my wife and me. Both my wife and I work but I try to keep a few things constant in my day-to-day schedule. Every day I start with journaling and movement and every Friday I take some time to make a plan for my following week.
How do you bring ideas to life?
When I was in 3rd grade I learned about bubble maps, they were used to help us come up with ideas for our essays. However, now I ask myself important questions to help me execute my ideas. Some questions I answer using my bubble map are: who does this impact, why is it important, what does the process look like, who are the people involved in the implementation and what resources are needed. After the bubble map is completed, I start my research and I determine whether the idea is a need or a want
What’s one trend that excites you?
To be honest, I am not a big fan of trends. When I think of trends, I think of something that is fleeting. But what excites me are people wanting to do good, understanding social good, social consciousness, and privilege. For me, understanding privilege, where you stand, and doing something about is not a trend but a lifestyle.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
My planner! I find that I am most productive when I write things down. I am definitely a big planner but sometimes planning can consume you. When consumed in planning you become a robot and lose track of what’s most important and begin mindlessly checking off tasks on lists. One of the ways, I avoid losing myself in planning is by reflecting. So at the end of each week, I have a reflection ritual, I ask myself a few questions. I begin with how I felt about the week, what I learned, my victories, my failures, and what I want to do differently or the same in the following week. I find that as entrepreneurs or “social-preneurs” we constantly have an “onto the next” mindset but I have learned that planning with reflection leads to improvements in your life and your business ventures.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I grew up in the ’90s where being different was not seen as an asset but was viewed negatively. I think I would tell my younger self that she is beautiful, that her hair, accent, the skin is all beautiful. I would also tell her that self-love does not make her a narcissist and having goals and being ambitious is an asset and something to be embraced. Lastly, I would let her know to ignore all of the haters and not to let them boggle her down
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
I believe that racism is a learned behavior. My daughter plays with everyone regardless of color. For her, color does not exist. My daughter has been taught by my wife and I to embrace others and it’s evident in all areas of her life. She reminds me more and more that behaviors are learned and they are not inherently born with racist views. So it is truly up to parents and families to teach them the right one.\
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Build Your Email List! Social media is fleeting and can disappear any time, but your email list is FOREVER! Emailing will allow you to build deeper connections with your audience. ConvertKit is the tool we use and love!
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Building and having a team has been my ultimate driving force in growing my business. My team is my support and they work with me to achieve all the goals we set. My team is everything.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
I opened a Kids Fashion and Design school. At the time the demand was twice what I was able to accommodate. My employee at the time saw the community interest in the project and took the idea and replicated it. Though it was disheartening to go through this, I learned a lot. Though I had to close the location my mother took over and was able to launch the school in a different state and it was successful. This was definitely a learning experience and though I had to close the location, I learned sometimes you have to let go to see growth. Though I closed that location my idea and dream did not die with me, it grew and succeeded elsewhere.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
My background is primarily in fashion, there are many untapped markets within the fashion industry. I think a business idea for answering fashion designers would be to market to these untapped markets like the transgender community and little people.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
The best $100 I spent recently was on Accounting software for the nonprofit. It is so helpful and the automation is amazing.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
Convertkit has surpassed all of my expectations. It allows me to personalize dashboards and landing pages for my clients on Impact Connect. It is also an amazing email marketing tool with incredible automation that make reaching my audience easy.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn, it is a book that everyone should read. It taps into why we are the way we are and that a lot of our characteristics are actually passed down through generations.
What is your favorite quote?
“You don’t have to be rich or famous to help people.” – Alicia Sanchez. This is a quote I say often and it is truly the mantra for Dear God, Are We There Yet? It inspires everyone to work towards helping others making for a socially conscious world.
Key Learnings:
- Convertkit is useful for any business, and combined with your email list makes for amazing connections with your audience
- “You don’t have to be rich or famous to help people.” – Alicia Sanchez. This is a quote I say often and it is truly the mantra for Dear God, Are We There Yet? It inspires everyone to work towards helping others making for a socially conscious world.
- It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn, is a book that everyone should read. It taps into why we are the way we are and that a lot of our characteristics are actually passed down through generations which leads me to believe that racism is a learned behavior.
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.