94. From General VA to Systems Specialist: A Service Provider Success Story with Rebecca Carmensita

In this episode of Soulpreneur Scaling Stories, I sit down with Rebecca Carmensita, a client experience and systems strategist who has mastered the art of building a service business that truly supports her lifestyle. Currently based in Korea as a digital nomad, Rebecca shares how she evolved from a general virtual assistant to a specialized systems expert who confidently refers out clients who aren't the right fit.

During our conversation, Rebecca reveals her journey from feeling overwhelmed as a "do-everything" VA to discovering her zone of genius in systems strategy. She openly discusses the mindset shifts required to step into her expertise, how she structures her business with both stability (retainer clients) and growth (project-based systems builds), and why being authentically yourself is the most powerful marketing strategy. 

If you're a service provider feeling stuck in the "I'll do anything for anyone" phase or wondering how to find and claim your expertise, this episode offers both inspiration and practical insights for building a business that energizes rather than drains you.

Key Points Covered:

✨ Evolving from general VA to systems specialist

✨ How to know when you're ready to niche down and specialize

✨ Building confidence through action (not the other way around)

✨ Structuring a business with both retainer stability and project growth

✨ Why authenticity is your strongest business asset

✨ Managing a service business while traveling as a digital nomad

Connect with Rebecca:

Website

Instagram

LinkedIn

All the links!

Thank you for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
• 1:28 Rebecca's Journey and Business Insights
• 21:21 Finding Your Business Structure and Tools
• 24:37 Marketing Strategies and Client Relationships

Transcript

[00:00:00] Introduction and Guest Welcome

[00:00:00] Andrea Elibero: Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for soulful service providers and coaches. Welcome to another episode of Solepreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

[00:00:22] Well, you are in for a treat 'cause that's exactly what we are doing here. In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth of the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sold entrepreneurs to scale their businesses intentionally. I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant, and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

[00:00:46] So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow, and create a business that fully supports your dream life? Well, let's dive in. [00:01:00] Before we begin, make sure to hit that subscribe buttons.

[00:01:03] You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights.

[00:01:10] Okay, I am so excited to welcome Rebecca Carmen Cita here today. Um, who is a client experience and systems strategist for Creative CEOs. Hello Rebecca. And welcome.

[00:01:25] Rebecca Carmencita: Thank you. Thank you. Hi, lovely.

[00:01:28] Rebecca's Journey and Business Insights

[00:01:28] Andrea Elibero: The thing that we were chatting about that we're gonna get into in a little bit, but just a little, uh, preview before we started recording, was that you're currently in Korea and you are a bit of a digital nomad, right?

[00:01:42] Rebecca Carmencita: Yes, I am. We are doing a two year travel stint in total, but we are on our first year at the moment. So we are currently in Korea, Bussan. We've done Japan as we spoke about, and Taiwan won Vietnam and Thailand so far.

[00:01:57] Andrea Elibero: Also we're gonna get, 'cause I like [00:02:00] trouble and chatting about that. So we'll chat about that shortly. But first, let's get to the business part of things. What does your business look like? What do you actually do for your clients?

[00:02:10] Rebecca Carmencita: So I'm a client experience assistant strategist. So as you've mentioned, I mainly work with Creative Cos this can be. branding, website designers, um, floral preservation artists, textile designers, branding agencies, a very big range of creatives to put like that. And I work with them to make sure that the behind the scenes of their business is actually as.

[00:02:34] Simplified and streamline as they want to be because I am very much on the aspect that believe that your system should support you and shouldn't restrict you in what you do and also why I'm able to live in Korea and you have that flexibility. But I feel especially for creatives, there is, um, they need to feel supported in their business and have the systems there to help them be creative because

[00:02:57] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:02:58] Rebecca Carmencita: drains their energy. Yeah.[00:03:00] 

[00:03:00] Andrea Elibero: Yeah, it's totally true that I'd like to think, personally, I like to think of systems at like. You had said, mentioned something like, oh, like it can feel restrictive or constrictive. And for me, I like to think of systems as kind of the masculine that holds everything. So that way you get to be feminine and flowy and do all of those things.

[00:03:19] Right. And that's like so important for your creative clients because they, I, I have worked with some and you know, they're always like, have so many ideas. I wanna do all of these things and. It's really hard sometimes, like, and they don't care. A lot of them don't really care about the systems or what happens in the backend, but their business still needs to run.

[00:03:37] And I'm so curious in terms of when you look up, like what systems fit, what person, what are some things that you take into account? I,

[00:03:48] Rebecca Carmencita: That's a really good question. It really, first of all, I think there are so many systems. There are so

[00:03:53] Andrea Elibero: yeah. Yeah.

[00:03:55] Rebecca Carmencita: kind of does the same, but also kind of does not. I always try to work, [00:04:00] I will always work with the systems that I prefer, but if I know that doesn't work for a client, I will

[00:04:04] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:04:05] Rebecca Carmencita: them to someone else.

[00:04:06] Andrea Elibero: Hmm

[00:04:07] Rebecca Carmencita: if I know that Clickup, which is a software that I work with, doesn't work for someone, or it doesn't work for their brain, mainly, would refer 'em to someone else who I built

[00:04:16] Andrea Elibero: mmm.

[00:04:17] Rebecca Carmencita: to. For example, Dato. I had a client who I came in contact recently. She really wanted to use Dedo mainly for as well, the how beautifully organized the brand would look like with the forms,

[00:04:27] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:04:28] Rebecca Carmencita: but how her business was structured with subcontractors and vendors, it wouldn't work

[00:04:31] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:04:33] Rebecca Carmencita: It depends on the character of the person, if they need more additional support with it as well, but also mainly on how the business is run and what team they currently have.

[00:04:42] Andrea Elibero: Okay. That's really interesting. So, 'cause a lot of people, I think would be afraid to, right? To like let that client go or to refer them out or things like that. So can you talk about maybe your journey, like how did you get to this place where you're like, no, this is what I do, this is what I work with, and if it doesn't work for you, I'm happy to refer you to somebody else.[00:05:00] 

[00:05:01] Rebecca Carmencita: It probably happened a few times that I would indeed say yes. Oh yes, I can do that.

[00:05:05] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:05:06] Rebecca Carmencita: And then actually go into the system and be like, Ooh, gosh, how am I gonna do that?

[00:05:10] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:05:11] Rebecca Carmencita: So I feel that's a really big part of the journey. When you first start working for yourself, you, you don't wanna say no to clients. You also maybe are not super confident yet in what you. What your, you know, expertise is or

[00:05:23] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:05:23] Rebecca Carmencita: your zone of genius is. So you want to like, kind of discover it all? Um, I think it's really important for us all to, to discover it all and see if it

[00:05:32] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:05:33] Rebecca Carmencita: I have done builds as well, whereas right now I would look at it. I remember I, I started as digital marketing

[00:05:38] Andrea Elibero: Okay, so you're a digital marketer. It's okay. Yeah. When you first, when did you first start? When, what year was it?

[00:05:44] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, September, 2020.

[00:05:46] Andrea Elibero: 2020. Okay.

[00:05:47] Rebecca Carmencita: this podcast, so I'm almost on like a five year anniversary at the

[00:05:51] Andrea Elibero: you need to celebrate, you need to know the birthday of your business. Celebrate.

[00:05:55] Rebecca Carmencita: I know, I know.

[00:05:55] Andrea Elibero: Okay, so in 2020 you're doing social media and like totally different things

[00:05:58] Rebecca Carmencita: Yeah.

[00:05:59] Andrea Elibero: than what you're doing [00:06:00] now. Yeah.

[00:06:01] Rebecca Carmencita: Yeah, so different. I started doing digital marketing because I was. Just Googling how to make money online, you know,

[00:06:08] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:06:09] Rebecca Carmencita: results came up. But somewhere in that search result, I saw VA services and Digital Marketeer. Um, but it took like a year for that to kind of get started because I was doubting myself.

[00:06:22] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:06:23] Rebecca Carmencita: first of all, how do you start? I was, I just finished my master's degrees. I was traveling, you know, I was backpacking, I was in New Zealand at the time. Off avocados and I was in a cherry ADA for 12 hours a day by yourself with a tree. So a lot of mindset books, lot of, you know, self-help podcasts, listening to those, that kind of got me started of I can in the mindset that I had when you first start. You know, like when you graduate, when you are in a corporate role of it's very rigid.

[00:06:55] There's a very specific structure that you have to follow that you are comfortable with, you're [00:07:00] gonna just try something. You might mess up. It might take you some time, but what if it actually works? What if it if you succeed? So I did that and I started with a digital marketing, digital marketing internship

[00:07:13] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:07:14] Rebecca Carmencita: woman in Spain

[00:07:14] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:07:15] Rebecca Carmencita: who got me connected with Airtable Clickup on all those softwares. And just started working as digital marketing, social media,

[00:07:25] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:07:26] Rebecca Carmencita: not my jam at all, went into va. Realizing that I was offering way too much,

[00:07:34] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:07:34] Rebecca Carmencita: within a retainer of a VA

[00:07:35] Andrea Elibero: Okay, so let's pause. Okay, so let's pause on that for a second, because that's where a lot of people are who listen to this. Where, alright, I'm a va some, I do whatever you need in the back end. And what was it that you experienced, like physically, emotionally, whatever, uh, logistically that made you realize like, oh, this is not sustainable.

[00:07:55] This is too much.

[00:07:58] Rebecca Carmencita: Yes, I think I was doing a [00:08:00] clickup build

[00:08:00] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:01] Rebecca Carmencita: hourly rate, of all, I thought I'm, this is way too much value what I'm doing next to that as well. Doing it on an hourly rate doesn't make

[00:08:12] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:13] Rebecca Carmencita: Because you always fluctuate. You don't have a retainer. It's different every

[00:08:17] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:18] Rebecca Carmencita: There is no financial security, which I feel is a really big thing.

[00:08:21] Also for me, when I first started my business to have that financial security, um, and then I switched to retainer, but it was, didn't even know the term, I think OBM yet,

[00:08:32] Andrea Elibero: Hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:08:34] Rebecca Carmencita: into, like reading into what an OBM does and what a VA does, it was very clear to me the work that I do and the work that I'm actually good at. Falls under an OBM.

[00:08:43] Andrea Elibero: Okay, so if I were to summarize, tell me if I got this right, you, through experience, right? Like through your client work, through everything you were doing, you were growing in your skillset and your expertise, and you were kind of outgrowing this VA hourly retainer [00:09:00] situation and like, okay, I'm ready to kind of step up into the next level.

[00:09:04] Rebecca Carmencita: exactly.

[00:09:05] Andrea Elibero: Okay. And so then we got to the OBM side and you're like, okay, now I am, I'm labeling myself. I'm an OBM. And then what did that look like for you?

[00:09:14] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, it really kind of started with literally posting a story I remember on Instagram saying, an

[00:09:22] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:09:23] Rebecca Carmencita: have an OBM retainer. I think from that single story, I got four clients, retainer clients.

[00:09:27] Andrea Elibero: I'm sorry. How,

[00:09:29] Rebecca Carmencita: I

[00:09:30] Andrea Elibero: what?

[00:09:30] Rebecca Carmencita: amazing because I, I think it had a lot to do with presenting yourself in the way that you. Like who you want to become or you want to be

[00:09:39] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:09:40] Rebecca Carmencita: like, not faking confidence in a way, but we sometimes, maybe especially women, we tend to play small,

[00:09:46] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:09:47] Rebecca Carmencita: to be a little bit uncomfortable with saying, I am this, I

[00:09:50] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:09:52] Rebecca Carmencita: and I think when I just made that switch in my head,

[00:09:55] Andrea Elibero: Mm.

[00:09:55] Rebecca Carmencita: a course, I bought no BM

[00:09:56] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:09:57] Rebecca Carmencita: in it, but I made the switch in my head [00:10:00] to talk to people and say, I'm an OBM, this is what I do.

[00:10:02] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:03] Rebecca Carmencita: And just spoken at the universe and it paid off in that

[00:10:06] Andrea Elibero: It was all those,

[00:10:07] Rebecca Carmencita: with Yeah, beautiful people.

[00:10:09] Andrea Elibero: was all the mindset books in the avocado fields. Like,

[00:10:12] Rebecca Carmencita: Exactly.

[00:10:12] Andrea Elibero: no, but for real. Look, what you're actually saying is so important because when I work with, um, with my clients who are now moving into this new thing, they're like, well, how do I, how do I tell people that? You just tell them.

[00:10:26] Rebecca Carmencita: Yeah. You

[00:10:26] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:10:26] Like you just tell them like, this is what I'm doing now, like, I'm so excited, and bring them along the journey. That's it.

[00:10:33] Rebecca Carmencita: Exactly. Yeah. And it feels very difficult and feels very uncomfortable,

[00:10:37] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:10:38] Rebecca Carmencita: the only way how you're gonna get the confidence

[00:10:40] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:40] Rebecca Carmencita: by taking actions, by

[00:10:42] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:10:42] Rebecca Carmencita: action.

[00:10:43] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:10:43] Rebecca Carmencita: only way I am, I've become, for example, DDO certified specialist, is by doing multiple DDO setups. I'm not going to even say that.

[00:10:52] Probably my setup is

[00:10:54] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:54] Rebecca Carmencita: It was probably average, but because I've done it multiple times, the action. Is [00:11:00] continuing and it's building your confidence. So

[00:11:02] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:11:02] Rebecca Carmencita: saying, you know, I am an OBM or I am an va, this is what I do. Or like focusing on your niche. If you wanna be an OBM for bookkeepers,

[00:11:09] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:11:11] Rebecca Carmencita: you feel more comfortable, comfortable and confident in doing so.

[00:11:15] Andrea Elibero: It is true. And the thing I think that a lot of people don't realize is that confidence is not some sort of natural born trait where either you have it or you don't. And I used to think that, right? I used to think like, no, I don't have like, you know, play small and be like, no, I can't. I'm just gonna sit here in the background until I learned that, I learned that.

[00:11:31] Confidence actually comes from just going and doing the thing, and it's always going to be hard. All the things are new, things are always going to be scary. They're always gonna be a thing that you have to get through to get to the other side. But the more you do it, the faster that journey is of getting through to the other side.

[00:11:45] Be like, okay, like at this point I'm just like, okay, like I just do whatever because I've done it so many times. You know, because I've had to

[00:11:52] Rebecca Carmencita: exactly.

[00:11:52] Andrea Elibero: that battle and then you realize on the other side, like, oh, like, oh wait, you look back, you're like, oh wait, I am confident about this. When you didn't feel [00:12:00] confident before, but only because you did the thing.

[00:12:02] That's the only way to build up the confidence is to just go do it. So it's not easy like you said, but it's easier the more you do it. And the hardest time is the first time.

[00:12:12] Rebecca Carmencita: Exactly. And I feel like a lot of people don't really focus on. back to what they have already accomplished. We are only looking, you know, forward to our goal.

[00:12:21] Andrea Elibero: that's so, yeah.

[00:12:22] Rebecca Carmencita: I think for, yeah, for business owners to be, oh, I've accomplished this goal. I'm gonna celebrate, I'm gonna, you know,

[00:12:28] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:12:28] Rebecca Carmencita: with it.

[00:12:29] I'm gonna sit with

[00:12:30] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:12:30] Rebecca Carmencita: But we're already towards our next five year goal.

[00:12:32] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:12:33] Rebecca Carmencita: if. We're looking back to what we've actually achieved. I remember I was talking to one of my retainer clients. She started with me as a

[00:12:39] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:12:40] Rebecca Carmencita: um, when I was working as a va, and she created this amazing report. She had done all the work herself on learning the software, learning how to get it printed, learning how to get subscribers doing the marketing,

[00:12:53] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:12:53] Rebecca Carmencita: telling her like, that's amazing. She's like, oh, yeah, well, you know. [00:13:00] No, like that's amazing. Like that's so good. A lot of people don't realize that if you look back on your own journey, there are so many moments when you've done stuff that you were scared to do, but they don't really stick like out in your brain

[00:13:12] Andrea Elibero: No. Right,

[00:13:13] Rebecca Carmencita: to kind of like muffle it away.

[00:13:15] Andrea Elibero: right. And we focus on the negative things. Right? The one thing that went wrong. Yeah. As humans. No, I mean, and yeah, and doing things like keeping lists somewhere to refer back to any sort of wins. When clients say something nice to you, it's written down, screenshot it and save it. 'cause it's not just marketing, right?

[00:13:30] It's also for you. So that way you have something to refer to, to remember that, no, I am amazing. I am good at these things and I'm continually growing and evolving. And yes, we do need to celebrate all of those things. So. Okay, so I'm curious now because do you still work with retainer clients like OBM retainer clients, or are you totally into different, okay, this, I like this, by the way.

[00:13:53] This is my favorite business structure because when I talk a lot about creating a core offer [00:14:00] and. The thing that, which I'm like, this is my thing, right? Like, okay, critical R have a framework, like do something you're amazing at and that you love and, and then get all these like amazing aligned clients.

[00:14:09] And what I don't talk about in the background is that a lot of my clients doing this still hold onto some core retainer clients. Not only because like one, we're not just like. Dumping everything and being like, okay, now this is my new thing and I'm, you know, and I'm starting from zero. But it gives you your nervous system.

[00:14:27] Like it lets you relax. 'cause you know, you have that like, stable monthly income from these clients and when you have a couple of them, it doesn't feel so insane and crazy as when you're booked like, like with only these types of clients. Like that's terrible. I will say that like that, that can be really terrible to just have

[00:14:44] Rebecca Carmencita: vouch for that too. Yes,

[00:14:45] Andrea Elibero: to have like a handful of clients where like everything is coming at you from all angles, but when you have like a couple, like it feels good, you know, it's almost like a safety, it feels nice and like, especially if you really like them.

[00:14:56] And a lot of times it's stuff that's kind of easy and you're like, okay, it's comfortable. [00:15:00] So. Um, anyhow, sorry. I'm like going off on some random tangent on my soapbox of like, but I really like this business structure because you're not just relying on these, um, uh, these like project based things and having to worry like, oh, every, this is only four months and now what I'm, you know, I need to find new clients after every, whatever, every few months.

[00:15:18] So anyways, okay, so you have a, you have some retainer clients and then you have your, your systems and client experience clients. Is that correct?

[00:15:29] Rebecca Carmencita: yeah, yeah. So I have retainer

[00:15:31] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:15:31] Rebecca Carmencita: I have Project bill

[00:15:32] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:15:33] Rebecca Carmencita: and. Those are like my main tier, let's put it like

[00:15:37] Andrea Elibero: Okay.

[00:15:37] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, on top of that, they're not necessarily project built, but I do consider them like short-term

[00:15:43] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:15:43] Rebecca Carmencita: There are smaller packages. So for example, like form design, which is like a

[00:15:48] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:15:48] Rebecca Carmencita: week, uh, project

[00:15:49] Andrea Elibero: Okay.

[00:15:50] Rebecca Carmencita: call.

[00:15:51] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:15:51] Rebecca Carmencita: of that I consider kind of part of the project

[00:15:53] Andrea Elibero: Okay.

[00:15:55] Rebecca Carmencita: I really literally kind of shifted as well, like what you've mentioned from I think at one point [00:16:00] 12 retainer client

[00:16:01] Andrea Elibero: Right. Yeah.

[00:16:02] Rebecca Carmencita: into thinking, oh my gosh, this is way too much and I can't handle this, and I'm supposed to be the one that's organized and structured and

[00:16:10] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:16:11] Rebecca Carmencita: my mind

[00:16:11] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:16:12] Rebecca Carmencita: to, um, know, like kind of shifting it, it, and I get what you're saying.

[00:16:16] It's, it's definitely, for some people it's definitely as well the, the financial. By the financial knowledge that you don't each month have to hunt for clients. I think that was exactly the case on to how I shifted. Funnily enough, when I moved into Project Build, that was also the moment when majority of my client, or like the, think I already reduced it, I think to six or five or something, then I kind of said to myself, I'm gonna do three or two, um. Funnily enough, those clients, they either discontinued their business or they went in another way as well magically, you know, universe provides. Um, so it was actually an amazing [00:17:00] experience and the clients that I do work with right now, like what I said, one of them is actually from when I was still a va. Um, and we started working together and I actually, I don't see myself stopping working with her

[00:17:11] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:17:11] Rebecca Carmencita: because I love her and her business so much. Um, and it's just so much fun. Then, but I do, I do get, it's, it's very difficult to kind of settle on what you want because I remember

[00:17:23] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:17:24] Rebecca Carmencita: of I'm only doing projects, but that's not scarcity mindset, but the idea of constantly having to chase

[00:17:32] Andrea Elibero: Right, right,

[00:17:34] Rebecca Carmencita: it almost felt like hardcore sales didn't work for me.

[00:17:36] Andrea Elibero: right, right.

[00:17:38] Rebecca Carmencita: you know, you need to find something that works for you. Some people

[00:17:40] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:17:41] Rebecca Carmencita: to do. Sales, they have the most amazing sales structures or like connecting with people or, um, only doing project bills. I mean, there, there are numerous, um, you know, for example, ddo certified

[00:17:52] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:17:53] Rebecca Carmencita: online

[00:17:53] Andrea Elibero: all they do. Right,

[00:17:55] Rebecca Carmencita: well, that's all they do,

[00:17:56] Andrea Elibero: right,

[00:17:57] Rebecca Carmencita: people it doesn't work.

[00:17:58] Andrea Elibero: right.

[00:17:58] Rebecca Carmencita: know, you need to kind of[00:18:00] 

[00:18:00] Andrea Elibero: I.

[00:18:00] Rebecca Carmencita: give yourself variety.

[00:18:01] Andrea Elibero: Okay, so this is what I would love to chat about. 'cause this again is also something that I help my clients with is determining what's the best structure that's gonna support them and their dream life and what they're amazing at and whatnot. So what was the journey for you?

[00:18:14] Were you, were you, what were some of the things that happened when you were like, oh no, this is the structure that actually works for me, that I am the happiest at?

[00:18:25] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, I think I kind of realized that around, I think like two years into business. I

[00:18:32] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:18:33] Rebecca Carmencita: when I had. A lot of retainer

[00:18:36] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:18:36] Rebecca Carmencita: and maybe not as much confidence in my own expertise and what I knew to do best. I think that's usually the case. So I was, I was working around a lot of different scopes.

[00:18:49] I had very different kind of services and what I helped people with, I, for example, once did a Sato build on an OBM retainer,

[00:18:57] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:18:58] Rebecca Carmencita: doesn't work. It gets [00:19:00] prolonged.

[00:19:00] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:19:01] Rebecca Carmencita: know, no one, no one, no one. I make no one happy with that. So that was kind of the, the, the moment that I realized I need to kind of fix this and fix a structure.

[00:19:10] Um, and funnily enough, I

[00:19:11] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:19:12] Rebecca Carmencita: realized, I think about a year, year and a half ago that there was a term for that. It's called a career portfolio,

[00:19:18] Andrea Elibero: Wait, what is this?

[00:19:20] Rebecca Carmencita: a career

[00:19:20] Andrea Elibero: is a career portfolio? Okay.

[00:19:23] Rebecca Carmencita: Yes. And it's not my term. It's, um,

[00:19:26] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:19:27] Rebecca Carmencita: else, but it's really about. Finding, creating different income streams for yourself.

[00:19:33] Andrea Elibero: Okay.

[00:19:34] Rebecca Carmencita: could literally be from, you know, you have a full-time job and next to that you do other work or you have a part-time job, you have a consulting container.

[00:19:42] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:19:43] Rebecca Carmencita: you sell templates. It's creating different income streams for yourself that make you happy. And you have to figure out what gives you joy and what gives you energy. And if that

[00:19:52] Andrea Elibero: Yes.

[00:19:53] Rebecca Carmencita: doing project work. Do that because

[00:19:55] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:19:56] Rebecca Carmencita: it, that they can just take a month off and don't have to worry about retainer [00:20:00] clients. Other people would love to only have retainer clients do that. Do what works for you.

[00:20:05] Andrea Elibero: Yeah, and you used a really important term that I use a lot as well, and it's actually to take a moment and actually see what actually gives me energy. What am I doing in my business that energizes me? And I'll tell you on my end that. It's so interesting because I am a natural sort of more like introverted type of a person, right?

[00:20:24] Like, I need to recharge. My social battery doesn't last forever. But when I'm on a coaching call, that energizes me. Like I feel amazing after every single coaching call that I am on. And that's a big clue, right? In terms of like, oh, this is what I'm meant to be doing. So, and of course we're always gonna be doing things that we, you know, like we can't get rid of all the things that we love doing, but let's focus our businesses more on the things that give us energy and you know what they are.

[00:20:49] When you're doing them, but you just have to be cognizant of it. And a lot of times we don't like 'cause and especially for service providers 'cause we're all going from like thing D thing thing and running around and like you don't take a moment, right? Like a lot of service providers don't even [00:21:00] market their business 'cause they don't have any time.

[00:21:01] And so like, but taking a moment and pausing say, oh wait, no I actually love doing this. And oh it works better for me when, you know, my business is structured in whatever way. Like for me, I used to take calls like whatever days that does not work for me. I said, no, I only take calls out Tuesdays and Wednesdays, like, period.

[00:21:21] Finding Your Business Structure and Tools

[00:21:21] Andrea Elibero: You know, because I need days where I don't have calls, like, like talking, like, you know, non coaching or whatever, any types of calls. So like doing the little things adds up as well as making decisions as big as, oh, like what is my business? How do I want to structure it, what I want to offer? You know? And I'm curious also, so when you, um, made the switch, like, oh, like these systems builds and whatnot, how did you know, like, oh, that's my thing.

[00:21:47] And I wanna dive more into that.

[00:21:50] Rebecca Carmencita: Oh, like you mean the specific software that are

[00:21:52] Andrea Elibero: The software or just in general? Yeah. Either one.

[00:21:56] Rebecca Carmencita: So I actually, I think I kind of started with [00:22:00] Clickup.

[00:22:00] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:22:01] Rebecca Carmencita: main one. Um, which is a project management software tool.

[00:22:04] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm. I love me some clickup. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:08] Rebecca Carmencita: Yes, exactly. templates. Make it pretty, Gem, um. I actually think I really got into working with Sato because it also attracts a certain type of client that uses Theto

[00:22:21] Andrea Elibero: Ah, okay.

[00:22:23] Rebecca Carmencita: you have the very beautiful branded forms,

[00:22:26] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:22:27] Rebecca Carmencita: your brand experience into every part.

[00:22:30] Andrea Elibero: Okay.

[00:22:32] Rebecca Carmencita: And I realized that setting up Sato and the way of those very different customer journey touchpoints work for my brain.

[00:22:39] Andrea Elibero: Mm. Okay. Yeah.

[00:22:41] Rebecca Carmencita: it. Like you can, like I'm literally envisioning it right now. I

[00:22:44] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:22:45] Rebecca Carmencita: the client journey and the little touchpoint or where. Items can be optimized or changed.

[00:22:50] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:22:51] Rebecca Carmencita: but it definitely took some time to trust myself to go into only, for example, dodo

[00:22:57] Andrea Elibero: Right?

[00:22:58] Rebecca Carmencita: trust myself that I know that I'm [00:23:00] knowledgeable or like, like what you say as well.

[00:23:02] Like you, you want to, you know when something feels right,

[00:23:06] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:23:06] Rebecca Carmencita: that, but it is also trusting

[00:23:10] Andrea Elibero: Yep.

[00:23:11] Rebecca Carmencita: in following that action. Like if

[00:23:13] Andrea Elibero: Yes.

[00:23:15] Rebecca Carmencita: A bell ringing, like, you know, a red flag in the back of your brain when you're on a call with someone. Trust that, like, don't ignore your

[00:23:25] Andrea Elibero: Yes.

[00:23:25] Rebecca Carmencita: Don't ignore your gut.

[00:23:26] Andrea Elibero: Yep.

[00:23:26] Rebecca Carmencita: you, you've created your business because you wanna do something that you

[00:23:29] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:23:30] Rebecca Carmencita: would you do something for someone else and like not love it? Like, that's the

[00:23:34] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:23:34] Rebecca Carmencita: your business. So. For me, that was really, I started with Psdo. I absolutely love how it transforms business for my clients.

[00:23:43] Like I'll do, after each build that I do with a client, we have a return on investment in which we, I show them everything that we have mapped out all of the steps that they should or been doing

[00:23:54] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:23:54] Rebecca Carmencita: and what we have automated. And each time I like, I build it and I'm shocked [00:24:00] at what we have automated.

[00:24:01] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:24:02] Rebecca Carmencita: not even to mention my client if like we did it, I did it for a floral preservation, um, uh, client. And we, I think we, we automated around 130 steps

[00:24:13] Andrea Elibero: Wow.

[00:24:14] Rebecca Carmencita: that she had.

[00:24:15] Andrea Elibero: Wow.

[00:24:15] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, and that saved so much time. I

[00:24:19] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:24:19] Rebecca Carmencita: I think it saved her around like 400 hours a year on just doing admin work.

[00:24:25] Andrea Elibero: Mm hmm.

[00:24:26] Rebecca Carmencita: That's a really, really big one for me, for seeing the change that, the work that I do, that reflects in

[00:24:33] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:24:33] Rebecca Carmencita: the, the business of my client.

[00:24:35] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm. Beautiful. 

[00:24:37] Marketing Strategies and Client Relationships

[00:24:37] Andrea Elibero: Um, I wanna shift gears slightly because I feel like a lot of people at this point be like, okay, I understand, I understand that, but how do you get these project clients? Like, what are you doing? What are your personal main sources of marketing specifically for your systems?

[00:24:49] Builds?

[00:24:51] Rebecca Carmencita: So I would always say. Probably Instagram. It's a

[00:24:56] Andrea Elibero: Hm mm-hmm.

[00:24:57] Rebecca Carmencita: I'm, I think I probably [00:25:00] get 50% of my clients through Instagram.

[00:25:02] Andrea Elibero: Now, are you doing outreach? Are you just posting like what, when you say Instagram, what does that mean for you? Just posting?

[00:25:08] Rebecca Carmencita: I, I just post, I

[00:25:09] Andrea Elibero: Uh

[00:25:10] Rebecca Carmencita: content on my feed. I just post on my stories and I will try to engage as much as possible, but I wanna keep it authentic.

[00:25:19] Andrea Elibero: Right,

[00:25:19] Rebecca Carmencita: As in, I'm not going to just, you know, reply on someone's post for the sake of it.

[00:25:23] Andrea Elibero: right.

[00:25:24] Rebecca Carmencita: that,

[00:25:24] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:25:25] Rebecca Carmencita: um, because that's also how I get the clients come to me in that

[00:25:29] Andrea Elibero: Mm.

[00:25:30] Rebecca Carmencita: we, I value authentic relationships.

[00:25:31] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:25:32] Rebecca Carmencita: I create the container of the relationship with the clients that I work

[00:25:35] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:25:36] Rebecca Carmencita: The other part is a really big one, and this relates against the client experience is referrals and

[00:25:41] Andrea Elibero: Are you doing something? Are you actively asking for referrals? Are you sitting back and they're coming to you? Are you, how are you going about, or how do you think about referrals or referral process?

[00:25:54] Rebecca Carmencita: I let my work speak for myself.

[00:25:56] Andrea Elibero: Usually I just do really good work, girl. I don't have to do anything else. Like my [00:26:00] work is great. Yeah.

[00:26:01] Rebecca Carmencita: Like,

[00:26:02] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:26:02] Rebecca Carmencita: I think you could honestly, I could honestly send out an email to all my clients asking them for referrals and like, it will probably work. But oftentimes the work that I do with

[00:26:11] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:12] Rebecca Carmencita: um, they come, they either come back to work on a smaller project or make some adjustments because, you know, they shifted something in their

[00:26:18] Andrea Elibero: Mm. Yeah.

[00:26:19] Rebecca Carmencita: they refer other people to work

[00:26:21] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:26:22] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, and that I think is really the big importance in the relationship that you have with your

[00:26:26] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:27] Rebecca Carmencita: doing something that you love.

[00:26:29] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:30] Rebecca Carmencita: You can have an amazing product, but if your relationship with your client feels off, it's not gonna go anywhere. Your clients wanna work

[00:26:38] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:38] Rebecca Carmencita: of all, because you know you create something beautiful, but also because they love working

[00:26:42] Andrea Elibero: Right, right. Yeah.

[00:26:43] Rebecca Carmencita: the connection you have with them,

[00:26:45] Andrea Elibero: But, okay, so this speaks to, but this speaks to something, a couple of things that I think are so important is that one, I think a lot of people sort of mute themselves. They think they have to fit into a certain characteristic or be or whatnot. [00:27:00] And the more you are you. The more that you're magnetic to the people that really like you.

[00:27:05] And so, and as you are a testament to this, where they stick around, they come back, they refer people because you are authentically yourself and alongside that, so like two other things alongside that. So you're, you right? You're like fully you and like showing the world. This is who I am, the. Second part of that is that you're doing something that you love.

[00:27:23] And so that naturally, like when you're naturally excited about something that is magnetic and people are excited too, like you get them excited, like, look what I did. Look at this and like this automation is so cool. And like other people might not care that much about, you know, these automated workshops.

[00:27:36] What you're excited. So they're like, oh my God, this girl, yes. Like, thanks so much. You know, like.

[00:27:41] Rebecca Carmencita: Yeah.

[00:27:41] Andrea Elibero: you're doing something you love and then you're working with clients that you love, like a type of client, right? Like the people you vibe with. And it's so important to know who that is as well. So when you combine all of those things, then you're right, right?

[00:27:52] The referrals come because people are like, you stand out to them because when you mute all of that and you're just like floating around, [00:28:00] then you don't stick out to anybody. And you might do amazing work, but if you don't show them your personality or you don't, you know, like there's no connection there, then you're just forgettable.

[00:28:09] So.

[00:28:09] Rebecca Carmencita: Yeah,

[00:28:10] Andrea Elibero: The smartest thing you can do is just be yourself.

[00:28:13] Rebecca Carmencita: exactly. A hundred percent. Or like, I feel like a lot of people as well, and I, I probably did that

[00:28:18] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:28:18] Rebecca Carmencita: you see someone on Instagram. And I still have people that I look up to on Instagram

[00:28:23] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:28:23] Rebecca Carmencita: amazing, you

[00:28:24] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:28:25] Rebecca Carmencita: builders, et

[00:28:26] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:28:27] Rebecca Carmencita: But you try to mimic them. And I think there's

[00:28:30] Andrea Elibero: Yes. Yeah.

[00:28:30] Rebecca Carmencita: wrong in the beginning, especially when you have no idea what you're doing to,

[00:28:34] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:28:34] Rebecca Carmencita: you know, kind of

[00:28:36] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:28:37] Rebecca Carmencita: But that's not how you're gonna get the amazing clients. I remember that when I, think I started posting on like stories on Instagram. Two years after I started my business, or started even my Instagram, because I didn't wanna post on my stories because I thought I, I've been born in the Netherlands, I have an accent.

[00:28:56] I don't speak perfect native English. No one [00:29:00] wants to listen to that. whenever I post it on stories, actually speaking and talking, you know, making mistakes and muffling up upwards, that's when I got clients.

[00:29:09] Andrea Elibero: I love that. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:29:10] Rebecca Carmencita: exactly. That was because it was not how, how I spoke or not because I was, you know, replicating what

[00:29:16] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:29:16] Rebecca Carmencita: saying, or words that other people were using because I, you get it on, like you said, you get enthusiastic about the work that you do, about the value, about who you work with and that shows,

[00:29:27] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:29:28] Rebecca Carmencita: how you get people to love to want to work with you and to come back to work with you.

[00:29:33] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Yeah, a thousand percent. And I wanna also throw in a caveat of somebody who might be like, oh, my Instagram is not like my thing. Let me tell you, I am not the most naturally gifted person of speaking to the camera. I tried TikTok, I joined a thing like, like I can develop this skill. I am positive, but it is not my natural thing.

[00:29:53] And so. You don't have to rely on like, what? What's working for Rebecca? What's working for Andrea? You [00:30:00] don't have to do that, right? It's really important that you do something and stick to it and be consistent and find out what that thing is just the same as your offer themselves, right? Like to find the type of marketing that's really exciting for you and.

[00:30:14] Rebecca Carmencita: Yeah.

[00:30:15] Andrea Elibero: So like in my case, you know, a lot of it is like, like I love doing these things. Like podcasts are so fun for me and doing things like actually connecting and having like coffee chats and like things like that and like building relationships and things like that have been like. The A better way for me personally.

[00:30:32] So don't think that like, oh, because okay, this worked for this person or this worked for that person. If it doesn't work for me, that means that I'm a failure. I can't do it. No. We have to find the thing that's aligned with your natural strengths and things that you're excited about and what you want to do as well on every aspect of your business.

[00:30:47] Rebecca Carmencita: a hundred percent. I like, and I knew, for example, for me and I, there are numerous, numerous people that have this as well. I know that if I would send out, is this corporate when I would send out a resume and

[00:30:58] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:30:59] Rebecca Carmencita: like, I would [00:31:00] probably, I'm maybe get an. Like invited for an interview, but if I would show up and talk to someone, it's my energy that convinces.

[00:31:07] Andrea Elibero: Hmm. Yeah.

[00:31:08] Rebecca Carmencita: people it's, don't want to do

[00:31:11] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:31:11] Rebecca Carmencita: and they shine on paper. They are brilliant. You know, wordsmiths

[00:31:15] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Right.

[00:31:17] Rebecca Carmencita: for you. Just because what works for me

[00:31:19] Andrea Elibero: Yep.

[00:31:19] Rebecca Carmencita: that you have to replicate that.

[00:31:20] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:31:21] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, I think that's really usually a big struggle for people when they're scaling or when they're growing their business, is they, they'll do what someone else is doing

[00:31:30] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. A thousand percent. A thousand percent. Okay. Let's shift one last time into, let's talk about this digital nomad type of a lifestyle, and how precisely do you balance the work that you're doing with the travel?

[00:31:49] Rebecca Carmencita: I don't actually, I kind of just go with the flow.

[00:31:52] Andrea Elibero: Okay.

[00:31:52] Rebecca Carmencita: this is one of, this is one of the things as well where it so

[00:31:56] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:31:57] Rebecca Carmencita: you get, you get confident in it.

[00:31:59] Andrea Elibero: Hmm,[00:32:00] 

[00:32:00] Rebecca Carmencita: A lot of people will you know, I, I would not be able to do that. And I actually thought I would say that as well

[00:32:08] Andrea Elibero: hmm.

[00:32:08] Rebecca Carmencita: I would look at me when I was like, no, 21, 23, I don't think I would be doing this. Um, but it's just by repetition and trying and also sometimes messing up

[00:32:20] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:32:20] Rebecca Carmencita: learn So. know, for example, with the systems that I have set up, that the clients that I have, that they're taken care of, I don't need to have wifi for like two days and it's fine.

[00:32:30] Andrea Elibero: Okay.

[00:32:31] Rebecca Carmencita: for clients that are coming through who are applying to work with me,

[00:32:34] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:32:35] Rebecca Carmencita: I don't wifi, that's all taken care of. Um, the logistic behind that is kind of finding where you work best and what you need in your environment in order to work. So we, my partner and I, we set a kind of. List of requirements of, for example, our apartment or the neighborhoods you have. So like, have a good coffee spot, have coworking

[00:32:57] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:32:57] Rebecca Carmencita: to go to or have, [00:33:00] um, certain things in the apartment and that's how you make it work.

[00:33:03] And sometimes you go to places and you're there for a month and you realize, you know, this is not it. go. And there you go.

[00:33:11] Andrea Elibero: Hmm. So just like business, it's a lot of just jump in and do it and see what works, and it just as you go.

[00:33:18] Rebecca Carmencita: Yes, exactly. And it might might as well be that, you know, you do it for six months and you're like, you know, this was

[00:33:23] Andrea Elibero: Hmm. Yeah.

[00:33:25] Rebecca Carmencita: it. We're gonna go home. And

[00:33:26] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:33:26] Rebecca Carmencita: as

[00:33:26] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:33:27] Rebecca Carmencita: for us, what we have kind of established is that at this point we really want to go to, we'd love to go to Europe and go to Greece also, because we'd like to spend some time. In one place a little bit

[00:33:40] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:33:40] Rebecca Carmencita: and you know that citizenship allows, that in the European

[00:33:45] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:33:46] Rebecca Carmencita: So we're just going to shift to that. It's not, it's not, you know, set in stone just because you said you would do something or you said this was a structure that you would follow. This also applies to business.

[00:33:56] Doesn't mean that you have to follow through with that.

[00:33:58] Andrea Elibero: Right.

[00:33:58] Rebecca Carmencita: can adjust it as you [00:34:00] go.

[00:34:01] Andrea Elibero: I love that. Just being flexible, period. I love that you're like, no, we make mistakes too. And you learn from them and you grow and. And yeah. That's amazing. I think that if I were in your shoes, because I have a hard enough time as I, as a person who's American, who lives in Spain, who like I have so many things like in my Google like calendar on my laptop, like I have so many like time converter things.

[00:34:28] I'm like, and I feel like this is my biggest.

[00:34:31] Rebecca Carmencita: most visited website.

[00:34:32] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. This is my biggest struggle as a business owner is like, what time is it? Like, what are we doing? Yeah.

[00:34:39] Rebecca Carmencita: Yes, you need to make it work for you and like you can simplify it as much as you want. Like

[00:34:44] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:34:44] Rebecca Carmencita: majority of my project, for example, based clients are currently in Australia.

[00:34:48] Andrea Elibero: Hmm.

[00:34:49] Rebecca Carmencita: retained

[00:34:49] Andrea Elibero: well. Yeah.

[00:34:50] Rebecca Carmencita: are in the us. We, actually very consciously decided because our home base is in Australia, my home business Australia, is that. We would [00:35:00] around Asia because it's easier with the time zone difference. It's not too much of a shift. probably have a harder time doing this if I was traveling through time zones

[00:35:10] Andrea Elibero: Um,

[00:35:10] Rebecca Carmencita: time, because that would probably, yeah, that would mess me up.

[00:35:14] Andrea Elibero: So, okay, because you were based in Australia, since you're traveling throughout Asia, it's okay. It works out well. It's interesting though that your retainer clients are US based, because I've been in the opposite where I've had, um, as in being in the US had clients in Bali, I had a few clients in Bali, and it's a 12 hour difference.

[00:35:33] So it either required somebody to get up real early or somebody to work really late to have meetings or handle calls and it's. When you're especially on a retainer client and that those types of clients, there's certain things that work and certain things that don't work, right? 'cause your time zones don't necessarily line up completely.

[00:35:49] So there's, there's certain things you're not able to do. So it's interesting that, um, that I'm, yeah, that it's working out for you as well with the retainer clients.

[00:35:57] Rebecca Carmencita: Yeah. It's, I feel like it's a, it's a little bit of a [00:36:00] learning curve as well. Like when

[00:36:01] Andrea Elibero: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:36:01] Rebecca Carmencita: I was in New Zealand and I had a retainer client in the Netherlands, and it was exactly like, say it was 12

[00:36:07] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:36:08] Rebecca Carmencita: and I would have a meeting at my 9:00 PM I think,

[00:36:12] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:36:13] Rebecca Carmencita: during 9:00 AM

[00:36:14] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:36:14] Rebecca Carmencita: and. I just did it because I was like, you know, trying, trying things,

[00:36:20] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:36:21] Rebecca Carmencita: figure this out and trying to make it

[00:36:23] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:36:24] Rebecca Carmencita: But I also fairly quickly realized that like, I'm not my best at 9:00 PM

[00:36:28] Andrea Elibero: Ah,

[00:36:28] Rebecca Carmencita: and well, you learn how to do remote work in terms of planning your project. You can't wait to the, like, you should never wait till the last moment, but you can't really wait till the last moment because there's a time zone difference.

[00:36:40] If you need communication, you need to have it more clear, more streamlined.

[00:36:44] Andrea Elibero: Right. And these are all little things that you learn as you do them. And yeah, it's like you're saying it's like that for everything. 'cause if you try to plan all these things ahead of time, yeah, you can think of it, but until you're doing it, then you're like, oh, this is like how I need to set this up.

[00:36:57] Okay. So my last, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:37:00] No, yeah.

[00:37:00] Rebecca Carmencita: that that happens, like, you

[00:37:01] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:37:01] Rebecca Carmencita: something that you've already gone through where you made a, where you, where you messed up, you fixed it. The second time it happens, you're much easier in fixing it.

[00:37:09] Andrea Elibero: Right?

[00:37:10] Rebecca Carmencita: you get confident in the action. Everyone makes mistakes. That's human. You know, we're not robots. That's not the way it

[00:37:18] Andrea Elibero: Mm-hmm.

[00:37:18] Rebecca Carmencita: and you're gonna mess up and that's fine, but you're gonna also get confident in messing it up because you're gonna own your mistakes and you're gonna fix it beforehand in that way.

[00:37:27] Andrea Elibero: You know what, I love this idea of being confident in your mistakes. I love that. Okay. Last question that I like to ask everybody. So in your own business growth journey in growing your business, in kind of figuring out what it was that like, oh, this is what I really want to do. Um, if you look, reflect back, what is the biggest tip that you can give somebody who is maybe more earlier on in their journey?

[00:37:52] Rebecca Carmencita: Um, that's a really good question. I would probably say scaling looks different for [00:38:00] everyone. You don't do, you know, we, we see these beautiful. brands on Instagram that make 20 k, and that's their success. That is what success looks like for them. That doesn't mean that that has to be your success.

[00:38:13] Andrea Elibero: Yes.

[00:38:14] Rebecca Carmencita: be not working on a Monday or a Friday or you know, work at 12 because you wanna go to Pilates or something. You need to define your success, and it's not because someone else is doing, you know, quote unquote better or doing it different, that that is the way to go. You need to define that for yourself. And you need to trust yourself in that. If you don't want to work Mondays, but you're getting pushback from a prospective clients, hold that, hold that ground. Be strong. You know, yourself, don't overexplain your boundaries, and the moment that you do that, everything just becomes more easier. You're actually starting to design a business that works for you instead of like against you.

[00:38:54] Andrea Elibero: Yes, a thousand percent on all of those things. Love it. You are on the same wavelength. [00:39:00] And then lastly, lastly, how can everybody connect with you? How can they stay in touch and promote? Whatever else you wanna talk about, promote all your things. The floor is yours.

[00:39:10] Rebecca Carmencita: you. Thank you. That's all good. Now, um, easiest way to connect with me is via Instagram or via my website if you want to work with me. I do offer strategy calls as well, so if there's anything that you want to talk through on. You know, defining your offer or scaling your business or how to best set up the structure for your clients.

[00:39:28] Feel free to reach out to me, but we'll see. If you just have questions, feel free to just shoot me a DM and we can, we can talk about it. That's all good. Um, I think it's very important to share resources and share knowledge.

[00:39:39] Andrea Elibero: Yeah.

[00:39:40] Rebecca Carmencita: shouldn't, know, resource hoard or make sure that it's only for us. Um, the only way we, we all succeed is by sharing this.

[00:39:48] Andrea Elibero: Yes, a hundred percent. Thank you so much, Rebecca, for sharing all of your wisdom with us today. It was really lovely. [00:40:00] Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over to dancing leaf solutions.com/resources for free tools to help you do just that.

[00:40:22] And thank you again for being a part of the Solepreneur Scaling Stories community. Your presence and dedication to growth inspiring me every day.