How to Manage Your Wealth and Health Without Losing Your Sanity | Hady Mendez

Oct 29

This week Victoria Jenn is on the opposite side of the mic as she’s interviewed by Hady Mendez of Boldly Speaking. In this episode, Victoria Jenn shares her journey of leaving corporate and building a half-a-million-dollar empire, without losing her authenticity. She also gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how she grew up, major influences in her life, blanching her health & wealth, plans for 2025, and how she stays focused in a world full of distractions.

Full Transcript:

Welcome everyone to to Latinas Front and Center. I am so happy to be here. I am Hady. I'm the founder and CEO of Boldly Speaking, an organization that's transforming the experience of women and people of color in the workplace. And I started Latinas Front and Center because I was tired of us being ignored and and not being uh represented on stages, at conferences, in at tables. Like, I just tired of it. And I'm like, you know what? If you're not going to invite us to the table, if you're not going to um invite us to share our stories, then I'm going to create a space for us to share our own stories. And so that's why we're here. And I want to welcome to the show Victoria Jenn. Hola, Kasas. I'm Yang. Thank you so much for having me. Super pumped. Excellent. I think for some people you don't need an introduction but there might be una persona that has never met you or maybe just needs to learn a little bit more about all the all of the things that you're involved with. So do you mind just sh just doing a quick intro and sharing a little bit about yourself with the audience? Sure. So I'm a corporate hustler turned serial entrepreneur. So was in corporate for about 15 years. worked in consumer product goods, healthc care, Wall Street, and seven years ago is when I decided to bet on myself and become a full-time entrepreneur. And right now, a big part of my business is focused on um mindset and business coaching. So, I work closely with women who are in corporate, the nineto-five grind, who are looking to to transition to entrepreneurship, but stuck, unsure where exactly to start, but they definitely don't want to lose their financial security. And so I work closely with them to build their business as they're still working so that once they're ready to say goodbye, they say goodbye and they never look back again. I also have a successful podcast called Banking on Cultura which focuses on the vibrancy and complexity of Latino culture, entrepreneurship and all the bonae in between all the tea because we got to keep it edutaining. So there's education as well as entertainment on the show. In addition to that, I um am a keynote speaker. I've been blessed enough to speak all around the world, specifically around mindset and emotional wellness. I'm most commonly known as the imposter syndrome killer because I focus a lot on confidence, eliminating self-doubt, removing your limiting beliefs, and just making sure you tap all the way in to your badasserie. Very nice. I think you're definitely someone that I would have uh wanted to have known or looked up to uh when I was coming up in in my corporate life. You would have been such a nice person to have. So, the generation of young ladies that have an opportunity to look up to you now are very lucky. Um I love that you talk about your empire. That's like woo mucha. We don't talk about we don't talk like that a lot in the in the Latinx community about empires, but uh it reminds me a little bit of Gossip Girls and those like rich little kids. I'm like they they had their empires. I feel like that's what it reminds me of. But I feel like it is strong language. Um and language can be quite powerful. So, um I I noticed that about you that the words it it seems like you choose your words like very uh intentionally and um words can be quite powerful for for shifting mindsets like you said. I try I try my best. It takes a lot of practice. Yeah. And also a lot of you know mistakes made uh and you know just like with anything you you get better over time. Amazing. And you were and you've been doing this thing for a minute. You said seven years, right? You've been in business for seven years. So, I've been in business full-time for seven years, but have had a business for 10 years. So, I actually started my business while I was still working and kind of tested out my first business at that time. I used to do interview training and resume reviews because my last corporate gig, I was doing talent management. I was doing university recruiting. So, it was a skill set that came very easy to me and people would ask me like, "Hey, can you look over my resume?" or hey, can we do a mock interview together? And I was like, hm, let me start charging folks for this. And they started paying me till my first business was born. Wow, that's amazing. I love to hear that. Before we got on, we were talking a little bit about like, you know, where you went to school, where you were raised. You know, you're a New York City gal like me. You're a New Rican like me. Um, so we share that, which I love, and I'm I'm loving your flag, your banderita behind you. tell us a little bit about, I guess, your story because we're here to hear the the story specifically of Victoria Jenn. So, where does your story begin? Where does my story begin? Uh, so my dad's bora. My mother was Italian, Irish, and Polish. So, grew up mixed, but definitely identified more with my Latin dad because uh shortly after my parents broke up, my dad started to raise me full-time as a single dad. So, it was him and I and every summer he would send me to Puerto Rico and I would hang out with my aunts and my cousins. And so that's how I was really uh engraved in the culture and really started to build an appreciation for my roots and where I came from and really just own everything that comes with being a Latina and owning your cultura and um I think as a result of growing up that way and witnessing my dad do his thing and the sacrifices that he made waking up with him at 4:00 and going to the restaurant with him. used to manage a restaurant on Wall Street. So I always say like that foreshadowed my career because my first job out of school was on Wall Street and I studied financial investments in college. So I feel like me growing up like literally in the Wall Street district was kind of just a foreshadowing of where I would land and where I would start my first career. And then from there on, I think I just continued to reinvent myself over and over and over again until I found a place that felt true to me where I could have impact on my community and also make a [ __ ] ton of money. Yes. So, it's it's the both ends in your case. You're looking to give back and make sure that you got your bag. And that's a that's a theme I think that you really that's what you teach women that that's something you can do. You it's not like uh one or the other or these things are not mutually exclusive. You can be doing both things. I really like and appreciate that about your philosophy. Um and I know your daddy's a little girl and I've heard the story about you you going with your dad to the um to his where he worked from your podcast. If if anyone listens to to Victoria Jenn's podcast, you know a little bit about how much how close she is with her father and some of those stories about when you were a little girl. Um I'm curious talking about uh being a little girl and you know maybe interactions with your dad. Were there any dichos or franes that came up often? Um you know uh I have so many. My mom used to say so many. I remember when she my sister in my house there's four of us and so four girls and so my mother would always say like that was her favorite one. So it was like I don't approve of your friend type of thing. Uh did your dad have a favorite that he would bring up from time to time that reminds you of So one that really stuck out for me was actually from my Theo in Puerto Rico. So I used to stay at one of my favorite aunts house every summer and he used to always say in and he used to mess with me because I had like I spoke Spanish like I didn't grow up speaking the language fluently so it was like ghetto Spanish so they would make fun of me and so one of the things he would say to like make fun of me um is

yes yes it way like the bad way because he knew I couldn't say right the correct way. And really what that translated to me is like, hey, if you if you don't like something, don't pursue it. Don't consume it, right? Don't be a part of it. Don't associate yourself with it. And that really has followed me, you know, throughout my career and my life, professionally as well as personally. That's so funny. You just you just took me back, Victoria Jenn. I haven't heard that in a long time, but you brought me back. I'm like, "Oh my god, I totally remember people saying that in in my orbit." I don't remember who said it, but I remember was like very a very common thing. And it wasn't even though it's about food. Like if you literally translate it, it's not about food. It's about like you said, if you don't like something, then then don't Right. Don't rock with it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, I guess it's about choice. That that's a that saying is about personal choice and empowering yourself to own your decisions, I guess. Yeah, how powerful. I love that. All right. Well, what's up, Mi? Are you looking for mentorship and the place to secure the big bag? Have you ever watched me here on the banking podcast and thought to yourself, you know what? I want to work with Victoria Jenn. Or maybe you thought to yourself, I want to be a part of her network of badass women and entrepreneurs. Well, guess what? You absolutely can. Join me this November, November 15th through the 16th, in the heart of New York City for my 7th annual Secure the Big Bag and Wellness Summit. Let's face it, so many of us are tired, burnt out, ready to throw in the towel, honey, and quite frankly, we want to dedicate ourselves to the soft life. But what if there was a way for us to achieve both time and financial freedom and also have a healthy, well-balanced life? What if you could secure the big bag, build a business that fuels you versus drains you, as well as build a solid network of business besties who want to support and motivate you while also centering self. This summit is the premier destination for the latest marketing, sales, and AI tools that can 10x your business while also nurturing your well-being. Learn from top experts from both business and wellness, including executives from the corporate sector, so that you can explore corporate level opportunities that can elevate your business to new heights, ensuring you're not just prepared, but fully equipped to dominate in 2025 and beyond. This is your opportunity for your business to thrive while you do, too. Head over to securethepigbag.com to check out the agenda and all the heavy hitters that will be in the building. I cannot wait to see you in New York City. It's go time. Um, I've enjoyed hearing about your your early years and I think we'll we'll come back a little bit to your dad and and some of your theos and theas and stuff, but I want to switch gears for a little bit and I really want to give you some space to talk about current projects that you're working on that are like giving you life that you're excited about, things that maybe the listeners may not know, maybe they've heard a little bit about but don't have a lot of details on. I want to give you some space to talk about them. Yeah, I appreciate that. You know, one of the beautiful things about entrepreneurship is you don't have to ask for permission to do what you want. You get to decide. Yes. And you also get to use yourself as a vessel to meet a need and to identify a need. And so I'm at this point in my life where I really want to focus on making the most money that I can. And I say that with a lot of um or actually I'll say that with no humbleness whatsoever. Like I think women need to embrace talking and making money and not feeling guilty about it and not feeling like oh my god that's not cool to talk about or it's not polite to reference money in that way. Like no let's own it. Like we all live financially free. We all want to build legacy. We all want to have a fat thousand%. We want to take the trips. We want to have the bags. Like we want to live a limitless life. Like let's own that. And I think coupled with that is, you know, at least for me, I'm in this kind of transitional state. I'm 41 years old, so my body is going through different transitions. My mind is going through different transitions. And a lot of women are, you know, reinventing themselves at this age. They are thinking about what's next. They're thinking about legacy. They're thinking about health, right? Because things are coming up. And so what I decided to do because I saw there was a lack of education in the marketplace was um create an event. It's called the Secure the Big Bag and Wellness Summit. And really what that event is focused on is helping women increase their income streams and really doubling down on tangible strategies that can help them make some more money, work more efficiently, work smarter instead of harder, and also have the impact, right? That we all desire to want to have, right? But don't know the how. And so we're going to cover the how and also cover the wellness component, right? which a our community isn't really educated about per menopause. We're not educated about infertility. We're not educated about postpartum. And we kind of experience these things in these silos and we start to self-reflect and think like what's wrong with me? Like I can't talk about this. This is embarrassing, right? When in actuality, a lot of women are going through that same experience, but nobody's talking about it. And so as a result of nobody talking about it, there's a lack of education in the space. we start to internalize and we begin to have self-doubt. We don't show up in the same way anymore, which impacts our performance, right? Both at home and in the office. And so, this event is a hybrid, the first of its kind, where we're talking about money and we're talking about wellness. So, I'm really excited about that. That's going down November 15th through the 16th in New York City. Uh, for those who are interested, you can go to securethebigbag.com. I'm really excited about it. I'm bringing out my business besties, my mentors, people who have helped me shape my business model, who have helped me increase my income streams who have helped me really prioritize and center my health. Like, I'm bringing my nutritionist out who helped me lose 30 pounds. So, it's going to be a whole vibe and I'm really excited about it and think the community really needs it. Yeah. I was going to say a couple things um from what you said. one when you were talking about I'm g that you're you're saying you want money and you're not going to be humble about it. That reminded me of something something Kamala Harris said in her recent podcast. I don't know if you heard the podcast that she was on with uh Daddy. Yeah. She said that like someone was saying like I I guess I think it was Sarah Huckabe or somebody had called her out and was like, "Oh, Kamla doesn't have anybody keeping her humble." And she's like, "We ain't in the 18 1950s. Why are we trying to be humble? Like like there's there's a need for that. We don't There's a lot of women out here that don't aspire to be humble. Nor should we be aspiring. So like the patriarchy trying to tell us to like Yeah. Like stay in your place. Don't don't act up. Don't ruffle any feathers. Yeah. And that time has gone. It has passed and it has gone, darling. Yeah. So I you you you made me think of that and then you were talking about this whole health and wellness and how it relates to performance and it's funny you say that I'm kind of on the other end of that menopause journey or yeah I'm closer to the end of it and I would say that it was really hard because to your point it's quite isolating. You're kind of like, you know, your body for like 40, 45 years and then all of a sudden you don't recognize what's happening to your body anymore. It happened to me. A lot of things got a, you know, unregulated, disregulated, and I just like um I I'm I'm one of those people that I I want natural solutions. I don't want like medicine. So like people everybody's trying to push medicine or hormones or this or that, which could be viable options for other people, right? I wanted ways that I could do so in a natural way for me that I could sustain. And so, you know, I also have been on a journey of health and wellness with like walking a lot, stretching, um, you know, building my muscle, uh, eating more plant-based and refined sugar-free foods and just like there's a lot of things that I've that I've changed up and like my hair is growing back. Praise the Lord because I can't even imagine you with no hair. But that people used to say about me. I had a lot of hair on my head and and they were like I remember I would go to a Dominican salon and they were like much you will never go bald. And sure don't you know during menopause my hair was falling in clumps. Oh my gosh. Clumps. And I was like es the the evil eye but but graci you know things are more stable now. and and that's a journey and it can feel like it's a journey that you're going through by yourself. So, how nice would it be to be having those conversations in community and um and just having other people share like you know what they like I'm happy to share my story because like now I could tell you now that I'm on the other side I could talk about what happened the last 10 years but it was not fun. I would that much I could tell you it was not fun. Yeah. Yeah. I think having a space to talk about it is important and also women are going through pmenopause in like their 30s. Like it's not even a thing that you are waiting like until you're in your late 40s or 50s or 60s. Like it's starting to happen earlier and earlier for women and they don't know the symptoms and so they go to the doctor and the doctor's misdiagnosing them. So now they're like on anti-depressants and they're taking all these other things when the entire time they're in perry menopause, but they won't even know because they're not aware of the symptoms. So it's important for us to have these conversations um in community, but also to just prepare ourselves and like be aware and so that when it does happen and we're building our empires and we're going out there, we're killing it, that it doesn't like knock us completely off. Yes. Um because we're prepared now, right? We have our tools. We have our resources. Um we're educated. Um and we're we're ready to like, you know, weather the storm whichever way it leads us, you know? But it's also like scary. Like when I started hearing a lot about pmenopause, it started on threads because I was seeing women share their stories and I'm like, "Oh my god, I'm gonna have dry vagina. Like what? I don't know if I'm ready for all of this. I'm gonna have an arm that's like falling a cold shoulder. What the hell is that? Right? Like all these things and it was like freaking me out and I was like, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We need to have like a conversation. We need to we need to prioritize health here because like we can't we can't have this happen." Um, so thank you for sharing so I had that frozen shoulder that happened to me.

I was fine and like the next day I was like my arm I couldn't move it. I couldn't like put clothes on. and I was like stuck in one position. It was it was horrifying. That that's like the only way to describe it. So, um and and and I will tell you that in the end like for me like what happens is a lot of things happen in isolation and then only looking back could you be like oh collectively those were symptoms of something bigger but like you wouldn't know it as you because the doctors always like kind of take it like one thing at a time. So they're seeing like what's happening in that moment and they're not putting together all the pieces. Um well thank you. I love that that that conference sounds like it's going to be fire and it's going to be so educational and informative. Who's the target market? Like is it for like business owners, business? Yeah. So aspiring and established entrepreneurs are in the building as well as professionals. I mean, a lot of the conversation that we're going to be having um is applicable to whether you're still in the corporate arena or you're not, but I think all of us are at this moment, at least for a lot of the women that I speak to. You know, we're in this transition. We're trying to think about what's next and we're not sure. And we're like, maybe entrepreneurship, maybe not. And so it's important to get yourself in these rooms so that you can get a feel for the vibe and talk to people who are actually doing it versus getting advice from your thea or your bestie who never started a business before, has no idea what to tell you. They're just talking out, you know, they're just pulling things out of a hat, but not really telling you anything that can add some real value. So get in the room where you can get some real value if this is an aspiration of yours. And if you've already started your business and you're like thinking about going back to your 9 to5 because you're like not making any money and you don't have any real consistent revenue come in, learn some strategy, right, to get that consistent revenue so that you can dominate in 2025 and beyond. Yeah. Build that empire. Hashtag build that empire. Yes. Right. We on it. Um listen, anything else that you have uh that you're excited to tackle next? What's what's next on the horizon? Because if I know you, you're brewing something for 2025. I know you I know this summit ain't it for you looking at next year. What do you what's what's in store? If you could share a little bit. Yeah, I mean so the summit is the yearly signature event. So that goes down every single year. You know, one of the promises that I made myself was to be more intentional and and focus. And when we're constantly launching something new, we're constantly doing something different, we're being pulled, right? And we're not really being focused. And so for me, it's very simple. Going into 2025, it's building the podcast, Banking Aquar. We just hit 75,000 downloads, 80,000 views on YouTube, 11 million impressions on social media. So, I'm just like, okay, we've been at this for a year. Let's go do it for another year. to just really continuing to build out and um build our audience there. Bring in the right sponsors and partners to help us grow and distribute what we're talking about on the podcast. Um really doubling down on the Dare to Leave Academy, which is where I teach women how to transition out of corporate to entrepreneurship. really continuing to invite the right women into that program and help them um build real businesses versus hobbies and just getting their mindset right so they can get out of their own way. Um and continue to build out my partnerships with corporate. You know, they hire me as a consultant, they hire me as a speaker to humanize their corporate culture and really get their employee base to feel good about themselves, which contributes to the bottom line. So that's it. That's the main focus. Yeah, I like I like that message. Um I think that's so important because and I could tell you from my own 18-month journey as an entrepreneur, boy, pivoting is very important. Knowing when to pivot is important and knowing when to stay the course is equally as important. And it's sometimes it's not easy to tell the difference, but you know, like I feel like I've tried a couple things and I I think it's I would argue or I would venture to guess that it's quite common in your first year or two that you got to keep like pivot a little bit here. Okay, tweak it a little bit there. Okay, come back to, you know, until you find like that sweet spot where it's like, okay, like I got it, you know. So, so that I could that resonated a lot with me. um what you said about focus because I feel like maybe I'm to the point where I'm ready to do to double click on the the things that I'm doing because I feel like I'm like in the right place now. But that that it took time. So I appreciate Yeah. I mean in your first two years it's very trial and error. It's very okay what's going to work? What's not working? What's bringing in business? But really paying attention to what is working and then doubling down on that is how you're going to grow and actually be able to scale. Like do what's working. Don't try to do something new. Like double down on what is working and then continue to build that up. And then when you build that up, you can go do something great. I mean the beautiful thing about the ambitious is we have amazing ideas. We're always ready to do something new. Like we're executors. But then the curse is we're never satisfied. So, even if we're like doing something amazing over here, oh no, we got to go over here because we're not satisfied doing just this. We need to like do this too. Um, and sometimes it like bites us in our ass because we lose focus and what we don't focus on um doesn't grow right to its full potential. And so that's something that I've had to um get a lot of discipline around because I'm very much a visionary. Like I like I get bored fast. So I like doing something new. like I I need to do something new or else I'm going to get bored, right? Um but what I've learned through mentorship and through watching my bank account. Um that necessarily isn't always the smartest move be depending on what your goals are, right? Like if you're okay with where you are and what you're making and you're living vida loca and you love it, cool. Then that's your lane. Stay in your lane. But depending on what your individual goals are, like for me, I envision myself 10xing a lot of things in my life. And that is going to require a new version of me, a new level of discipline, a new level of intentionality and focus in order to actually get there. Yes. Uh, I heard something yesterday that I thought was really interesting that kind of reminded me of what you were talking about, which is men are taught to take risks, but women are taught to be perfect. And I feel like sometimes, like you said, we get in our own way with that because we get in our head and we start listening to these voices that are like, "No, do this. No, that that's, you know, that's not working or maybe it's better this way or whatever the case may be." I I want to switch gears a little bit though, Victoria Jenn, and I want to talk a little bit about how you would describe your personal mission like what what why are you in on this earth? Yeah. Wow. What a deep question, right? And and I love we have to always ask ourselves this question and like always check in, I think, because it changes like depending on your season. Right now, my personal mission is helping women become the badasses that they already are, super confident, own who they are, their cultura, their essence, their aura, all of it, and make as much money as possible while educating my community. Like, that really is my personal mission. That is what God continues to tell me that I need to show up and do every day. So, I'm just listening. I'm surrendering. I'm like, "All right, I'm gonna listen. if this is the way you want me to go, I want to continue to do it. Uh so yeah, so that's that's my primary mission and and personal goal and I'll add on to that because I think that there part of your personal mission needs to of course be about fulfillment and what are you doing for yourself, right? And so much of us think about personal missions as the impact we're having outside of ourselves versus within ourselves. And so in addition to all of that, uh another personal mission of mine is just continue to um get deeper with myself, get more in tuned with myself, um and just love myself more and more every day. Amen. I love that. Uh we have uh one of our audience members shared her name is Diana. She comes a lot to these Latinas friend and center. We love Diana. Hola manaqua. We also love Diana. She's a student inside the dare to leave academy. Oh okay. Well then you know Diana and and it's fun. She said she loves that you know depending on the season the mission changes. And so that's a that's a valuable one. I had not really um considered that, you know. Uh I feel like mine has been pretty locked in, but I I love that um because it it I guess there's flexibility. You know, things change, we change, circumstances change, so we got to be open to that. Victoria Jenn, who inspires you, you know, who do you look up to? Who inspires you? Who motivates you? Who do you, you know, I guess aspire to be more like? You know, it's interesting. I was listening to a podcast the other day and there was a a doctor and she was talking about like I don't inspire to be like anybody else. I aspire to be like me. Like I I am my bis business inspir my biggest inspiration. And I thought that was really valuable because so many of us are looking for like the outside validation. We're looking for the outside direction. We're looking for someone else to show us who we should be or what we should aspire to be. And while I think that it's important for us to have examples and mentors, we have to first like trust ourselves and allow ourselves to be our biggest inspiration. And I think the way you do that is you produce and you like we interrupt our program to bring you this important message. Ooh, this is really good. You should know about this. So, I don't know about you, but I've been known to procrastinate, especially when things scare the hell out of me. The fear alone would have me stuck, overwhelmed, confused, and all types of self-doubt. And don't even get me started on the imposter syndrome. Okay. Okay. After getting laid off, not once but three times, honey, I realized that the security blanket that I made up in my head was just an excuse because I didn't really want to bet on myself. The corporate benefits that had me in that headlock, girl, huh, they went out the window once my job decided that they no longer needed me. It turns out that I'll save a whole nickel if I cut your salary completely. The truth is, the only security blanket guarantee is the one that you create for yourself. In other words, until you start a business, you will always be at the mercy of a company's headcount, and you will never have complete control over your time, which means you'll be renting out your thought leadership and helping build someone else's dream instead of your own. If you've been waiting for a sign, this is it. Don't you think it's time you stop playing small and tap all the way into your powers? Click on the link above or below this video to learn my three-step process, the exact three steps that I took to make the transition from corporate to entrepreneurship. And this is helpful even if you don't know what type of business to start and have only one source of income. And this is absolutely free. It is my gift to you. I want you to win. It's winning season. In fact, what's that? It smells like winning season. Okay, so tap in and I'll see you inside the training. Let's go. Are proud of yourself because of what you're producing and as a result like you become your own inspiration. Like you're on your workout game. You're on your business game. Your relationships personally are amazing. You're respecting the community. you're just so impressed with yourself because you're working so much on yourself that you become your own inspiration. So, I think that was was something that really landed with me and and a message that I want to continue to convey because I think it is a powerful message. Uh, but with that said, I'm inspired by everything. Literally, like every day I'm inspired by like, you know, my dad who's 81 years old who just came back from the Dominican Republic and living his life and just enjoying like the simple things in life. I love um I get inspiration from people like you that are freaking like grinding it out and showing up and doing it scared every day and not giving up on themselves and and creating things and connecting with community. Like I it doesn't take a lot to inspire me because I am just uh I'm a feeder off of energy and a feeder off of people who are just doing dope [ __ ] So if you're doing something dope like I gravitate to that. I'm like that's inspiring. Like that's cool. I want I want to emulate something like but make it my own. Um so it really doesn't take a lot for me to to be inspired. It could be something super small to something grand. Thanks for bringing up your dad. I know you're you're a daddy's little girl and um because he is living his best life right now and you're a big part of him being able to do that. So I know that's probably a big motivator for you to see him happy and be able to give to him. Yeah. Thank and and I want Oh, and I wanted to share with you that I think your authenticity is very inspiring. You're very unapologetically who you are. You don't you know you're not like um trying to be somebody that you're not. you're not you're super unapologetic. And I think to me I like that like people who are genuine and who are not afraid to show up as who they really are. That is that's you know that's something that I gravitate towards. So I noticed that about you off you know right away and it's always been something that I've really appreciated about you Victoria Jenn. Thank you. And I want to shout out Aisha because she the Dare to Leap Academy is in the building. Shout out to Nice. I love that. I love it. Um, I want to say something about authenticity and living unapologetically because I think a lot of people, you know, I spend a lot of time on building my personal brand and putting myself out there and sharing myself. And I think from the outside people can get the um can make the assumption like, wow, like she's got it all together or like she's figured it out or like she's so bold and and like amazing and like you know that how does she do it? And I always like to show like even though you think I show up unapologetically and I'm showing up authentically, like there's still parts of me that like are nervous doing that, you know, and are like, is this gonna make a client walk away from me or come towards me, you know, like I I think about those things. So you know, so being authentic and operating in that space takes a level of like courage and bravery. So, even though you might be like on the outside looking in and we're on social media and we look at people and we think like, "Wow, they just have it all figured out and they just got it all together." Like, don't forget like they're nervous, too, and they're scared, too, and they're testing the waters, too, and and they're trying their best, like just like you. So, don't discount the way you're showing up in the world um as invaluable or insignificant. Like all of us are on our individual paths and journeys and all of us um have magic to bring to the table. Some of us have found it. Some of us are still figuring it out. Some of our magic changes, right? Again, depending on the season. Like I was way more bold when I first started. Now I've gotten a little bit more crisp and a little bit more. One of my mentors, she said, "Victoria, you know, this is how I want you to think about your brand." And shout out to Vad Avil, one of my mentors for a long time. She like, you know, Victoria, um, your brand, you need to come into the world as regal, darling. That is who you are. Regal, right? Not sexy. That's like a That's a good of you. I would say you nailed it, girl. That's a very good description. That is that is a result of her telling. Yeah, that's that empire mindset. It's like, yeah, regal, darling. that's how I need you to show up in the world. And I was like, you know, I like that. Regalness has that edge. It has that glimmer. It has that spark. You know what I mean? But there's a conserviveness to it. So, I think I'm like stepping more into my regal era. Um, but again, that comes with time, that comes with trial and error, that comes with me figuring out me and deciding how I want to show up in the world, the type of woman I want to be, the type of business I want to conduct, who I want in my community, who I want to do business with. Right? That all again, everything stems down to you taking the time and figuring out who the hell you are and why you are because that will allow you to then curate a life that is yours. Not an influencers, not a politicians, not an executives, but yours, right? And own it because it's yours. Thank you. You have schooled us and pilad wherever you are. Thank you for the suggestion. The Uh, Victoria Jenn is in her regal living area, darling. Yes. Thanks for all the love out in the out in our in our listener land. There's a lot of people out here. Hey, Corey and Aisha and Diana and everybody else who's listening. We appreciate you being here with us today. I have a couple more questions and then we're going to do rapid fire. Okay. So, what does Lati being Latina mean to you? And what's your favorite part about being Latina? Latina to me, the first word that comes to mind is spice. That's the first word. And I know some people feel like that is um like a shameful part of our Latinad. I actually think it's the most beautiful part of our Latinad because who doesn't appreciate some spice, some excitement, some joy, um something that's going to get the people going. Like who who doesn't appreciate that? I love that about being Latina. I love that about our community because we're not bland. We're vibrant. We're we're we're tasteful. We're tasty. Yeah. I was think we are tasteful. Okay. And I I love that about our our culture and and our Latin. That's great. Diana agrees. We are spicy. Yes. Um what do you hope your legacy will be?

you know, uh, a peer of mine, a business bestie asked me this question a few weeks in Atlanta cuz she was challenging me. She was challenging me. She was like, "V," like I was telling her how much I made. And she was like, "Why don't you want to make more?" And I'm like, "Well, because I'm Gucci. Like, I'm good. Like, I don't got no needs. Like, I'm good. Retirement's good. Like, everything's good." And she's like, "Yeah, but but beyond you, like why you don't want to make more money?" She kept challenging. She kept challenging me and she's like, "Well, what do you want your legacy to be? What do you want to be?" Because I don't have any children or anything like that. So, you know, a lot of people usually are building to leave something behind for their like children, right? And then when she kept pressing me, um it it it brought up my charter school. I have a all girl charter school in the South Bronx that um a mentor of mine, Shirley Rodriguez Reminesi, God bless her soul, um brought me on after I graduated from college. She put me on the executive board and I haven't left ever since. Um, and we're doing amazing. It's an incredible school, dual language school. So, the girls are learning in Spanish and English. Oh, I love it. Is it in Haven? It is not too far from M Haven. It's right off the Grand Concourse. Okay. Um, in the South Bronx. And, um, when she was asking me about the legacy piece, I was like, you know what? I think that's it. Like, I think Shirley would love for me to focus on that. And I think helping young girls become the next leader of this world and this country um is is a huge responsibility. And and and when she was talking to me, I was like that's it. That that will be the legacy piece. So continue to build out the school, continue to impact more young lives and educate them and provide them with resources and tools and access so that they um are set up for success regardless of where they come from. I love that. Victoria Jenn, I don't know if you know this about me, but I was a community school director for an elementary school in the South Bronx for three years. I did not know that. No, I know. I mean, it's it doesn't sound like it was exactly the same neighborhood, but I know the I know the community. Like, I know who Okay. I know about how how the South Bronx is and how they do. And uh please count me in for anything. If you ever need anyone to support the work that you're doing there, I would love to contribute in any way that I can. Oh, thank you so much. I girl, don't listen. One thing about me, you don't want to offer something to me because I'mma be like, "Hey, you remember?" That's fine. That's fine. I will pick up the phone. So, that's one thing you should know about me is I won't say it unless I mean it. So, I'll pick up the phone. Thank you. Bet. Let's end the main part of the interview with what advice would you have for your younger self? So, as you think about those young girls in the Bronx and maybe the young girl that you were back on the day back in the day in Queens, what advice would you have for those young people to think bigger, dream bigger, and uh experience new things. Like, don't limit your experience. Like, go outside, go to someone's house, go in environments where you're the only one. like push yourself to go outside of your comfort zone. I love that. And as someone who after 20 years in corporate, I left and I was a missioner for two years and I went I went to um South America. I lived in Coachabama, Bolivia for two years and I worked with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and that was Yeah, I did that. And I I agree with you. It's like sometimes you need to shake things up a little bit and you need to do something different. And um I always for me, you know, the experience of women of color um is very central to my purpose. And so it was like a no-brainer to go down there and work with those women. And it was so much fun. I loved One day I'll tell you about my experience going to jail down there. It was really fun. Wow. That is really cool. Yeah. All right. So now we get to some fun questions. I'm going to ask you some rapid fire. So, these are answer. All right. So, what's your go-to hype song before you a keynote or a big meeting? Something Beyonce for sure. Okay. Um, if you could have dinner with any Latina icon, past or present, who would it be? Jennifer Lopez. Oh, that's an interesting one. I could see that y'all would like come out of there with I need I need to I need to ask some questions because I bet. I bet. Yeah. All business related, I'm sure. Um what's one business tool or application that you absolutely cannot live without? Slack. Oh, interesting. I used to work for Slack. I was I was the head of equality at Slack. That was my last room. Yeah. Yeah. I love Slack. Excellent. And then if you could master instantly master any new skill, skiing, biking, jumping off a plane, anything, any new skill, what would that skill be? Just that being a fat ass.

That answer I was not expecting. I love it. All right. Well, that's a that's a skill, honey. for you to be able to control what you consume. That is a skill. I love that. That's amazing. You know, um yeah, real talk, I would love to have a conversation with you about that, too, because I actually I lost like probably 35 pounds from about two years ago. And um yeah, it was for you. Yeah, life changing maybe is a strong word, but it makes a difference. It makes a difference. And so um and the discipline to keep you know to sustain it is like that's that's where that's the hard part. Okay. That's a skill. That's the I say jokingly like but that's a skill that plays out in every facet of your life. Yep. That discipline. Right. So Amen. And I wondered if you had a question that I can answer for you. Doesn't have to be anything like super serious or hardcore. You could ask me if I prefer tones or maduros. No, let's go. Okay. You or you could get something more serious. Surface level stuff. Um, when you were younger. Okay. Where did you envision yourself being right now in your life? What's up, Mi? Are you looking for mentorship and the place to secure the big bag? Have you ever watched me here on the Banking Uncle Dura podcast and thought to yourself, you know what, I want to work with Victoria Jenn? Or maybe you thought to yourself, I want to be a part of her network of badass women and entrepreneurs. Well, guess what? You absolutely can. Join me this November, November 15th through the 16th, in the heart of New York City for my 7th annual Secure the Big Bag and Wellness Summit. Let's face it, so many of us are tired, burnt out, ready to throw in the towel, honey, and quite frankly, we want to dedicate ourselves to the soft life. But what if there was a way for us to achieve both time and financial freedom and also have a healthy, well- balanced life? What if you could secure the big bag, build a business that fuels you versus drains you, as well as build a solid network of business besties who want to support and motivate you while also centering self. This summit is the premier destination for the latest marketing, sales, and AI tools that can 10x your business while also nurturing your well-being. Learn from top experts from both business and wellness, including executives from the corporate sector, so that you can explore corporate level opportunities that can elevate your business to new heights. Ensuring you're not just prepared, but fully equipped to dominate in 2025 and beyond. This is your opportunity for your business to thrive while you do too. Head over to securethepigbag.com to check out the agenda and all the heavy hitters that will be in the building. I cannot wait to see you in New York City. Mi, it's go time. Yeah, that's a good question. I like that question. Thank you for asking. I was saying that I always felt like I needed to do something big and that something big was waiting for me. And and I will tell you, I spent about 30 years or 25 between 25 and 30 years in corporate and I knew that that was not it. Like it was like but what where's that big thing that I thought was coming? Like that where's the big thing I was promised? I don't feel it. I don't think I'm living the big thing. And I still don't know if I'm living the big thing, but I feel like I'm getting closer to it. Like I feel like there's a lot of stuff happening and unraveling and a lot of it is like very related. is about community, about community building, about the next generation, about being there for my people and other women of color. Like I just feel like a lot of these things are very related and it's like it feels like a snowball that's like just like rolling down and like gaining momentum and getting bigger and I don't know. So, we'll see where kind of things end up. I'm certainly not where I thought I was going to be. I never in a thousand years thought I would start a business. So that's the first, you know, thing that I didn't expect and, you know, it was a curveball of epic proportions and here I am 18 months later and, you know, I'm I'm leaning into it more and you know, so we'll see where things go. But I feel like I always I always thought that I was going to have a big purpose. That's that's what I would say. Like I didn't know what it was, but I was like, ah, this ain't it. This is not enough. Like I need more meat on the bone. Mhm. And so, so that's that's how I would describe it. Yeah. Yeah. I think like the big takeaway there is life be lifing. Like what you thought you were going to do before is not necessarily what you were doing now. Like it's very few people who have it figured out at five and actually like become what they thought they were going to be at five. But it doesn't matter at any age. like what you when you're 25, what you think is going to be at 35, 45 more than likely is not going to be right because you're making your pivots. You're making a U-turn here. You're making a left. Oh, you're unsure about this. Um, and to your point, get married, then you get divorced. Married, divorced. Who knows? You might be interested now in a a whole different gender. Like, you never know where your life will take. The beautiful part is just going with it. Yes. open. And as they say, like you you make a plan and then God says, "Yeah, that ain't going to happen. Here's what's going to happen. I have a bigger assignment for you." So, and let's let's go. Exactly. Well, listen, I have thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I want to make sure everybody gets out of here on time. Victoria Jenn, where can people find you? Because you're everywhere. So, where, you know, tell us where we can find you. Tell us more. give us that that um URL again for for the website for the um your event and anything else that you want to share with the audience. Sure. So the event is securethebigbag.com. So super easy to remember securethebigbag.com and then on social media you can find me victorin. Pretty much all my social handles are that. Um, and then LinkedIn, Victoria Jenn Rodriguez, and my podcast, Banking Uncle Tura. Amazing. Well, thank you again for coming and being here, being a guest on Latina's front and center. We loved having you or I loved having you. The wei is is me. I love you, the proverbial us. And yes, thank you Diana, Corey, Aisha, and everybody else who was out there today. We appreciate you being part of our community and through today. Bye, everybody. Bye. Hey guys, if you enjoyed this video, I'm pretty sure you're going to love the next one. So, make sure to click right here and tap in to the next episode.

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