I am honoured to introduce you to Mariela (she/her)—a marketing and leadership coach who helps women of color turn their stories into thought leadership and their voice into demand. Today she’s sharing with us how your past doesn’t have to dictate your future.

As a former corporate marketer turned entrepreneur, Mariela walked away from a 16-year career to build a million-dollar based on who she is (and now helps other WOC do the same). She’s known for selling with soul and making strategy feel like self-care.

A single mom and proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, Mariela’s been featured in Forbes, Nerdwallet, led trainings for brands like QuickBooks, and coached leaders from the United Nations to Google.

When she’s not coaching or creating, you’ll find her going on adventures with her 8-year-old daughter, leaving and listening to friends’ 10-minute voice memos like they’re podcasts, and going on Soft Girl Era girls trips solo porque lo puede hacer (simply because she can do it).

Hola Mariela, I’m so happy to have you here and to share more of what you do with our readers! I’d love to hear what first inspired you to start your business?

I climbed high enough up the corporate ladder that I started to wonder why I was fighting so hard to be part of rooms where I didn’t feel welcome or safe to be myself. Corporate also made me choose between career and single parenthood. So I created a brand that helped other WOC like me to make money and create opportunities based on who they are and their thought leadership.

That moment when you stop trying to fit in and start building something that actually reflects you—that’s freedom. And clearly, it’s paid off. What’s a recent milestone or achievement in your work that you’re most proud of?

In Q1, I had a six figure launch and was featured in Forbes!

Vamossss Mariela! Visibility, recognition, and abundance—on your own terms. I can imagine part of that comes from how you do things differently—how do you differentiate yourself in your industry?

I am the only business coach I know whose actual processes account for the lived experiences of First Gen individuals. It’s one thing to tell someone how to be or to coach someone towards a behavior, and it’s another to validate the original source of the challenge as a systemic issue so it can be released. 

My coaching approach rebuilds the specific skills and identities required to (1) go from individual contributor to organizational leader and (2) reach multiple six figures in business year after year even if nothing in your history set you up for this.

That kind of approach—one that actually sees people for all of who they are—is rare. And it really challenges the idea of what coaching is “supposed” to look like. What’s a misconception people have about your field, and how do you challenge it?

That business coaches are manipulative and will say anything to sell. I validate that yes this does happen, and we need to use discernment and look for mentors who do not just sell wins but also the processes and failures behind them. If it sounds too good to be true and they’re not telling you how and there’s no vulnerability or sense of transparency, it’s probably too good to be true.

We definitely need more of that transparency in the online service business world. What advice would you give to someone from a similar background looking to break into your industry?

Look for all the skills you already have, not just “hard skills” like what you’d put on your resume. But also, what “soft skills” or gifts would people say you have? What problems might both of these sets of skills solve? Also, surround yourself with people who are either doing what you want to do or trying to. Do not ask people for advice on issues they are not qualified to speak on. Go find your likeminded entrepreneur community, one introduction at a time. Sharing your story and being vulnerable helps!

Yes to that—there are a lot of intangible skills that are more valuable than we know! It’s the little things that end up making the most impact on our journey to be successful. 

As you know, success isn’t only measured in income. How do you measure success beyond financial growth?

• What my clients and community say about how I impacted them. 
• The quality and depth of my closest relationships/friendships. 
• How present I can be in the moments where I am not working. 
• Am I spending my days similar to how I would if I didn’t need the money?

That is so beautiful—and I know it’s not always easy to hold onto that. Can you share a moment when you almost gave up, and what kept you going?

Yes. I spent most of 2024 in ADHD burnout and depression. I stopped selling. My income dipped.

I felt like another version of me had built my successful life and I was just living in her condo.

What kept me going is that I know everything is solvable if you want it to be, and that it had nothing to do with how good I was at my job. I just needed to figure out how to solve what got me here—which I did. And I came back to create a 6 figure launch and a Forbes feature immediately after.

That resilience? That ability to pause, reflect, and rise again? I bet that’s why your community trusts you so deeply. Speaking of, what role does community play in your work?

My community is my north star when it comes to my mission and my messaging. My job as a coach is to love daughters of immigrants and let that guide my marketing, my offers, and the way I coach.

I often tell my clients that their values get to act like a guiding compass—it sounds like you’re doing just that! What’s a defining moment in your life that shaped your career or business?

When I found myself in an unexpected divorce while 6 weeks pregnant and living in London and had to move back to live with my parents in California, get on food stamps and start all over. Also, I would have been laid off during the pandemic had I not handed in my notice 2 days before. It taught me that I am the creator of my own financial security.

That reminder—I create my own security—hits so hard, especially for those of us who’ve had to be our own backup plan since day one. What personal experiences influenced your mission and the impact you want to make?

Being the eldest daughter of Mexican immigrants and having parents who worried about money all the time. I felt like I needed to worry with them, to be a little adult, and to put other people’s worries and needs before my own. 

As a coach I know my clients do not default to letting people support them—even me, once they’ve hired me. I know they are used to trying to do it all, be hypervigilant, and wear a coat of armor. This is why I not only help them feel safe to be seen and who they are, I help them in that process of self discovery too.

This is the heart of it: visibility as safety, leadership as healing. And if you could whisper something back to your younger self in those early days, what would you say to little Mariela? 

Your relationship with yourself is the longest one you’ll ever have and your most important one. The way you feel about yourself attracts more of the same. If you don’t act like you love yourself, it makes it easier for others to treat you poorly too.

That is so beautiful. I’m curious—who helped guide you along the way? Who are the mentors or role models that have influenced your journey?

Funny enough—the nurse/social worker I was paired up with during my pregnancy (I was emotional high risk) wound up being like my first coach. She’s the first one who helped me prioritize myself outside of the role I play for other people. Also, my second business coach who I still work with today as well as my life coach and my somatic coaches I worked with for one year each.

I love that—how mentorship shows up in both formal and unexpected ways. And now, you get to be that person for others. How does your background inform the work you do today?

Bringing a culturally aware lens to daughters of immigrants coaching.

It’s a lens that changes everything—how we show up, how we hold space, how we lead. And it’s creating a ripple effect. What legacy do you hope to leave behind through your work?

That daughters of immigrants feel safer to be themselves, build brands around who they are, and make more money because of it.

Do you remember a moment when you felt that legacy starting to come to life? Can you share a story of a time when you felt truly seen or validated in your work?

When my clients all surprised me with compliments on the last day of my Mexico City mastermind retreat and everyone cried, especially me. 

As well as when one of my first clients from 2020 recently asked me to officiate her wedding this summer because she said I helped her become the person she is today.

Okay, I’m crying. That is what it means to change someone’s life—on and off the stage.

Let’s shift the conversation a little bit. What’s one fun fact about you that most people don’t know?

I once walked the runway at London Fashion Week as a startup co-founder and also, I was a startup co-founder of a dating app!

Wait WHAT?! I love this. Multipassionate, multifaceted, and clearly always making bold moves. How do you recharge when you’re feeling creatively or professionally drained?

I lay in the park on the grass and people watch.

Simple, grounding, and absolutely essential for creative minds. What’s your signature message or framework that you share in your talks?

I often talk about belief bookmarking which is creating evidence in visual and audio form to help anchor in new evidence that solidifies that you can trust yourself and the person you’re becoming.

That concept is so juicy. It’s like building your own receipts that fuel your resilience. 

When it comes to sharing all of your knowledge and perspectives on a stage, how do you engage an audience and keep them captivated during your presentations?

I always start with a story that grips them.

You’re a storyteller at heart—and it shows. If event organizers were looking for their next speaker, why should they book you?

I’m an incredible storyteller and have lived multiple lifetimes in one, but I also make people feel seen from their seats no matter how big the audience is.

Thank you so much for sharing more of your journey and perspectives with us, Mariela. To wrap things up, I’d love to ask you 3 rapid-fire questions.

What does success mean to you on a personal level?

Not wanting to change anything about my life even if I have goals.

What’s an exciting project you’re currently working on? 

I’m planning a  retreat in Puerto Vallarta for established WOC entrepreneurs in June!

If you could share one message with the world from a stage, what would it be?

Love who you are before the world told you who to be.

Connect With Mariela

Website | Instagram | Podcast

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