WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas

Got a team member who keeps missing deadlines and making mistakes? Dealing with a colleague who seems annoyed by anything that comes out of your mouth? Last month, I did 3 speaking gigs back-to-back with different audiences: A C-Suite Retreat in Laguna Beach (fancy, right?) A session with the West Valley Warner Chamber of Commerce on teamwork cause the teamwork makes the dream works!) A private re...

“My job as a therapist is to get fired by you.” When my EMDR therapist said that, I was like, “Wait, what!?” 😳 I’ve been going to therapy since college because it was “free” with my tuition. But after almost a decade of talking about the same stuff without much change, I started noticing how my body reacted whenever I got triggered—tightness in my chest and throat, that fight-or-flight mode kicki...

I recently had the honor of sharing the stage with Chéla Gage, a Global HR Executive, speaking to HR leaders in Los Angeles about how to lead through chaos and make impactful decisions. Spoiler alert: Brave leaders ask for advice, feedback, and insights—regardless of job titles (and egos). In this podcast episode we discuss: How to inspire your team to problem solve (vs. going to you like Google)...

With the rise of layoffs in tech and finance, consumer trust in a low, many professionals and business owners are reconsidering their next steps. I share personal stories, client examples, and actionable strategies to help you make an empowered, strategic career decision. What We Cover in This Episode:  How to assess your current career and financial stability Key questions to ask yourself before...

Between news, notifications and nonstop content… Thinking about a personal brand isn’t top of mind. BUT how do we get our personal brand to stand out, while being empathetic with the chaos? This is exactly what we tackled at my Soho Works Personal Branding Panel last week. Fun fact: I got invited to this panel 6 days before the event, and invited my friend, Bernadette, to join the panel the day af...

Happy Lunar New Year! For me, 2025 started yesterday cause of the hot mess this past month. And if 2025 ain’t cuttin it in February, we have the Persian New Year on March 20. 2025, YOU got a full quarter to pull yourself together. No excuses. With everything going on in the world, how do we even market in 2025!? Here’s what’s real: We have a trust problem. So, how do we fix it? How do we even mark...

If you’re from  California, last week was an endless cycle of  FIGHT OR FLIGHT. And even if you’re not in LA, moments of crises affect us all -- it’s part of being human, we don't live in LA, we are human and unfortunately face moments of crises. This past Monday, I had a therapy session to process everything. It was ironincally perfect timing. We talked about how important it is to protect o...

2025 is in 2 days. I know -- WTH!? I know that “New Year, New You” energy is coming in strong. The social media algorithm just wants us to dive straight into goal setting, and getting cute planners. BUT. HOLD UP, AND WAIT A MINUTE. Before we spring into 2025, let’s sit with 2024 and CHILL for a second. Because let’s be real, 2024 came with lessons and a whole lotta plot twists. And I got receipts...

“I’m NOT an influencer. I don’t have a million followers.” That’s exactly how I started my talk at the Rize Credit Union Event on, “How to Get Consistent Customers.” “I don’t have a million followers. Actually, majority of you didn’t know who I was before this event. And you know what? That’s GREAT NEWS for you, because building a sustainable business doesn’t require a massive following -- and I’l...

It’s that time of year -- where we reflect and tell ourselves, “Okay, how’d we do in our goals?” And if you aren’t Beyonce or Taylor Swift your response to this question is, “Damn…I didn’t…” Hit my revenue goals Leave my job even though I talk about it all the time Save $x for a home Then anxiety settles in, and that big booming voice comes in, “What do I do now ?” Don’t worry, I get it. To be tra...

Let’s be real whether it is election season or not, we often want to AVOID touchy topics with family members during this time of year. My solution for myself? I’m leaving the country for a 2-week vacation to Australia and New Zealand this Saturday lol. Alright back to you, how can I help you lol… Well, I know a thing or two about protecting your peace post-elections as a former grassroots organize...

We’re celebrating 100 episodes for the WOC & Allies: Business & Career Realtalk Podcast. And since this podcast has the word “realtalk” in the title -- just wanted to share I was not looking cute recording this episode. I was wearing a Dodgers snuggie (a snuggie is a blanket with arm holes), a bun and PJs. This podcast has absolutely evolved from 2 years ago when I first launched it in Mar...

This was my biggest talk to date to 200+ leaders and executives in-person. It’s interesting because attendees expected an exact formula for executive presence—like you need a certain percentage of extroversion or charisma (by the way you do NOT need both). Executive presence can be learned. In this replay I share tools and frameworks on how to create your own executive presence. In this talk I rem...

I had the honor of speaking to over 200 leaders & executives on the topic of Executive Presence, and I had the pressure to also navigate tech sound issues... The room was packed – standing room only, with people sitting on the floor and lining the walls. At one point, the event staff had to close the doors and turn people away due to fire safety concerns. I shared more on how I prepared for th...

so i had a concussion 3 months ago dont worry im perfectly fine now I wanted to wait a couple of months before sharing the details. And if you think I’m going to share in this email, I won’t--  you’ll just have to listen to the episode (I know I’m a tease…) We all know that whenever post Labor Day hits everyone is always feeling SO overwhelmed. We think we can be superheroes and do everything, whe...

In the States, Labor Day which means summer is UNOFFICIALLY over… This means the real work is here --getting ready for Q4. Q4 is the busiest time of year for me and my clients where: Companies are working on hitting their numbers Holidays are coming up so getting ready to deal with triggering family members And more importantly making sure to have enough time for sanity lol So how do you get ready...

The beginning of the year, it was tough. I wasn’t hitting the revenue I needed, and my profit margins weren’t sexy at all. I had to put my ego in check and make some hard decisions and conversations. The result → I reduced 50% of my expenses and now this year I am projected to have the highest revenue, and more importantly PROFIT MARGINS! How am I celebrating this? Well, I was just with my dad for...

I’ve been noticing my clients, community and myself including feeling anxious maybe cause it’s August and the end of the year is creeping up. I’ve challenged my clients and myself -- what if anxiety can be good for us? What if we can embrace it. See…anxiety gets a bad rap. But this past summer, we’ve seen how anxiety can be (not always) good for us. Getting into a difficult conversation with a lov...

I was coaching a doctor last week who wants to open up a bigger office. I asked why this was important. She shared, “When you stop growing, you start dying.” Then she sighed, and cried saying, “But at what expense to my husband, kids and my health?” I challenged her and asked, “What if growth doesn’t mean more and bigger, externally? What if growth means changing your business to work for you inte...

I can’t believe I’m celebrating 7 years in business this Sunday, July 14! Trust me when I say I made all the mistakes and failures. There have been nights when my anxiety was high (also have you watched Inside Out 2 yet?!, crying on the floor like a starfish, debt, and dealing with difficult situations where I had to involve my lawyer. My hope for my 92nd episode is to unveil my 7 lessons in the p...

Summer is in full swing! Which means… Heat waves here in Los Angeles Already having my 1st week of vacation! I just got back from a California Road trip And still having to work cause we got bills to pay! So the question everyone has with a summer of wanting to play and rest -- how do we balance having a fun summer, while also working? Maybe you’re… Working full time and realize you are unhappy wi...

About 7 years ago (2017), I graduated from my Masters in Leadership and Management cause I was getting ready to be an Executive Director for a nonprofit. The day I graduated for some reason I wasn’t happy or excited. It finally dawned on me, I’ve been listening to what everyone else wants, and not what I want. I’ve been people pleasing doing what others want for me, but what do I want?! And I real...

Remember when millennials were called, “ Lazy and entitled ”? With the new “Quiet Quitting” and “Lazy Girl Job” trends, Gen Z is now getting stereotyped with the new, “Lazy and Entitled” title. I have clients who are Millennials and Gen Xers who always ask, “How do I work with Gen Z?” And I also have clients who are Gen Z who ask, “How do I communicate and work with these old paradigms of work? In...

Being a leader isn’t just about creating strategic decisions and hitting goals. It’s also about leading and managing your team, and learning how to manage up. It’s about the “soft skills” like teamwork, communication and conflict resolution. (On a side note, I hate that it’s called “soft skills” cause it’s these skills that are actually hard). This past month, I’ve been hearing from all my clients...

In 2017, I “failed.” I got let go from my dream job working as a Fundraiser at Pasadena City College where I raised $1.1 million in student scholarships. I was lying on my bedroom floor crying like a starfish. Unfortunately, I didn’t look as cute like Patrick from Spongebob… Despite getting let go from my dream job, it motivated me to take my part-time coaching business to full-time. To date, I’ve...