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

Do you give yourself permission to rest or are you always trying to do more? Capitalism teaches us that we should be in perpetual summer, constantly doing and producing, but Mother Nature teaches us something different: the importance of honoring our seasons of rest. Join me and Brenda Moreno as we reflect on getting in tune with our bodies and honoring our need to rest. As the trees let go of the...

Are you making the most of your life by your own definition? In this episode, dedicated to both my grandmother and my partner’s dad, I’m sharing 14 reflections on my 35th birthday on life and grief. It’s so strange to experience death and life at the same time, but experiencing the death of someone close to you can remind you how short life is and how important it is to make the most of it. It’s s...

I’m celebrating my best month in business (based on revenue) in the last 5 years! But this is not an overnight success story! So I’m sharing a look behind the scenes at the hard work that led me here: the lessons, mistakes, and what you can do to learn from my journey to take your own aligned action. The most important thing about this successful month isn’t the revenue, it’s that I was able to do...

We heal in community.  I was born into a community as a woman of color, and I love to continue that legacy by hosting events and retreats for my clients to help them find a community too.  I recently hosted a retreat for established business owners, and in this episode, I’m sharing 5 reflections from the retreat for your life and business.  These reflections came not only from me but from the othe...

The leaves are changing, Hocus Pocus 2 is out, and pumpkin spice is everywhere. We’re in full holiday mode, which means there’s an important question looming: How can you make money while enjoying the holidays? I’m ready to holiday all the way and I bet you are too, but the reality is that there are still bills to pay and holiday spending to account for.  So in this episode, I’m talking about how...

Are you able to be your most authentic self in your workplace?  Our guest in this episode, Lindsey Ingram, is sharing her experience as a woman of color in corporate America and how she learned to speak up and be listened to. She’s also sharing how she left a career that she was no longer aligned with and went on to double her salary and find more happiness.  You shouldn’t have to change who you a...

Have you ever found yourself in a moment of reinvention? I have, and it made this year a pretty tough one. Now that I’m coming out on the other side of it, I’m finally ready to talk about it with you.  I’m sharing this with you because I want you to know that if you’re experiencing a moment of reinvention, you’re not alone, and I have some actionable steps to share to help you through it.  In this...

As we enter into PSL season, what are you doing to plan for the rest of the year?  Before you try to make a plan to finish out the year, I want you to take a moment to reflect on what has and hasn’t been working this year so far. We’re always so quick to move on to the next big thing that we often forget to take time to pause, celebrate, and reflect.  I’m sharing four questions for you to reflect...

Are you holding a safe and transformative space for both yourself and others? These are known as trauma-informed spaces. Our special guest for this episode, Adria Moses, has taught me so much about creating safe spaces, so I knew I had to get her on the podcast to share her knowledge with you. Aria Moses is an entrepreneur, coach, and writer who helps powerful women tap into their intuition, overc...

If you’ve been thinking about changing careers, what’s stopping you? Is it fear of losing security? Fear of what people might think? Fear of rejection? In this episode, I’m interviewing my not-so-baby brother Daryl about his experience changing careers. He’s touching on the challenges of transitioning into a different career as a first-generation immigrant and how he successfully doubled his salar...

I want to invite you to celebrate with me in this podcast episode! What are we celebrating? Simplifying and doing less.  I’m sharing how I simplified my business so that I could do less and how you can do it too.  By the end of this episode, you will have four action items and questions to use to simplify your business by knowing more and doing less.  We’re talking about listening to your intuitio...

Coaching and therapy have both become more accepted in our society over recent years, but do you know how they differ? And do you know which one you need?  In this episode, we’re getting into the difference between therapy and coaching, how to hold ethical space as a service provider (while acknowledging that you’re not a therapist), and I’m sharing why I think therapy is more important than coach...

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve been in business for five years!  I’m here to celebrate my five years in business with you! Sure, we’re celebrating some wins, but this episode isn’t just a highlight reel. We’re going behind the scenes and getting into the mistakes, the lessons learned, and all that good stuff that goes into running a business.  At the end of the episode, I’m also sharing...

Do you know where most of your referrals come from? Referrals and renewals make up the backbone of my entire professional career. If you don’t know where your referrals are coming from, it’s probably time to sit down and figure it out so that you can send them a thank you note. Building relationships is the key to getting more referrals and renewals. We live in an increasingly online world where w...

Money. How does that word make you feel? It can be stress-inducing, especially when we’re dealing with inflation, a rise in the housing market, and a recession. We’re joined in this episode by my CFO, Katherine Pomerantz. I’m getting vulnerable about my own relationship with money and how it’s changed, and Katherine is teaching us about better money routines and mindsets. She’s also sharing the LE...

What would a sustainable summer look like to you? Last year was all about “hot girl summer”, but this year I feel like we all want a sustainable summer. Here’s what I mean by sustainable summer: being able to be present on vacation, take days off, spend time with loved ones, serve your clients, and get more ideal clients. A sustainable summer is knowing that you can do what you want when you want...

Are you performing or are you being intentional about how you show up? Throughout our lives, society has been rewarding us for being performative. As a student, you got an award for perfect attendance, and as an employee, you got a raise for working around the clock. It’s not surprising that we bring these habits into our businesses, but it’s time to unlearn these behaviors. I’m joined by Paula Sh...

Are you staying true to yourself? If that’s hard for you to answer, don’t worry. In this episode, I’m sharing the Color Your Dreams® approach to staying true to you. The pandemic has prompted us to take a look at our lives and ask ourselves if we’re staying true to ourselves at a societal level and an individual level. If you’ve been here before, you know that I believe in honoring my ancestors th...

I’m finally getting interviewed on my own podcast! This is something I’ve been wanting to do, so I was thrilled when the opportunity presented itself. My friend Amanda Walker, a podcaster and business coach, is here to interview me about my evolution to becoming the best version of myself. I’m also Interviewing Amanda about her experience so that you can hear two different ways that a business can...

Do two years of a pandemic have you feeling burnt out?  I know that I’ve been feeling burnt out, and I’ve also had to grieve the loss of someone close to me during the pandemic, which I know so many of you have too. The loss of a loved one often causes us to realign and reevaluate what’s really important in life, so let’s do a little bit of that realigning and reevaluating together.  In this episo...

Did you know there’s free money available to you? There are options like funding, grants, and loans for BIPOC business owners and allies like you and me. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own. If there are resources available to you, you should be leveraging them to grow your business and give back to your community. Big corporations do this all the time! I've partnered up with...

Are you using your numbers to inform your decisions or are you avoiding them? Numbers don't define you, but they do tell you where you’re at and what you can do to change the future. In this episode, I’m joined by my bookkeeper, Parker Stevenson, to talk about the 5 financial pitfalls you want to avoid as a business owner and the financial state of the coaching and consulting industry in 2022...

If you’re trying to add more to your business and life, what are you deleting? Saying yes to everything comes at a price. You might not realize it, but every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else in your life. Are you prioritizing what to say yes to? This episode is about how to simplify your business so that you can live the life you really want. The truth is, when you...

Have you ever been told your prices are too high? Were you tempted to lower them after a comment someone made? When you claim what is yours and know your worth, you will no longer feel the need to undervalue yourself. These are just a few of the things we’re touching on in this episode with Troy Sandidge all about mindset, marketing, and money for BIPOC business owners and allies. Troy is touching...

Do you honor your ancestors through the life you live? What I mean by that is do you take the opportunities you’ve been given to choose a life you love? In this episode, Jenny Valles and I are talking about how to do that through the 3 P's of scaling: premium pricing, pausing, and playing. Jenny is one of my Color Your Dreams Inner Circle clients and owns a marketing agency and restaurant. As...