I’ve watched women turn from shy caterpillars into beautiful butterflies through the Courage Driven Latina program. That definitely describes this week’s guest, who went from being a “total money nerd” to a money coach with her own business, podcast, and a feature in Entrepreneur magazine. 

Sunem Tovar, a Latina Money Coach, is passionate about empowering women of color and people of color to get their money right. Being the only Latina in her Master in Finance program led Sunem to become increasingly frustrated with how inaccessible wealth building is for communities of color, especially for women and femmes of color. Sunem has been able to channel this frustration by building wealth herself as a woman of color and by also educating her family on how to build wealth. Now, she’s committed to helping other women of color build strong financial foundations.

In this week’s episode, Sunem talks about her experience, working through the Courage Driven Latina project and taking courageous action to improve her life. She talks about getting over her imposter syndrome, negotiating for better working conditions at her job, and eventually starting her own money-coaching business with her brother. Check out The Money Noticias Podcast here. 

Check out the Courage Driven Latina program to find out how you can take courageous action in your life! 

Connect with Sunem:
Website: https://moneynoticiaspodcast.com/coaching
Instagram @moneynoticiaspodcast

Podcast: The Money Noticias Podcast

Follow Erika on:
Instagram @‌theerikacruz
TikTok @‌theerikacruz
LinkedIn

Website:
http://www.theerikacruz.com

How to work with Erika:
Join the waitlist for Courage Driven Latina here.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

Episode Transcript:

Erika: Hi and welcome back to Ch*ngona Revolution Podcast!

I am your host, Erika Cruz. I’m a Latina coach and speaker, and on this show, we teach you how to become your most Ch*ngona, badass, and most courageous self. And on the theme of courage, I have an amazing guest who is one of my former clients. And it’s, I feel like when I met this individual. It was like a little caterpillar was there, and then by the time she left, she was like a full blown butterfly, and now she’s just, like, thriving.

She has, like, a butterfly empire. Sunem? Welcome to Chingona Revolution. Can you tell us who you are and 

Sunem: what you do? Yeah, thank you so much for having me. so my name is Sunem. I am a first-gen Latina. I am an introvert and I work remotely, but I am in my soft grow era, my rest grow era. Love it. But I’m also a financial educator.

podcaster who helps other first gen, take control of their finances and use money to live life on their own terms. 

Erika: Love it. Damn. Did you ever think, what was it, two years ago that we met and started working together? Did you think that you would be sitting here right now giving us that introduction?

No, 

Sunem: I, I wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t even know what to say because I was so like shy back then because I am an introvert and While, like, a lot of people think that being an introvert means that you don’t have things to say, we do. We’re just shy. but yeah, like, it has really taken me a lot of courage to be here and even to say yes to you.

And I don’t think I would have said that two years ago. Yeah. 

Erika: Yeah. So we are here in person in a studio in Nashville, which is your hometown and, or where you live. I don’t know if it’s your hometown. I actually don’t know. 

Sunem: I mean, kind of. I grew up in LA, but relocated to Nashville when I was 14. That’s 

Erika: right.

I remember this now. I remember this. Yeah. So we, this is a very different experience than just saying yes to an audio only podcast or even a video podcast where you are in your home and in your space. We’re in a space where, I mean, we don’t really even know where we are. I mean, I don’t know where I am.

Right. So, Sunim, I want to talk about when we first crossed paths, you had certain beliefs and certain mindsets. Tell us what 

Sunem: those were. Yeah. So before joining, Courage Driven Latina, I had a lot of imposter syndrome and a lot of, I didn’t trust myself because I remember that I was. starting my coaching business with my brother.

And I really didn’t, I was like, who am I to be teaching people how to manage their money? Which was crazy because I literally have a master’s in finance. 

Erika: I was going to be like, who are you? Please tell us. 

Sunem: And I, have like learn how to invest myself. Like I read so much personal finance books and this is even the reason why I took myself to get a master’s degree in finance because I was like, I feel like I need to learn more.

but they didn’t really teach me this in school. It was so different. but yeah, so I taught myself how to invest, I built wealth, and I like taught all my family how to invest. In fact, like all of them are investing. And so I was like, I don’t know why I had that belief, but I really did have that belief when I joined your, before joining your program.

Erika: Okay. So you tell me about, I want to go back to this moment where, where to that, what you just said, that you have helped your entire family. to invest. You’ve helped them begin investing. What was that like? Are you the eldest daughter? 

Sunem: No, I’m not. So I’m actually one of the, I’m the youngest daughter because my sister, she’s the eldest.

me and my brother who started this business, we’re the youngest, which is weird. Yeah. But because like, I always liked learning about numbers. Like I was really good at math. And so when I I started, like, learning about personal finance because I was in debt, so that’s what I started learning because I remember coming out of college and, like, getting student loans, even though I didn’t really need them because I did get a full ride to college, but I saw my older brothers, like, getting student loans to live, like, their life, and so I was like, I think I need to do that too, and so I came out of school with, like, 16, 000 of student So, yeah.

And then also like right away purchase a car because that’s what you’re supposed to do after like you find a job You’re like, okay buy yourself a brand new car That’s what my family was telling me and so I had 42, 000 of debt and during this time I wasn’t really making a lot of money because I I went to school and got a psychology degree and unfortunately that does not make you a lot of money even though it should yeah, but I Quickly realized that I was like I’m making so much and all my money was going to like paying off debt And so I was like something needs to change and so I started getting into personal finance.

I became debt free like in the end of 2019, but then I learned about like investing and the power of investing and building wealth, especially like as a first gen, like, you know, we’re not taught this. And so I started like investing and I built like six figures in 2020. and then from there on, like, I, taught my family because you know how like in our community we don’t really talk about money.

It’s like taboo. 

Erika: Yeah, how was money discussed in your home growing up? 

Sunem: So we didn’t, like the only thing I knew is like it’s, there’s not enough. Like we don’t have that. You can’t ask us for stuff because we don’t have that. And so, I, like, started talking to my siblings about them, like, about money. I would show them, like, my net worth.

I’m like, Oh, look, I’ve been investing, this is how much money I have. And my family before that, they didn’t really take me seriously. They’re like, Oh, whatever. She’s just going on and on about, 

Erika: like, This is why I asked that question because I had a feeling that you had to consistently advocate for yourself.

So this is to your point, even if you’re introverted, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have something important to say or something valuable to bring to the table. So you then took it into your own hands and were like, Okay, well. I know this can help my family, but they have to kind of see it to believe it.

So you began to show them your portfolio. 

Sunem: Yes. So I showed them my portfolio and they’re like, Oh, how do you do it? And I was like, well, I just started investing and I was consistent and that’s how I was able to build wealth. And then after showing them my portfolio, like they’re like, Oh, can you teach me?

And so I was like, yeah, I can teach you because I like, I’m a big time money nerd. I love talking about this stuff. Even though I’m an introvert, that’s the only topic like you won’t get me to shut up about. I love it. And so I was like, I taught them how to invest. And now like, my brother who I have a business with, he has over six figures invested in the stock market.

Our older brother has six figures. My older sister just reached six figures. And so, yeah, it’s amazing. To build wealth, not only for yourself, but like, you know, as Latinos, like we’re really community oriented. So like building wealth as a family and knowing that, well, you know, all of you guys are building wealth together.

It’s amazing. 

Erika: Yes. Oh my gosh. I love it. You’re, you’re changing that money narrative. So now in your household or within your family dynamics, the narrative before was there’s not enough. What’s the narrative now? 

Sunem: Yeah. Now the narrative is like, okay, we have this wealth. How can we change our life? For, to live a life that we like now.

And that’s why, like, this is what we teach to our clients too, like, money is so powerful because we do live under a capitalistic society where money controls everything, money gives you so much options. So, like, the more wealth you build, the more options you’re giving yourself, not only in your career, but also in your life, like where you want to live, what you want to do, like how long you want to travel, how long you want to work.

So all of that. 

Erika: Yes. Oh man, I couldn’t agree more. At what point did, in this money journey, because I feel like we went through your money story, but at what point did our paths 

Sunem: cross? Yeah. So our paths crossed like in, I think I attended, an event by that Yo Quiero Dinero, her name is, the host of Yo Quiero Dinero podcast, Denise, she did an event with you, Manifiesta, and so I I attended that one because I really liked her podcast.

And so I remember that I, Listen to your story and it was in 2021. I was, I had already reached a six figure net worth. I was actually asking myself so many questions during this time because in 2020, I went through a really bad anxiety episode because I do suffer from anxiety disorder and so I normally like I’m able to manage it because of the pandemic and because I was hustling so much in 2019 trying to get my masters.

working full time and having a side hustle. I really went through it. And so in 2021 when I finally felt better, I was like asking myself, like, how can I change my life for the better? And so I really found your story so inspirational because you said like, you don’t have to live the way your family wants you to live.

You can live a different life. You can be courageous. And so I was like, Oh, I want to invest in the program, but I still was like, you 

Erika: had money thoughts about 

Sunem: it. So I had a lot of money scarcity issues because like a child of immigrants, sometimes we tend to have like money wounds like that can develop like money scarcity, which can be like, you either become an overspender because your parents didn’t give you all this materialistic thing.

So now you want to buy them yourself. Or you can become a hoarder, you think like your money’s going to go away. And so you just you just invest or, or like save all your money, which is what I was doing. And so even though I had the money to invest in your core, like in your program, like I felt like I didn’t.

And so I really have to work through this to be able to say like, no, like. I need to invest in myself. And I think this was the first time that I like literally invested in myself besides therapy because you know, for me, therapy was a need. I really needed it. and I really had to let go of this DIY mindset that a lot of us develop because we’re really not modeled to invest in ourselves.

Like, right. Our parents are in survival mode. They don’t have the means to invest in themselves. And so they’re like, no, I’m going to learn it and do it myself. And we’re taught this like, yeah. Because our parents didn’t have the means but we’re different like we have the means our parents came here and now they want us to thrive and in order to do that you need to invest in yourself, which I didn’t know that now but now I’m a big believer in investing yourself.

And so when I went through this mindset like I think in 2022, I decided to finally do it. And so that’s when our. Like, I think it was, like, the beginning of 

Erika: 2022. Yes. I believe so. It was spring of 2022, because I was looking at your entry survey before we did this interview, and it was spring 2022. So I want to go back to something that you mentioned earlier, and then we’ll come back to when our paths crossed.

You talked about having imposter syndrome, and for those of you who are listening and maybe have never heard the term imposter syndrome or you don’t know exactly what it means, it means feeling self doubt or inadequacy. Despite having evidence of success, right? So this could be like getting promoted at your job, but then doubting that you deserve the promotion, even though your name’s on the promotion.

Or for you, having your master’s degree, but still doubting if you can help people. And I just think it’s so interesting that you were already coaching your family members. Like they were your first clients, right? And you had already started your side hustle with your brother, which at the time was very different.

We’ll talk about the evolution of that as well. And then when you come into the program, you, one of the questions that I had asked you is what is it that you are looking for, for support with? And you said, self doubt has prevented me from trying new things such as applying for new jobs, making friends, or going all in on, on my business.

So that is how Sunem came into the program. Tell me what happened there. What happened with the imposter syndrome that you felt? What happened with your business? What just tell us what happened. 

Sunem: Yeah. So I remember in 2021, I was like, I don’t really like my life. And I realized that. I really wanted to change jobs because I’m like, I think I hate my job.

I don’t like it. And then I started like looking on online because something about me was that I always wanted to travel. And so I was like, I want a remote job because I know it’s going to allow me to travel. And so I started like looking for remote jobs. And then I was like, wait a minute, what if I like negotiate with my employer to be able to work remotely?

And so, I did it. I did it first of all, because I did have six figures invested in the stock market, which obviously gives you like some sort of confidence. I have a financial foundation that like, you know, I’m good. And I knew that I had an emergency fund too, that like, if they said no, it’s okay, I can just work a few months and then like quit and then look for a different job.

And so I was like, okay, I’m gonna do it. But I was scared because nobody had ever worked remotely at my company. I was the first one. Oh my goodness. And so I came, they came back and they’re like, yeah, you can do it. and I was so happy. But when I joined your program, like I had just started working remotely.

So I still felt like I hated my job. I was like, I don’t think I like my job. And I realized that, no, it was just like the office dynamics that I hated, because I didn’t like to drive 40 minutes to my job and then 40 minutes back and then be in an office. Where you’re an 

Erika: introvert and you don’t want to have small talk with people.

Sunem: Exactly. And so when I started working remotely after a while, I was like, Oh, I love this. Like I can. Travel whenever I want to I can be in a different city tomorrow And that was really helpful in like helping me know that I do like I just like remote work And yeah, I want moving forward but also like When I applied to your program it was because I really wanted community to not only working on my mindset But because I did grow up in Nashville, and now Nashville’s like a bigger city, but back then it was like a really small city.

There was not a lot of Latinas. I think I was like the only Latinas in all my high school classes. Oh my goodness. Because there was Latinas, but like, not as much as say there are now. Mm hmm. and so. I was like, when I moved to Nashville, I became extra introverted because when I was in LA, I knew, I had already made friends, I went to a middle school that, that also was a high school, so I was like, I’m gonna be friends with them until I graduate, and then I moved here, and so that really, like, impacted me, and, And then I was like, I really want to build a community.

Yeah. And so that’s why I joined Curse Journal Latina. But it took me a minute because I’m like, it’s group coaching. I don’t know if I’m going to be comfortable, like talking to strangers on the internet. 

Erika: And that’s a valid concern. 

Sunem: Yeah. So what happened? But I joined and it’s amazing. Like, it was amazing.

I loved it so much. I was able to make so many new friends and we like, I made a friend. through like the program, which we even traveled together. every time like I go to events, I meet someone from the program and we connect all the time because like Like, people who are part of, like, CurseDrivenLatina, like, we have the same values.

Yeah. And so it’s really easy to make friends with them. And so I really like that, and I really feel like now I have friends everywhere. Like, I have friends in California, I have friends in New York City, I have friends in Texas because of the program. 

Erika: I hope you are enjoying this incredible episode with Sunim. I wanted to hop on and remind you that we have Courage Week going on. Courage Week is a week of courage coaching where you can come and see what it’s like to be coached by me, Erica, as well as meet other people who are also looking to build courage in their lives.

It is a four day event. It’s happening February 12th, which is a Monday, all the way through Thursday. February 15th. It’s happening from 3 to 4 p. m pacific time every day of those four days. I’m so excited about Courage Week because it is an opportunity for you to see what it’s like to be coached by me, but it’s also an opportunity to see what it’s like to be inside of a program like Courage Driven Latina.

The new updated videos and curriculum for Courage Driven Latina, I’m just so incredibly excited about them because now we have four different courage project paths that you can take. The first one is confidence. The second one is content creation. The third one is career. And the last one is Chingona CEO.

So 

Every day of courage week, there will be a training focused on a courage project path. So on Monday, we’re talking about confidence. On Tuesday, we’re talking about content creation. On Wednesday, we’re talking about career. And on Thursday, we are talking about Chingona CEO. I invite you to attend live.

Every single day, every day that you can make it because after these trainings, we are going to go into general courage coaching so you could come and get coached on anything that you’re struggling with. Courage Week is completely free.

It is sponsored by my group program, Courage Driven Latina, and the doors also open for Courage Driven Latina the first day of Courage Week. So when you come to Courage Week and then sign up for Courage Driven Latina, we have a special bonus. We actually have two special bonuses, so make sure that you come on the first day so you can find out what those bonuses are because I don’t want you to miss out.

Also, last but not least, Sunem did tell me that if you have any questions about the program, about her experience inside of Courage Driven Latina, reach out to her. Her info is down below in the show notes, so you can always ask her any questions that you may have. And you’re always welcome to book a consult call with me if you’d like, or you can secure your spot once we open doors.

So just a quick reminder, Courage Week is Monday, February 12th through Thursday. February 15th, and on the 12th, the first day of Courage Week, we’re opening the doors for Courage Driven Latina. This program is in high demand. We have over a thousand people on the waitlist, so do not delay. If this is something that you want to do, ensure that you join Courage Week.

Ask any questions that you may have, and I cannot wait to work with you. 

The doors for Courage Driven Latina do close on February 21st. So don’t wait. If you know this is something that you want to do, I invite you to lead with courage, attend Courage Week, and sign up for the program.

Yeah, yeah, I feel the same way. I mean, even though you’re all my clients, it doesn’t matter what city I’m in.

Somebody I know is there and it’s almost like we all speak this common language. We just get each other. And what I have found is that sometimes people in the program get to know you on such a deep level. Even more than your childhood friends, even more than some of your family members, because our family members see us for who we were when we were kids.

But the people that you meet inside of Courage Driven Latina get to meet you for who you really are and who you really want to become. Because we’re all working towards So we’re going to be talking about the different path instead of like what we should do, we’re actually a big part of the program is identifying what do you want to do?

Right? So when, and for context, right, this it’s been almost two years since you’ve been in the program. So tell us, what did you work on while you were in the program? I don’t think we called it a courage project at the time. We didn’t have that language for it, but you worked on a few different things. So what, what was your courage 

Sunem: project?

Yeah, I think my courage project was showing up more on social media because I had I started the business with my brother about, money coaching and I was really scared to show up on social media and I think that was what I was working on and also like giving more like, workshops and stuff and also charging people.

Oh, I remember this conversation. It was really scary. I was like, I don’t know if I want to charge people, I think I should give this information for free. but yeah, that was some, some of the things that I was working on. And it was basically like for content creation. but yeah, I. I think now I show up on social media.

I don’t really get that shy anymore. I even have a podcast. 

Erika: You have a podcast. What’s the name of the podcast? 

Sunem: Yeah. People can follow. The podcast is called Money Noticias Podcast. 

Erika: Amazing. Amazing. So before we start, we’ll put the link to the podcast down below in the show notes, but before we started recording, I was showing Sunem the updated curriculum for Courage Driven Latina as well as the Courage Project Paths.

So if you’re not familiar, inside of Courage Driven Latina, it is, inside of Courage Driven Latina, we work on something called a Courage Project, which is something that has to scare you. And It has to excite you and it has to make the world a better place. So those are the three regulations, the three rules for the Courage Project.

And then we now have implemented different paths so people can work on a confidence path. People can work on a content creation path. People can work on a career path and then on a Chingona CEO path. And as I look at Sunem’s journey, you were in the program for three months. The program’s now 12 months.

You were in it for three months. And as I look at your journey, you pretty much executed all of the paths. You worked on your confidence. You worked on changing your thoughts about your job. You worked on showing up on social media and then ultimately becoming a CEO of your side hustle. And then, you also, because you like use the courage cycle, which is Gain clarity, make a decision, take brave action, reflect and revise.

You gained so much clarity on what it is that you want to do now. So when we were talking earlier, you mentioned you thought that the money coaching was going to be your full time thing, but now what is it that, that you want? Like what changed? Yeah. 

Sunem: So I really wanted my money coaching to be my full time job because I thought that I hated my job, but then like it turned out I don’t.

And now I just really like, like, it’s a side hustle because I get to be creative here and like help people, which I really love. But I also get to like have my job, which gives me so much flexibility and it’s going to let me retire at 45. Amazing. And I, like I said, in the beginning, I’m limiting myself.

grow era, meaning that I am like resting more, doing things that I really love right now. and that means like saying no to a lot of the hustle things because I did hustle a lot in 2019 and I did hustle to build my wealth. And I’m not going to say that like if you grew up in poverty, like sometimes that has to happen because you know, we don’t have, we don’t come from generational wealth, but once you have built wealth, like you can ask yourself, like, what are things that.

I would not want to do anymore. And so that’s what I’m asking myself now. And yeah, I really, I really love my job, my job and my life right now. How 

Erika: beautiful to be able to say, I love my life right now. Because at the beginning of the episode, you said you realized that you didn’t like your life and we’re in control of our life, right?

So like we can change it to. A place where that we appreciate and enjoy so tell us a little bit about what were some of the like results that you got from being in the program like how did you go from like oh man, I’m not sure if I have the money for this to investing in it and then what came from it.

Sunem: Yeah, so I feel like I really got a lot of confidence, from joining the program because we really worked a lot on mindset, which was my biggest concern, in my opinion, and like Erica was really great at coaching us, and so I realized So for a long time I thought being confident meant that you show up and you’re not nervous or scared.

But then in the program I realized that confidence just means that you do things even though you’re scared. Like you’re scared to do it, but that does not stop you from doing it. And like confidence is like a muscle, like the more you do it, the better you get. And so that’s what I’ve learned and now I’m like One of my, I know in our, the program we talked about affirmations and one of the affirmations that I always have and every time I’m going to do something that scares me so much, I put it, it’s like I trust myself and I leave, lead my life with courage.

And so for me that has been really life changing because I didn’t think I would be like on this podcast. I didn’t think I would be doing my own podcast. I didn’t even think I would be able to Talked to reporters because we were also like on Business Insider, Entrepreneur, Motley Fool, which is a big,financial, personal finance industry media.

and I didn’t think I was going to say yes to those because I was so scared and really like nervous about talking, but then because of the program, I realized that I can trust myself. Like I have everything that I need to be successful. You 

Erika: do. And you’re doing it. So tell us, 

Sunem: I 

Erika: want to talk to you about ROI. Obviously, you know, we’re investing in the stock market gives you, an ROI. There’s, what is that called when it keeps compound interest? Yes. Compound interest. Thank you. And, obviously we, well, those people who invest or are familiar with. the stock market or just finance in general, are aware of like how the sooner you do something, the better it is, including investing.

But I want to talk about investing in yourself and how sometimes we can delay it. And we could be like, whenever you were having the money mindset stuff, maybe you had the thought, Oh, I’m going to wait till next time, or I’m going to wait until next time. So my question for you is what advice do you have for people who want to invest in and maybe they just keep delaying it.

with the context of compound 

Sunem: interest. Yeah, yeah, I think you should definitely do it. If you’re already thinking about it, that means that you, there’s something in your mind that’s really wanting you to do it. maybe the universe talking to you. You should listen to it because like it really does.

Pay off. Like it pays off dividends if we’re going to No, I 

Erika: love it. Yeah. Use all the terminology. 

Sunem: Yeah. it really does because like, I know a lot of us we’re like, oh, I’m just gonna wait a different, another year into having enough money or all of this. But like, the longer we wait, like the more harm we’re doing to ourselves because not only are we still living with that mindset, but like you said, like we’re not getting comp like compound return on our investments.

And, and also when you’re invested in yourself, like you reach your goals of. faster than if you do it on your own, because I realized that like, if I had tried to do all of this on myself by myself, I would not be here right now. I would still be working on myself. And like, for example, like some of my clients who are I’m teaching how to invest, like, if they go on and do it by themselves, they’re going to I have so much headaches because they’re like, I don’t understand this terminology, like, I wish someone could, like, help me, but when they invest in themselves through me, like, I’m able to teach them how to do everything in 90 minutes, and they come out being an investor.

And so the same thing with, like, Like, your program, like, if I had waited, yeah, it would have been 

Erika: horrible. If you, well, if you had waited, not only, you know, the confidence and, you know, the, like you wouldn’t have let into courage, but maybe stayed in your comfort zone a little longer, but Think about all the people’s lives that you wouldn’t have changed by being in the program, right?

That’s why the courage project is it has to scare you it has to excite you and it has to make the world a better Place and even if you’re just working on yourself I feel like that’s making the world a better place But specifically for you that you were a money coach and you had your side hustle the longer you waited The people that you were serving weren’t gonna get you because you weren’t offering your services, right?

And you weren’t, and I remember the, the money conversation. And whenever I followed up with you, I was like, Oh my gosh, you raised your prices, right? And you were like, Oh, we are, that’s our old rate. We raised them twice already. I don’t even want to know what the rate is now. No, I’m just kidding. No, we, the, but really like people, when people pay money, they pay attention.

Right. And we are literally the best investment. So I feel like I went in a circle there. Point is that if you wouldn’t have taken Action to do the thing that was scaring you, you wouldn’t have been able to support and serve the people who you’re serving now. 

Sunem: Yeah, that is so true. And so like, if you’re waiting for it to invest in yourself, I say go ahead.

Like I said, like I had so much drama, I wish I can go back and tell myself like, it’s okay, just do it. I promise you that investing in yourself is always 100 percent positive because it really does pay off in the long term and it really does return a lot because like now, even like I’m not in your program, like I still use the Courage Framework and I’m like, okay, I’m This is scaring me, but I’m still going to do it because I’m doing something courageous with myself.

Erika: Yeah, exactly. Thank you for sharing that. I also want to just like be a little vulnerable where sometimes we want things to be perfect, but I think this conversation is evidence that even if it’s not perfect, it’s not perfect. people can still get results from, from working with you, right? And this is, it’s whether you run a business or not, just in general, sometimes we want to wait until we’re ready or we want to wait for things to be perfect.

But when Sunem was in the program, it was a three month program. There was like hardly any videos. There was no courage project plan. There wasn’t like the courage cycle. I mean, now there’s so many tools to support people and the program’s four times longer. And you were in it when it was like, I mean, I was just showing you the concept that we have inside of Courage Driven Latina of the ghetto first draft.

And I feel like you were in the ghetto first draft of Courage Driven Latina and you still like got so many results from it, right? So like we stop ourselves because we want things to be perfect when nothing is ever perfect, right? Perfection is an unattainable, perfection is an opinion. It’s unattainable because it’s not real.

Yeah. 

Sunem: That is so true. Yeah, we want to be perfect on everything. I remember I also wanted to be perfect and I was like, I can’t show up until I’m 100 percent confident. But like, you know, we talked about like confidence. It’s just doing it again and 

Erika: again. Exactly. And you don’t get confident until you’re doing it.

Right. So it’s like a chicken and egg thing. Like you want to wait until you’re confident to do it. But like you get confident through doing it. Yes. 

Sunem: Yes, for sure. 

Erika: Yes. So, what advice do you have for our community just in general with like, you’re, you’re this thought leader in the money space. And I’m just curious, what, what message do you have for people like us who are first gen who are the people who are changing their money mindset, the people who are learning to invest and maybe feel super inadequate whenever we open those books that aren’t written for us.

What message do you have for them? Yeah. 

Sunem: I would say. I would say. become part of a community and it doesn’t have to be like joining a program like I mean, I would say go for it but if you don’t want to you can Join a community like on social media like listening to podcasts but I feel like joining a community really expands your mindset because you’re like, oh I see people doing things that I want to do, but I never had that modeled for myself.

Yes. And so like the more you’re in community, like the more you have the courage to pursue things that you didn’t think. And so like the more, like also like we’re a big believers in like building wealth as a community because what’s the point of being wealthy? but having your community not be wealthy with you, I feel like that would be boring because like if I want to go travel somewhere and like my family can’t travel or my friends can’t travel with me, I’m going to be out there solita.

I mean, actually I do like traveling. You 

Erika: do like traveling. Yeah. 

Sunem: But you know, once in a while, like for example, recently, like Uh, me and my siblings, we went to Cancun to an all inclusive resort, and it was really amazing because all of us were able to do that. Yeah. And so we didn’t feel bad that like, oh, one of our siblings can’t afford it.

Right. and so it’s really nice. So I would suggest to like, definitely build a community because it’s really powerful. And like I said, the more people you have surrounding you, the more ideas you, you can see, the more like, You’re going to 

Erika: learn from them. Yeah. And I think sometimes we look for the people around us for validation, but when they don’t understand where we’re going, they can’t validate us.

Right. So that’s why I think communities like Courage Driven Latina or like your podcast or like so many others out there, it’s important because, nobody in Courage Driven Latina thought you were crazy for wanting to be a money coach, right? Like everybody believed in you so much. Yeah. 

Sunem: And it’s funny because they believe in.

It’s like more than we believe in ourselves, because I remember when I was talking to, some people that I became friends with, they’re like, oh, we believe in you. I was like, well, I don’t know if I believe in myself, but like them, like cheering you on, like celebrating your wins. Yeah. Is really powerful which actually leads me another thing would be like celebrate your wins Like I was so not into celebrating my wins at all Like I would be like, okay I did this check move on to the next thing because like our parents didn’t teach us that they’re like, okay you got ace Okay.

Well, you have to get ace again Yeah, and so like I it wasn’t into I was into a community where people started celebrating me and I was like this It just feels a little weird, but I should do that. And so I started to celebrate myself every time I achieve like a financial milestone or like a milestone in my business or something like that or in life.

Like I celebrate myself. And so that has been really amazing and powerful. Yes. 

Erika: Oh man, I love that so much. This is why inside of the Courage Project Plan, which now we have a little guide for for folks inside the program. the last section is When my program, when my project is done, here’s how I will celebrate because it’s so important to celebrate.

Yeah, you’re right. And it’s, I think we just come from a culture where it’s all so hustle and it’s like, Oh, get to the next thing. Right. And it’s, we’re just moving on to the next thing without taking time to appreciate how far we’ve come. And then that’s why we feel unfulfilled as well. But when you get in the habit of celebrating your wins, you find more things to celebrate.

And we know that just gratitude in general helps with our mood. And whenever our mood is more positive, our actions are more intentional. And then our results that we create are what we want to create. 

 So somebody who applied to Courage Driven Latina said, I’m struggling with who I am, where I am in my life. And if I have anything to offer, did you feel this way whenever you were starting? 

Sunem: Yes, I did. I felt, I definitely felt that way. I was like, I don’t know if my life is interesting enough. I don’t know if what I know is going to help.

People. but it does, like, sharing your story is so important because like, so important people are going to resonate with you. They’re, you’re, you’re like, oh, I went through that too. Like, I really resonate with that person. And like, I feel like the more I share my story, the more people have come to me and be like, oh, I really resonate with that.

Even like me sharing that I grew up in, like, I was born in LA but then moved to Tijuana and then to Nashville. They’re like, oh, I was from, from, I moved. To Tijuana too, like I can resonate with you. Yeah, like even little stuff like that. It’s people will resonate with your story 

Erika: Yeah, yeah, and then now do you believe that you have something to offer?

Sunem: Yes, I definitely do believe that I have something to offer but yeah, it really takes a mindset shift The longer you work on it, like the easier it is to to believe it. I’m not gonna be I’m not gonna lie and say like there’s still some moments in life that I’m like, am I good enough? But then I’m like, no, I’m, I am.

but it has really helped that I continue to do the work and I continue to ask myself like, Hey, what is this what I want to do? Why do I want to do it? Do I just want to do it so people can see me or do I want to do it? Because that’s something that I want to do. That 

Erika: right there is key. The why behind making a decision matters almost more than the decision that you’re making.

So a good question to ask yourself is, do you like your reasons for making that decision? Right? And that what you just asked, is it because I think I should do it or what others want for me? Or is it what I actually want? And it sounds so obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times we make decisions based on other people.

Not even what we want. 

Sunem: Yes. That is so true. You do not live your life on what other people want because they’re never going to be happy and you’re never going to be happy either. Exactly. 

Erika: Yes. And you, mentioned earlier, like our parents were so in survival mode and I think just culturally we’re used to doing what, you know, is going to be good for, for the community, but they sacrifice so much for us to live the life that we want to live.

Like you were, you were talking about this earlier and this is. Exactly that point as well, where we have to make the decisions that are beneficial for us because that is what our parents struggled for. They didn’t struggle for us to keep 

Sunem: struggling. Yeah, no they didn’t. And so that’s why I always say, like, living your best life is the way that you honor your parents and your ancestors.

Erika: Love that. Amazing. This has been so much fun. Where can people find you and how can people work with you? Yeah. 

Sunem: So you can find me on Instagram at Money Noticias Podcast. You can find our podcast in anywhere you listen to podcasts is Money Noticias Podcast. And if you want to work with us, we do offer a coaching.

we offer like an investing clarity session where after 90 minutes you leave. Feeling you leave being an investor, feeling confident that you’re going to be making wealth. And we also offer a different coaching where it’s like three months where you work with us,to get your money. 

Erika: Amazing. So we will link all of that down below.

We’ll link the podcast as well as their website, as well as their services. And if you took anything away from this podcast, please be sure to take a screenshot and tag the both of us because we want to know, we want to know what stood out to you. I know we talked about so many different themes that a lot of people out there are also struggling with.

They were like, I needed to hear this conversation. So I’m glad we made this happen. Do not forget to leave a rate and review, an Apple rate and review because that is how podcasts grow. So please be sure to do that, or if you’re listening on Spotify, be sure to give us a rate. I don’t think you can review on Spotify, but you can rate it.

So be sure to do that. I will see you all next week. And just a reminder that Courage Driven Latina is opening the doors on February 12th and closing on,

 February 23rd. All right, y’all, I will see you next week.