Claudia Vazquez With Elevink

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in South Florida. It’s time for South Florida Business Radio.

Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of South Florida Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Claudia Vasquez and she is with Elevink. Welcome.

Claudia Vazquez: Thank you. How are you, Lee? Thank you so much for allowing me to be here with your audience.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Elevink. How are you serving folks?

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah. So L’avenc started during the pandemic as a way to service underrepresented talent. I have been in corporate America for over 25 years and realized that the people that were outreaching to me for support, for coaching, for professional development, you know, career aspirations, topics of discussion, most of them were first generation, didn’t have role models that they could follow or ask questions to. And that’s when I. You know, I had an idea and I had a dream and I went forward and created L’avenc. So. L’avenc what it does is it creates a platform that has different elements of workshops that helps those underrepresented individuals or first generation that are entering the corporate arena to be able to learn soft skills or skills that are not necessarily taught in school, or the non-written rules of what you need to be able to navigate a corporation, especially, you know, fortune 500 companies.

Lee Kantor: So what type of kind of career paths are these people on and what level are they starting out at when they start having conversations with you?

Claudia Vazquez: The majority of them are entry level, where they are still individual contributors, so they don’t have a team. They’re not managing or leading groups of people yet, Or they are so that their aspiration, that’s the next step that they’re looking forward to, to becoming. Or the other one is those individuals who have been on a manager role but are now looking to go up to a director level where they will have different managers reporting into them. So those are the two groups that I seem to get the most interest from. And then we also have some that are about to graduate, and they want to get ahead of the game and they want to start, you know, getting their hands around, you know, what will be required for them. So we also have a small percentage of those individuals.

Lee Kantor: So do you mind sharing some tips or advice for we’ll go after both of those groups. Let’s start with that person that’s looking for their first job. Any tips or advice you would recommend for somebody who is going after a job? Is it something that you target a company and just start trying to figure out a way in there? Or do you just say, I have these, you know, desires or skills, and I’ll just put my name in the hat whenever, you know, I’ll just apply online to all the things like what would be kind of some advice you would share for that person looking for their first opportunity.

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah. And that’s a great question. And that ties back into one of the concepts in the book that we will be speaking about later on. Right. So I’m very clear with this individuals to talk about their North Star. I want them to focus as much as possible into the 5 to 10 years down the road. And sometimes that’s difficult, but that may sometimes be the starting point where they could go into that career path that will allow them to achieve their ultimate dreams or one of their main goal aspirations. So, for example, I understand sometimes business is tough and they have to apply it. And now with algorithms that are the selective portion of your resume, you have to make sure that you understand and know what can you do to make sure that your resume is has the keywords and has the elements that will be selected for that interview opportunity? But, um, but I will always ask them to start somewhat aligned to what their aspirational goal is. And and we have a method at living that we, you know, we call the the you can say the leap forward or the leap backward either way. So I ask them to go into ten years down the road and see what is the job that they would like to have. And then I ask them to go into LinkedIn and look for that role and look at that individual that already has that title and look at their career path. What did they do? Did they move around from companies? Where did they started? Does that give them some hints in regards of how could they get themselves started? And I mean, that’s one of the different exercises that we utilize. But but it’s always good to look into the future and then decide where they want to start so that they can concentrate their efforts at a good point, at a good starting point.

Lee Kantor: So now let’s talk about that person who maybe is already working for a while. You know, they’re they’ve been progressing a little bit, but now they’re ready for that next step and maybe get to this new level, maybe a management level, maybe now a director level. They’re trying to take that next step in their career. Do you have any advice for that person or any tips that they should be doing? And is it okay for them to, you know, go? You know what, this company was great, but and it might be a good launching point and maybe I have to jump ship over and go somewhere else, and maybe then I can really accelerate my career.

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah, but both are great options, right? So, um, the first thing that I do with those individuals is I ask them to, uh, read and learn about the Pi model. Uh, the Pi model, it stands for performance, image and exposure. And one of the most difficult concepts to understand is that what got you to that point where you are is probably not going to get you to the next place where you want to be, and you have, and you can be a very hard working individual. You can be super intelligent and, you know, like you can have been tapped for projects. But now when you are looking to grow within the organization, you have to help yourself be seen differently, be seen as that next level role. And that’s why this model is such a, you know, quick way to learn, right? But performance at the end of the day, you have to perform well. You have to master your job, you have to do a good job. But that only takes about 10 to 15% of the overall picture. Then the image are you being are you seeing? Are you consider as a person who has solutions? Are you seen as an innovative person? Are you being looked at for as a strategic thinker? And, you know, like there are several skills that depending on your, you know, on the job field that you’re in that you may want to start to, um, demonstrate.

Claudia Vazquez: But then the exposure is, who knows of you. How many projects have you or initiatives or outside of your job day to day? Are you volunteering? Are you taking a board, a role in another organization where you can start to expand your network and you can start to be seen as someone who has grown outside of the role, right? So it’s extremely important that people understand that it is something networking, it’s part of it. Right, etc.. Uh, and then sometimes the realization of looking into your current organization and have you already hit that maximum role that you might be able to get, or have you been passed down now 3 or 4 times, uh, in that given that opportunity, those are always good times for you to consider. Is are you at the right company for the next level that you want to achieve.

Lee Kantor: Because sadly, sometimes if you’re doing a great job in a certain, uh, in an organization, they’re like, why would I want to get rid of this person and move them somewhere else? They’re they’re not going to need to fill this hole. And they’re like, I’d rather them just stay here. That’s better for me. And then that sometimes forces your hand. You have to leave if you want to accelerate your career.

Claudia Vazquez: Well, and one of the, um, concepts that I always bring, or the mottos is like, every one of us is the CEO of our career, right? So going to that point that you just expressed my my recommendation is always that people need to have transparent and honest conversation with their managers all the time, right? Not only checking in for feedback, how are they doing? What can they improve, but also sharing their aspirations and talking about their individual developmental plan? And what are the activities, courses, conferences, opportunities that they want to put themselves, and they should be talking about that next level openly with their managers. So together they can co-create that plan and they can be looking at the succession planning for my role, because if I’m that good, I know it’s going to be a struggle. But it’s also important for me to say, hey, this person has, you know, some of the skills and talents I could start training. I could start showing so that you always have an exit strategy and you don’t fall into that category. But I agree with you. Sometimes those individuals that are really strong are the hardest one to let go.

Lee Kantor: And then you made up a great point about being proactive. This is your career and ultimately you’re in control of it to the degree that you can leave. So I mean, you have to take personal accountability for that because this is your career 100%.

Claudia Vazquez: And that’s why networking, attending conferences, Joining professional associations within your industry. There are so many different ways where you can just start to get to be known, but also where you can learn, right? You can learn the newest trends, you can learn about the newest technology vendors, etc. but you start to create a networking and an ecosystem, and then you hear about roles that may be popping up even before they actually become public, right? So you may get some other opportunities ahead of time if you’re strategic about the type of growth and how fast, right at the end of the day, one of the stories that I always share is when I started in corporate America and I had, um, my career path outlined for myself, I was having conversations. I knew as soon as I got promoted to the next level, I knew exactly what I needed to do to get promoted to the next. So day one of my promotion, I started working towards the next role, and within seven years I started from the entry level position of paying disability claims at an organization to be in charge of the entire business unit of more than 60 people. So I was I am still the fastest track that has been identified in that environment, but I knew exactly what I wanted. I worked towards it, and I stretched myself to the max to be able to learn what I needed to learn to be a, you know, a successful candidate when the opportunity came.

Lee Kantor: Well, so far it’s been great advice. And I imagine in your book From Dreams to Destiny, that is chock full of great advice as well. Can you talk about that book and the process of writing it?

Claudia Vazquez: Yes. So for the past three years, um, I had been outreached by the publishing company in regards of like, oh, are you ready for your book? And I just didn’t think I have the material? Or that I had what it takes to write a book? But 30 years of experience in in corporate America and also personal experiences. I’m originally from Mexico, and when my husband and I came to the United States, we lived in a car garage for five years. Uh, it was a converted car garage. It was converted into like a mini studio. And, you know, it was tiny, but but it allowed us the opportunity, or at least me to, you know, finish a master’s degree to be able to finish my bachelor’s, my master’s, and then also be able to start to save some money. So this book, it’s it’s a compilation of stories for the past 30 years from a personal perspective, from risk that have been taken and what I wanted to do. I’m a very practical type of individual, and I love when I read books and all this great stories, but I want I always want to know the how, like if I wanted to follow this recipe, what do I need to do? What are the steps? Right? What’s the methodology behind it? So the way that I created my book and that made sense for me personally, was to create the, you know, put down the eight principles that I have practiced all along this 30 years to be able to accomplish what I have been able to accomplish, and break it down with personal stories that reflected that particular, um, principle.

Claudia Vazquez: And then in addition to that, three methodologies that anyone can use so that you can pick and choose what resonates with you, but they all get you to the same spot. So the first one is you have to dream. I had plenty of dreams, right? So you have to start with your vision, your North Star, whatever your dream is when you were a child, and then from there, you know the logistics of planning, sticking to the plan, but then being grateful along the way in the journey, through the challenges that you get, and also the great and wonderful things that are happening. Um, lifting others, mentoring, feeling good about yourself. And there I talk about five different dimensions from a health perspective, spiritual perspective, and then Finding Your Tribe, which talks about mentorship, sponsorship, and, you know, how do you find that support system and those alliances that are going to help you move forward and then finally letting go? There are some things, and I think it’s part of our initial conversation. Sometimes we just have to let go to be able to get ourselves free from whatever is detaining us, from moving forward in other directions. And there’s things that we cannot control. Um, and we just must be ready to, to let it go. And on that particular chapter, I talk about my, uh, journey with, uh, breast cancer and, you know, hearing about the diagnosis and just kind of letting go of, you know, the fear and etc.. So it’s it’s a mixture of life with practical applications. Um, and some even scientific, uh, statistics, uh, you know, share there.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, how would you recommend that people handle setbacks and those kind of big challenges that come in all of our ways. Everybody has setbacks or challenges throughout life. There’s no escape from that in any in any life. But how would you recommend somebody kind of handling some disappointment or a failure or some type of kind of a something negative that they anticipated, something positive or neutral, and it ended up being negative. What is there some steps that you would recommend to handle that type of, uh, incident?

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, definitely. Um, and I think that I briefly touch upon that in, in one of the areas in regards of how can we create, um, optimism? Or how can we practice optimism? How can we develop, um, determination? Right. But I think, uh, behind any disappointment or any failure or any setback, there’s something that we could all learn from, right? I mean, it’s painful to learn that way, but I have, you know, my personal belief is there’s a reason why you’re being put through that situation. And most of the time, if you don’t resist it, but instead you take a step back, you analyze the situation, you learn from it, and sometimes you may have to let yourself feel you know the victim. You may have to cry. You may have to go through a little bit of that period of poor me. But then on the other hand, it’s like, okay, what can I learn from this? And then what am I grateful sometimes, you know, again, one of the stories that I share there is that when my family and I moved from California to New Jersey, we had made an offer for a house. We sold our house in California, and we were traveling across the country. And while we were traveling, we learned that the house that we put the offer on, that, you know, we were looking forward to move in, was no longer hours due to some legalities of the, you know, the couple that was getting a divorce.

Claudia Vazquez: So all of a sudden, imagine we had uprooted our family. We were on the way from California to New Jersey with our three kids, our dog, ourselves. We no house in new Jersey, no house in California, and new job in new Jersey. We had no family, no friends, no one. And we arrived and we had to live in a hotel for like 2 or 2 and a half, almost three months, while we started the search again of the house. Right. So anyone could imagine getting to a new city, new school for the kids, new doctors, I mean everything and anyone could see. Like, wow, that is a huge setback. But what happened? We ended up buying, getting to know the city a little bit better. We ended up purchasing a much larger, newer house. We had a little bit more time for us because we didn’t have to clean. We don’t have to cook, we don’t have to write. So we kind of enjoy the whole fact that we were living in a hotel, and we used that time to spend weekends going to New York and, you know, visiting a few. So it’s it’s your attitude towards life and, and how do you want to perceive those setbacks and disappointments? But everybody has their method. But I’m the type that likes to look for what can I learn, what can I be grateful of this and why is this happening? Right?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I recently interviewed someone who used the word reframing like you have the the reality is the reality. But you can reframe the reality to something that’s more positive if you, you know, invest the time to do that. You don’t have to, um, take whatever happened as the worst thing in the world. You can see this. You know, we all can see the same thing and see it in a different way if we change our attitude.

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, exactly. So now we we think of that episode and I actually see it as a wonderful time.

Lee Kantor: Right. It’s an adventure.

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, exactly. Although having the dog in the same room with us, you know, for that period was a little bit, you know, and she was a big dog. But in any case, it all worked out really well.

Lee Kantor: Now, how important is it in your career now, especially as your career has progressed to invest back into your community and to really, um, help kind of the next group of people?

Claudia Vazquez: Yes, I have. Hot off the press news to share with you, uh, this past week. So so going back, I’m a full believer of giving back to the community. I have for the past 30 years, I have been giving back to the community, both in Mexico and the United States in many different ways volunteering for organizations, putting programs together, making um, tools accessible to those in need, um, you name it. I mean, countless of hours in different organizations. And because of of that commitment to the community and the consistent work for those 30 years, I have just received last week a honorary doctorate honoris causa by the World Leaders Organization. Uh, this is one of the highest awards that anyone in their lifetime can receive. And I’m very honored and humbled to have been one of those selected individuals. So, um, to answer your question, I think giving back and it’s one of the of the eight principles that I talk about in my good, it’s a must. We what type of legacy Do we want to live in our lives right? Yes, we should concentrate on ourselves and we should concentrate on our growth. And we should concentrate on, you know, us as the primary source. But then we have so much to offer, and we have talents, innate talents that have been given to us at birth that makes us different, that become our superpowers, and that we can share with others. So I have again made it one of the, um, chapters in the book. I have made it my commitment for life. And I just received this, um, amazing, you know, award that it’s, um. Yes, that has changed my life.

Lee Kantor: Well, congratulations on that. And, um, can you share with our listeners who is your ideal client? Who is your ideal candidate that you want to connect with?

Claudia Vazquez: My ideal candidate is anyone that is, you know, that has that voice in their mind that tells them, yes, you should go for it. And then on the other side they hear like, oh, you’re not enough, you’re not prepared enough, you don’t have enough experience. You should do, you know, like all those, you don’t have enough time, all those negativities. Those are my ideal candidates. I’d like to work with people who have the desire to let you know. Achieve something that they thought was impossible. Um, it doesn’t matter whether they’re starting on their career, whether they are progressing and now looking to change. I mean, I’m 54 years old and I just wrote a book. I just, you know, I started a company four years ago. I work full time. I’m a full time mom of three kids. And and when people say like, oh, I don’t have enough time, I’m like, I’m sure you can find some, right? So I love to work with people who are creative and who who can see the positive in life and who are ready to make a change for, for the good, for, for themselves and for the community.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to connect with you and learn more. Is there a website? Is there a way to get the book? Like where should they go?

Claudia Vazquez: Yeah. So from dreams to Destiny, what’s something that we didn’t talk about, but I should mention is From Dreams to Destiny. It’s not just a book. There’s also a companion diary. And the diary is a workbook that I put together to match the concepts of the book so that people can actually, if they wanted to do self-work, they could start working on it immediately. So that’s one thing. They’re both available in Amazon. Uh, you can get the, you know, uh, hardcover or the soft cover. Um, I will be having three workshops starting in January. So people that buy the book can come over and we can have an open discussion. I can go more into the details of the principles. I can share more examples. I can answer some of their questions. That is already available through Eventbrite. We do have the first one scheduled that will be January 9th. I want to make sure people have the tools and the resources to get, you know, to start their year strong. So I this is completely free of charge, complimentary for people that you know can purchase the book. And then for L’avenc, yes, we do have a website. I also have so it’s WW w you know living.com. And then we also have Instagram Facebook and people can contact us um, whatever their method of connection is best for them.

Lee Kantor: And that’s l e v I n k.com.

Claudia Vazquez: Yes. Correct.

Lee Kantor: Well, Claudia, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate, you.

Claudia Vazquez: Know, thank you for your time, I appreciate you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on South Florida Business Radio.