We were lucky to catch up with Vanessa Peralta-Mitchell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Vanessa, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
My mom would nudge me when I had to speak on her behalf. Spanish is her first language and as a first generation, I witnessed both her strength and her vulnerability as her bridge to the English-speaking world. This made me pretty shy but through sports I found my confidence and through running I found my voice. It would be many years later as a Certified Run Coach that I started to feel a nudge again but this time I was speaking up for an entire community … Women of Color in run leadership…the voices unheard much like my mom’s.
And so I started our Game Changers program. This program empowers Women of Color in making the leap from runner to certified run coach by providing funding and resources for certification, mentorship & business strategy. We are redefining what experts and leaders look like in the run industry. Because much like my mom, we are already in the room but our voices are not being heard for the expertise we bring to the table.
Looking back there were many pieces that evolved into this idea and I can track back to the moment when I myself was taking my run coach certification course. I was the only Women of Color in the room and felt like I was in over my head. I did not speak a word in that class for fear of being noticed. So I kept quiet, laid low and made myself small because I felt like I didn’t belong. But that moment planted a seed that would grow and have me searching for more Women of Color (WOC) certified run coaches. When I couldn’t find enough WOC certified run coaches to sit on a five person panel for my debut solo run event, I then realized I am capable of creating the change I seek. I then began to use my debut event as a way to fund run coach certifications specifically for WOC. I simply wanted to fund 5 women. In the process of launching my debut run event, I boldly decided to become a business owner and founded VCPM, Inc. And as a business owner my mindset changed about what I was creating. I started telling myself, “We’re not going to just fund 5 women. We’re going to redefine the entire run industry!” That caliber of thinking has had me on a trajectory that I’m still on and can proudly say that we now have 75 coaches in 25 states across the U.S.
I soon realized that we, Women of Color, are bringing in a wave of change to run leadership and it was time to change the game of those who are seen as experts. And thus Game Changers was formed. So yes sitting in that certification planted a seed but I also credit my mom who gave me the roots of being a voice for others. The result, through our program, is strong confident women who are propelling industry-wide change and exponentially growing the running community the one and only way we can.
Vanessa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Vanessa C. Peralta-Mitchell is owner of VCPM, Inc. a business dedicated to using the power of the pavement to empower women to live a life without limits. She’s taken her passion for running and turned it into her purpose with her Game Changers program which provides resources and funds for Women of Color to become Certified Run Coaches thus redefining who is seen as the experts and leaders in the run industry. She is also the creator of The Female Coach L.E.A.D. (Leveraging-Educating-Amplifying-Diversity) which spotlights WOC run coaches from coast to coast highlighting their expertise with topics covering Coach/Athlete/Business/Community. As a Run Coach, a Founder and an advocate for women in the running space, she is redefining the run industry and bringing in a wave of much needed change to run leadership. She is her father’s wit, her mother’s grit and the tenacity of her family & Ecuadorian ancestors which drives her belief that we ALL have the power to create impact.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn living small both in action and in voice. No one literally said to live small but in growing up, it was strictly enforced to follow the rules, not take risks and not question those who (seemingly) know more. This resulted in me not speaking up, not advocating for myself or my needs and minimizing my influence…even my capabilities. To be a business owner and an advocate for Women of Color leadership, I had to really say to my inner shy girl, “screw that!”… I am here, I have a voice and in fact I have a whole force of fellow Women of Color and we’re ready to take up space in this industry.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
My mindset really shifted after reading one line in a Brene Brown book called Rising Strong. Her husband had simply asked what’s her vision for her career and she said “I want to start a global conversation about vulnerability and shame.” I was blown away that someone could have a goal of that caliber. The words “global conversation”…there’s so much power in thinking like that, to have that frame of mind. I then realized that we all have the capacity to think like that and it shifted my thinking from funding a few Women of Color to become run coaches to seeing my company playing a major role in redefining an entire industry’s experts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vcpm.com/game-changers
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vcpmitchell
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsvcpm
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Jovelle Tamayo Baron Spafford