We were lucky to catch up with Adriana Brava recently and have shared our conversation below.

Adriana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

If I could do it over again, I would most definitely start my business sooner. I initially was admitted as an attorney in 2003– it would be 20 years later that I opened my business. When I was an attorney who worked for someone else, I would frequently be asked about why I wasn’t on my own. It was evident that I was a great attorney with all the essential traits like good negotiation skills, excellent client relations, ability to settle cases, go to court, be at depositions, etc.

Despite being confident as an attorney, I doubted in my ability to run a business. The idea seemed daunting to me.

What changed that was a layoff in late 2022. I decided that there was nothing to lose at that point. I’d start a business and if didn’t work out, then I would just go back to having a job.

I sought out every resource I could think of to learning marketing and running your own business. I hired a business and life coach. I discovered the Small Business Administration and realized they offered many free resources. All of that preparedness boosted my belief that I could, in fact, run my own business. Now fast-forward to today and I realized that I could have done it all along. I just needed to have the ability to bet on myself. I am resourceful and if there is something I don’t know how to do, I will do whatever is necessary to figure it out.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Spanish bilingual 20+ year first gen Mexican-American attorney servicing Los Angeles and Orange County. I grew up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles and stayed local currently living in Long Beach.

I spent the first part of my career working as a lawyer-employee fighting on behalf of injured workers, many of whom were immigrant Spanish speaking workers in laborer positions. Over the course of my career, I have negotiated and settled cases that are in the millions of dollars, including lifetime annuity payments.

As life has progressed, I personally saw the impact that major life changes like illnesses and deaths in my close circles that have had devastating financial costs due to lack of legal preparedness. I have also seen the potential for family infighting due to disagreements about what to do about incapacitated family members.

That, and a general burnout from the high volume practice area I was in, caused me to pivot into Estate Planning where the law is used proactively, not reactively. I now run my own law firm which has also allowed more flexibility to be an active participant in my kids lives.

In short, I am tired of seeing families, especially communities of color, take on huge financial hits whether it be scrambling to raise funeral funds, to fights about assets of loved ones, to overpaying legal fees and taxes because of failure to plan. The rich have been using legal tools that help minimize taxes, attorney fees, and keep their families out of court for years. The only thing that is preventing communities of color from doing the same things is a lack of general legal awareness and facing the reality that life is not guaranteed.

My mission today is to protect families through education and legal services. I want people to know there are legal tools that will help minimize capital gains taxes, that will help avoid succession court where you have to divide up assets using a judge (probate court), and that there are tools that help you in case of incapacitation so that your life can continue with someone predesignated to make decisions on your behalf. Some of the legal tools I offer are wills, trusts, powers of attorney, nominations of guardians, and letters of last instructions/ funeral plan documentation.

I am proud of my clients when they make the hard choices to get their legal affairs in order so they can sleep easy and keep their families in peace and out of court. Lots of people say they will take care of their legal affairs and say they don’t want to be a burden to their children by leaving a mess behind. But not all take action. It’s important to note that building a legacy takes backbone, not wishbone. I can help get you there. By booking a discovery call with me, I can make recommendations on what you need and how we can get started. Commitment to work with me starts at $2000 and up, depending on what is needed.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The You are a Badass series by Jen Sincero are some of my favorite reading because there is so much value packed in. The author talks about how to do away with limiting beliefs and replace them with better beliefs that will get you further on your journey.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is great for mindset work and is a classic for entrepreneurs.

We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers is also great for mindset and strategy.

Business is Personal by Bethenny Frankel is great for really leaning into your authentic self to grow your business.

There are so many other books. But “other resources” that have highly impacted my entrepreneurial thinking is hiring a business coach. I had never really heard of that and wasn’t sure if it was a legit endeavor. The investment was 6 months at a 4 figure price tag, which is a lot of money generally, but more so after a layoff. I hired a strategic life and business coach Wendy Amara and I just can’t thank her enough for the exponential growth I have had while working with her. It was so good that I went a second round with her. My business wouldn’t be where it’s at today had I not invested in a business coach.

I heard of wendy through the Yo Quiero Dinero Podcast. On the YQPD, Jannesse Torres, talks extensively about entrepreneurial life and encourages people to not settle for jobs where you’re underpaid and underappreciated. She will light a fire under you!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Something that I had to unlearn was that it is unbecoming to brag about yourself. I had this idea that staying in humility was 1) a virtue worth pursuing and 2) such virtue was at odds with publicizing yourself. The backstory was my strict religious upbringing. We were often told that only the meek will enter the kingdom of God. The backstory also included cultural norms. I’m Mexican-American and we often heard the word “presumidos” growing up in a negative way. What that translates to is a name given to people who are show offs generally, but often specifically showing off wealth.

Those lessons that I learned early on did not serve me as a business owner. Instead, I realized they were rooted in fear of the unknown and limited beliefs. As a business owner, it is imperative to market yourself, your offers, and to highlight your successes. So I gradually started relearning that it was ok to put myself out there.

I joined the Social Butterfly Gal’s confidence coaching program and I learned about how to authentically and unapologetically show up online. I learned that people want to know more about you, that includes both successes and failures.

I joined Aleya Harris’s Spark the Stage and learned that I, in fact, had my own unique story to share on stages. In fact, I have my first speaking engagement in June in San Antonio, Texas at Hustle and Socialize. My old lessons learned as a child would have prevented me from even thinking that I should be on a stage. Those are lessons that needed to be released or else continue to be stunted and not experience growth.

Through busting the old beliefs, I am better able to show up to serve my community and educate them about legal principles and services that will help them. I no longer think that saying something positive about yourself is bad. In fact, I now even regularly attend the Goddess Mercado where we frequently call each other Goddesses and proudly wear crowns.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adrianabravalaw.com
• Instagram: @adrianabravaesq @madrinalegal

Image Credits
Maricruz Kwan CB Photo/ Christina Brown CB Photo/ Chris Brown Bauman Photographers