We were lucky to catch up with Ana Najera recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ana, thanks for joining us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.
First of all my biggest advise is to START! start today and do not wait until… as those are only excuses that we tell ourselves because of fear. I will do it when I get some money, I will do it when my kids are older etc… and the truth is there is no better date than today. Another advise is to invest in yourself and never stop learning. There are books, mentors, masterclasses, podcasts, groups and most of the time very inexpensive and they give you tremendous value to you, your time and your money, Learn from their mistakes and imitate their successes.
If I would start over, first of all I would have start several years before I actually did. I would believe more in myself and think less of what other might think of me if… the reality is that no one cares. So do it for you.
Ana, 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?
My Name is Ana and I am married and have 4 wonderful boys that are my life. I have been entrepreneur since my teenage years. I always had something going on. from selling chocolate turtles to several stores, then personalized gifts, stationary, etc… you name it, I probably did it. I have always been a creative crafty person, I Iove cooking, design, photography, etc. I mayor in Graphic Design and worked as a Creative Director for several years before having my family.
When I started having my kids, I knew I didn’t want to leave them all day but I also knew I needed to continue to work so I had to think of something that I can do remotely while having my full time mom job. So I created RentaCasita which was my business for 12 years. I loved that I did everything from my computer, phone so i didn’t had to leave my boys and still be present.
When my 4th baby was born I had this desire to start growing my social media and share my parenting, cooking, crafts knowledge with anyone who wanted it so 40LITTLETOES was born. A family blog sharing my daily little stories and because I am so visual this was a very exciting and fun job for me as Instagram is a visual platform, then came Pinterest, Tiktok, etc… I started sharing in all this platforms a little bit of my everyday life and truly enjoy it and it has been incredible to have worked with amazing well known world brands that love and trust my work.
During 2020 while we were all at home I had this huge desire to start a new venture (RentaCasita was not doing very well as we rent vacation homes and no one was traveling) I have always been a super fan of candles and scents… but I really hated it that the really nice ones are super expensive so I thought to start a Luxury Candle and Scent line with better prices so 4LT HOME was born and it has been a roller coaster and still learning and growing.
So for my future I would love to continue with Social Media and grow 4lT Home and who knows maybe add another branch of the family of business.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Yes there are many classics I can recommend for mindset, entrepreneurship and life. The E myth a great book for business owners.
Homeless to billionaire a great inspirational mindset story
Any recording, book or seminar by Bob Proctor especially about paradigm.
and then this are good to have in your library Think and grow Rich, Atomic Habits,The Unstoppable Mindset,
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Having the privilege to been able to be with my kids 24/7 and watching them grow and still fulfill my own dreams and doing what I love is priceless,
I love sharing and creating content and if I person finds value on me and my work that is enough.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.40littletoes.com
- Instagram: www.instagram,com/ananajerac
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/40littletoes/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQypAqkD9eb9RBc5PLdSlQ
- Other: tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRSLB9nh/ Pinterest; www.pinterest.com/40littletoesblog