We caught up with the brilliant and insightful CarmenRose Fiallo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

CarmenRose, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

I started my own business after independently contracting my social media skills with a small business for two years. I was looking for a new job and had been searching with no luck for almost 6 months. Then one day, I realized.. I could be independently contracting on my own. I wish I had started my business earlier! I don’t think I realized how easy it was to contract on my own. Don’t get me wrong – I know it can be hard to start your own business. I think what had stopped me from starting any earlier was that I thought you needed a big lump sum to start a business. That you had to establish an LLC to start your business. I never knew I could use my SSN as my tax ID for my business. I had never felt empowered to do my own thing. Once I started contracting on my own – it was the most empowering thing I’ve ever done for myself. I wish I had started doing this straight out of college!

CarmenRose, 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?

In college I studied sociology, and I always told myself I wanted to work for a non-profit or do community work in general. I got an internship doing corporate social responsibility and I loved it. But then the pandemic hit and everything went virtual. So, I started realizing I could do the same advocacy work but through social media. The best part was that I was able to reach even more people via social media than I ever did in person. So, I started honing my social media and communications skills.

I specialize in social media advocacy and digital accessibility, and I’m inspired by telling stories of the most marginalized folks in our communities. My advocacy work has been featured in CBS Sunday Mornings, Healthline, and VICE. I’m most proud of the community I’ve made through social media. Some of my closest friends are people I’ve never met in person. Finding community and making social media more human, is all I’ve ever hoped for!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is my middle name. That’s the name of the game when you’re disabled. You have no choice but to be resilient, because this world isn’t built with us in mind. Yet still, we persist and exist, and thrive. Even when I was living with daily debilitating migraine attacks, I still worked 20-30 hours a week. I knew I’d never qualify for disability benefits, but I had bills to pay so I never stopped working. I wish the circumstances could’ve been different, and I could’ve focused on my health – but that’s a privilege and luxury I could not afford. So, I continued to work even through my diagnosis and my condition worsening. I’ve never taken time off. I appreciate working with extremely understanding clients and coworkers who allow me to work and put my health first when needed.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn SO much about corporate culture and hustle culture… Capitalism wants us to believe that if we aren’t productive for 7+ hours a day, we aren’t worthy. Society wants us to believe that we should strive for hustling and working 40+ hours a week. I used to think I wanted my job to be my everything, my identity. Becoming disabled and diagnosed with Chronic Migraine made me re-think all of that. I was forced to because my body could simply not put up with the stereotypical work week. I had to learn to put my health and wellness first, and the work will come second. I had to learn that not everything is urgent, and I can push deadline and focus on my health. I had to learn that rest is RADICAL, and needed. I’m not weak for needing rest. I’m strong for taking rest.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carmenrosefiallo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmenrose.fiallo/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmenrosefiallo/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/carmenrfiallo