We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lyanne Alfaro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lyanne, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I grew up in Chicago, in a working class Latino neighborhood and saw hustle and business owners everywhere. But I also saw us absent from the national headlines when I worked in these newsrooms. A few years ago, it was just an idea to create a solution: I came to the conclusion that we would have to change this narrative by leading with intention. I chose to write about Latino contributions to the American economy and created a media platform to talk all about it: Moneda Moves. I also now work with C-suites on media preparedness and helping craft their stories.
Fast-forward to today, and it’s this kind of work that enabled me to cover the resilience of our small business owners with Small Business Majority’s Xiomara Peña, to cover what it’s like to raise one million dollars for your company with CEO of Agua Bonita Kayla Castañeda and tell the story of Wall Street powerhouses turned fintech entrepreneurs like Ramona Ortega (sitting in the audience). These are all business stories, but this time Latinos are front and center. It’s a position that, as leaders of new business creation, this cohort was for a long time, ready to assume.
Lyanne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Latinos today make the fifth largest GDP in the world, but when it comes to documenting our story in mass media, we have work to do. Moneda Moves shares stories about money and culture to be a part of the change and to empower first builders to create generational wealth.
Our media platform and consulting agency shares and helps shape stories about the Latino leaders, our relationship with money and the cohort’s contributions to the American economy. Our consulting services are led by me, an experienced and award-winning journalist, now coaching entrepreneurs on their storytelling for the press.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Building my reputation in the space has had a lot to do with consistency, crucial connections and leaning in during relevant moments. In the last three years, I’ve continued to publish the podcast, newsletter, grow steadily and continue to feature quality guests on the podcast.
Expanding the network of crucial connections has also been a big part of growing the brand and establishing its reputation, and this has been done through my full-time work as a reporter at national publications as well as establishing new connections via conferences, events and speaking engagements. Whenever your core audience is impacted by a big piece of news, it’s important to lean in. In my case, that’s mean leaning in with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in underrepresented communities are impacted by the news. I make sure I listen so I can lean in as appropriate and ask “how can I help?”
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn my scarcity mindset. To create bigger, you have to dream bigger. That requires to stop putting yourself in a box that will limit your potential. Instead of seeing the “but” and “or”, I’ve decided to see the “when” plus “and.” In places where you might find yourself in a bind as a brand or business owner, you need to look for the possibilities as to how make your goals happen. You also need to be open to the fact that your goals will change as your audience and business evolves, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.monedamoves.com
- Instagram: @monedamoves and @lyannealfaro
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyannealfaro/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LyanneAlfaro
Image Credits
Lindsay Eberly