We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Paula Ahumada a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Maria Paula, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
ABSOLUTELY. I am very happy as a business owner, but let’s not romanticize the CEO lifestyle too much. As a business owner, we are still functioning under capitalism so the exhaustion and pressure that I have experienced as a first-generation business owner is very real. Just like anything in life, there are many positives to being a business owner, just as much as there are negatives. It really comes down to the perspective that you provide in each situation.
I think that the pressure to “salir adelante” as a Women of Color (WOC) in America is not talked about enough. As a way to rise out of social and economic inequality, we sometimes give in to hustle culture because sometimes it seems like that is the only way. In my experience, I saw my mom and so many other women in my family carry the weight of the world on their shoulders so that they could provide the next generation a chance to have better opportunities.
I carry their resilience within my heart, it is what keeps me going when it feels like all of the doors are closing in on me. For this reason, I allow myself to slow down in my business because I refuse to break my back trying to heal these generational curses.
Being a business owner allows me to have the privilege to take a break when I need it. This lifestyle has given me the time and freedom to nourish relationships with friends, family, and myself! I have been able to be present for important events like birthdays, quinceañera’s, graduations, vacations, weddings, reunions, and more.
Additionally, if the work that I am doing doesn’t feel in alignment with my values, I have the privilege to pivot and say YES to opportunities that light my soul on fire. This journey has truly given me a newfound confidence that allows me to walk into rooms, knowing that I am worthy of being there and taking up space.
I want the world to know and mainly WOC that whether you have a regular job or you are a business owner, you are allowed to be tired. You are not lazy for wanting to rest and you are not asking for too much, you do deserve more, in all aspects of life. As I run my business from a place of surrendering, that is one of the biggest lessons that I am learning.
The final answer, is yes I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a regular job. But then I remember the hostility that I experienced being a WOC in corporate America. I immediately remember how invisible I felt in these spaces. Then I remember how starting my business Recocha Vibes, has not only allowed me to tap into my most authentic self… but has also allowed me to show women across the globe how to do the same.
A regular job will always be available but if I have the opportunity to follow my vision right now, then best believe I am going for it and I am going to give it my absolute best!
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
Of course! Hello beautiful people, me llamo Maria Paula Ahumada, and I am the CEO of Recocha Vibes. For those wondering, the word “recocha” is a Colombian slang word that translates to causing a ruckus or being disruptive in the name of fun. We use dance as a healing practice to teach women how to find joy through movement. We incorporate many different cultural rhythms including many Afro-Latinx rhythms (with a focus on Afro-Colombian rhythms) such as salsa, champeta, mapale, dembow, and more, that you may not find in many dance spaces.
One way that we do this is through our powerful dance events. We have traveled around the country to Miami, NYC, San Francisco, Sacramento, and now Tampa! Our goal is to bring these events to WOC all over the world because we want everyone to be able to tap into their inner light. Our events create long-lasting communities and provide women with different practices to center themselves, and empower each other.
We also provide Confidence Coaching for women who want to take their confidence journeys to the next level. As someone who has been able to change their life completely, I have realized how crucial it is to have support along the way. For this reason, Recocha Vibes offers that support through 1:1 coaching, where we provide women with tools and resources to transform their own lives. Many of the women that we have served have quit jobs that do not value them, learned to set boundaries in their relationships, and most importantly prioritize their self-love!
Additionally, we provide dance class packages for folks who want to dip their feet and learn about this movement practice on their own time and in their own space. Recocha Vibes has also had the honor of representing amazing brands that are in alignment with the work that we do. We currently create content with Ilus Label, an inclusive Latina-owned activewear company, where we get to represent women who look like us. We also provide various virtual dance classes through The Sculpt You, which is a fitness app that provides holistic health for women!
We are most proud of creating safe spaces for WOC to move their bodies freely and confidently. The truth is that there are not a lot of spaces where we are welcomed to embrace our full authentic selves. In professional, educational, and often even with our families and friends many of us have internalized the message that we are too much, and we have become accustomed to dimming our own light.
For this reason, the work we do and the service we provide centers the lived experiences of WOC. We are passionate about creating these spaces for folks who historically have not been given the same opportunity and access because we believe that we all deserve to thrive and live a life that we are passionate about!
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Three years ago I was sitting in a university classroom teaching Intro to Writing courses to college students. In 2018 I started a Ph.D. program in English at the University of California, Davis. As a result of experiencing imposter syndrome, I was constantly trying to prove to myself and others that I belonged there. The reality is that I was in an institution that was not created for me, and it had started to take a strong toll on my physical and mental health. In my first year, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and anxiety, and at the end of that year, my mom passed away, which resulted in me falling into a really dark place.
Fast forward to almost 2 years of battling through all of this, I am in NYC hip-thrusting on my aunt’s couch and I receive a message that I am going to start my own business. This God-sent message could not have been any clearer, because I felt it throughout my whole body. At the time it had been 4 months since I started teaching virtual dance classes as my side hustle. I had left all my belongings in storage in California so that I could live with my aunt in my childhood home in NYC, while I figured out what I was going to do with my life.
After receiving this message I started using a journal where I wrote down ideas for my business. I drafted various names, brand colors, logo ideas, services that I would provide, possible collaborations, etc. I still have and use this notebook because I have learned that often we have so many amazing ideas and they just stay in our heads. This is your sign to write those ideas down and take the action steps, because life will keep going. It can be so easy to have that moment of inspiration and let it pass. Eventually, I had to take the leap of faith to graduate with my Master’s Degree and run my business full-time.
It has been almost 2 years since I made that decision and it has not been easy, but I have no regrets because there have been so many milestone moments along the way. From being invited to Univision’s “Despierta America” as a guest speaker and dancer for a segment on body positivity, to working directly with some of my favorite brands such as Ilus Label and The Sculpt You. We have also sold out dance events across the country, and the most recent milestone has been “Mariposas Leading the Way”. In January of 2023 my two best friends and I, with the support of an amazing non-profit, Latinas and Lideres were able to support, empower, and inspire 50 young girls on the coast of Colombia! This milestone was a full circle one for me because the workshops were held in my ancestral land, where I was born.
However, every time I reach another year it is a milestone for me because I am constantly reminded of the statistics of women’s businesses failing. These messages can be extremely discouraging, but they can also be a source of motivation. Personally, whenever I am told that I cannot do certain things, I feel called to find a way! For this reason, my business has been able to scale up to what it is today as a result of consistency, community, and faith. I have to choose to show up every day in whatever way that looks like, it is truly a step-by-step process. I constantly have to push past my limiting beliefs and fears that tell me I will fail. This would not be possible without having a loving and supportive community cheering me on and empowering me. I am also extremely grateful to the businesses that have believed in me and built me up, they are also a part of this success.
My stepdad often tells me that “yo me quiero comer el mundo” and he’s right, there are days that I become so impatient because I am not where I want to be. However, I have learned to surrender and give my vision to God. I would have never been able to do any of this on my own, I have had a lot of help from God and my ancestors. Allowing myself to be guided by faith has made me realize that I have a purpose in the world, I am worthy, and I am exactly where I need to be.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
My social media presence has been a continuous journey of getting to know myself. During the pandemic, I started posting frequently, just for fun. I was doing what I love, posting dancing videos as well as sharing moments from my healing journey. My page rapidly started to grow on Tik Tok as well as my Instagram. It has been 3 years and my community has been a part of my journey since I was in graduate school to where I am today. Through social media, I have created a powerful community of “recocherxs” that are also passionate about movement, healing, growth, and so much more.
If you are just building a social media presence, there will be moments when you find yourself in a cycle of comparison. In these moments it is important to remember that people are most likely only showing you a small portion of the best moments of their life. If you are following people who make you feel bad about yourself, please go ahead and unfollow them. Instead of comparing yourself realize that if someone in your circle is achieving things, that means it is also possible for you. Allow yourself to be inspired by the trailblazers around you.
It is also helpful to get clear about who your audience is because you want to avoid creating content just to go viral and please everyone. I have learned that when you speak to everyone, you are speaking to no one and it will become exhausting if you are constantly posting for others’ validation. We all have an audience that wants to hear what we have to say, but we are also going to encounter people who do not agree with us or like us. The truth is that in social media and in life, we have to learn to be ok with that even when it feels uncomfortable. This takes some time because it is going to require getting deep with yourself about who you are and what your values are.
Building an audience on social media requires you to be authentic, and let’s be real sometimes that’s scary! However, the more you do this work, the more you will be able to show up authentically on social media. When you learn to accept yourself and realize that you are complete as you are, it doesn’t feel as scary to share that with the world. If you are thinking of building a presence on social media, I hope that you allow yourself to have fun with it and that you grow to see the value in what you have to offer in this world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.recochavibes.com
- Instagram: @recochavibes
- Twitter: @recochavibes