September 5, 2025 • 35 mins
Yasmine Robles takes us on a journey from her chaotic childhood marked by domestic abuse to building a successful marketing agency while raising a family. The founder of Rebel Marketing (previously Robles Designs) shares how her early experiences gave her perspective that makes current business challenges feel manageable by comparison.
What began as a side hustle in 2014 became her full-time focus in 2017 when her corporate employer wouldn't accommodate flexible work arrangements that would allow her to be present for her children. With her husband's support, she took the leap and never looked back, creating a business that honors her Latina heritage and provides the flexibility her family needs.
The most powerful insights come from Yasmine's evolution from being a corporate "yes person" to mastering the art of boundaries. She candidly discusses the challenges of saying no to clients, protecting her team from burnout, and managing the weight of responsibility for her employees' livelihoods. Her approach to transparency with her team about finances and decision-making offers a refreshing perspective on authentic leadership.
As she prepares to welcome her third child and considers international moves to Mexico, Portugal or Spain, Yasmine shares how she balances the seasons of business and family life. Her advice to "get help, accept help, and be comfortable with being uncomfortable" comes from years of personal growth through therapy, self-help books, and practical self-care strategies.
For women navigating entrepreneurship while managing family responsibilities, Yasmeen's story proves that you can create the life you want even when the path isn't traditional. Her journey demonstrates that our greatest challenges often become our greatest strengths when we approach them with intention and resilience.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey, hey, hey.
Welcome to the SheSweet Society, a community where women from
all backgrounds come together toshare their stories, support
one another and reveal theunfiltered reality of our lives.
I'm your host and empowerment,Sherpa Dahlia, and this podcast
(00:29):
exists to give voice and spaceto women whose experiences might
otherwise go unheard.
Today, I'm joined by YasmeenRobles, owner of Rebel Marketing
, whose journey from corporateburnout to successful
entrepreneurship is bothinspiring and deeply personal.
What started as Robles Designsin 2014, while she was still
working late nights in hercorporate role, has evolved into
(00:50):
a thriving business that she'sintentionally rebranded to
embrace her Latina heritage.
Yasmin's story is one ofresilience forged through
adversity.
Growing up in a chaoticenvironment marked by domestic
abuse, she's developed aperspective that makes current
business challenges feelmanageable.
By comparison, Her path toentrepreneurship wasn't just
(01:11):
about professional fulfillment.
It was about creatingflexibility to be present for
her two children when heremployer wouldn't accommodate a
hybrid work arrangement.
What makes Yasmin's insights sovaluable is her hard-won
understanding of boundaries.
From being a yes person incorporate to learning to say no
to last-minute client projects,she's mastered the art of
(01:33):
protecting her energy and mentalhealth while building a
successful business.
As she prepares to welcome herthird child and considers
international moves to Mexico,Portugal or Spain.
Child and considersinternational moves to Mexico,
Portugal or Spain.
Her story offers wisdom foranyone trying to build something
meaningful while navigatingpersonal challenges.
Thank you for joining me on mypodcast, G Suite Society, and
(01:55):
I'm excited for everybody tohear your story because most
people you have a very largenetwork, kind of like law.
Everybody knows you, You're inthe area.
It's just people know who youare, but they don't know who you
are.
They've not heard your story.
And they know you as anentrepreneur, they know you as
(02:16):
this powerhouse of a female, butthey don't know your story.
So I'm hoping that you can walkme through your story and I do
want to.
We'll start kind of a littlebit now.
You're the owner of RebelMarketing.
Is it Rebel Marketing?
Rebellious Little Marketing?
What is it?
What did you rename it?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, so it used to be Robles Designs and now we
renamed it to Rebel Marketingofficially.
I did add the D-E into the logobecause I'm Latina, so in
Spanish it's Rebel, so I wantedto add a little bit of a
differentiator in there.
But yeah, we're Rebel Marketing.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I love that.
Oh, I love that.
Okay, and you started this fromthe research I found in 2014.
Is that right?
Yep, yep, yep, and you, you,you started it while still
working in corporate.
Yeah, how fun was that.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Um, you know it was, it was fun, it was a lot of late
nights, I had been freelancingand, um, I was friends with
people who worked for the SBDCand they said you probably need
some kind of legal name for thebusiness.
So I did that.
I never thought it would grow,I thought I was going to just do
it for freelance.
And then I had two little kidsand I needed that flexibility
(03:37):
and I was, honestly, the lowestranking person.
I was not in any importantmeetings and I thought, well, I
could probably do this hybridand stop trying to beat traffic
all the time and trying not toget charged extra at daycare and
then having to log inafterwards anyway or earlier in
the morning before going in towork the next day.
(03:59):
And they said that wasn'treally in their policy to do
that.
This was prior to the pandemic.
So then I was like well, I'mmaking somewhat enough money.
And my husband said you knowwhat?
Just give your notice, we canmake it somehow.
And so I did.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I never looked back, 2017, you're just full on.
So let's go back a littlefarther, or did I mess that up?
No, no, that's good.
I was like did I mess up yourtime?
Okay, I want to go back farther.
You mentioned about growing up.
I want to talk about that.
Where did you grow up?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So I was born in California but I actually grew
up in Erie Pennsylvania, so I'mused to tons of snow and driving
in snow and ice and all of thatstuff.
Yeah, that's really where Igrew up.
It was.
For me it was really tiny.
I go back now and I'm like, wow, everything has really grown.
Erie Pennsylvania has grown.
But when I was there I justfelt like a very small place and
(05:00):
then I came to Columbus to goto school.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Okay, cause you went to CCAD, right, yeah, oh, that's
so special, um, do you havesiblings?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes, I have two younger siblings.
I am the oldest.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Oh man, you're the oldest in your family.
Yes, and both your parents.
Are they still in Erie?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So my mother is in Erie, pennsylvania.
My father, my biological fatherhe's traveling around in
California and doing his thing,and then my stepfather, whom I
actually grew up with, he's backin Mexico, back in Mexico.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
They divorced, divorced, and where are your
siblings?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I have a sister here in Columbus Ohio.
She is getting her master's inmarketing, and then my brother
is still in Pennsylvania doinghis own thing businesses
investing in properties, thingslike that.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Will your sister come to work with you?
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You know I think no.
So I've seen being anentrepreneur.
I've seen family businesseswork.
I've seen family businesseswork and I've seen a lot of them
either the business fails orthe family dynamics fail.
So my stance for 2025 is, youknow, let's try to keep family
as family and then business asbusiness, because it's it's hard
(06:22):
, I think sometimes, especiallymy husband also owns businesses
and even when he asks mequestions, I get like this, like
this nerve wracking feeling andI am not the best person to
teach him anything likeQuickBooks, because he's my
husband and so, like you know,it's very different from
teaching someone else somethingabout marketing or website
(06:42):
teaching him.
I, it's him.
It's weird, it's like I getmore annoyed easily.
So keeping that barrier isimportant for me.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You are somebody who is great at boundaries, but I
don't want to go there just yet.
I read about you.
Well, first of all, on yourLinkedIn profile, you say you're
the chief glitter officer andthen you're the OG glitter
bomber of things.
Where did the glitter thingcome from?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
So when I first started the business, a lot of
the branding had glitter in itand I really wanted to
differentiate it and make itobvious that it was women owned.
Oh okay, so we had yeah, I wasthe glitter bomber Bomber of
branding and Glitter Bomberwebsite and that kind of stuck
throughout the years andobviously there's no more
(07:30):
glitter in a lot of our brandingnow, but it's a title that
really stuck with people and soI still, even though we've
started changing our intro, ourelevator pitch, it's still.
When I walk into a room they'relike oh yeah, the Glitter
Bomber of brands.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I love it so much.
Okay, um, so you built thisbusiness and you started with
nothing and you well, you havethe understanding because you
went to ccad.
Did you go to ccad formarketing?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I went for industrial design and I took a lot of like
the graphic courses and thingslike that.
It gave a well-roundedunderstanding of just design in
general.
And then with industrial design, it was very heavy on the user.
So how is the user going to usethis stapler, for example, that
you are creating?
(08:22):
How is the user going to sit onthis chair?
What is even the purpose of thechair?
Is it a wheelchair?
Is it just for aesthetics?
And it doesn't actually have tobe that comfortable.
So that's actually what's, Ithink, been left over and guided
me throughout all of the years.
It's like what does the useractually want?
Why are we even creating thiswebsite?
(08:43):
And then I got a job at ascience shop as an industrial
designer.
But I did a job at a scienceshop doing 3D things, but I was
the most per my memory, I wasthe most junior and they needed
a website redone, and so Istarted redesigning their
website or trying to.
And then slowly I startedbreaking other people's websites
and then learning how to fixthem, learning about WordPress,
(09:06):
learning how to develop, dofront-end development and, yeah,
it just kept growing from thereword of mouth.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, I mean sincerely.
Everybody knows you In Columbus, ohio.
At least I can say that that'show we ended up bumping into
each other and constantly.
That, just that's how we endedup bumping into each other, and
constantly.
So one of the things I noticedabout you when I met you right
away A you're everywhere.
B you're very, very good aboutboundaries and about
(09:38):
compartmentalizing in a way thatI know I struggle with and I
know quite a few people that do.
And when I read about you, youhave this phrase of leave behind
this yes, girl, and reallystick to those boundaries.
When did you start doing that?
How and how do you do that?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
You know it's been a slow and it's still.
Sometimes I have to remindmyself that I have to set
boundaries, because I loveworking with, for example,
nonprofits.
I love working with chambers,and chambers are very limited
sometimes in funds and I justlike helping people so that when
they have a problem, whetherit's marketing or anything, I
(10:22):
like providing that support.
But slowly throughout the years, learning how to just say will
the, how will this affect me?
And how does this circle backto my goals.
So even if someone's incorporate right I was very much
of a yes person in corporate andthen realizing that corporate,
corporate is a business and I'mnothing bad about corporate, I
(10:43):
don't want to, you know, talkbad about it because you never
know you might have to go back.
I've also learned never saynever, but I never set
boundaries.
So whether it was hoppingonline to edit a website at 6am
or driving, or like driving home, putting my kids, giving them
(11:06):
dinner, putting them to bed andthen hopping back online because
I had to prep for an earlymorning website update, those
were all things that needed tobe done, but I still would go in
.
So even if I woke up at 6 am,did the website update, I would
still be into the office bybetween eight and nine,
depending on what day it was,and still maybe even stay late.
(11:27):
So that would have been anopportunity to start creating
boundaries within that corporatespace and protecting from
burnout.
And then with business, I lovewhat I do, especially meeting
people.
I'm not the most extrovert butI do like hearing people's
stories and learning how to setthose boundaries of no, I can't
(11:51):
feasibly pay my employees if Ilower my pricing or if we are
overloaded in projects, wecannot do the best in quality.
There's also been times whenI've had whale clients.
They're the best clients, butthen they are the majority of
our funds and they are themajority of our headaches.
(12:12):
And so learning how to setthose boundaries, learning how
to fire clients and it's scaryin business to set those
boundaries even firing a clientor saying, hey, you, you gave
this project to me at the lastminute.
We don't do that.
We will try our best, but youwon't get it by tomorrow morning
(12:32):
, you're going to get it by theend of the day, or whatever.
That's scary, Like telling aclient that because you, you
want to please them.
And then there's boundaries forpersonal too.
So setting boundaries.
For example, I made the exampleof my husband.
He owns businesses.
He's trying to learn QuickBookssetting boundaries of.
I am not going to tackle thisinvoice for you because I've
(12:54):
shown you how to do it.
Call me over when you'vealready attempted to do it
yourself and then I can checkyour work right.
So that's a small boundary withfamily just setting boundaries
of.
And if families, I think thehardest one because you want to
help out your, your siblings,you want to help out your
parents, and you got to realize,like I have, I'm expecting, so
(13:19):
I'll eventually have three kidsat the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Oh, congratulations.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, yeah, it wasn't just a big.
You know eating a lot of tacosduring the summer.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
But, I wouldn't have judged if it was.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
So, like you know, how do I then protect my own
mental health so that I canprotect the mental health of
those that are dependent upon me?
And that could potentially meansetting boundaries with family,
with employees, with businesspartners, with clients.
Hopefully that answers thequestion.
It's still really hard.
I'm not going to say it's easy.
You know, when you tellsomebody no, it's hard and then
(14:00):
you start like doubting yourselfand asking yourself am I a nice
person, am I not a nice person?
Or for me I was like, if Idon't feel bad about saying no,
am I a serial killer?
Is that in my future?
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Right, I know I have the same thoughts.
Boundaries has been one where Ididn't realize I was making
boundaries, because I've beentold that I cut people off very
quickly and I've been told that.
But then, when I said this tosomeone else the other day who
happens to be a coach and afriend, she was like no, dahlia,
you held a boundary.
(14:36):
They crossed the boundaryrepeatedly and you told them if
you keep doing that, there won'tbe any more relationships.
So that's the normal thing.
So it's.
It's that.
It's that whole game of am I theasshole?
I'm, probably.
I am, but uh, but I'm okay withthat because that means you
know, I tell my kids this thesame.
(14:56):
You teach people how to treatyou.
What you're willing to put upwith is exactly what you'll get
out of.
And if you want people to keeptreating you badly and not
respecting your time and yourspace, then don't respect your
time and space and let that keephappening.
So I love that you live thatway.
What's your day look like thenwhen you get up?
(15:17):
I imagine none of your dayslook the same.
I would imagine that.
But what does a typical day inthe life of Yasmeen look like?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, so my husband's business takes him away.
He travels a lot or he will beawake really early because he'll
have to travel like an houraway to a project site he
installs artificial turf.
So usually it's a quick goodbyein the morning and then I start
getting ready.
But it is a really differentday every day because I'm a part
of different boards orcommittees.
(15:47):
I might have different calls.
It depends on the time of themonth as well.
Usually the beginning of themonth is heavier on events and
the end of the month is catchingup on things, so it does look
very different.
But I will say that as much assometimes it's annoying and I
really wish I had like a nine tofive schedule.
It is nice to annoyingly nicesometimes to be able to say you
(16:13):
know what?
I'm going to take the kids onthis Friday with their friends
to the mall so they can go buytheir back to school clothes and
meanwhile I'll go to likeCostco nearby and do the grocery
shopping versus doing that onthe weekend.
So that is something that'snice and learning that has also
(16:34):
taught me how to be flexible,learning to just go with the
flow and understanding thatthere's nobody.
I am the boss, so there'snobody.
Really the buck stops with me.
So if I don't do the work,that's okay, as long as I have a
plan for it.
So like this weekend they weregetting back to school clothes,
they were going, you know, doingtheir teen thing shopping.
(16:57):
I did the grocery shopping.
While they were doing that, Iran some errands and then I
worked over the weekend calmly.
There was no calls.
I actually got a lot of workdone that had been backlogged,
so it all balanced out.
So the days do not look the same, but I would say it's usually.
You know, I'm in charge of thekids in the morning.
(17:18):
So usually trying to do the momthing and yelling at them to
hurry up, getting them to schoolon time and asking them like
trying to pull out informationfrom teenagers is hard, but like
trying to ask them how theirday went and then knowing that
like it's just flexible.
So if I want to take a break, Ican take a break, and that's
(17:39):
one of the hardest things too.
So boundaries are hard, butknowing that I am an
entrepreneur I started thisbusiness for the flexibility I
can go and take a walk, like Idon't have to ask somebody about
that If my mental health is notthe best that day, I am allowed
to even take an hour off.
If I don't feel comfortabletaking the full time off, I can
(18:00):
say no to, strategically, tocertain events instead of trying
to be everywhere.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Do you feel the weight Is that?
Do you feel like that weight,that obligation of not in a bad
way I don't even like really theword weight and obligation but
of being the owner, being theboss, having that responsibility
?
Or is it just, and it could bemore than just these two options
?
Or is it just so naturalbecause you've kind of I feel
(18:31):
like you've been in that rolefor your whole life?
Speaker 2 (18:35):
it's.
There's a weight when it comesto our entrepreneurship and
being the owner.
And now we have um is izzy cameon as a partner, right, but I'm
still like everything stopswith me and the.
There is a weight of now it'snot just my earnings, it's this
other person's earnings and it'sthe other employees and the
(18:57):
interns and contractors, um andsure, everyone gets paid.
So there is a weight to that.
And seeing the housing costs andseeing inflation and figuring,
well, if it's hard for me topurchase X, y and Z, what is
that like for these people thatare dependent on me to make
sales, and that's, I think oneof the reasons I'm very open
(19:19):
with everyone on the team islike here's the situation.
I'm not going to make sales,and that's.
I think one of the reasons I'mvery open with everyone on the
team is like here's thesituation.
I'm not going to hide finances.
This is where we are, just sothat they have an understanding
and there's transparency withinRebel Marketing and nothing
comes as a surprise to them whendecisions are being made and
they can be part of thatdecision-making process as well.
But there's also that weight ofthere's always that mom guilt.
(19:43):
Right, I see other parents likethey might be.
I might have an importantclient meeting right, and I
don't want to miss that.
Or like a Navajo luncheon, andI don't want to miss that either
.
And then, at the same time,there might be these parents
that I see that are like walkingwith their kids or, um, I don't
know doing school activities,and there's that guilt and it's
(20:04):
like a weight that you feel, um,that you're not doing enough in
these different aspects of life.
But a long time ago, one of theum I think her name is Noni
Banks.
She, a long time ago I was partof her organization was called
the Diva Movement and she saidyou know, life is like seasons.
(20:26):
Sometimes you lean heavier onthe business, sometimes you lean
heavier on family, and that'sokay.
Like you don't have to be 100%in all of them at all times, and
that's the way I see it.
So this summer we were a littlebit slow in business.
That's perfect.
I did things on the back endthat could help.
I helped Izzy with herleadership and then I just took
(20:46):
it in stride and tried to spendtime with family.
And then, now that they'regoing back to school and I see
that there's a lift in thebusiness, I can dive back in.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So where do you see this all going?
Where do you see you going?
Not just the, not the company,not, not rebel marketing, not
even the glitter stuff.
Um, just you.
Where do you see you going?
And cause you're, you're verybig powerhouse in terms of both
entrepreneurship, but then theLatina entrepreneurs, huge, huge
(21:19):
, and that's kind of a big topicright now.
Where do you see all of thisgoing for you?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So, in full transparency, we're kind of
fluid in going towards the endof 2025.
We, just because of everythingthat's happening I guess you
could say socially, outside ofthe business sphere, we're
looking into all of our options.
So, whether that is moving to adifferent country and how that
(21:54):
would affect the business, howthat affects Izzy as a partner,
who's going to take over whatrole, how often can I come back,
depending on the country thatwe end up choosing?
Or is it something where I comeback and forth every couple
months?
So we're kind of fluid rightnow.
Or do we end up staying or dowe move to another state or
another city.
(22:15):
That is where we are right now.
So it's very fluid.
In 10 years, I would say and Idon't want to speak for like
administrations or anything likethat, but I'm hopeful that
things have settled down Maybe Iwould love in 10 years, to be
traveling more often, whether ornot I'm still in the business.
(22:37):
Now we are in, marketing issomewhat adjacent to tech.
Women in tech is a little hardand older women in tech is even
harder.
So whether I sell the business,give it away to Izzy or
whatever that looks like ideally, I think freedom and community
(23:00):
come to mind.
So, whether, again, whetherthat's here, whether that's in
Mexico, in I don't even knowPortugal, Spain, wherever that
may end up be community andbeing able to just have a little
bit of more freedom andstability.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Yeah, I feel exactly the same way.
I have a five-year plan andI've told my own company this
I'm like you've got five years.
In five years, I'm out and I'mtaking the kids with me.
They'll be old enough, they canmake their decisions by then,
but I'll be going to France,southern France or Portugal.
Same thing.
Can't agree more so.
(23:38):
And the reason I ask is becauseyou're pretty well known for
navigating chaos and somehowremaining the calm for everybody
, and I can't imagine thatthat's easy for you to do.
I can't.
I mean, I'm also a chaoscontroller, but I feel like we
deal with different rounds,different types of chaos, and so
I just do you stay calm or doyou lose it too, just like the
(24:01):
rest of us?
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Well, I have a therapist, yeah.
So a little bit about mychildhood.
We I feel like I was kind ofraised in chaos.
It was not the best childhood Idon't know who can say that
they had the best childhood but,like, um, there were some
domestic abuse going on, thingslike that.
(24:26):
Um, as a kid, like I rememberhaving my bag like a backpack or
a bag ready to go, like a gobag, um, just in case we had to
leave again, and you know.
So, being raised in that, theway I see things is, it's almost
like the business chaos, theall of this other chaos.
It's really not that.
(24:48):
Not that it's not that bad, butit's like compared, comparing
it to, like the little kid, me,where I had no control, right,
it was all the adults.
Now I'm like, well, technicallyI'm the adult.
Now, if I wanted to, I couldget in my car and go.
So that's sometimes how Icompare it, but no, I still
freak out.
I just I've learned to keep ahold of my face together, or try
(25:13):
to, most of the time.
Sometimes it doesn't work out,but definitely the therapy has
worked.
Just a couple of self-help books.
I do a lot of checklists ofto-dos and sometimes those
to-dos turn into more of likewhat is actually what is
bothering me right now, what iscausing me to feel like that
(25:34):
heaviness in my chest or thoseheart palpitations?
Why is it that I cannot focuson these tasks that I have to do
?
And then understanding thatagain, there's flexibility and
it depends on the type of workyou do, the type of business you
have or career.
But trying to step away andreminding myself and it's hard
(25:56):
Sometimes, you know I'm tryingto push through projects and I'm
pushing through and I've beenpushing through a project for
two hours but my brain keepsgoing everywhere because of some
news that came out right.
But trying to remember you knowwhat You're the boss for a
reason.
You're not stuck in an officefor a reason, and even if you've
had an office again, you arestill the boss.
(26:18):
So you could technically go andtake a break, like just a
mental health break that hashelped me.
But again, I'm old, so it'sbeen years right.
So, coming from a childhood ofchaos, going off on my own to go
to college, having kids at avery young age and then
(26:42):
navigating corporate and neverreally having that mentor trying
to just kind of falling on myface all the time.
Now I'm like you know what.
I'm old enough to understandthat there's a balance and that
I get to manage some of thatbalance.
And there's something that Ican't control.
I can't control how manycompetitors I have.
(27:04):
I can't control what they'redoing.
I can't control certain clientsand sometimes they don't heed
advice.
I can't control that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, make sure youupdate your website.
But you know, some of thesethings I can't control.
And so the things that I cancontrol, then that's what I try
(27:27):
to focus on.
Whether that is literally justmeal prepping for the week, it
could just be that.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
So yeah, that's the little bites that you can take
here and there.
I appreciate that and that'sthat's good to know, because I
feel the same way.
The thing is, I know I'm oldbecause, because I'm supposed to
be like age wise, I'm supposedto be, but I have this thing
where I will never feel old.
(27:55):
I will always be a giant kid,even though I have my own feel
old.
I will always be a giant kideven though I have my own kids.
I feel like some people grow upand they grow old and they
forget what it's like to be akid again, and I'd like to think
that neither one of us reallyever forgot.
It's still there and it's partof how we just kind of manage
(28:18):
every day.
So I end every episode aboutthe same in the interest of time
, and it's part of it's part ofhow we just kind of manage every
day.
So I end every episode aboutthe same in the interest of time
, and even though, as all,almost all the episodes go, the
entire episode is usually great,great advice.
However, I like to end withyour specific advice.
What is something you can get,whether it's something you live
(28:39):
by or do within your business?
What's a piece of advice youcould give to listeners that now
will have heard your story.
They will help them in theregular day other than update
their websites, which theyprobably all do anyway.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Two pieces Don't be just getting help.
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Don't be afraid to um to accepthelp.
That was something that wasdetrimental to me.
I thought I growing up, Ithought I, I'm the oldest, I
should be able to do everythingon my own, and then feeling bad
when you can't.
(29:17):
So and this goes for whetheryou're in corporate and in
business, it doesn't matterwhether you have kids tell your
kids like, hey, can you go andclean the countertops for me?
Like, just ask for that support, Um, and then being comfortable
with being uncomfortable.
I know that's like a saying thata lot of people do, but I
didn't realize how great it wasfor life when you are slightly,
(29:43):
you start getting slightlyuncomfortable.
Whether you hate networking andyou start going to small
networking events.
Whether you you hate reading aP and L right for your business,
the profit and loss sheet, andthen you slowly start to even
just watch a couple of YouTubevideos on how to.
How do you actually read one?
Those are the things thatreally have supported me, and in
(30:07):
not just growing a business butin all aspects, so like if I
ever were to say you know whatI'm done with business in 10
years.
I'm going to work for corporate, hopefully remotely in Portugal
or something that's still beinguncomfortable.
Being okay with beinguncomfortable is essential for
learning things, for having newexperiences whether that is in a
different country where youdon't speak a language, or in
(30:28):
your own hometown and being andlearning new things and yeah, so
those are the two Get, help,accept help and be uncomfortable
.
But help, accept, help and beuncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Really really good pieces of advice and yeah, I
live by.
I think asking for help is hardfor a lot of people, especially
if you've asked and you're metwith resistance, especially when
it was hard to ask in the firstplace.
Do you have any advice forpeople that try and are met with
(30:59):
no's?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
It depends on what you were asking for.
But I would say keep trying, orfind the right person.
That the person who said no,sometimes that no is not right
now right, depending on what youwere asking.
If you were asking someone togive you advice or, and they
said I don't have time right now, that might be a not right now
kind of thing.
Sometimes it is a no, but theymight not be the right person
(31:24):
there.
It might not even be areflection of you.
It might be something in theirlife.
So if someone needs a ride andthey ask me and I'm like I can't
right now I am on the other,I'm in Portugal it's not a
reflection of you, it's not areflection of you, it's just
really what state of mind arethey in?
(31:49):
What are they going through?
That they can't support youright now.
So that and feedback.
Sometimes people receive somenegative feedback and it really
feedback is neutral.
You can take it or leave it.
You can take it and assess itlater, when you're not feeling
so close to it, so attached toit.
But yeah, like it's, it's justa no, it's, it's not going to
(32:14):
like, if somebody doesn't hireyou, right, it's a no for right
now.
Maybe they weren't ready, maybethey are their own bosses gave
them a no right and so it's nota reflection of you, it's just a
no.
A no is just a word, unlessit's somebody telling you no,
please, like you know, stay inyour own space.
You know that's a differentkind of no.
(32:35):
That's the one I'm teaching mykids.
Like no is a full sentence.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
You can just say no to that person, but otherwise
it's just so helpful becausepeople sometimes that when once
they come out and they ask andthey're told no, they just run
away and just say I'm neverdoing that again.
So it's very helpful advice.
I appreciate it.
What resonates most aboutYasmeen's story is how she's
transformed survival skills intobusiness strengths.
(33:00):
Her ability to manage chaos,set firm boundaries and maintain
perspective comes from livedexperience that many
entrepreneurs don't talk aboutopenly.
Her honesty about therapy,self-help books and meal
prepping as tools for managingstress shows that success often
comes from addressing the wholeperson, not just the business.
(33:20):
I'm particularly moved by heradvice to ask for and accept
help Coming from someone who'sbuilt a business while managing
personal challenges and raisingchildren.
This isn't just professionaladvice, it's survival wisdom.
Her reminder that beingcomfortable with being
uncomfortable is essential forgrowth speaks to the reality
that meaningful change rarelyfeels easy.
(33:41):
Yasmin's vision for the futurepotentially selling her business
, moving internationally andprioritizing community and
travel demonstrates what'spossible when you build
something sustainable ratherthan just profitable.
Her transparency about ensuringher partners and employees are
paid, even when it weighsheavily on her, shows what
(34:02):
authentic leadership looks like.
For those of you settingboundaries for the first time,
building businesses whilemanaging family responsibilities
or simply trying to ask forhelp when you need it.
Yasmeen's journey proves thatyou can create the life you want
even when the path isn'ttraditional.
You can create the life youwant even when the path isn't
traditional.
If today's conversationinspired you to embrace
(34:23):
discomfort or finally ask forthat help you need, share it
with someone who needs to hearit.
Remember SheSweet Societyexists to amplify women's voices
from all walks of life, provingthat our greatest challenges
often become our greateststrengths.
Until next time, this is yourhost, dahlia, reminding you that
your life is your message tothe world.
Why not make it extraordinary?
Hey, hey, hey.
Welcome to the SheSweet Society, a community where women from
all backgrounds come together toshare their stories, support
one another and reveal theunfiltered reality of our lives.
I'm your host and empowerment,Sherpa Dahlia, and this podcast
(00:29):
exists to give voice and spaceto women whose experiences might
otherwise go unheard.
Today, I'm joined by YasmeenRobles, owner of Rebel Marketing
, whose journey from corporateburnout to successful
entrepreneurship is bothinspiring and deeply personal.
What started as Robles Designsin 2014, while she was still
working late nights in hercorporate role, has evolved into
(00:50):
a thriving business that she'sintentionally rebranded to
embrace her Latina heritage.
Yasmin's story is one ofresilience forged through
adversity.
Growing up in a chaoticenvironment marked by domestic
abuse, she's developed aperspective that makes current
business challenges feelmanageable.
By comparison, Her path toentrepreneurship wasn't just
(01:11):
about professional fulfillment.
It was about creatingflexibility to be present for
her two children when heremployer wouldn't accommodate a
hybrid work arrangement.
What makes Yasmin's insights sovaluable is her hard-won
understanding of boundaries.
From being a yes person incorporate to learning to say no
to last-minute client projects,she's mastered the art of
(01:33):
protecting her energy and mentalhealth while building a
successful business.
As she prepares to welcome herthird child and considers
international moves to Mexico,Portugal or Spain.
Child and considersinternational moves to Mexico,
Portugal or Spain.
Her story offers wisdom foranyone trying to build something
meaningful while navigatingpersonal challenges.
Thank you for joining me on mypodcast, G Suite Society, and
(01:55):
I'm excited for everybody tohear your story because most
people you have a very largenetwork, kind of like law.
Everybody knows you, You're inthe area.
It's just people know who youare, but they don't know who you
are.
They've not heard your story.
And they know you as anentrepreneur, they know you as
(02:16):
this powerhouse of a female, butthey don't know your story.
So I'm hoping that you can walkme through your story and I do
want to.
We'll start kind of a littlebit now.
You're the owner of RebelMarketing.
Is it Rebel Marketing?
Rebellious Little Marketing?
What is it?
What did you rename it?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Yeah, so it used to be Robles Designs and now we
renamed it to Rebel Marketingofficially.
I did add the D-E into the logobecause I'm Latina, so in
Spanish it's Rebel, so I wantedto add a little bit of a
differentiator in there.
But yeah, we're Rebel Marketing.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
I love that.
Oh, I love that.
Okay, and you started this fromthe research I found in 2014.
Is that right?
Yep, yep, yep, and you, you,you started it while still
working in corporate.
Yeah, how fun was that.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Um, you know it was, it was fun, it was a lot of late
nights, I had been freelancingand, um, I was friends with
people who worked for the SBDCand they said you probably need
some kind of legal name for thebusiness.
So I did that.
I never thought it would grow,I thought I was going to just do
it for freelance.
And then I had two little kidsand I needed that flexibility
(03:37):
and I was, honestly, the lowestranking person.
I was not in any importantmeetings and I thought, well, I
could probably do this hybridand stop trying to beat traffic
all the time and trying not toget charged extra at daycare and
then having to log inafterwards anyway or earlier in
the morning before going in towork the next day.
(03:59):
And they said that wasn'treally in their policy to do
that.
This was prior to the pandemic.
So then I was like well, I'mmaking somewhat enough money.
And my husband said you knowwhat?
Just give your notice, we canmake it somehow.
And so I did.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I never looked back, 2017, you're just full on.
So let's go back a littlefarther, or did I mess that up?
No, no, that's good.
I was like did I mess up yourtime?
Okay, I want to go back farther.
You mentioned about growing up.
I want to talk about that.
Where did you grow up?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
So I was born in California but I actually grew
up in Erie Pennsylvania, so I'mused to tons of snow and driving
in snow and ice and all of thatstuff.
Yeah, that's really where Igrew up.
It was.
For me it was really tiny.
I go back now and I'm like, wow, everything has really grown.
Erie Pennsylvania has grown.
But when I was there I justfelt like a very small place and
(05:00):
then I came to Columbus to goto school.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Okay, cause you went to CCAD, right, yeah, oh, that's
so special, um, do you havesiblings?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes, I have two younger siblings.
I am the oldest.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Oh man, you're the oldest in your family.
Yes, and both your parents.
Are they still in Erie?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So my mother is in Erie, pennsylvania.
My father, my biological fatherhe's traveling around in
California and doing his thing,and then my stepfather, whom I
actually grew up with, he's backin Mexico, back in Mexico.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
They divorced, divorced, and where are your
siblings?
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I have a sister here in Columbus Ohio.
She is getting her master's inmarketing, and then my brother
is still in Pennsylvania doinghis own thing businesses
investing in properties, thingslike that.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Will your sister come to work with you?
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You know I think no.
So I've seen being anentrepreneur.
I've seen family businesseswork.
I've seen family businesseswork and I've seen a lot of them
either the business fails orthe family dynamics fail.
So my stance for 2025 is, youknow, let's try to keep family
as family and then business asbusiness, because it's it's hard
(06:22):
, I think sometimes, especiallymy husband also owns businesses
and even when he asks mequestions, I get like this, like
this nerve wracking feeling andI am not the best person to
teach him anything likeQuickBooks, because he's my
husband and so, like you know,it's very different from
teaching someone else somethingabout marketing or website
(06:42):
teaching him.
I, it's him.
It's weird, it's like I getmore annoyed easily.
So keeping that barrier isimportant for me.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
You are somebody who is great at boundaries, but I
don't want to go there just yet.
I read about you.
Well, first of all, on yourLinkedIn profile, you say you're
the chief glitter officer andthen you're the OG glitter
bomber of things.
Where did the glitter thingcome from?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
So when I first started the business, a lot of
the branding had glitter in itand I really wanted to
differentiate it and make itobvious that it was women owned.
Oh okay, so we had yeah, I wasthe glitter bomber Bomber of
branding and Glitter Bomberwebsite and that kind of stuck
throughout the years andobviously there's no more
(07:30):
glitter in a lot of our brandingnow, but it's a title that
really stuck with people and soI still, even though we've
started changing our intro, ourelevator pitch, it's still.
When I walk into a room they'relike oh yeah, the Glitter
Bomber of brands.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I love it so much.
Okay, um, so you built thisbusiness and you started with
nothing and you well, you havethe understanding because you
went to ccad.
Did you go to ccad formarketing?
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I went for industrial design and I took a lot of like
the graphic courses and thingslike that.
It gave a well-roundedunderstanding of just design in
general.
And then with industrial design, it was very heavy on the user.
So how is the user going to usethis stapler, for example, that
you are creating?
(08:22):
How is the user going to sit onthis chair?
What is even the purpose of thechair?
Is it a wheelchair?
Is it just for aesthetics?
And it doesn't actually have tobe that comfortable.
So that's actually what's, Ithink, been left over and guided
me throughout all of the years.
It's like what does the useractually want?
Why are we even creating thiswebsite?
(08:43):
And then I got a job at ascience shop as an industrial
designer.
But I did a job at a scienceshop doing 3D things, but I was
the most per my memory, I wasthe most junior and they needed
a website redone, and so Istarted redesigning their
website or trying to.
And then slowly I startedbreaking other people's websites
and then learning how to fixthem, learning about WordPress,
(09:06):
learning how to develop, dofront-end development and, yeah,
it just kept growing from thereword of mouth.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, I mean sincerely.
Everybody knows you In Columbus, ohio.
At least I can say that that'show we ended up bumping into
each other and constantly.
That, just that's how we endedup bumping into each other, and
constantly.
So one of the things I noticedabout you when I met you right
away A you're everywhere.
B you're very, very good aboutboundaries and about
(09:38):
compartmentalizing in a way thatI know I struggle with and I
know quite a few people that do.
And when I read about you, youhave this phrase of leave behind
this yes, girl, and reallystick to those boundaries.
When did you start doing that?
How and how do you do that?
Speaker 2 (10:00):
You know it's been a slow and it's still.
Sometimes I have to remindmyself that I have to set
boundaries, because I loveworking with, for example,
nonprofits.
I love working with chambers,and chambers are very limited
sometimes in funds and I justlike helping people so that when
they have a problem, whetherit's marketing or anything, I
(10:22):
like providing that support.
But slowly throughout the years, learning how to just say will
the, how will this affect me?
And how does this circle backto my goals.
So even if someone's incorporate right I was very much
of a yes person in corporate andthen realizing that corporate,
corporate is a business and I'mnothing bad about corporate, I
(10:43):
don't want to, you know, talkbad about it because you never
know you might have to go back.
I've also learned never saynever, but I never set
boundaries.
So whether it was hoppingonline to edit a website at 6am
or driving, or like driving home, putting my kids, giving them
(11:06):
dinner, putting them to bed andthen hopping back online because
I had to prep for an earlymorning website update, those
were all things that needed tobe done, but I still would go in
.
So even if I woke up at 6 am,did the website update, I would
still be into the office bybetween eight and nine,
depending on what day it was,and still maybe even stay late.
(11:27):
So that would have been anopportunity to start creating
boundaries within that corporatespace and protecting from
burnout.
And then with business, I lovewhat I do, especially meeting
people.
I'm not the most extrovert butI do like hearing people's
stories and learning how to setthose boundaries of no, I can't
(11:51):
feasibly pay my employees if Ilower my pricing or if we are
overloaded in projects, wecannot do the best in quality.
There's also been times whenI've had whale clients.
They're the best clients, butthen they are the majority of
our funds and they are themajority of our headaches.
(12:12):
And so learning how to setthose boundaries, learning how
to fire clients and it's scaryin business to set those
boundaries even firing a clientor saying, hey, you, you gave
this project to me at the lastminute.
We don't do that.
We will try our best, but youwon't get it by tomorrow morning
(12:32):
, you're going to get it by theend of the day, or whatever.
That's scary, Like telling aclient that because you, you
want to please them.
And then there's boundaries forpersonal too.
So setting boundaries.
For example, I made the exampleof my husband.
He owns businesses.
He's trying to learn QuickBookssetting boundaries of.
I am not going to tackle thisinvoice for you because I've
(12:54):
shown you how to do it.
Call me over when you'vealready attempted to do it
yourself and then I can checkyour work right.
So that's a small boundary withfamily just setting boundaries
of.
And if families, I think thehardest one because you want to
help out your, your siblings,you want to help out your
parents, and you got to realize,like I have, I'm expecting, so
(13:19):
I'll eventually have three kidsat the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Oh, congratulations.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, yeah, it wasn't just a big.
You know eating a lot of tacosduring the summer.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
But, I wouldn't have judged if it was.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
So, like you know, how do I then protect my own
mental health so that I canprotect the mental health of
those that are dependent upon me?
And that could potentially meansetting boundaries with family,
with employees, with businesspartners, with clients.
Hopefully that answers thequestion.
It's still really hard.
I'm not going to say it's easy.
You know, when you tellsomebody no, it's hard and then
(14:00):
you start like doubting yourselfand asking yourself am I a nice
person, am I not a nice person?
Or for me I was like, if Idon't feel bad about saying no,
am I a serial killer?
Is that in my future?
Speaker 1 (14:15):
Right, I know I have the same thoughts.
Boundaries has been one where Ididn't realize I was making
boundaries, because I've beentold that I cut people off very
quickly and I've been told that.
But then, when I said this tosomeone else the other day who
happens to be a coach and afriend, she was like no, dahlia,
you held a boundary.
(14:36):
They crossed the boundaryrepeatedly and you told them if
you keep doing that, there won'tbe any more relationships.
So that's the normal thing.
So it's.
It's that.
It's that whole game of am I theasshole?
I'm, probably.
I am, but uh, but I'm okay withthat because that means you
know, I tell my kids this thesame.
(14:56):
You teach people how to treatyou.
What you're willing to put upwith is exactly what you'll get
out of.
And if you want people to keeptreating you badly and not
respecting your time and yourspace, then don't respect your
time and space and let that keephappening.
So I love that you live thatway.
What's your day look like thenwhen you get up?
(15:17):
I imagine none of your dayslook the same.
I would imagine that.
But what does a typical day inthe life of Yasmeen look like?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, so my husband's business takes him away.
He travels a lot or he will beawake really early because he'll
have to travel like an houraway to a project site he
installs artificial turf.
So usually it's a quick goodbyein the morning and then I start
getting ready.
But it is a really differentday every day because I'm a part
of different boards orcommittees.
(15:47):
I might have different calls.
It depends on the time of themonth as well.
Usually the beginning of themonth is heavier on events and
the end of the month is catchingup on things, so it does look
very different.
But I will say that as much assometimes it's annoying and I
really wish I had like a nine tofive schedule.
It is nice to annoyingly nicesometimes to be able to say you
(16:13):
know what?
I'm going to take the kids onthis Friday with their friends
to the mall so they can go buytheir back to school clothes and
meanwhile I'll go to likeCostco nearby and do the grocery
shopping versus doing that onthe weekend.
So that is something that'snice and learning that has also
(16:34):
taught me how to be flexible,learning to just go with the
flow and understanding thatthere's nobody.
I am the boss, so there'snobody.
Really the buck stops with me.
So if I don't do the work,that's okay, as long as I have a
plan for it.
So like this weekend they weregetting back to school clothes,
they were going, you know, doingtheir teen thing shopping.
(16:57):
I did the grocery shopping.
While they were doing that, Iran some errands and then I
worked over the weekend calmly.
There was no calls.
I actually got a lot of workdone that had been backlogged,
so it all balanced out.
So the days do not look the same, but I would say it's usually.
You know, I'm in charge of thekids in the morning.
(17:18):
So usually trying to do the momthing and yelling at them to
hurry up, getting them to schoolon time and asking them like
trying to pull out informationfrom teenagers is hard, but like
trying to ask them how theirday went and then knowing that
like it's just flexible.
So if I want to take a break, Ican take a break, and that's
(17:39):
one of the hardest things too.
So boundaries are hard, butknowing that I am an
entrepreneur I started thisbusiness for the flexibility I
can go and take a walk, like Idon't have to ask somebody about
that If my mental health is notthe best that day, I am allowed
to even take an hour off.
If I don't feel comfortabletaking the full time off, I can
(18:00):
say no to, strategically, tocertain events instead of trying
to be everywhere.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Do you feel the weight Is that?
Do you feel like that weight,that obligation of not in a bad
way I don't even like really theword weight and obligation but
of being the owner, being theboss, having that responsibility
?
Or is it just, and it could bemore than just these two options
?
Or is it just so naturalbecause you've kind of I feel
(18:31):
like you've been in that rolefor your whole life?
Speaker 2 (18:35):
it's.
There's a weight when it comesto our entrepreneurship and
being the owner.
And now we have um is izzy cameon as a partner, right, but I'm
still like everything stopswith me and the.
There is a weight of now it'snot just my earnings, it's this
other person's earnings and it'sthe other employees and the
(18:57):
interns and contractors, um andsure, everyone gets paid.
So there is a weight to that.
And seeing the housing costs andseeing inflation and figuring,
well, if it's hard for me topurchase X, y and Z, what is
that like for these people thatare dependent on me to make
sales, and that's, I think oneof the reasons I'm very open
(19:19):
with everyone on the team islike here's the situation.
I'm not going to make sales,and that's.
I think one of the reasons I'mvery open with everyone on the
team is like here's thesituation.
I'm not going to hide finances.
This is where we are, just sothat they have an understanding
and there's transparency withinRebel Marketing and nothing
comes as a surprise to them whendecisions are being made and
they can be part of thatdecision-making process as well.
But there's also that weight ofthere's always that mom guilt.
(19:43):
Right, I see other parents likethey might be.
I might have an importantclient meeting right, and I
don't want to miss that.
Or like a Navajo luncheon, andI don't want to miss that either
.
And then, at the same time,there might be these parents
that I see that are like walkingwith their kids or, um, I don't
know doing school activities,and there's that guilt and it's
(20:04):
like a weight that you feel, um,that you're not doing enough in
these different aspects of life.
But a long time ago, one of theum I think her name is Noni
Banks.
She, a long time ago I was partof her organization was called
the Diva Movement and she saidyou know, life is like seasons.
(20:26):
Sometimes you lean heavier onthe business, sometimes you lean
heavier on family, and that'sokay.
Like you don't have to be 100%in all of them at all times, and
that's the way I see it.
So this summer we were a littlebit slow in business.
That's perfect.
I did things on the back endthat could help.
I helped Izzy with herleadership and then I just took
(20:46):
it in stride and tried to spendtime with family.
And then, now that they'regoing back to school and I see
that there's a lift in thebusiness, I can dive back in.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So where do you see this all going?
Where do you see you going?
Not just the, not the company,not, not rebel marketing, not
even the glitter stuff.
Um, just you.
Where do you see you going?
And cause you're, you're verybig powerhouse in terms of both
entrepreneurship, but then theLatina entrepreneurs, huge, huge
(21:19):
, and that's kind of a big topicright now.
Where do you see all of thisgoing for you?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So, in full transparency, we're kind of
fluid in going towards the endof 2025.
We, just because of everythingthat's happening I guess you
could say socially, outside ofthe business sphere, we're
looking into all of our options.
So, whether that is moving to adifferent country and how that
(21:54):
would affect the business, howthat affects Izzy as a partner,
who's going to take over whatrole, how often can I come back,
depending on the country thatwe end up choosing?
Or is it something where I comeback and forth every couple
months?
So we're kind of fluid rightnow.
Or do we end up staying or dowe move to another state or
another city.
(22:15):
That is where we are right now.
So it's very fluid.
In 10 years, I would say and Idon't want to speak for like
administrations or anything likethat, but I'm hopeful that
things have settled down Maybe Iwould love in 10 years, to be
traveling more often, whether ornot I'm still in the business.
(22:37):
Now we are in, marketing issomewhat adjacent to tech.
Women in tech is a little hardand older women in tech is even
harder.
So whether I sell the business,give it away to Izzy or
whatever that looks like ideally, I think freedom and community
(23:00):
come to mind.
So, whether, again, whetherthat's here, whether that's in
Mexico, in I don't even knowPortugal, Spain, wherever that
may end up be community andbeing able to just have a little
bit of more freedom andstability.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Yeah, I feel exactly the same way.
I have a five-year plan andI've told my own company this
I'm like you've got five years.
In five years, I'm out and I'mtaking the kids with me.
They'll be old enough, they canmake their decisions by then,
but I'll be going to France,southern France or Portugal.
Same thing.
Can't agree more so.
(23:38):
And the reason I ask is becauseyou're pretty well known for
navigating chaos and somehowremaining the calm for everybody
, and I can't imagine thatthat's easy for you to do.
I can't.
I mean, I'm also a chaoscontroller, but I feel like we
deal with different rounds,different types of chaos, and so
I just do you stay calm or doyou lose it too, just like the
(24:01):
rest of us?
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Well, I have a therapist, yeah.
So a little bit about mychildhood.
We I feel like I was kind ofraised in chaos.
It was not the best childhood Idon't know who can say that
they had the best childhood but,like, um, there were some
domestic abuse going on, thingslike that.
(24:26):
Um, as a kid, like I rememberhaving my bag like a backpack or
a bag ready to go, like a gobag, um, just in case we had to
leave again, and you know.
So, being raised in that, theway I see things is, it's almost
like the business chaos, theall of this other chaos.
It's really not that.
(24:48):
Not that it's not that bad, butit's like compared, comparing
it to, like the little kid, me,where I had no control, right,
it was all the adults.
Now I'm like, well, technicallyI'm the adult.
Now, if I wanted to, I couldget in my car and go.
So that's sometimes how Icompare it, but no, I still
freak out.
I just I've learned to keep ahold of my face together, or try
(25:13):
to, most of the time.
Sometimes it doesn't work out,but definitely the therapy has
worked.
Just a couple of self-help books.
I do a lot of checklists ofto-dos and sometimes those
to-dos turn into more of likewhat is actually what is
bothering me right now, what iscausing me to feel like that
(25:34):
heaviness in my chest or thoseheart palpitations?
Why is it that I cannot focuson these tasks that I have to do
?
And then understanding thatagain, there's flexibility and
it depends on the type of workyou do, the type of business you
have or career.
But trying to step away andreminding myself and it's hard
(25:56):
Sometimes, you know I'm tryingto push through projects and I'm
pushing through and I've beenpushing through a project for
two hours but my brain keepsgoing everywhere because of some
news that came out right.
But trying to remember you knowwhat You're the boss for a
reason.
You're not stuck in an officefor a reason, and even if you've
had an office again, you arestill the boss.
(26:18):
So you could technically go andtake a break, like just a
mental health break that hashelped me.
But again, I'm old, so it'sbeen years right.
So, coming from a childhood ofchaos, going off on my own to go
to college, having kids at avery young age and then
(26:42):
navigating corporate and neverreally having that mentor trying
to just kind of falling on myface all the time.
Now I'm like you know what.
I'm old enough to understandthat there's a balance and that
I get to manage some of thatbalance.
And there's something that Ican't control.
I can't control how manycompetitors I have.
(27:04):
I can't control what they'redoing.
I can't control certain clientsand sometimes they don't heed
advice.
I can't control that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, make sure youupdate your website.
But you know, some of thesethings I can't control.
And so the things that I cancontrol, then that's what I try
(27:27):
to focus on.
Whether that is literally justmeal prepping for the week, it
could just be that.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
So yeah, that's the little bites that you can take
here and there.
I appreciate that and that'sthat's good to know, because I
feel the same way.
The thing is, I know I'm oldbecause, because I'm supposed to
be like age wise, I'm supposedto be, but I have this thing
where I will never feel old.
(27:55):
I will always be a giant kid,even though I have my own feel
old.
I will always be a giant kideven though I have my own kids.
I feel like some people grow upand they grow old and they
forget what it's like to be akid again, and I'd like to think
that neither one of us reallyever forgot.
It's still there and it's partof how we just kind of manage
(28:18):
every day.
So I end every episode aboutthe same in the interest of time
, and it's part of it's part ofhow we just kind of manage every
day.
So I end every episode aboutthe same in the interest of time
, and even though, as all,almost all the episodes go, the
entire episode is usually great,great advice.
However, I like to end withyour specific advice.
What is something you can get,whether it's something you live
(28:39):
by or do within your business?
What's a piece of advice youcould give to listeners that now
will have heard your story.
They will help them in theregular day other than update
their websites, which theyprobably all do anyway.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Two pieces Don't be just getting help.
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Don't be afraid to um to accepthelp.
That was something that wasdetrimental to me.
I thought I growing up, Ithought I, I'm the oldest, I
should be able to do everythingon my own, and then feeling bad
when you can't.
(29:17):
So and this goes for whetheryou're in corporate and in
business, it doesn't matterwhether you have kids tell your
kids like, hey, can you go andclean the countertops for me?
Like, just ask for that support, Um, and then being comfortable
with being uncomfortable.
I know that's like a saying thata lot of people do, but I
didn't realize how great it wasfor life when you are slightly,
(29:43):
you start getting slightlyuncomfortable.
Whether you hate networking andyou start going to small
networking events.
Whether you you hate reading aP and L right for your business,
the profit and loss sheet, andthen you slowly start to even
just watch a couple of YouTubevideos on how to.
How do you actually read one?
Those are the things thatreally have supported me, and in
(30:07):
not just growing a business butin all aspects, so like if I
ever were to say you know whatI'm done with business in 10
years.
I'm going to work for corporate, hopefully remotely in Portugal
or something that's still beinguncomfortable.
Being okay with beinguncomfortable is essential for
learning things, for having newexperiences whether that is in a
different country where youdon't speak a language, or in
(30:28):
your own hometown and being andlearning new things and yeah, so
those are the two Get, help,accept help and be uncomfortable
.
But help, accept, help and beuncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Really really good pieces of advice and yeah, I
live by.
I think asking for help is hardfor a lot of people, especially
if you've asked and you're metwith resistance, especially when
it was hard to ask in the firstplace.
Do you have any advice forpeople that try and are met with
(30:59):
no's?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
It depends on what you were asking for.
But I would say keep trying, orfind the right person.
That the person who said no,sometimes that no is not right
now right, depending on what youwere asking.
If you were asking someone togive you advice or, and they
said I don't have time right now, that might be a not right now
kind of thing.
Sometimes it is a no, but theymight not be the right person
(31:24):
there.
It might not even be areflection of you.
It might be something in theirlife.
So if someone needs a ride andthey ask me and I'm like I can't
right now I am on the other,I'm in Portugal it's not a
reflection of you, it's not areflection of you, it's just
really what state of mind arethey in?
(31:49):
What are they going through?
That they can't support youright now.
So that and feedback.
Sometimes people receive somenegative feedback and it really
feedback is neutral.
You can take it or leave it.
You can take it and assess itlater, when you're not feeling
so close to it, so attached toit.
But yeah, like it's, it's justa no, it's, it's not going to
(32:14):
like, if somebody doesn't hireyou, right, it's a no for right
now.
Maybe they weren't ready, maybethey are their own bosses gave
them a no right and so it's nota reflection of you, it's just a
no.
A no is just a word, unlessit's somebody telling you no,
please, like you know, stay inyour own space.
You know that's a differentkind of no.
(32:35):
That's the one I'm teaching mykids.
Like no is a full sentence.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
You can just say no to that person, but otherwise
it's just so helpful becausepeople sometimes that when once
they come out and they ask andthey're told no, they just run
away and just say I'm neverdoing that again.
So it's very helpful advice.
I appreciate it.
What resonates most aboutYasmeen's story is how she's
transformed survival skills intobusiness strengths.
(33:00):
Her ability to manage chaos,set firm boundaries and maintain
perspective comes from livedexperience that many
entrepreneurs don't talk aboutopenly.
Her honesty about therapy,self-help books and meal
prepping as tools for managingstress shows that success often
comes from addressing the wholeperson, not just the business.
(33:20):
I'm particularly moved by heradvice to ask for and accept
help Coming from someone who'sbuilt a business while managing
personal challenges and raisingchildren.
This isn't just professionaladvice, it's survival wisdom.
Her reminder that beingcomfortable with being
uncomfortable is essential forgrowth speaks to the reality
that meaningful change rarelyfeels easy.
(33:41):
Yasmin's vision for the futurepotentially selling her business
, moving internationally andprioritizing community and
travel demonstrates what'spossible when you build
something sustainable ratherthan just profitable.
Her transparency about ensuringher partners and employees are
paid, even when it weighsheavily on her, shows what
(34:02):
authentic leadership looks like.
For those of you settingboundaries for the first time,
building businesses whilemanaging family responsibilities
or simply trying to ask forhelp when you need it.
Yasmeen's journey proves thatyou can create the life you want
even when the path isn'ttraditional.
You can create the life youwant even when the path isn't
traditional.
If today's conversationinspired you to embrace
(34:23):
discomfort or finally ask forthat help you need, share it
with someone who needs to hearit.
Remember SheSweet Societyexists to amplify women's voices
from all walks of life, provingthat our greatest challenges
often become our greateststrengths.
Until next time, this is yourhost, dahlia, reminding you that
your life is your message tothe world.
Why not make it extraordinary?
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