Ep 78 Marketing Your Business | Understand Your Clients with Alejandra Slatapolsky

Zaakirah Muhammad
Today on the See Life Podcast we have Alejandra. She is a successful marketing and communication strategist. She has her own agency called Slata, which is kind of short for her last name but we'll also get the back story on that. She has over 20 years in financial, technology, education, entrepreneurship. Based both in the U.S., Florida, South Florida, my hometown, and Latin America. Slata has supported dozens of financial services and marketing agencies and other companies that need journalism, public relations and event planning, because brand awareness and profitability is key, especially in this day and age of the great walkout and the new digital entrepreneurship. Welcome, Alejandra, how are you?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Thank you very much for having me here. Good.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Yes. So tell us more about slacker and also your last name. We can talk more about where you find your story and tell us what made Alejandra Alejandra

Alejandra Slatapolsky
oh wow, what made Alejandra Alejandra I like that question. Um, well, Slata is short for Slatapolsky and my good friends when I was little, they used to call me Slata. So when I was choosing a name for my company was fine. It was having a very hard time and I was like, Don't fight it. It's you know, you're starting the company. You can name it, it's fine. So I just wanted Slata and why I'm Argentinian. I was born in Argentina. And my last name is Polish. My great grandparents were Polish on my father's side, but on my mother's side, they were actually Turkish. So I had that influence there. And when I was 22, I left Argentina to study in Spain and then I came back and ended up in Miami and started a corporate career in you know, marketing, communications, Financial Services is my blood. Actually, my family ran a financial services firm in Argentina and then you know, throughout the years, evolved in my corporate career and one day I said, you know, I was helping an agency grow very fast, and I was really helping them structure the whole business. And I knew that I you know, I had a need to be an entrepreneur. But when I was doing that, for others actually building and helping them structure the business. I said, Hey, if I can do it for them, I can do it for myself. So that's how I ended up opening my own business eight years ago.

Zaakirah Muhammad
I love that I love it. And I think it's super important for I believe in the motto for bias. So any anytime as a Latin American and Hispanic see you they're like, yes, she's one of us. And I felt like I can do it too. And so how did that vote? How did that thought really play into the role of villages, keeping Slatter up and going for two decades now?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
So it's, it ebbs and flows and not gonna lie strategies. Come and go in the GIS execution and being constant in continuing to you know, continue growing day by day but also trying to elevate yourself constantly. So the more you learn yourself, the more your business is going to grow. This thing that everybody talks about that is, hey, don't work in your business, try to work on your business. And, you know, for many years, I found it very hard to carve out the time to do that. And I think that the key is to try to everyday differentiate what's urgent from what's important, and try to get to both, you know, do 5050 At least, and say, okay, yeah, you know, I have to take care of this client, but what can wait so that I can also work on my business and make sure that it's growing and sometimes working on your business is building a team and sometimes working on your business is looking at numbers but sometimes working on your business is working on yourself. On you know, on evaluating your weaknesses and your strengths, on reading that book that you never read, or or meditating, whatever it is, but when you know that is going to feed, you know, your your capabilities, and it's going to feed your soul.

Zaakirah Muhammad
I love I love it. You mentioned advocate mindset is definitely important, especially like you said in everything flow. First entrepreneurship events, scaling, you know, to make it a company and then mastering you know, your system to be able to delegate and have that team. So what would you say is is key for those who are they they've been doing, they know what they're doing. They know that they have this great idea. They have this great business, but they're in that next phase where they're ready to scale and learn how to operate and get out how to help so how would you really go about encouraging others, especially women, who tend to like to do it ourselves? A lot of times

Alejandra Slatapolsky
I've been doing that forever, and I actually still you know, stop myself from doing it like every single day. I have now a business partner that I work with, and I always tell her, Hey, you remind me I don't have to take it all on me. Like that's something that we all do. And for the sake of your business is very important that you stop doing. But every day you have to remind yourself okay, what can be done by another person that is not me. And for that to happen, also, it takes some time to figure out to put pen to paper and what is that you're doing? Right so can you teach somebody else to do it? And yes, for many years, I also thought no, like, I cannot find anybody that has my expertise, cannot find anybody that will do these, these these and that like me, and it's true, and that's why I built this business. But I will find two people, three people that will complement each other to reach that objective. And how will I do that is actually training them and showing them hey, this is how I do things. And not assuming that they will get it right the first on the first you know, try not fixing the work. That was a great lesson. Like mid some years ago, I said I'm going to stop fixing everybody's work. And I push it back. Hey, this is not good enough. This is my feedback. Go back and redo it. I used to just go out and you know, you sent me a presentation for a client and I was just how do I explain it or the way to fix it? And I was like, well, it's gonna be faster. Let me just fix it. You know, I go and fix it and it's done. Then the team doesn't learn. And I you know, it took me also some learning process to say no, I need to pull it back. I need to push it back and say, Hey, go back. And then of course revisions, you know, little by little or you know, less. So, I think, you know, we're gonna tell you it's, it's a learning process. And every step of the scaling process is important too. So, give yourself time and work on that work on you know, putting pen to paper. And examining your head what you know, and how you can split it up and explain it.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Very good. Very good tip. And so now I want to kind of talk about more about specifically about what you do so I know that you mainly do you do branding, you do marketing you do content marketing? But which David came first in where did you start to see the need in your industry for as you as your business began to grow, and you started to offer more services and you started to find what really works for you.

Alejandra Slatapolsky
So I started I was the head of communication for an investment bank. And I was, you know, setting up basically the marketing communications department from scratch there. There was little there when I started, and I had to start looking for vendors. And when I started looking for vendors that were specialized in wealth management and financial services, didn't find many. They were like, Yeah, I understand. You know, I've been working with a credit card. And I'm like, Yeah, that's finance. But that's not really what we do here. Do you understand our products you understand what we're doing? So I saw the niche there. We said, Okay. There's definitely a need here. Most agencies just are, you know, industry agnostic, and they say they do it all. And that was also the beginning of my understanding of making sure you have a very strong niche, and that you go for it. So that's how I decided okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna launch an agency that specializes in financial services, because that, you know, I do see the need. After that, I did continue once I started having my own clients, I observe that you know, a client may come with and I do all the marketing services, my team you know, we have the so as y'all the community managers, the designers the web developers, all of the marketing suite that you need to execute marketing strategies, right. And I would get clients that would say, hey, you know what I want I just wanted to do a new website. And whenever I would go about doing the website, I would always find out in the process, that there was something lacking in the core offering definition, or in the business strategy, or in the growth strategy, or there was always something behind that me that I would have to go back and fix before getting into the project. So all the time I would be and I would end up actually doing business strategy, consulting. Just part of, you know, another marketing service that I was providing. And that's what might the next phase of my business game about that it's actually the merger that I just finished with Skalka that is the other agency that I'm launching with my partner. That is about Okay. Let's really put our minds and design a process that helps companies kale, from a branding and communications perspective, but with a strong business strategy behind it and the analysis of new growth options. Why do I talk about the growth options? Because most people will just go for the latest shiny thing in marketing, instead of really analyzing where the target is and how to get to them and what the best option in the market for them to grab the best space for them to grab. So we do all of that work. We get together with a client really dive deep into what is it that they have as their core value proposition, what options they have for growth, and then we find all the marketing and the lead generation process for them.

Zaakirah Muhammad
That's super important. And I'm glad that you mentioned that and I'm glad that you're doing that because of course, like you say, I we are all the same but we all different at the same time because even for me my focus is literally the same as I think as a photographer. I started taking photographs, when I would take the photographs and see them just different before Instagram, I would just see them just either not use the photos at all. I would see them just dump it on Instagram. I was like okay, so how are you monetizing? How are you utilizing, you know, the photograph? So that's where my expertise came in. And the creative side of like, okay, sounds like I need to consult with you on how to use these photographs. So yeah, that's super, super important. And now what tip though Can you give like one example for the financial industry of what it one? Either one social media network, one platform that really the industry should be focusing on in this town.

Unknown Speaker
Wow,

Alejandra Slatapolsky
that's far.

It really depends who you're going for. I you know, I have clients that sell to other institutions, clients that sell to financial advisers, others that go directly to the investor. So it really depends who you're going for. What I always invite everybody to do is go out and create content that is valuable for the person that you're aiming for. really valuable, not just superficial, valuable, create something that they can use, create things that you know, really are educating them. Whether it's Instagram, LinkedIn on the podcast or webinar and guide whatever it is, but really, like go deep into exactly who your buyer is, and what they need to know. And worry about them authentically. Right. So I have a guy in the target's investors. We're giving them you know, real saving tips, Blockchain information, platforms information, but really information that they can use, not just information that is a way to push their products in another way. No build the trust, even information and then they'll come. I think that's, that's very important and everybody can perceive fake a mile away already. So you want to be as authentic as possible.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Very good. Very good. Definitely want them up first before you start. selling your services. That's a great tip. Now, I kind of want to go back to mindset, um, maybe give 123 of your mindset tips, mindset hacks, ones that have helped you and one that you feel that can help as a woman

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Oh, this is very personal it I always had sort of half you know, glass half empty mind. Going up. Everything was blown out of proportion. And everything that was good. I would take for granted. Honestly, like, that was the way like, okay, yeah, I'm doing good in the business. It's easy. You know, anybody can do it. That was my just justification or, you know, my kids are doing great. Well, yeah, I'm an average mom. I don't think that would be my mind. In one day. My coach actually mentioned the the gratitude book. You know, every every single night, writing out you know, 510 things that you are thankful for. And you know are firstly sees it. But once you do it every single night, it's harder to find new things. What are you found, you know, throughout the months that I did it when I you know, I kept it up. And was that my mind was starting to change actually change. And my coach explained there is a neurology like approved neurological suite switch that you do on your mind when you do that. And what happened was that little by little, you know, I would have, you know, a setback with a client would take me three four days to recuperate from. In one day, I had said that I said back with, you know, kinda was not happy and that's really common, every single business ego. And you know, about an hour later, I was fine like it really did not hit me that hard. Because every single day I was looking at you know, the positive things in my life without even realizing I was doing it. So for me, and I, you know, I tell it to everybody that wants to listen, is the greatest hack to your mind that you can do is that little thing every single night even like, there are days where you're like, oh my god, I'm so tired. This was a horrible day. And that's the day to do it. Right. But it really like it makes it transform your mind. And it's it's, I don't know, this is magical to me. I know right now. Every single negative thing that happens in my life is just so much easier to to process.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Gratitude definitely go the long way. I think the more adversity we face, the harder it gets. And so, like we say, you got to do it every single day. You got to work you work it out every single day because I think that's the thing that a lot of women entrepreneurs and business owners tend to forget that the mindset is first and foremost, you no matter what business no matter what industry.

Alejandra Slatapolsky
True, like, like if you're being true, there are people that gratitude comes easier for them. You know, if I have my my sister who lives I see her she's like, she's cheerful, you know, every single day. You know, she has all these buttons in her life, but she's like, everything's fine right and everything she keeps on and she has this positive energy about and I know sometimes I'm like, how do you write that? You know, but when I realized that I could do it too. That I could be you know, not that negative. I'm a very scenic person anyways, you know, I'm not going to teach that and

I know like jokes are very like, you know how it is very dry.

But that doesn't teach the fact that now I you know, I don't let things get that much to me so that I don't know that I'm you know, really appreciating what I have. Truly.

Zaakirah Muhammad
And that's actually very important because I'm glad that you mentioned dealing with difficult clients. So maybe if you have one more tip for women entrepreneurs on how to deal with difficult clients and not take it personal.

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Oh, yeah, that's hard, especially when you started out and you're the only one and so like, Okay, you're rejecting me, or you're criticizing me directly. It's not easy. One switch I made was exactly that. Once I said you're not criticizing me or criticizing my organization or my work. I'm you know, separating yourself from that is like, yeah, yeah, you as a person. You're still a good person. Hopefully. You still you would you produce. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's not that good and sometimes it's not a fit. So it's two cheats. One is separating your your self worth from your work is very important. And the other one is, accept that not everybody succeed. And we are actually incorporating that into our process now of filtering clients because you want to work with people that you know, make you feel good, that respect you. And that's it's really important because if you don't have to like one everybody thinks you have to work with the nasty guy and or the next a nasty executive. And once you say no, all the positive ones and the best ones will come. So I think that you know, setting your boundaries and really taking a look at who you work with is important.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Very important. Yeah. Just like you said, you got to go through too bad to get through the good or you got to get the bad apples before you get to the good apples. So yeah, super important. Okay, we are coming to the end and I have one a couple more fun question for you. So one of the questions is, what is your favorite book that you are reading or listening to right now?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Well, my fire of all times my favorite philosophy and book is start with why by Simon Sinek that, you know, like, I just I love him. And then I read novels to take my mind off of business to that I like to Yeah, of course movies. Yeah. I like it. Oh this is us.

Zaakirah Muhammad
The series. Okay. Wow, that one?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
That's the best series I've seen ever. The best script in the best acting ever. No, I love it. This is us. Yeah.

Zaakirah Muhammad
I've my favorite too. But I'm like I'm empathetic. I'm emotional. So I love you know, real life stories like that.

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Yeah, yeah.

They call logistic thing.

Zaakirah Muhammad
And if you had the chance to travel in the next year, where would you want to travel to?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
I've been wanting to go to Bali. For some reason.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Well what reason is that? It came up for one reason

Alejandra Slatapolsky
I think it's a combination of relaxing by that I get from what I see. And the and all of the spirituality that comes from there too. So I really feel like I could use a spiritual journey next year. Okay, I like that every every journey is different.

Zaakirah Muhammad
And one last question that I've asked most guests is a way to really see like different. I always love to ask, what do you see your legacy as What do you want your legacy to be?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Well, two things. One is whoever works with me to see that you can bring your whole self to work your authentic self to work without hiding or pretending to be anything else. And that that's the best thing you can do. That I've been talking with my team about it and it's very important to me. And the second one, I have two kids and I just hope I'm able to see them grow up. Just be satisfied and whole with their lives.

Zaakirah Muhammad
I'm I'm pretty intuitive. So I feel like they're going to be a holistic change. In you in the neck. Yeah, and I can't read this yet.

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Yeah, good. Yes. Okay. We'll check back then. Yeah, in ten months. See what happened. D

Zaakirah Muhammad
o that. Let's do that.

Alejandra Slatapolsky
10. Let's see.

Zaakirah Muhammad
So in the meantime, how can other women openers either in the finance industry work with you or they're not independent financial industry find your podcast?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Well, my podcast is called the beast of wealth. And you can find me my name is pretty particularly Alejandra. Slatapolsky, you can find me on LinkedIn, and my email is Alejandras@scalto.com.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Perfect, perfect. So are you on social media? I know that you know, sometimes you have to do a pre beta you How do you feel about social media?

Alejandra Slatapolsky
I am I'm on all channels. I tried to not get too hooked. I was on Instagram too much lately, and I tried to get back. But yeah, I'm on Instagram and Twitter, LinkedIn and I partly use it for news too. And then I use it to you know keep up with friends and with professional colleagues and maintain so I I buried or a little bit but try to keep it to you know, a healthy habit.

Zaakirah Muhammad
Okay, well thank you Alejandra. it's been a great conversation honestly like different packet. Thank you for being again.

Alejandra Slatapolsky
Thank you for having me here was super fun.