Launching the Conscious Capitalism Movement in Los Angeles

Show notes in order of appearance:

• The Week Sebastian realized his passion for conscious business
• Rocio talks about her experience of growing up in Lima, Peru and seeing true poverty
• Rocio’s dream Job at Paramount Pictures
• Living in Spain and experiencing 9/11 looking outside in.
• Creating a successful business in digital design but experiencing a professional and personal funk.
• Joining toastmasters
• Rocio’s introduction into the world of “Purpose & Profit”
• Bringin together who she is and what she does?
• The Together Conference
•  Creating Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles
• What exactly is CCLA?
• Building a purpose-driven consultancy
• Conscious Capitalism as a term and its negative reactions.
• Voting with our dollars can be expensive and the struggle for purpose-driven brands.
• Where is CCLA at today? How virtual events have remained personal.
• Rocio’s 2 traits that the NEW conscious leader should focus on.

Connect with Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles, on IG @CCLA.LA and Conscious Capitalism International

Connect with Gracely on all socials @wearegracely and Rocio Villalobos

Connect with Sebastian on Instagram

SebastianNaum.com

Below is a transcript of the video podcast created by Seb’s Robot buddy, Zekton. He tends to make mistakes so please forgive him if you find errors or some funky sounding sentences. For the real deal, watch the video or click on your favorite audio Podcast platform above! Enjoy!

Sebastian Naum (00:09):
What up fam today I bring you to Vagelos a creative strategist who became a quote unquote accidental entrepreneur after being laid off from her dream job, since she has helped launch and lead the conscious capitalism movement in Los Angeles and remains an active board member of the LA chapter [inaudible] journey of merging who she is with, what she does for a living has been a series of moments of profound awareness followed by inspired action. And let’s be honest, a lot of hard work raised in Lima. Peru Rosio was fortunate to have been raised with both the us and Peruvian cultures. She grew up hyper aware of the struggles of a third world country, all the while developing deep empathy and determination to be a force for good through her creative consultancy Gracely Rosio and her team helped purpose driven brands, align themselves with conscious capitalism principles, all the while strengthening their brand, growing their business, and truly making the impact they want in our world. Tune in to listen to the rosiest journey into the world of conscious capitalism.

Sebastian Naum (01:17):
Welcome to the show.

Rocio Villalobos (01:19):
Hi, thanks Sebastian.

Sebastian Naum (01:22):
Yeah, I’m excited to have you on, you know, it’s pretty, it’s pretty wild. Actually, when I met you several years ago, it was actually during, I wouldn’t even say a month, but during a week where it like, kind of hit me that what I’m truly passionate about is conscious business. And I remember, yeah, we met that week and I think I mentioned something about it and you told me, you’re like, Oh, well, I’m on the board of conscious capitalism, Los Angeles. And I’m like, what is It? And then you invited me to an event and I was just so stoked that it even existed. So serendipitous for sure. Um,

Rocio Villalobos (02:03):
When I found out about it, actually I had the same reaction when I found out about it. I was like, wait, this is a thing.

Sebastian Naum (02:10):
Yeah. So we’re going to get into that for sure. The first thing I’m going to ask you is first thing that comes to mind when I ask you what your last Oh moment was.

Rocio Villalobos (02:24):
Hmm. Um,

Rocio Villalobos (02:29):
Geez. Uh, I would have to say it was probably not too long ago in the past couple of weeks where it would this whole era of COVID that we’re in, um, where I just really, I forget what it was that prompted it, but where I just realized like, wow, we’re, we’re in this for a long haul. We’re in this for the long haul in terms of, you know, like it may have been where I realized they, a business has been around for 30 years shut its doors. Um, and also just, you know, us getting together in person socially. It’s like, wow. Like we really, we really have to think about how this is going to be in the longterm and at least the next year. And when this pandemic first started, I was actually cool. It made me realize how much of an introvert I am. How much of a social introvert I am. I was like, I am good. The pressure is off a lot of things. And I was really taking it as a good opportunity to go inside and to just, you know, have things slowed down a bit. I was really welcoming it. And I think we’re in that period where even people like me just getting a little bit and seer, you know, just really recognizing the magnitude.

Sebastian Naum (03:46):
Yeah. I feel, yeah. It took me a while to like, it took me a while, like to see the magnet to the seriousness of it. I saw it early on, but the magnitude of length, like you said, that hit me pretty late too. And I was like, man, I feel you on that. I feel you on that. What about you?

Rocio Villalobos (04:01):
No, it changes everything. It’s a domino effect. That’s

Sebastian Naum (04:04):
What about your last hell yeah. Moment.

Rocio Villalobos (04:06):
Yeah. Um, uh, my boyfriend and I had booked a, uh, a retreat out in running Springs, um, with this company called, um, getaway house. And it’s basically at this awesome little modular cabin and they have a series of them it’s really well organized, but basically you go and it’s just like to connect in nature and like disconnect from everything else. And everything is quiet there and you have this huge, amazing window next to your bed looks out into nature. And I was just like, yes, this is

Sebastian Naum (04:44):
Man. I want to go really bad right now. That sounds awesome. I love it. So Roseo, you were born and raised in Lima pedo. You were exposed to a lot of like serious poverty there, uh, on a, on a, on a different level. And how did you know growing up in Peru shape a little bit of the person that you are today?

Rocio Villalobos (05:08):
Yeah, definitely. Um, in so many ways. Uh, but I would say as you mentioned, the, the actual experiencing and seeing poverty from the time you’re a little kid, um, was definitely one of them that really had a big, deep impact on me from the time I was a little kid, but I think it was also the combination of the awareness of the American side of things, too American culture. My mom is actually from the U S my dad was from Peru. He passed them that wasn’t young, but so we really, and my mom was always very active in the American society and Lima. So we had a big awareness of both cultures. And so for me, it was always really the awareness of having, seeing like the extent of poverty that see in the day-to-day life and Lima with also the extent of opportunities, expensive wealth, that there is in the us.

Rocio Villalobos (06:04):
So one of the things that I, one of the stories I always mentioned is I remember when I was really, I don’t even know how young I may have been like six or seven, I guess, probably yeah. Seven or so. And, and in, in Peru, in Lima, when you’re in traffic going somewhere, there’s always vendors on the street, right. They’re selling cheap, you know, they’re selling whatever they’re selling flowers. And I just remember this, like, literally this kid was my same age or younger, like staring across the other side of the window from me selling gum or something. And then me just like realizing, Oh, wow. Like that could actually, that could have been me. Why, why was I born into this family and having this life? And that kid is born into that family. And his, his mom was behind him with like her baby on her back and they’re selling gum. And it’s just like those moments that just really struck a chord and made me really realize like the bigger picture,

Sebastian Naum (07:06):
Super powerful when we have that realization at some point, hopefully most people have that realization at some point, but yeah, it was it. Yeah. I was at a young age for me as well, just being like I could have been born somewhere else and that really would have changed, you know, I definitely have a belief. Um, that’s, uh, maybe have an, you know, a belief that anybody could become anything essentially, but in reality, it’s, it’s really, really difficult and it really does affect, um, where you’re born and the situation that you’re in. Yeah.

Rocio Villalobos (07:36):
And it really, I mean, it just comes down to also what thoughts are going through your head and what you listen to, what you don’t listen to.

Sebastian Naum (07:42):
Sure, sure. And when you’re in a different situation, you’re going to hear a lot of different stuff.

Rocio Villalobos (07:48):
Like what’s your echo chamber.

Sebastian Naum (07:49):
Yeah. Yeah. So, um, I’m going to fast forward a little bit. We’re going to jump around it. You had, you had a dream job, uh, you worked at paramount pictures. Tell us a little bit about that job.

Rocio Villalobos (08:02):
Yeah. So when I, this was early in my career, when I graduated from college, I had a friend was working at paramount digital design, which was, uh, a, a graphics, um, a broadcast design studio within the paramount lot. And they did all the special effects and graphics for different shows and movie titles and things like that. And so I ended up getting a job there and I hadn’t studied broadcast design, but I actually was learning on the job and it was, you know, it was exciting. Um, and it was just, you know, I felt like, okay, this is an amazing place to be. And everybody was awesome. And I was again, early in my career, learning, doing different things. And then suddenly like, there’s this rumor that there was, uh, some like backlot embezzlement happening, some sort of scandal. And then next thing you know, I been there, I guess, about a year and a half, um, are these getting pulled into the bosses office?

Rocio Villalobos (09:03):
And it was like, everybody’s getting, let go. So soon enough, I got, let go as well. And it was, it was one of those things where I just felt so lost and like, you know, pulled out from under me. And I didn’t quite have enough experience in broadcast yet to just be able to easily go and get another job. It’s, you know, super competitive industry LA I mean, especially at the time. And it was one of those things where I just realized something in me just told me, like, you know, this is the perfect opportunity for a change, you know, to do something. And, um, I was at the age where I, I knew I was thinking about moving and actually this whole idea came because we have, uh, one of my sisters. So she’s not blood-related, but she grew up in my family approved, but she’s half Spanish.

Rocio Villalobos (09:58):
She had moved to Spain a few years before, and I had done a study abroad in Spain and conduct visit her and just really fell in love with the culture and everything. And I always had a, an idea that I was going to come back. Um, so when this whole thing happened, that was like, you know, this is, I want, I’ve grew up in Peru and Charles 13, and then I’ve been in the us. And this was like, during, like the Bush years, it was, everything was really contentious and a little bit like I wanted to get out of the U S and experience living as an adult outside of the country. Um, and have a different perspective, you know, from the society here. And like, with appreciation of the U S but also a little bit of like, you know, knowing that there was more that I needed to see with when this would, this whole thing happened.

Rocio Villalobos (10:50):
Um, I spoke to my friend and she offered, she’s like, Hey, well, you can stay with us. We have like three extra bedrooms. And they live like right in the middle of Madrid. So I just figured it out. And I decided, you know, if I stay with broadcast design, it’s going to be more limiting. This whole web thing was happening at the time. So I was like, you know what, I’m just going to pull the plug and do this. So I ended up moving home for a few months. Took, uh, took web classes at the community college. Few months saved up, has started to get some freelance clients at the time. And then that’s when I, Oh, and I actually, that’s when I started my first company, put my mom on my business account, my freelance clients would send money to

Rocio Villalobos (11:35):
San Diego. And then

Rocio Villalobos (11:37):
I was just going to use my card, you know, when I was in Madrid. So that was my launch into getting into web design and, um, and also moving to Europe and having that whole other experience where

Sebastian Naum (11:52):
You’re in Europe when nine 11 happened,

Sebastian Naum (11:54):
Right. When nine 11 happened. Um, and so what was that like? What was that whole outside perspective into the U S most of us were here, had a certain experience looking into that. What was that like for you over there? Hey guys, I just want to remind you, if you want to find more content like this, you can visit Sebastian nom.com. That’s Sebastian N a U m.com. You can also get a ton of other marketing resources for myself and my agencies ranging from SEO to social media, influencer, marketing, branding, web development, and more again, that’s Sebastian nom.com. Thank you. And enjoy the rest of the show.

Rocio Villalobos (12:26):
Uh, it was, I felt like I was in a movie. Um, it was, there was definitely a lot of solidarity when it first had, when it first happened and everybody’s really empathetic. Um, and for me, it was a shock to think like why or when it happened, but I couldn’t come home, even if I wanted to, you know, all the airports were shut down and everything. Um, and it was also a priority shift that I want to just be home and be near my family and everything. You know, if the world is blowing up, I want to follow up on my family was from a cultural perspective. Yeah. Everybody was very supportive. Um, and you know, it made me realize, uh, how everybody kind of banded together, but, um, it also made me realize how unpredictable and then stable, you know, life, life was. And yeah, it just changed, changed my perspective online to come back.

Sebastian Naum (13:27):
And when you came back, um, you essentially, you, you continue to work on your agency. It was growing, but what about it? Wasn’t that wasn’t really fulfilling you that had you shift.

Rocio Villalobos (13:39):
Yeah, so yeah, I came back and I went from freelancing to then hiring designers and developers who were better than me to help me, you know, as, as we were getting bigger clients and everything. And, um, it wasn’t really until a few years later that I, that I shifted. And, and one of it was, I was just going through one of those periods where I, you know, had gone through a breakup and I was, you know, I wasn’t, I had, I was working back at home at the time. And it was, I was just going through like a little bit of a depression, I think, to be honest, and I have clients and they were great, but I was just like, it felt like I was in this cave and I was like stuck, you know, and I just wasn’t happy. So I ended up joining a Toastmasters club and I think it was, you know, I just need to get out of my house.

Rocio Villalobos (14:31):
I need to be around other people who are going to be inspiring and I need to learn, at least learn a skill. If I hate the people, at least I’ll have a skill that will be beneficial to me. So I’ve always been a little bit of a, of a geek. Like I love learning stuff. So I just wanted to really get out of my, get out of my own way, get out of my house. And through there, I met, uh, a coach, my friend, Jean Sullivan, and he’s a, an executive coach and we ended up doing a train and I helped him with some marketing stuff. He helped me with coaching and I was actually looking to get a full-time job. So I was like, Jean, help me figure out where I should go. Cause I don’t want to just go somewhere and hate it. Like, so he did an assessment and through that, he taught me about conscious capitalism. And when he taught me and he was doing some coaching that was in alignment with conscious capitalism. So when we were talking about it, it really made me realize like, wow, like I can actually bring together who I am with what I do. You know? So, and for those who don’t know what conscious capitalism is, it’s a, well, they probably do if they want,

Sebastian Naum (15:40):
I was actually going to interrupt you and, and, and say that because what you said is so powerful, like I can actually bring together who I am and what I do, you know? And I think that it’s, it’s, it’s obviously a difficult thing for a lot of people. A lot of people don’t achieve it ever in life. And sometimes you don’t necessarily, it doesn’t necessarily mean that to have a fulfilled life. You have to be doing exactly what you’re super passionate about. And that’s what makes you money. I mean, that’s an ideal situation, but for you to realize that this is possible, like who I am and what I do. And what do you mean by that? Like, what is this? Who were you, what do you mean by that?

Rocio Villalobos (16:17):
Well, yeah, so I, I’m a very passionate and the FedEx person when it comes to, I think he could think of it like the collective, you know, I’ve always been like the, the hippie of my family. I always say I’m like a hippie on the inside. Um, and I just always really care about different things. You know, I really care about our environment or really care about other people. I really care about, you know, systemic, you know, things that are wrong with our country and with just all these things that I’m really passionate about. Um, and also even just like the heart driven things, you know, the spiritual side of things, things that can really make somebody, you know, uh, be happy in their life or a lot of things that cause people a lot of pain, but they don’t realize, Oh, the stuff I’ve just always been really interested in all that.

Rocio Villalobos (17:14):
So with conscious capitalism and with this movement of conscious business, it’s really, I don’t have to hide that anymore. I guess where I said before was always compartmentalize, especially, especially as a woman in business. And you’re like, okay, I’ve got a male and I’ve got to try to, you know, like downplay my feminine assets and values and where this was like, Oh, I could actually seek out clients and brands and companies that believe, and that really care about all these things. Just as much as they care about being profitable. Cause at the end of the day, you have to be profitable so that you can do more amazing things, you know?

Sebastian Naum (17:54):
Absolutely. Absolutely. So how did you get your feet wet into this? How did you dive into this whole, like, Whoa, how did that actually come to realization? I can actually do something that I don’t have to come complimenting like, Oh, that’s a four for me. Yeah. So how do, how can I keep that, put it all together and really being well. What did you do first?

Rocio Villalobos (18:14):
Well, I think the first thing that I did was actually get excited about it. Not saying that lightly because from that gene and I spoke about it and it was like that aha moment, like, wow, I can bring these two worlds together instead of keeping them separately, I just keep it out. And I started researching and I read the book conscious capitalism, and I was like, what? This is like, it was like this whole other world opened up. I got super excited about it and continued to work with Jean and then through hard work, but also through being aware and seeing opportunities, things started happening, you know? So like a year after him and I spoke, I was helping co-produce a women’s conference called together and it was a company how to build a conscious business. So I had seen an opportunity through an event of this same group that they produced and I became friends with them.

Rocio Villalobos (19:10):
I attended their meetups. And then, you know, my friends at Tana Luzzi, she was talking about the next conference and it had, that was, that was the actual focus, how to build a conscious business. I’m like, sign me up. How do I help you? What can I do? I’ve got all these skills my teeth can help, like, and so spent a whole summer in launching that. And then, and that was amazing, really successful. I met a lot of friends in the space and the conscious business space who I now am good friends with and have engaged in other things from that initial conference. And then six months later, the LA chapter of conscious capitalism launched.

Sebastian Naum (19:47):
Yeah. And what exactly is that? What is conscious capitalism? Los Angeles.

Rocio Villalobos (19:51):
Yeah. So conscious capitalism, the movement is that it’s a global movement and nonprofit and there’s different chapters in all the cities. And, um, it’s, it’s all about bringing professionals together on how to build better businesses. You know, there’s some people it’s an oxymoron conscious capitalism, and I totally get that. But if you, if you really look at it from a perspective of, you know, capitalism, isn’t going away anytime soon. And there’s a lot of bad things about capitalism.

Sebastian Naum (20:26):
Yeah. So let me stop you right there. You said it’s, some people want to oxymoron. It’s almost like there’s this weird negative reaction I had it too as well. Yeah. So I’ve said it to somebody conscious capitalism and they actually didn’t, they didn’t even put those two words together. They didn’t actually grasp the concept and they just thought, no, no, no, no. Why do you want to talk about that? Know capitalism has this and that, this stigma and whatever. And I’m like, no, no, no, no, no conscious capitalism. And I had to explain and they’re like, Oh, I didn’t even, I didn’t even go there.

Rocio Villalobos (20:56):
It’s like, they don’t even hear the word conscious.

Sebastian Naum (20:59):
And what does that even mean when I hear conscious? Cause consciousness means conscious of something. I mean, essentially it’s more like conscientious if you think about it. Uh, or, but, but in a way conscious capitalism, what we refer to and we talk about, so it gets a lot of negative reactions. So what, what do you, what do you say about that?

Rocio Villalobos (21:16):
And rightfully so, you know, right. If you don’t take the time to really understand what it is, right. And I think a better way to explain it, it’s just better capitalism, right? Better for the planet, better for people better for breaking down, you know, systemic issues that we have, um, better for vendors that engage with the company. It’s really like, how do we take a structure that’s existing. That’s not going to go anyway, go away anytime soon and make it better. Like what was, what was put in place a hundred years ago? Who just doesn’t

Sebastian Naum (21:55):
Right. Yeah. And Rosio, you have an agency Gracely started, which is actually, it’s a marketing agency for purpose driven brands. It’s quite, it’s based on conscious capitalism. So what kind of clients do you guys have? What do you do with your clients? Do you help them implement these, um, you know, conscious absence, these purposes? Do you help them market it or do you actually suggest them? How does that work?

Rocio Villalobos (22:21):
I mean, we really focus on the creative strategy and create a strategy meeting, you know, getting into the strategic side of the marketing. Right. So before anything is done or if something’s already done, are you wanting to shift it or do you want it to get more specific? Um, it’s really just tapping into, you know, with, with my background, from broadcast design, you know, from video to a brand page designed to digital, all that, there’s, there’s so many, there’s so many aspects of the brand now that it’s, as we all know, very overwhelming and trying to keep it, um, you know, keep it really purpose-driven, but also authentic and, you know, bring in sales. So it’s really helping, helping brands get clarity on how to bring the three things together, which is, um, the, the brand itself, like defining the brand in this purpose driven space.

Rocio Villalobos (23:18):
Um, the, the users, right? Who are we actually speaking to? Who do we want to speak to that we’re not reaching yet? So that’s user experience design and then the business goals, right? Like if we don’t really understand your business and we don’t understand your short-term or long-term goals, then what are we, you know, how are we marketing? And, and I like to say it’s also in a sense, like as a, in a concierge service sort of way within network that we built up over all these years, working in LA and then within the conscious community, Hey, so what are the holes that need to be filled and who do we bring in, right? Whether it’s our team or whether it’s your team, you know, like we love to bring in other teams that are actually also on the same wavelength

Sebastian Naum (24:03):
And, you know, consumers are just so much more conscious nowadays than they were before. They’re really are deciding on, you know, they are voting with their dollars more and more, right. So as people vote with their dollars, a lot of people will say, well, you know, whether it’s, let’s say a CPG brand or a like with food, it happens a lot where they say, well, if I want to eat consciously and I want to eat well, and I want to buy a product, maybe it’s a certified B corporation, whatever that may be, I have to pay top dollar, anything that I do for conscious, you know, if I want to support any sort of co conscious business or purpose driven brand, I’m gonna have to pay you more. So how does that, how does that play into everything in terms of looking at it from a short play or longterm standpoint, and how does that work with brands?

Rocio Villalobos (24:49):
Yeah. Well, there’s, there’s one thing that’s a little bit that I think people also give, you know, flack about, or, you know, are wary about, is like, Oh yeah, these like conscious brands, uh, you know, like you have to pay so much more like it will be in middle America is going to be able to, or want to, or just be no for these things. And I think what people don’t realize is that it’s, it’s all about looking at how do we make the most impact, right? So if a, if a brand wants to create an impact, guess what, they’ll probably most likely be working with a nonprofit who also who’s already been doing that for years and just needs more support, you know, how many nonprofits that are doing amazing work and that they just need more either eyeballs or money or both. And that’s a way where these, you know, these purpose driven brands can actually help expand that and have a larger impact.

Rocio Villalobos (25:50):
So I think, you know, we’re kind of at, I would say in the past 10 years, this, this movement where you’re seeing more in the past five years, it’s kind of like exp really exploded so many, one for one model, there’s all these different models of impact. Um, but, uh, but I think, I think we just always have to look at the long-term plan and it frustrates me when people take a company that’s trying to do something good. And then they just focus on like the bad things that are happening in that company, or that are the things that the company isn’t doing. And it’s like, okay, I get it. It’s, it’s always good to have critics always. I’m not saying you should have critics, but at the same time, it’s like looking at the bigger picture, you know, like what are the companies who are actually trying to do something they’re not going to get it right the first time where, you know, there’s always going to be issues, but really what are we looking at? What are they, are they doing better? You know, do we want to the companies that are doing better and guess what, those that are actually being the, um, those that are actually at the forefront of the movement or the forefront of trying to change specific things in our industry, they’re always going to trip and fall like that’s. Yeah.

Sebastian Naum (27:00):
I think that’s a great point. I had, uh, the CEO of a company called Southern swells foods, um, Kate Flynn, and they’re a snack company and they have compostable packaging. They’re certified B corporation. She was actually talking about just that about this idea of progress, not perfection, because when you’re a purpose driven brand, you want to do everything perfect. And then she was talking about how you realize at one point you can’t do everything perfect. Right. So if you’re trying to really take those steps to do a lot of those processes, better to be helping the environment, to be helping out all the stakeholders, right. To be helping out and not just the consumers, also your employees, right. And your teams. But so when you can take a lot of those steps to really making that progress and into a conscious business, and it doesn’t mean that everything’s going to be perfect as long as you can kind of continue to improve. So I think there’s businesses out there today that are maybe thinking about this and they’re thinking, yeah, you know, we really should implement more purpose into our mission. We should, you know, be more of a conscious business, but they don’t know where to start because they think, Oh my gosh, it’s a huge mountain to climb to get it. All right.

Rocio Villalobos (28:04):
Yeah. You know, and I mean, I, I would say, you know, the place to start is to expand your network, right? Expand your network of other of other businesses, um, you know, business associates, friends who also are passionate believe in this happen is you’re going to learn through those, you know, social connections, business connections. You’ll be able to have a bigger pool to choose from that you want to collaborate.

Sebastian Naum (28:32):
And I think that lights you up. I see it in your face. I know it lights you up when you connect with other entrepreneurs that are, that are into that, you know?

Rocio Villalobos (28:39):
Absolutely. Cause you know, the, the, the main thing is it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Yeah. You don’t have to get overwhelmed if you start thinking about you don’t have to do it alone. You know, so right now that I can call you up. And if we have a big pitch, uh, for a complete creative strategy, that’s going to include, you know, digital marketing components and sayings. I, and, and it’s a purpose driven brand. It’s like, I know that you’re on it. You’re already on the same page. You’ve got the skills, you know, it’s like, we’re, we’re halfway there already.

Sebastian Naum (29:11):
Yeah. So not being overwhelmed and really reaching out to other entrepreneurs that are like-minded, which is what is so great about, CCLA about conscious capitalism, LA you are on the board of CCLA. So people out there connect and get involved, they could go to the website, they can sign up and they can attend events. Now they’re all digital. Right. So what is happening with conscious capitalism, Los Angeles right now? Where is it going? Because, uh, you know, I personally went to some of these events that you invited me to, I love that human connection. So how has that shifted? Has it actually hurt? Has it helped? What is the digital aspect now?

Rocio Villalobos (29:44):
It’s interesting, obviously everything is still in flux, but, um, it’s, it’s really, it’s shifted for the better, we don’t know what’s going to happen. You know, the long-term, uh, I mean, obviously everybody wishes they can get together, but they’re really interesting thing has happened is as we’ve had these digital event, these virtual events, uh, like we’ve had a few, we have a couple more produced ones coming up, but we’ve had a couple of just like what we call our community nights, where we just gather, and it’s not really, you know, produced it’s just to get together and, and see each other. And, and this one what’s really cool about zoom is that, you know, we all get together. We talk about some things as a group, and then we do, we have a topic and then we’ve broken out into like the breakout rooms. So there’s, you know, you’re there with like four or five other people tops, and then we’ll continue the dialogue on that topic.

Rocio Villalobos (30:35):
And then we all joined back into the main room. And what’s really awesome about that is that it’s one, uh, you know, it’s so much more intimate. You’re seeing the person’s names. You’re not like, uh, me, I’m always looking back my head. Oh, shoot. What was that lady’s name? I totally forgot. I mean, by classics, I might thinking of that, you know? So like all these things, that’s really more intimate. You actually really get to know each other better and I’ve already made, you know, how to have made a couple of friends from just the past couple events. And we’re in dialogue about certain things. Whereas too, when you’re in a regular event, you know, I know so many people in the communities, so it’s like, I’m talking to somebody. I’m like, Oh, somebody comes in. I haven’t seen, uh, you know, it’s like, you’d get a lot more distractions, which, you know, you can work around, but we just realize as we move forward and as the in-person events starts coming up, this will definitely still be part of our, you know, our events like doing these digital lines. Well, Jeremy doing actual online ones once,

Sebastian Naum (31:39):
Once we go

Rocio Villalobos (31:40):
To it’ll, it’ll be both

Sebastian Naum (31:42):
Thinking about, yeah, I was thinking about the in-person ones. And then during those events, having like forced breakouts of like people like, Oh, you’re right. You know, you’re going there, you’re new. You kind of feel a little bit out of place. You, maybe you meet a few people. If you’ve been going for a long time, you’re connecting with everybody. You already know. So I love that you were saying that you guys have found a way to make it personal on those digital events. So anybody that’s out there listening, considering this and thinks that they’re interested in conscious capitalism, conscious business, this is a great way to get started. Really awesome.

Rocio Villalobos (32:11):
And the other thing that we’re doing is we’re, we’re just, you know, really focusing on what’s valuable to our, to our members now, as we’re going through all of this. So we’re a member only LinkedIn group, and we’ll be launching our site here and our new site here every day. So we’re really figuring out, finding out what are the things that are important to us, um, that, that we are pivoting into and that we need to be better at ourselves. You know, we’re, we’re a young chapter, you would all hundred percent volunteer base. So it’s, it’s always an evolution.

Sebastian Naum (32:45):
I love it. So Roseo, what are two traits that you think are most important in a conscious leader today?

Rocio Villalobos (32:55):
Um, definitely personal growth commitment for small growth. Um, And well, I was going to say empathy. I think that’s tied into personal growth. So I think knowing business, right. Always continue to learn about the business and, and the profit side. Um, I think later on a for-profit sure

Sebastian Naum (33:28):
Commitment to growth and then also, you know, remaining true to the, to the growth mindset for the business itself. So it’s personal growth and business growth in a way. I love it. That’s great. So let’s see, how do we get in touch with Gracely and conscious capitalism LA?

Rocio Villalobos (33:48):
Sure. Um, so Gracely, we’re on all the, all our socials are, we are Gracely and our website is grace dot L Y and conscious capitalism. It CC la.la, and our socials are some variation of that or conscious capitalism LA I think is our Instagram.

Sebastian Naum (34:08):
And all the links will be included too, so anybody can, can get to them as well. Yeah. Great. So definitely connect. I think it’s, it’s a great opportunity for people. It’s a great opportunity for people to really get started. Like you said, you know, when you learned about this, when I learned about this, like, Whoa, this exists, so I’m sure there’s somebody out there listening to this and just hearing about it for the first time. So I’m excited for people to connect with you.

Rocio Villalobos (34:30):
No, definitely. It’s really, you know, you really focus on what is actually exciting. You, what’s turning you on that a little bit and things start happening, but you know, a lot of hard work in between.

Sebastian Naum (34:41):
Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you so, so much for being with me today this year, we really enjoyed it and appreciate you. Thank you. Thanks.