Gregorian Year Wrap Up
My first full Gregorian calendar year running Erin-Kate Escobar Consulting is coming to a close and it has truly been a pleasure. The feelings of doubt and fear that held me back from starting my own business are a distant memory and I couldn’t be more proud of how far I’ve come. It’s hard to believe that less than two years ago, a global pandemic and racial uprisings made me realize that I was no longer fulfilled by a 9-5 that had become focused mostly on events and not systemic change. Below I’ve captured a few reflections on what I sought out to build and how I am doing so far toward achieving those aims.
I sought to run a business focused on structural change: My dream was to work with greater purpose and meaning. I didn’t want to be busy, I wanted to be focused on meaningful and strategic DEI changes. Over the course of this year, I was able to enact deep and meaningful change as well as create educational experiences that helped pivot thinking and challenge norms. I worked with 26 separate clients in the public, private, and government sectors. A few highlights included:
A half-day retreat for c-suite leaders. Halfway through one of the participants had a true awakening around ageism and white privilege - what he saw couldn’t be unseen.
A workshop series that resulted in new practices for entire neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
I was invited to be part of a team to build a framework for NASA to evaluate for DEI in scientific proposals in new ways.
I worked with schools, museums, not for profits, and businesses to shift from the way things have always been done to practices that have long-lasting ongoing effects towards greater inclusion including; hiring systems, fellowship programs, pay equity updates, systems for giving and receiving feedback, updated HR policies, creating employee resource groups, creating DEI specific jobs (and integrating DEI in more job descriptions), greater input from employees in processes that affect them, and rethinking funding systems that are more sustainable.
This year, I was able to work on deep meaningful structural changes within nonprofits, businesses, cultural, and religious groups. It was truly life-changing.
I sought out making “enough”: I am forever grateful for the SA pro to CEO program I signed up for with Kayley Robsham’s coaching. There, I did a lot of work around assessing financial needs and what is a thriving salary for an entrepreneur/solopreneur. I quickly adapted to a practice called weekly money dates. I set myself up to take myself on a date with my money. I made a weekly date to show up (with a warm beverage, pleasant smells, good music and usually a tasty snack) to allow space to think, feel in my body and look at the money I am making, the money I need to make, and identifying the spaces for healing with my relationship to money. I set out to make my previous salary and once I had accomplished that goal it was realizing that I did have a salary I “wished” I was making and I could also achieve that dream! I’m still in the process of learning what is “enough” and thanks to Kayley and to coaching from Kellie Richardson. I am now able to find a beautiful place to hold the complexity of emotions I hold around money to learn how I can hold guilt, shame, abundance, and give back.
I learned from Toi Marie that we can challenge capitalism through how we run our businesses and profit-sharing, and I am dedicated to hiring people to support my business who are women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ so the money I make goes into the pockets of folks who are marginalized in society (4.5% of my budget currently goes to women, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC people with another 4.1% pledged to the land-back cause). Co-creating with fellow DEI practitioners such as Natania Gazek helped me hone in on some skills for building contracts that reflect the needs of the organization and are going to meet my own financial needs. While what amount of money is “enough” is in flux, I have been honoring the feelings and emotions associated with “enoughness.” see “Shmita Year” as it’s an ongoing practice.
I sought running a business rooted in deep loving-kindness.
I am approached by organizations that have created beautiful DEI plans or anti-racism plans. It’s all spelled out and yes there’s plenty of work to be done. When an organization takes on a plan like this it’s often at an urgent, emergency room style pace, often rooted in how long we have neglected to make the necessary changes to challenge white supremacy. When we work at a frenetic pace, we can often be a part of the problem. I am constantly reminding clients (and myself) that we have to slow down. We have to challenge a culture of go go go/ do do do. So much of DEI work is about putting processes into place that allow for a different pace, greater emphasis on relationship building, and longer timelines that allow for trust, safety, and a more holistic process to be built into the outcomes. Learning to run a business that helps businesses and orgs put into practice challenging white supremacy culture helps me run a business rooted in challenging that same white supremacy culture -- talk about meta. I am proud to create a business that is focused on unlearning the go go go and that allows me to paint, drink water, take long walks, and continue to learn, develop, and grow while offering DEI services.
