Meet LeNellCamacho Santa Ana

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful LeNell Camacho Santa Ana a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

LeNell, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I overcame imposter syndrome by refusing to believe that the very real body responses I feel in a world and in an industry that tells me I don’t belong are some mental health issue or is something wrong with me that needs fixing. I stopped trying to “lean in”–or whatever latest self help guide to women’s success is all the talk–and decided to trust my body. My body is highlly attuned to the energetics of what is around me. There are lots of cues and signals that my brain and body pick up on from my environment that let me know when others are having their own response to my presence and whether I am welcomed and safe. I toss aside that what I feel is something I need to fix as an ailment. It is a very real body response to a world full of cues that I am not safe and respected as a woman by many. Learning to judge each moment and what response I choose to these signals is not some magic book or seminar training or even years of therapy. It’s a moment by moment noticing the subtle changes in my breath, my laughter, the tension in my jaw. I realized recently that my raucous laughter and sense of humor that is very much a part of my personality may have developed as a way to cope with a world where women are very often not on equal terms with the men in the room. Women don’t “overcome” imposter syndrome. This question is tired and outdated and insinuates something is wrong with us. The world often does treat us as incompetent and inferior. Bias against whatever is considered “other” was not considered when this term took hold and made millions off people trying to fix themselves. Biased behaviors that my brain responds to are widespread experiences–not an official diagnosis by psychological professionals. Let’s overcome it by stop using this particular phrase in discussions of success and competence.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am fascinated by the ritual of beverage. Every culture has ways of coming together over food and drink as a part of belonging in community. Connecting people with wines, spirits, coffee, tea, beer and other liquids brings me joy. I own a shop called LeNell’s Beverage Boutique that many call a liquor store; however, I have said for years I am about better drinkin’ for better livin’ whatever you choose to imbibe. I sell stories, not bottles. I share humanity through beverages that people enjoy to celebrate life–whether alcoholic or not.

When my shop was in New York City, I had my own brand of rye whiskey called Red Hook Rye that is now one of the most highly collectible bottles in whiskey collections, selling at Sotheby’s and on other auction platforms. That brand’s chapter came to a close when I closed up business in Brooklyn in 2009. To celebrate this chapter of a new location in Birmingham, Alabama, I launched a brand called Black Unicorn that begins with whiskey for the first release and has now also been a label on 2 whiskey barrel-aged beers plus other projects in the works. The art is a fine art painting by John Lyte Wilson and each release is something magical inspired by a friendship with a distiller, brewer, winemaker, and other makers of beverages. Black Unicorn as a distinctive branded label offers me creative play to offer my customers select unique products while also contributing more monetarily to the TAKE Resource Center, a local Alabama not-for-profit that provides supportive services to our local black and brown trans community–the ultimate Black Unicorns.

I have always believed in using my voice in business to support social justice movements while living life as art with purpose.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

TENACITY & RESILIENCE
I don’t care how good you are, how resourced you are, how skilled you are, sh*t gets hard, obstacles throw kinks in plans, stuff breaks, people disappoint, unfair landlords exist, accountants make mistakes, lawyers give bad advice…it ain’t all Champagne and sex no matter how successful you are. I ran a very successful business in NYC only to face the difficult decision of closure in a location when real estate went all wrong with a new landlord. That was 2009. I reopened in 2018 in Birmingham, after buying property in 2011. It took me 7 years to work through all the challenges of construction, low funding, barely an income, a divorce, solo parenting and other obstacles to get open in my own space as my own landlord. I was pulled through each quagmire with a core knowing that I was on the right path fully living in purpose. That meant living in the South without air conditioning for 4 years, driving a Buick that had been my college roommates grandma’s car. constructing my store bit by bit as I got the money to build walls, put on a roof, lay the floor tiles, install windows, and finally…put the key into a new front door.

GROUNDING
This can mean many things to many different walks. For me, I grew up with poverty and abuse and from an early age would find solace near the creek connecting to the flow of water and feeling into the natural life around me, watching how the ants worked, the birds sang, and the crawdads scurried. There is science to back that our nervous systems calm near trees, feeling the grass under bare feet, spending time outdoors in nature. Whatever you believe, finding ways to connect to something bigger than the worries in your brain is good for stability. No matter the religion or background of belief or non belief, there’s something about realizing that the world around you is soooo much bigger than just your world. Yoga and meditation outdoors has helped me through the toughest times. I have a special oak tree that has a tree root that feels like my special chair. This tree has heard my prayers, my heartbreaks, my joys. I have wiped my tears on its bark. I have danced around it. I have laid prostrate on the ground below its sprawling ages-old branches with my arms outspread like I am hugging the earth and remind myself that I am on a spinning rock flying through space around a ball of fire. The burglar who broke glass or the contractor who disrespected me or the neighbor who said something ugly all of a sudden gets put into perspective and doesn’t feel so heavy.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

When I bought the store property, it came with a dilapidated Greek revival historic home that needs significant renovation. It was built by J.R. Copeland, a business man and politician in Birmingham’s early days. My vision for this structure is to open a community cafe spot that compliments what we do in my retail store next door. I see this as a place for people to “land and cope” using the original owners last name for the Copeland Cafe where folks can come and feel a sense of community and belonging, be nourished with healthy noshes and drinks. Finding the right food partner with back of house experience–as well as heart experience–to carry this out will feel amazing. I am not vegetarian or vegan; yet, finding the passionate co-creator who can add pizazz to the plan with plant-centered dishes is a goal.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Enter the Unicorn painting by John Lytle Wilson & Black Unicorn copyright & registered trademark LeNell’s Inc.

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