Meet Angela Baroni

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angela Baroni a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Angela, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I skipped high school to do a professional course (Magisterio) to be an elementary school teacher in Brazil. I was a second-grade teacher at age 17.
At the age of 18, I quit teaching and moved to a big city, Caxias do Sul, where I secured a position at an assembly line manufacturer. My intention was to attend night classes to pursue a degree. Attend University has always been my dream. Within six months of working on the production line, I organically began to understand the big business picture and started taking the lead. I was promoted to work in the office, and within one year, I was the general manager of a company with 100 employees. Yet, I didn’t make enough money to pay for the university. However, I had enough to pay for an English course, which I took reluctantly because I knew I would never speak it perfectly.
With the new language skills under my belt, I left my job at the metallurgical manufacturer and went to work for a Forestry company that was exporting 100%. Within a few months, I optimized my tasks, which used to take a whole day to complete, to be done within one hour/day. Great for the company, but I worked myself out of my job. My manager asked me for a personal meeting to inform me that I would be let go and to discuss my future. He said: “Angela, you are so smart, what are you doing with your life, why aren’t you in the university working on a degree?” I replied to him: “Do you know how much you pay me? My priorities are to pay rent, use public transportation to get to work, and if any money is left, I might even be able to eat. I can’t afford college!” I felt offended that he assumed I didn’t want to further my studies when that has always been my dream. Mr. Vasco suggested that I apply for a management position at a sister company within the same group. I did, and I worked there for 10 years. Back then, the job wasn’t suitable for a woman, but I had the skills to fill the gap.
That company covered 50% of my university fees, as well as the costs of English, French, Italian, and Spanish courses. I got my education!
In 1997, I applied, interviewed over the phone, and finally got a job in the USA. I worked for Boise Cascade for 5 years.
Then, in the meantime, I ended up getting married to my next-door neighbor, having a son, and divorcing him, all within 3.5 years.
Being a single mom and solo provider for my son in a foreign country, I needed to be creative with my time. I wanted to work from home, but Boise didn’t allow that, so I quit my job at Boise in December 2000. Being a good mom to my son was my top priority.
In 2001, I founded my own trading company, Woodland Lumber Imports, and successfully operated it for eight years.
In 2010, I went back to school to earn my MBA at George Fox University.
In 2012, I started working for Intel Corporation. Having built my business career in the forestry industry, transitioning to the high-tech industry felt like I was an impostor. I was about a year in, and I was still thinking they had made a mistake in hiring me, and they would soon figure that out and fire me promptly. Then, I realized that if I was good enough to fool all the exceptionally bright Intel people who had interviewed me and chosen to hire me over an extensive list of applicants, I was probably good enough to do the job.
Sometimes you just need to doubt your doubts and tell that ‘Impostor syndrome’ voice in the back of your head to shut up.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

The sky is the limit. I can do whatever I set my mind to and focus on. Nonetheless, I need to keep in mind that the answer is in the heart, not in the stars. My mom wanted me just to be a teacher and raise a family. I tried to conquer the world. I wanted to help the farmer trade their products fairly, and I became a commodity broker. I wanted money and houses because my family faced poverty and were very close to being homeless. I have had a profitable career and investments in real estate, which have secured me an early retirement.
I have been engaging in soul searching for the last couple of years, during which I learned to backpack solo, become one with nature, and I learned to turn my loneliness into solitude.
“I am no longer afraid of the winds, for I’m learning to steer my ship.” –

Now, the catch is that if you want to keep what you have, you need to give. Giving is the only way I get to keep.
That is my motivation for sharing my story. I am returning to basics, to the start, to do less and be more, to sit still, to teach again so that I can keep learning.
I’m teaching Kundalini yoga, which I went to India to learn as much as I could about it, and I love it.
And I’m teaching Portuguese, my native language, I don’t want to forget my roots and where I come from. I can say now, I’m proud of my accent (s).

My entrepreneurial self entertains the idea of growing big and opening schools, patenting my teaching methodology, and so on. But most likely, I will honor my mom this time and just be a teacher, being at services. That’s enough!

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?

1. Know your strengths.
2. Differentiate yourself, listen and learn, see gaps and niches where you could bring your strengths and expertise to them.
3. Be patient. Opportunities do arise; be prepared to jump in. Be afraid and do it anyway. If the possibilities are 10%, have 90% of faith. Things do work out.
4. Be an open mind: Don’t take things personally. Humbly accept feedback. Say thank you!
5. Have an attitude of gratitude: things always happen FOR you, not TO you. The universe is ‘benign”

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

‘Marketing Pessoal’ – Personal Marketing.
I don’t even remember the author. But I read it.
My boss, Mr. Ayala, gifted me that book, and I took offense at the time. I am forever grateful for his feedback and for my willingness to read it, accept it, and change. I was a strong, intelligent, valuable hard worker, but I didn’t know how to “sell” myself or take credit for all my good work.
I wanted people to see how intelligent I was and buy my ideas, but I didn’t want to ‘sell’ them or myself. I was wrong; I had to be humble, accept the feedback, and make the necessary changes.
A business teacher helped me to understand the concept, when I didn’t want to suit up to present my business plan to a class by saying:
” Angela, you are sick, you go to the hospital, there are two available doctors to pick from, one is the most intelligent, experienced ever, but his nails are dirty, he hasn’t shaved or showered, and his scrubs are covered with blood, the other one is not as good, but he is groomed. Which one would you pick to take care of you?”
I got it! Do look your best. Personal Market is essential, I think the subtle message is: “Well, if you can’t even take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of me and my business?”

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelabaroni/