Meet Edna

We were lucky to catch up with Edna recently and have shared our conversation below.

Edna, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

For me, finding my purpose didn’t happen in one single moment — it unfolded through layers of self-discovery, healing, and honest reflection.

It started with a simple but powerful realization: I wanted something deeper and more meaningful for my life. That desire became the spark. From there, I began asking myself harder questions — What am I meant to do? What is my calling? What feels aligned? — and I also started asking those questions out loud to people around me. I met with people from different industries, almost as if I was interviewing them while simultaneously interviewing myself.

But before I could even access true self-discovery, I had to go through a phase of decluttering my mind, releasing old habits, and creating space for clarity. For some people, this is a healing phase — and that was definitely true for me. I had to learn how to step away from perfectionism and let go of the idea that my life or my path had to be linear.

During this time, I focused heavily on self-prioritization — carving out time for myself, doing things that brought me joy and peace, and building small daily habits that grounded me. It wasn’t anything intense… just consistent practices like meditation, journaling, and reflective questions that helped me connect back to myself. Our brains are wired to look for answers when we give them questions — and that’s exactly what happened. The more questions I asked, the more clarity found its way back to me.

Journaling became one of my biggest tools. I wrote the same questions over and over again, and slowly, answers started to surface. I paid attention to what ideas made me feel excited, energized, or deeply aligned. I listened more closely to my emotions. I noticed patterns.

Through that process, I remembered that I had actually identified coaching as a dream years earlier — at 21 — but I didn’t know how to start, so I ignored it. Over time, new ideas kept coming up that felt “random” or scattered, but the more I invested in self-development — podcasts, books, conversations with mentors — the more I realized that none of those ideas were random. They were all connected. They were guiding me.

Eventually, I saw the pattern clearly: all of my interests, all of those “random ideas,” and all of the things that lit me up could actually live under one brand — me. I could evolve them over time. I could weave them together. I could give them a home.

That’s when things shifted.

I found my purpose when I finally understood what I was capable of — when I allowed myself to trust my curiosity, follow the breadcrumbs, and be open to the unexpected. Purpose revealed itself not through a single breakthrough, but through years of self-reflection, courage, experimentation, and the willingness to just begin… even if it wasn’t perfect.
And once I started, everything changed.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Professionally, (while my 9-5 includes working in the HR space) I’m a life and purpose coach for ambitious first–generation Latinas — especially the eldest daughters who grew up carrying the weight of being “the responsible one.” Through my brand, Latinas Soñadoras, I help women break out of survival mode, reconnect with their identity, and finally pursue a life that feels aligned and meaningful.

What makes this work so special to me is seeing how deeply it resonates with women who share similar lived experiences. Many of my clients have spent years being the strong one, the fixer, the one everyone relies on — often silently. My favorite part of this work is giving them a sense of relief and recognition: helping them understand they are not alone, their dreams are valid, and building a life of purpose is truly possible. Watching a woman shift from doubt to clarity, and feeling excited about building the next chapter of their lives is the most fulfilling part of what I do.

What I Do & How I Support My Community

My coaching blends mindset, healing, identity work, and practical goal-setting — all through a first-gen lens. I help women reconnect with who they are, get clear on who they want to become, and build a plan that feels aligned, sustainable, and true to them. It is rooted in cultural pride, self-worth, and rewriting the narrative many of us inherited.

What’s New & Coming Soon

Being such a naturally creative person who loves learning and growth, I’m committed to expanding my business in ways that continue supporting my community — through free resources, lower-cost opportunities, and meaningful spaces for connection. This next chapter is all about making personal development and purpose-seeking accessible for more first-gen Latinas.

Here’s what’s coming:
🌟 The Soñadora Journal (Newsletter) — weekly guidance, reflections, and reminders for first-gen Latinas navigating purpose and personal growth.
🌟 New freebies & digital products — clarity guides, purpose worksheets, and mindset tools.
🌟 Workshops & community offerings — virtual and in-person experiences centered on identity, creativity, self-belief, and aligned goal-setting.
🌟 A special community event — created with a friend, honoring our mothers and creating space for connection and creativity through floral design.
🌟 Future podcast — a space for honest conversations around identity, ambition, healing, and purpose.

My mission is simple: help Latinas step into their potential, feel genuinely proud of themselves, and build a life that feels aligned from the inside out.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, the three qualities and areas of knowledge that impacted my journey the most have been: marketing & personal branding, psychology & negotiation, and developing self-trust with curiosity.

1. Marketing & Personal Branding

No matter what industry you’re in, understanding marketing is incredibly valuable — especially today. Learning marketing naturally leads into social media marketing and personal branding, which are essential if you plan to become an entrepreneur or build any kind of online presence.
When you understand how to communicate your value, tell your story, and create content that resonates, you open doors for your ideas, your business, and your opportunities.

2. Psychology & Strong Negotiation Skills

The second area that shaped my journey is psychology — understanding how people think, why they make decisions, and what motivates them. It helps you communicate better, build trust, and solve problems more effectively.
Alongside psychology is negotiation. Daniel Pink’s book To Sell Is Human really influenced my perspective. We’re always “selling” in some way — whether it’s a new idea, a job proposal, a salary negotiation, or advocating for ourselves. Knowing how to negotiate and influence is a skill that carries you through every chapter of your career.

3. Self-Trust, Curiosity & Adaptability

And finally, the biggest one: developing self-trust. More than anything, trusting my instincts — and staying curious — has allowed me to adapt, evolve, and stay aligned with who I’m becoming. When you trust yourself, you stop clinging to one path out of fear. You allow yourself to pivot, explore, experiment, and follow what feels aligned.
Curiosity also keeps you open. It invites you to learn, to ask questions, to seek new experiences, and to discover opportunities you might have otherwise missed.
Together, self-trust and curiosity become the foundation for adaptability — the ability to shift when needed, grow with new information, and move forward even when you don’t have the full picture yet.

Advice for Those Early in Their Journey

If you’re just starting out, here’s the best place to begin:

• Identify your learning gaps.
Be honest about what skills you don’t yet have. Make a list. Clarity here helps you prioritize instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything at once.

• Choose one thing to focus on — not ten.
We live in a time of information overload. Free courses, videos, books, podcasts… it’s endless. The challenge isn’t access; it’s focus. Pick the skill or area that will move the needle the most right now and dedicate yourself to it.

• Give yourself a timeframe (30, 60, or 90 days).
You can make meaningful progress quickly when you commit to one thing at a time. Whether it’s marketing, branding, confidence, negotiation, or something technical — pouring into that skill for a defined period creates momentum and mastery.

• Don’t forget self-trust and experimentation.
You don’t need to have your whole journey figured out. The more you try, the more you learn. The more you explore, the more you uncover what you’re meant to do. Give yourself permission to grow, shift, and evolve.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I’ve been fortunate to have several informal mentors throughout my life — people who offered encouragement, perspective, and guidance at exactly the right moments. Their support has meant a lot. But when I look at what truly helped me overcome challenges and develop the skills and confidence I needed to grow, the most transformative influence has come from coaching.

Whether it was coaches I personally hired or coaches whose content I learned from online, their guidance has been more impactful than anything I received from managers, colleagues, or traditional paths. Coaching helped me rethink how I saw myself, how I worked, and what I believed was possible. It pushed me to take action — not just absorb inspiration — and that has made all the difference.

For years, I collected advice but struggled to implement it. Coaching gave me structure, accountability, clarity, and a deeper understanding of my own patterns and beliefs. It helped me make changes I had wanted for a long time but didn’t know how to start. That’s why I believe so strongly in this work. Coaching reaches places that everyday environments don’t always access — the identity-level shifts, the emotional blocks, the habits that shape how we show up.

Some of the best insights I’ve ever received have come through self-investment — intentionally seeking support outside my immediate network. Even platforms like YouTube, Coursera, and Udemy have been unexpectedly powerful; there are brilliant coaches and educators sharing high-quality, life-changing perspectives when you choose wisely.

Ultimately, the people who have helped me the most are the ones I chose to learn from — the coaches, mentors, and voices who challenged my mindset and encouraged me to step into my potential. Investing in myself has been one of the most important decisions of my life.

But beyond professional guidance, I also can’t overlook the people closest to me. My partner has supported me through every high and low, and my parents and family have been a constant source of strength. Their love, encouragement, and belief in me — combined with the guidance I sought out — have shaped the woman I am today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://latinassonadoras.com
• Instagram: edna_yadira