We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nancy Paloma Collins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nancy Paloma, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
The realization that confidence and self-esteem is an ongoing journey is the credence that keeps me going. Understanding that I’m human and I make mistakes that give me the opportunity to do things better the next time. I strongly believe that it’s having the ability to learn from our mistakes to make the adjustments necessary to do things better next time. I’m a Gay Latina from East Los Angeles and every day I had people around me tell me that I was only going that far in life or I couldn’t make my dreams a reality because of where I came from. However, my confidence has brought me to where I am today. I am the founder of Paloma Therapy a group practice in California, The founder of Florece Family Services a non-profit mental health facility, the co-founder of Haute House, founder of Paloma Publishing, the author of Hola Diosa!! Hello Goddess!! The co-author of DJ Irene Superstar a children’s book, speaker of mental health, speaker of Latinas in the business world, an entrepreneur. Most important I am the daughter of immigrant Mexican parents that became store owners of the world- famous Santee Alley’s in downtown Los Angeles, those are my roots, that’s where I learned my hustle, my business ethic came from all those experiences. I opened my first retail store at age 21 in the Santee Alley’s and I thought that was it for me but life took me on a voyage and I always believed that I wanted to venture and do all the things I have accomplished thus far. I still feel that I have so much more to accomplish.
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?
I’m excited to share with your readers about my new co-authored book “DJ Irene Superstar” the story of a foster child that became a DJ Superstar. I had the opportunity to co-author this children’s book with Irene M. Gutierrez AKA DJ Irene. The book takes you along the story of a foster child that goes through trauma of being in an abusive home and how her tenacity and resilience helped her through this trauma. How the positive environmental of her foster home nourished her love of music that later helped her become a Latina Chingona!! a world-famous DJ and a Latina that broke many barriers in the music industry for Latines today. It’s a dream to be able to bring DJ Irene’s real-life story to children who have similar life experiences, to help children in the foster system know that they have a voice, that they matter. I’m also excited to announce the opening of Florece Family Services a non-profit mental health facility that I founded and have been working on establishing for some time. More to come on this project that will be providing mental health services to families, children, adults and couples in the state of California. You can learn more about our services by following paloma_therapy and florecefamilyservices on IG. Hello Goddess!! is available at Crow Boutique in Long Beach, Be Right Back in Boyle Heights, Be Nice Have Fun in Highland Park, Squad Goals in San Diego, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Vromans in Pasadena.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Number one work ethic, I inherited my work ethic from my parents. I’ve made adjustments I learned to have balance in life, it’s definitely evident to disconnect from work, to celebrate life and to spend time with family and friends. Second, always be open to learning never feel like you’ve reached your limit there’s always more to expand on. Last, if you have a dream in life have passion for it, consume it, love it and be all in.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My parents worked every day of their life since before I was born, like I mentioned they owned multiple stores in the Santee Alleys of downtown Los Angeles for over forty years, hardly ever taking a day off. I can count the number of days that they ever closed the stores with one hand. This was all they knew, and it was all I knew. My life was impacted by the business knowledge I gained from working and collaborating with business people from around the world at an early age. I’m grateful that those are my roots, believe me there is no University in the world that can teach you the hustle of business that is the Santee Alley’s and I’m proud that I come from that. I am proud that my parents believed in themselves enough to make their own dreams come true and gave me the example that it is possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://palomatherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paloma_therapy/
Image Credits
Yaquelin Hernandez La Vida Photographica
