Meet Catalina Peña of Catalyst Creation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Catalina Peña.

Hi Catalina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hey y’all, I’m Catalina– an Afro-Colombiana currently living in Miami, FL enjoying all this city has to offer! I am the founder of Catalyst Creation, a coaching solutions company that provides career coaching support to organizations serving underrepresented talent so they can learn the tools necessary to navigate the corporate world, land their dream job, and create their dream career. To date, we have partnered with 40+ organizations to coach over 5,000 folks ranging from students to CEO”s into expanding their mindsets to make their dreams career realities and have helped clients generate over $2.5 million in salary raises and new offers. And we are just getting started!

And as grateful as I am for the success of the company, I always share how it began to continue to stay rooted. The possibility of the company began 23 years ago when my mom, my sister, and I migrated to Houston from Colombia with nothing more than a duffle bag, not knowing a single soul, not having a place to live, and receiving government assistance for our first few years in the US. After 5 coast to coast moves, 1 full-ride scholarship, 3 times getting fired, 1 layoff, and countless other blessings and hardships, Catalyst Creation was founded to help others like me who come from humble beginnings and have little to no understanding of the Corporate World , navigate the realities of Corporate America and make it work for them to create a career they love while building financial freedom.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has been an interesting journey with many twists and turns, but we have managed to move with them and continue creating the impact we are committed to creating.

As a company, one of our biggest obstacles was getting incorporated in November 2019 (5 months before the pandemic) and having one of our biggest clients fall through in April 2020. After that, we had to be nimble and continue trusting in the mission which ultimately led us to becoming a thriving business just a few years later. It was a risk that paid off, not only for the company but for all the folks we’ve been able to help so far.

As an Afro-Latina, immigrant, first-time business owner and founder who bootstrapped the business the first year, the struggles and lessons are ongoing. One of the biggest struggles has been understanding how to market a relatively new service to our clients and how to scale to reach the most impact because there is no rule book on how to do it every day is truly an adventure and I am committed to continue the journey to help both my clients and founders in my same position with my learnings.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Catalyst Creation is a coaching solutions company that supports the hiring ecosystem by providing mindful career coaching services (ranging from resume reviews to negotiation to career planning) to organizations that support underrepresented individuals in order to help guide them throughout the job search process. We believe teaching individuals to become change agents in the workplace will exponentially increase the impact on the overall socio-economic advancement of underrepresented communities. After a typical career coaching session or workshop, folks can see an increase of 25-40% in confidence, clarity in the process, and overall job search preparation.

What sets Catalyst Creation apart from other professional development and coaching companies is that we understand the career struggles many of our clients face firsthand and use a mindful approach to helping our clients along the career journey so that they can keep work-life integration in mind as they navigate their careers. The career struggles for underrepresented folks are typically overlooked or dismissed so we try to bring them to the forefront during our workshops and coaching sessions so we can create a real space for our clients to address the issues and equip them with the tools needed to overcome them taking into account the realities of Corporate America.

Talking about the realities of Corporate America, I started Catalyst Creation after being fired for the third time and realizing that there was a need for underrepresented folks to understand how to actually succeed at work but on their own terms. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve made but also has been the best so far. Since starting in late 2019, we have been able to work with 40+ organizations, help support 5000+ professionals, and helped clients generate $2.5 million in salary raises and new offers. Our biggest goal is to help underrepresented workers generate 1 Billion dollars in salary raises so we are well on our way!

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from starting a company is that you truly get to create your career or business or your own terms. There is a lot of stuff out there that pushes a lot of new entrepreneurs to grow quickly and scale as soon as possible, but what I’ve learned is that starting a business can be an opportunity to shape your life as you grow your business so that you do have the freedom to enjoy life as you build, not just after you’ve made your millions.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I am really big into mindfulness and spirituality so some of my favorite apps are Balance and Chopra (for meditation), Youtube (for great online yoga classes–Bright and Salted Yoga is one of my favorites!), Medium (for great thought pieces and articles), and Spotify (to set the best work vibes). In terms of books, some of my favorites are All About Love, Ikigai, Think Like A Monk, and the 4-hour workweek. I think if we are mindful with ourselves, we can be mindful at work and that fundamentally changes how we relate to success by taking off the pressure and allowing ourselves to enjoy the work we do.

Contact Info:

• Website: catalystcreation.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curiouscata/

Image Credits
Rhadames Julian (Black Pixel Productions)