Latest / The Mami Collective / How to Turn a Layoff Into Your Next Big Opportunity with Angie Maciel of La Casa Playroom
Transcript
- Paulina: Welcome to the Mommy Collective. I'm Paulina Rowe, radio host, TV contributor, writer, and mom of one. This is where ambitious moms come to keep their identity intact while navigating motherhood. Here we talk about the real stuff: career, money, relationships, identity, and everything. Everything that gets messy in between. You won't find sugar coating or cliches. What you will find are unfiltered conversations, real resources, and proof that you don't have to lose yourself to be a good mom. The Mommy Collective is here to remind you you can be ambitious, you can take up space, and you can thrive in motherhood and in everything else that makes you you. Before we get into the episode, make sure you're following the mommy collective on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. And share this podcast with a mommy in your life who needs a little inspiration or just a reminder that. She's killing it. Also, don't forget to sign up for our newsletter and leave us a review so we can keep showing up and reach every ambitious mom out there doing big things. Let's get into it. What's going on? It's Paulina here, another episode of the Mommy Collective. And I'm so excited for my guest today. I've got Angie Maciel joining us today, owner of La Casa Playroom. How the hell are you, girl? I'm busy, girl. Busy and tired. How are you? I'm Good. I am busy, tired, all the above. So I totally get you. I totally get where you're coming from. But I'm so grateful that you joined me today on the pod. I've been trying to get you on for a minute. You came to our last mommy collective dinner plug series. That was so cool to like sit down, talk with you, get to know you more. You know, it was a very, very cool experience. So I'm excited that you get to join us today. So Angie, can you give us a little bit of a background kind of about yourself, your family, your mom of two, all that good stuff. Sure. So I grew up in Brighton Park, which is a predominantly Mexican community, although it used to be Polish, Lithuanian, you know how Chicago is. We're a mixture of things all the time. So growing up in Brighton Park was awesome from what I thought until I look back on it and I couldn't like go outside because there was a lot of violence and everything. So what my parents did was try to shelter us. So we went to s private school in Hyde Park and then we lived In Brighton Park, and I thought the juxtaposition, the intentional juxtaposition of their lifestyles of people was amazing to see. We saw people that were struggling to put food on the table, and we also saw people whose parents had private jets and estates. So to me, I was able to experience both living in a small like south side place. But I have two sisters, an older sister who's a school psychologist, and a younger sister who is a family medicine doctor. My parents owned a Mexican grocery store also in Brighton Park. So I grew up working literally because they opened up in 1989. And I was born in 1989. So I've just known like work and hustle like my whole life. My dad always used to joke, like, ⁓ you don't want to work today. You guys aren't gonna eat. Like you have to work to eat. And I was like, okay, I got it. I wanna eat. But that's funny now as an entrepreneur, because that's so true, right? Like I gotta work dicky. It's a hundred percent commission based. So that's little about me. I was working in corporate America for a long time. I was following like the money and the title and the position. I was really into the corporate rat race. So anything you needed me to do, Angie was on it. She was working weekends, mornings, evenings. I mean, I remember I was having contractions and I was muting myself. still in a meeting, actively taking notes because I had to set up a meeting minutes because it's always put on females to do that. And my husband was like, What are you doing? Just like take the day off or take some PTO. I was like, No, I wanna like expand all the PTO that I can, really milk it for what it's worth. So I was having contractions on these calls out sacrificing breastfeeding and time with my son and my newborn. And it all like kind of came to a head. So I don't know if I'm taking this the way you want Want me to take it. I'm gonna start talking and then you need to of course correct me. All right, of course, correct me. This is everything. This is vulnerable and this is real, but you're also so vocal about it too on social, which I want to get into that in a second too. But yeah, you've shared a lot of your jerk, you know, and it's relatable. This is a lot of mob stories. Yes, and I can't believe it. Honestly, like I am shook sometimes and the people that are like, I have a similar story. I'm like, this is wild, this is ridiculous. So anyway, I my manager's manager sets up a call with me and I had been training on a new client and a huge client for the last maybe two to three months. I was gonna I let go of all my little clients and I got this big one. I was learning special procedures and everything. I was gonna take on a new team and he puts a team meeting. No, he says team updates, and it was just me and him. And I was thinking, obviously he's gonna update me and my team. Like this is good. I'm excited. I hop on the call, Paulina, and there's like 15 other people on this call. And I'm like, what the hell is going on? So it can't be a call for me. Like, there's no way because there's like four different levels. There's people I don't recognize. Half my team is on there. And I was like, this is weird. So I unmute myself. I'm on video because we have to be on video with my manager's manager. It was a requirement. So I was ready on video. And I said, Hey, so and so, am I on the right call? He says, Yes, you are, and mutes himself. And then it hit me. You're getting fired. This is the call that people talk about on Tuesday mornings. And then three minutes later, he tells everyone to get on camera because not everyone was on camera at this point. And they let us go in less than two minutes. I had nothing nice to say. I'm pretty certain I cursed, but I was muted. So I took myself off video because, like, why am I on video for? And then once I heard like we'll contact you about severance, I just hung up the phone call. Because that's all I really needed to hear. So they called us up individually. And I thought what was really calculating was they had like ⁓ a poll policy they created on severance packages based off your title and like how long you've been there. So there was no guesswork. Like clearly they knew there were gonna be waves of layoffs and they had this policy to cover their butts. So but luckily I wasn't like high up, but I wasn't the lowest up in title. So I did get, you know, two weeks every year. I was there for 10 years, almost 11. So 20 weeks, so I can't complain about that. They offer to pay Cobra and everything. But all in all, I went from having private insurance to now I have Medicaid. And girl, it's crazy up in here. What's with Medicaid? Like I didn't realize how much of this shit is a scam. I'm playing for unemployment, link, Medicaid, WIC. Like I feel like it is intentionally difficult. And I have a master's degree and I can't figure this stuff out. I had to literally go into the office and be like, Can you help me? And they're like, Do you have an email? I was like, Yes, I have an email. Just please help me with everything else. So I have a lot to say about that. But I think it's really interesting that I was really for one minute, really in everything corporate, and then one second I was a hundred percent an entrepreneur. But maybe like two years ago, Jeremy, my husband for Christmas, bought me a mouse pad. And it had my initials AMW. And he said to me, I think that you should now look at this every time you're working and really start shifting your thinking to building yourself, your brand, and your business and really separating yourself from this corporation because obviously you don't mean much to them. And he's like, And honestly, I'm sick and tired of you complaining about them. I was I guess I didn't realize how much I was complaining, Paulina. And it was a lot, you know, he was kind of like, You're doing too much. Which means I really had to be doing too much because he's a very patient man. So that's it. I was like, All right, I'll take this advice. So I was looking at it and then I was thinking and then I was thinking, and I'm telling my mom, and one day she says to me, You just need to look at a rental space already. And I was like, you know, it's bills. I don't got money. She was like, Don't worry, it'll come, you'll figure it out. That same day I went out and I saw the space and I looked at it and I was like, This is perfect. I completely saw the vision. We wanted a space where The kids could be entertained, but also like a space where if we were to have workshops with adults, they are there could be a little barrier where the kids would be engaged in another space and then they could really focus on learning in another space. So we looked in and we're like, we don't even have to do any remodeling or anything. This is right on the corner. There's free parking. The owner is super sweet, also Mexican. I was like, this is great. We're feels like we're keeping it in the family. So we signed, well, not right away though, because I didn't like the price. The price was and that's another thing. I always negotiate. So the price was eight hundred dollars more. And I'm like, that's cute. I'm not paying that. So I went to go see it and I had already done my research online, you know, how long it had it been vacant, what was the original price that went down, whatever. Because I used to be a real estate agent in New York. Not that matters, right? Because Google is free, but still I was like, all right, I know a little something. So I go in there. I'm talking to him. I'm like, literally, I literally live down the block. This is awesome. I told him about my parents, grocery store down the block. And they're like, okay, great. Like, so what do you think? I was like, I love it. I just don't like the price. And I think he was kind of taken aback by my directness. And he was like, What do you want to pay? And I was like, Well, I really do need to do research on what I want to pay. But you also own the space next door. And he was like, Yeah, I own this whole block. I said, But the next day I went next door. Next door is a hair salon. I was talking to that lady. I hope he doesn't hear this. 'Cause I don't want to I don't want to be a snitch. But I was talking to that lady and I was like, How much are you paying for rent? And she was like, Twenty three hundred. I said, That's what I'm gonna pay for rent. So then I went to see him again. We went to go see the space, but to the landlord and he was like, How much do you wanna pay? And I said, Well, between twenty three to twenty five hundred, I feel like it should go for and immediately he was like, twenty five hundred and I was like, All right, I guess. A little more than I wanted to pay for but whatever. My ⁓ comes from behind me and says, but he is such a gentleman. He's gonna give you one month break because he's a businessman and he knows you need at least a month to get a license. And what was he gonna say? No. He was like, Okay. So really to evened out to 2300. And shout out to Roberto. He did not increase my rent. So he renewed it with no increase. Thank you so much. And literally it has been the best experience I own. So I haven't had a landlord in a while. I know that sounds I don't Want it to come off as pretentious. I'm just saying I'm not used to paying rent. You know what I mean? And it hurts to pay rent, but it hurts less knowing that he's a great, you know, person and landlord and stuff like that. So that's how we kind of started. And I have a one year old and a five year old. And I think the hardest thing is running a business with them, like with little kids, because it goes crazy. And my little one was like really attached to me. I feel like he just likes to cry. And he's just very passionate, baby. So I feel like he's always fussing about something, which always like makes it difficult to really focus, right? Because I'm still like trying to look out for what he needs, which is like 247. So it makes it hard to focus on things. And I think I took for granted how hard my mom worked because she was pregnant with me and then gave birth to me during her first year. And looking back on how hard it's been, because he was already born. I think he was like six or seven months when we opened. So it's not like he was just seeing nacido newborn. I was. And I just really feel like I wanna give my mom her flowers because I didn't realize how hard it was until now. And doing it alone, right? She's helping me. She didn't have that support or that village. So it also shocks me. How incredibly successful they were with their limited village, especially in the beginning. But that also always gave me the courage and energy to do this because on some days we're like, it's slow, or we're like, How are we gonna do this? Like, I just think back like on my mom, and she really took that leap of faith. And she went all in. And that's kind of like what I'm doing. I'm taking that leap of faith, going all in and seeing where it gets me. But I must say that there's like a huge religious component in this where I feel like God also has me. So I'm not too worried about that. And I feel like organically we're giving the community so much that I just feel like it's inevitable to get blessings in return where I feel like we're just we're trying to do good. And I think with that can comes a lot of like people wanting to help. And like wanting to be a part of like the mission and the goal, which has been really nice seeing how many people just want to help. I grew up in like a very different environment in school where like it was like very competitive and like individualistic society. And it's really nice to see that collectivist mentality, especially in a business setting where most people are like, ⁓ you're taking from my profit. It's been so nice to see Latinos, Latinas, actually everybody from all types of backgrounds just helping me with nothing in return. We have these sisters that come, I think they said they travel like an hour or two to get to the playroom. They go to the Aldi that's five blocks down, literally they buy like six hundred dollars worth of stuff, like everything from laundry detergent to non-perishable items to tampons. And they drop it off and they do that monthly at the playroom. I mean, they don't have to do that at all. And they're not even Athena or black or person of color, but they see the cause. They're like, this is messed, especially when IC happening. That's when they first started. And then they saw that the community like really needed it and they just continue to do it. And I just thought that was so lovely, like an ally. Now everyone needs it. Love that. ⁓ it's such a sweet story. Well, first and foremost, thank you for sharing all of that with us because that your trajectory, I think, like you said, like started one way, right? And then now you're in a whole different space. I've been obviously to La Casa Playroom. I love bringing my daughter there for a lot of reasons. Well, she's two years old, her super bowl is what I say. But I love that bilingual part was something that like was very important to you to create a bilingual playroom. I think in twenty twenty six, and you know, I'm a new mom as well, but I'm seeing these playrooms come up, right? Because as a kid, I don't remember them. I remember like the McDonald's play area. I remember that, but that's not the same thing. You know? So I loved that you've done this. I think it was much needed, first and foremost. And I've been even before I had my baby, I kept talking about it. I'm like, well, is there one where like she can like learn Spanish and speak Spanish and stuff? But I want you to sort of kind of dive into the importance of a space like yours, right? Because I feel like Not only is it educational, right, and fun for kids, but it sort of gives them a chance to really embrace another language, another culture. You do so many activities too that you host like mommy and me, right? Or dad can come, things like that. So kind of like what's the for you, right? I know that this is like your why, but why did you feel like you have to create this for us, right? For the community. I was bullied. I'll never forget this. I was like in second grade and I was walking into Catholic school, St. Mary's Star of the Sea by Midway Airport. And I was walking in and I was so proud because I had my flute. And the day before my dad had this Mexico sticker. So it's like, ⁓ okay, let me like add it to this flute case. So I'm walking in with my flute case and I'll never forget this kid says to me, You're in America. You should have a US flag. What is that? And I never really felt comfortable talking to my parents about like Stuff like that, like racially charged situations where like I feel uncomfortable, but I'm second and third grade. I'm unsure of what I'm experiencing. All I know is like I feel excluded and I feel weird. And so then after that, I kinda like stopped wanting to speak Spanish in school. Everyone didn't speak Spanish. School was all in English. And I kinda always wanted to be everyone but myself. And then I went to a private school from fifth grade into high school where I felt like most people came from the same type of background and I would say like the girls were thinner than me and their hair looked different than me. And so I was always like, I wanna do this and I wanna be that. And I never felt comfortable or enough in who I was, what I looked like. And then I moved to New York and I went to NYU. And I was like, what? These people like fully embrace who they are and like it suddenly I felt not Mexican enough. It's a weird position. I'm in an all white school and I feel like very Mexican. And then I'm in a a very Latino setting and I feel very white. So that was really interesting to grapple with. And I totally forgot your question because I went off on a tangent. Why was bilingual so interesting? So I wanted to create that space that I never felt like I really had, you know? And we know studies show that language is lost in the second generation. My kids would be second generation. So I really don't want them to lose the language. I love that they go to Mexico and they're able to speak with their T's and Dios and cousins in Spanish. I also feel like life is fuller when you speak more languages. You're able to laugh in different languages. Like, how cool is that? Different memes and different reels on TikTok. So I guess I just want to make it cool again, right? To speak different languages. And I want kids to run towards people that look different than them and speak different languages instead of running away, like run towards it. Have curiosity and wonder. What language do you speak? Where is that on the map? What does your banner look like? Your bandera. So That's kind of how I started thinking about these virtual trips. So our median household income in our area where we have the playroom is fifty-two thousand for a family of four. We know they have limited financial means and also mo probably one of their parents isn't documented, meaning they won't be able to really travel the world. So we're bringing the world to them. So we'll travel virtually to different countries. We've gone to Mexico and Guatemala. And we want to go to Puerto Rico next. And so the arts and crafts, we even have like a poster where we teach some fun facts. We have the monitor where we literally turn off the lights and we go onto the air airplane. And when we land, we show like what that country looks like. The music and the food is all geared to learning that culture of that country. So the idea is to like promote multiculturalism and curiosity, especially in this political climate where I feel like we're kind of polarized. I want to create some type of unity. So when you first walk in, my friend and I, Suhei, created this mural, I guess you can call it, she hand painted it and it says Mika says tu casa, and it shows children of all abilities and sizes and colors, and they're holding hands and they all have a different part of the world on their shirt. And we wanted to represent unity. So as soon as you walk in, you kind of know what we're about. Yeah. No, I love your spot. I love La Casa. I think every child is it technically under six that you serve? Under six years old? Yes. We cater to children zero to six years old, but older kiddos are welcome. We have free Wi Fi, free diapers and wipes, free parking, free filtered water, and free book for each child on their way out. And so enter to entertain the older kiddos, of course they can log into the Wi Fi. We also have like Puzzles, games, books. So and we also host tea night at least once a month. So the seven to thirteen year old, they could come the ramen and anime night are a big hit. So we do that. We play games and the parents can drop them off or they could stay. Usually they'll drop them off. And then it's cool to see the adolescents like meeting new people, like how they make friendships and stuff, which is I feel like different how we made friendships. And it's so cool and organic. So it's so much fun. That is so fun. So what's one of the hardest or do you think most challenging parts of raising two kiddos while essentially like raising your business, right? Like growing La Casa Playroom. Finding time for like myself, I think, without feeling guilty, right? Like finding time to recharge and not get burnt out. Because I don't know for you, for me, I still have the mental load of remembering all the things for my family, putting it on the planner. when are these doctor's appointments set and eye doctor and all this stuff. You know, it's always in the back of my head. Plus now I have a business, right? So my husband though does a really good job of like if I ask him, Hey, I need time off or like I want to go out with my friends and do this, he's like, ⁓ yeah, for sure. Go for it. So I'm really grateful for that. He gives me time to recharge. And he's a good dad. He loves hanging out with his kids. So could be more grateful. That is so amazing. I love to hear it. And as far as La Casa Playroom, I mean, do you feel like there will be expansion? Do you feel like you would like have more locations? Like do you want to grow? I mean, I feel like now you're like fully dove in a hundred percent. I know. I think I might open up a nonprofit and have it be like a nonprofit arm of La Casa Clay Room because I feel like we kind of are operating in very altruistic environment. So it almost seems organic to do it. I know it's a long, arduous process. So I'm like, do I want to do it? So I'm like I'm at a crossroads, I feel like. I there's that. I also want to expand the business, but like enhance it in other words. And I'm scared to say more, but like, yes, so I kind of want to do that. So like we'll be in the same place. But we'll enhance our services. Or, like you're saying, expand to a whole different place. So if we were to move or add, I wanted to be like in the Oak Lawn Elsip area. Why? That's so random, Angie. Well, my parents live there. And I also know that there's nothing like it there. So I think it would be a good idea to open up something like that. But in other words, I'm still brainstorming. I'm open to literally anything and everything, but I'm just keeping my options open for now. I just think it's funny when people ask me that because it humbles me 'cause I'm like, I thought like it's just gonna stay in this little thirteen hundred square foot space. But when people ask me that, I feel like they see something in it that maybe I don't even see yet. So it makes me feel you know, it makes me feel good when people ask. A hundred percent. I feel like well I could be wrong, but I believe you're the only bilingual playroom in Chicago. And mind you, we're in Chicago, Illinois. So I can definitely see expansion, whether that more locations. Yes. Whether it's like more locations or like you said, like a bigger, like physical, like, you know, brick and mortar, whatever that might be. It could be in, you know, California tomorrow. I mean, I could see it for you, which I think is incredible because I'm like I'm so fascinated by the concept of it because I feel like we need more of bilingual playrooms in my opinion. So I think that's incredible. What do you find challenging? as far as being in the space that you are. So, you know, obviously being an entrepreneur, you did mention this earlier and we were talking, and you said like, you know, it's you're 100% commission based, right? So for that, for that kind of a person like, you know, who might be trying to open up a business such as yours, perhaps, what do you find being like some of the challenging parts of it, if you were to be honest? Budgeting. The budget. Because I'm not good at it personally. So I'm not good in the business side because I'm like, okay, I think, you know, I have like a mental count is like, no, girl, you gotta open up that app and see with the balances. So I know that I have to do better on that. What you have helped me realize is that I need to like start building this team, you know, team of people. Some of which I used on the personal side, but that doesn't mean it necessarily translates to the business side, right? So there's been a lot of like trial and errors with that. But that's what I'm doing now, really intentionally crafting a long term. Team, not like a now, right? Because I think it's easy to find something real quick. Like I need to talk to this lawyer. Like, is that person really going to be for you sustainable for you throughout the course of your business? So I think that's the hardest part for me, finding like expertise that I can trust that I feel like isn't just taking my money, but actually cares about me and my business and wants the best for me. I struggle with finding professionals, unfortunately. Yeah, that's gotta be the hardest part because. If you can clone yourself, you would. You know, I always say that if I can clone myself, I totally would. But no, you're a hundred percent right too. Leaning into others can sometimes be challenging, whether it's like someone to like help fix the plumbing like you know, or whatever it might be. ⁓ but no, that's real. Okay. La Casa Playroom, do you feel like you would expand into any other kind of I think you sort of touched on this a little bit, but like any other kind of business venture, whether it is related to language, right, or childcare or anything in that realm? Do you feel like you would expand to something else? Okay, this is where I don't know because I don't really want to adhere to the hustle, the hustle like mentality where I feel like I always have to go, go, go, and my productivity equals my worthiness. I already struggle with that. I want to live like a least stressful present mom life. One present wife. My mom Had the opportunity, my parents had the opportunity to expand their store. My mom said no for the very same reason. I'm saying I want to be careful about like what I do, what I pour into, because I'm okay with making enough. If that means being more present and less stressful, I don't need to own, you know, 20 businesses in the US. Like that actually gives me anxiety to think about. Because I'm such a perfectionist and no, I want to be involved in all those 20. I just don't want to splash my name on it. You know what I mean? I want to be involved, see that everything is flowing and this is brand consistency, you know? So right now I don't know, you know, but I also know that I want to be a present mom to my young kids. And that to me takes priority over maybe making money. Yeah. No, that's very fair and very real. Do you feel like some of the perks, though, of being like your own. boss or like having your own business like the one that you have is that you could sort of like set your own hours in a sense or like I mean you can even like take your kids quite literally with you if you had to. We feel like those are some of the parks that come along with it. ⁓ yeah. And it makes it all worth it. I'm cuddling with my son at eight in the morning, right? Whereas before I had to get up at 6 a.m and you know I'd probably already beat my butt in the seat in corporate America at 8 a.m. So nothing beats like being able to be with my I could not agree more. What's like one piece of advice that you would give to any mom that is sort of kind of debating, right, if she wants to take a leap on and start a business, right? And it could be like a similar to yours or maybe something a little bit different. But what's one thing that Angie has learned along the way that she that you would share with everybody? Therapy. I love it. Angie, thank you for coming on the pod today. Thank you for sharing your story.