223 | The Power of Community + Understanding the Feminist Gaze with Cristina Cala

The 6-Figure Freelancer Podcast | Freelancing | Entrepreneurship | Clients | Finances | Motivation | Personal Development | Mindset

Cristina Cala is the founder of The Why Women Project, a feminist platform powered by a collective of professional women in media, marketing, and more.

Though she began her career in the corporate world, Cristina has been working with freelancers for many years and learned early on the importance of community and building a network. As she’s branched out on her own, she’s grown to understand the difference between the male gaze and the feminine gaze and how that changes her perspective on her business and her personal story. Cristina has deep insights into the freelancing world from a woman’s perspective. In this episode, we talk about the feminist gaze, what it is, and how we can use it to grow together as a community along with many other great topics related to both business and societal challenges.

“That's when the growth happens. It happens privately. It's not what you see on Instagram and Twitter. It's not the performative optical of, ‘Oh, I'm talking about it, I'm posting about it. And now I get my brownie points.’ What are you doing in your life to talk to the people in your life and sway the way that they think and change their belief system so that they don't perpetuate it in their communities?” ~ @cristinacala

Main Takeaways

• If you’re just starting out, carve out your niche and then find a network of like-minded people in your industry.
• The feminist gaze is the conscious unlearning of the male gaze (seeing the world and business like a man) and then substituting the gaze of a woman.
• When we step aside and make space for people who are different from us, it makes their world safer and makes them feel the way that privileged people get to feel every day.
• You don’t have to do everything yourself. It’s okay, and probably necessary, to ask for help in the places where you might not excel.
• When you’re just starting out, have revenue goals (ideally equal to the salary you’re leaving), learn how sales funnels work, and rely on a community.

Links

• The Why Women Project
• Cristina on LinkedIn
• Cristina on Twitter
• The Why Women Project on Instagram

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