Market Your Business Understand Your Clients with Alejandra Slatapolsky

I was the head of communication for an investment bank. I was setting up basically the marketing communications department from scratch. There was little there. And I had to start looking for vendors. And when I started looking for vendors that were specialized in wealth management and financial services, I couldn't find many. They were like, yeah, I understand. I've been working with a credit card. And I'm like, yeah, that's finance, but that's not really what we do here. Do you understand our products? Do you understand what we're doing? So, I saw the niche there and said, okay, there's definitely a need here. Most agencies just are, you know, industry agnostic, and they say they do it all. And that was also the beginning of my understanding of making sure you have a very strong niche.

So, today on the See Life Different Podcast, we have Alejandra. She is a successful marketing and communication strategist. She has her own agency called Zalata, which is kind of short for her last name, but we'll also get the backstory on that. And she has over 20 years in financial technology, education, entrepreneurship, based both in the US, Florida, South Florida, my hometown, and Latin America. So she has— Zlata has supported dozens of financial services and marketing agencies and other companies that need journalism, public relations, and event planning, because brand awareness and profitability is key, especially in this day and age of the Great Walkout and the new digital entrepreneurship. Welcome, Alejandra. How are you?

Thank you very much for having me here. I'm good.

Yes, so tell us more about, uh, Zlata and also your last name. You can talk more about where you're from, your story, and, and tell us what made Alejandra Alejandra.

Oh wow, what made Alejandra Alejandra? I like that question. Well, Zlata is short for Zlata Polsky. My good friends when I was little, they used to call me Zlata, so when I was Choosing a name for my company, I was finding I was having a very hard time, and I was like, "Don't fight it. It's you know you are starting the company. You can name it. It's fine." So I just went with Zlata. I'm Argentinian. I was born in Argentina, and my last name is Polish. My great grandparents were Polish on my father's side, but on my mother's side they were actually Turkish. So I had that influence there, and when I was 22, I left Argentina to study in Spain and never came back. Ended up in Miami and started a corporate career in, you know, marketing, communications. Financial services is in my blood, actually. My family ran a financial services firm in Argentina. Then, throughout the years, I evolved in my corporate career. And one day I said, I was helping an agency grow very fast, and I was really helping them structure the whole business. And I knew it that I had it in me to be an entrepreneur. But when I was doing that for others, actually building and helping them structure the business, I said, hey, if I can do it for them, I can do it for myself. So, that's how I ended up opening my own business 8 years ago.

I love that. I love that. And I think it's super important for— I believe in the motto, for us, by us. So, anytime other Latin Americans and Hispanics see you, they're like, yes, she's one of us, and I feel like I can do it too. And so, how did that role How did that thought really play into the role of really just keeping Slatka up and going for 2 decades now?

It ebbs and flows, I'm not gonna lie. Strategies come and go, and the key is execution and being constant in continuing to, you know, continue rowing day by day, but also trying to elevate yourself constantly. So The more you learn yourself, the more your business is going to grow. There's this thing that everybody talks about that is, hey, don't work in your business, try to work on your business. And, you know, for many years, I found it very hard to carve out the time to do that. I think that the key is to try to every day differentiate what's urgent from what's important. And try to get to both, you know, do 50/50 at least and say, okay, yeah, you know, I have to take care of this client, but what can wait so that I can also work on my business and make sure that it's growing? And sometimes working on your business is building a team, and sometimes working on your business is looking at numbers, but sometimes working on your business is working on yourself, on, you know, on evaluating your weaknesses and your strengths, on reading that book that you never read, or or meditating, whatever it is, but what do you know that is going to feed, you know, your capabilities, and it's going to feed your soul too?

I love that! I love that you mentioned that because mindset is definitely important, especially, like you said, during the ebbs and flows of first entrepreneurship, and then scaling, you know, to make it a company, and then mastering, you know, your systems, your able to delegate and have that team. So what would you say is, is key for those who are— they, they've been doing it, they know what they're doing, they know that they have this great idea, they have this great business, um, but they're in that next phase where they're ready to scale and learn how to operate and, and get other help. So how would you really go about, uh, encouraging others, especially women, Who tend to like to do it ourselves a lot of times. So, how do you encourage that?

I've been doing that forever, and I actually still, you know, stop myself from doing it, like, every single day. I have now a business partner that I work with, and I always tell her, hey, remind me, I don't have to take it all on me. Like, that's something that we all do. For the sake of your business, it's very important that you stop doing. But every day, you have to remind yourself, okay, what can be done by another person? That is not me, and for that to happen also, it takes some time to figure out to put pen to paper on what is that you're doing, right? So can you teach somebody else to do it? And yes, for many years I also thought no, like I cannot find anybody that has my expertise, cannot find anybody that will do this, this, this, and that like me. And it's true, and that's why I built this business. But I will find 2 people, 3 people that will complement each other to reach that objective. And how will I do that is actually training them and showing them, hey, this is how I do things, and not assuming that they will get it right the first— on the first, you know, try. Not fixing their work. That was a great lesson. Like, Some years ago, I said, I'm gonna stop fixing everybody's work, and I push it back. Hey, this is not good enough. This is my feedback. Go back and redo it. I used to just grab it. You know, you sent me a presentation for a client, and I was just like, okay, do I explain it or do I just fix it? And I was like, well, it's gonna be faster. Let me just fix it. You know, I go and fix it, and it's done. then the team doesn't learn. And I, you know, it took me also some learning process to say, no, I need to put it back. I need to push it back and say, hey, go back. And then, of course, the revisions, you know, little by little. What can I tell you? It's a learning process, and every step of the scaling process is important too. So give yourself time and— Work on that, work on, you know, putting pen to paper and examining in your head what you know and how you can split it up and explain it.

Very great tips, very great tips. And so now I want to kind of talk about more about specifically about what you do. So I know that you mainly do— you do branding, you do marketing, you do content marketing, but which service came first and where did you start to see the need? in your industry, as your business began to grow, and you started to offer more services, and you started to find what really worked for you?

I was the head of communication for an investment bank. I was, you know, setting up basically the marketing communications department from scratch. You know, there was little there, and I had to start looking for vendors. And when I started looking for vendors that were specialized in wealth management and financial services, I couldn't find many. They were like, yeah, I understand, you know, I've been working with a credit card. And I'm like, yeah, that's finance, but that's not really what we do here. Do you understand our products? Do you understand what we're doing? So, I saw the niche there and said, okay, there's definitely a need here. Most agencies just are, you know, industry agnostic and they say they do it all. And that was also the beginning of my understanding of Making sure you have a very strong niche and that you go for it. So that's how I decided, okay, I'm gonna launch an agency that specializes in financial services because that's, you know, I do see the need. After that, I did continue. Once I started having my own clients, I observed, you know, a client may come with I do all of the marketing services. My team, we have the SEO, the community managers, the designers, the web developers, all of the marketing suite that you need to execute marketing strategies, right? And I would get clients that would say, hey, you know what? I just want you to do a new website. And whenever I would go about doing the website, I would always find out in the process that there was something lacking in the core offering definition or in the business strategy or in the growth strategy, or there was always something behind that need that I would have to go back and fix before getting into the project. So, all the time I would be, and I would end up actually doing business strategy consulting, just part of a, you know, another marketing service that I was providing. And that's when my— the next phase of my business came about, that it's actually the merger that I just finished with Scalto, that is the other agency that I'm launching with my partner. That is about, okay, let's really put our minds and design a process that helps companies scale from a branding and communications perspective, but with a strong business strategy behind it and the analysis of your growth options. Why do I talk about the growth options? Because most people will just go for the latest shiny thing in marketing. Instead of really analyzing where the target is and how to get to them and what's the best option in the market for them to grab, the best space for them to grab. So, we do all of that work. We get together with the client, really dive deep into what is it that they have as their core value proposition, what options they have for growth, And then we find all the marketing and the lead generation process for them.

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That's super important, and I'm glad that you mentioned that, and I'm glad that, um, you're doing that because of course Like you say, we are all the same, but we are all different at the same time. Because even for me, my focus is literally the same exact thing. As a photographer, I started out just taking photographs. When I would take these photographs and see them just— this was before Instagram— so I would just see them just either not use the photos at all. I would see them just dump it on Instagram. So it's like, okay, so how are you monetizing? How are you utilizing, you know, these photographs? So that's where my expertise came in, in the creative side of like, okay, sounds like I need to consult with you on how to use these photographs. So yeah, that's super, super important. And now, what tip though can you give, like one example for the financial industry of what is one, either one social media network, one platform that really the industry should be focusing on in this time?

Wow, that's hard. It really depends who you're going for. I, you know, I have clients that sell to other institutions, clients that sell to financial advisors, others that go directly to the investor. So it really depends who you're going for. What I always invite everybody to do is go out and create content that is valuable for the person that you're aiming for. Really valuable, not just superficial valuable. Create something that they can use. Create things that, you know, really are educating them, whether it's on Instagram, LinkedIn, on a podcast, a webinar, a guide, whatever it is. But really, like, go deep into exactly who your buyer is and what they need to know, and worry about them authentically, right? So I have a client that targets investors. We're giving them real saving tips, blockchain information, platforms information, but real information that they can use, not just information that is a way to push their products in another way. No, build the trust, give them information, and then they'll come. I think that's, that's very important, and everybody can perceive fake a mile away already, so you want to be as authentic as possible.

Very good, just very good tip. Definitely warm them up first before you start selling your services, so that's a great tip. Now, I kind of want to go back to mindset, um, maybe give 1 to 3 of your mindset tips, mindset hacks, Ones that have helped you and ones that you feel that could help other women?

Oh, this is very personal. I always had, you know, a glass-half-empty mind growing up. Everything was blown out of proportion, and everything that was good, I would take for granted. Honestly, like, that was the way. Like, okay, yeah, I'm doing good in the business. It is easy, you know, anybody can do it. That was my justification. Or, you know, my kids are doing great. Well, yeah, I am an average mom. I don't like— that would be my mind. And one day my Coach actually mentioned the gratitude book, you know, every single night writing out, you know, 5, 10 things that you are thankful for. And you know, at first it's easy, but once you do it every single night, it's harder to find new things. What I found, you know, throughout the months that I did it, when I, you know, I kept it up, was that my mind was starting to change, actually change. And my coach explained there is a neurology, like, approved Neurological swift switch that you do on your mind when you do that, and what happened was that little by little, you know, I would have you know a setback with a client would take me three four days to recuperate from. In one day, I had a setback with you know a client that was not happy, and that's. Pretty common in every single business you go, and you know about an hour later I was fine. Like it really did not hit me that hard because every single day I was looking at you know the positive things in my life without even realizing it. I was doing it. So for me, and I you know I tell it to everybody that wants to listen. It's the greatest hack to your mind that you can do, is that little thing every single night. Even like, there are days that you're like, oh my God, I'm so tired, this was a horrible day. And that's the day to do it, right? But it really like, it makes it transform your mind and It's, it's, I don't know, it was, it was magical to me. I, you know, right now every single negative thing that happens in my life is just so much easier to, to process.

Gratitude definitely goes a long way. I think the more adversity we face, the, the harder it gets. And so just like you say, you got to do it every single day. You got to work, work it out every single day because I think that's the thing that a lot Women entrepreneurs and business owners tend to forget is that the mindset is first and foremost, you know, no matter what business, no matter what industry. True!

Like, if you're being true, there are people that gratitude comes easier for them, you know. I have, you know, my sister-in-law, I see her, she's like, she's cheerful, you know, every single day, you know. She has all these setbacks in in her life, but she's like, everything's fine, right? And everything— she keeps on, and she has this positive energy about her. And sometimes I'm like, how do you do that, right? But, you know, but when I realized that I could do it too, that I could be, you know, not that negative— you know, I'm a very cynic person anyways, you know, I'm not going to change that. And I'm—

I know why.

jokes are very like, how do I say, they're very dry. But that doesn't change the fact that now I, you know, I don't let things get that much to me so that I don't know that I'm, you know, really appreciating what I have truly.

And that's actually very important because I'm glad that you mentioned dealing with difficult clients. So maybe if you have one more tip for the women entrepreneurs on how to deal with those difficult clients and not take it personal?

Oh yeah, that's hard, especially when you started out and you're the only one. It's like, okay, you're rejecting me or you're criticizing me directly. It's not easy. One switch I made was exactly that. Once I said, you're not criticizing me, you're criticizing my organization or my work. You know, separating yourself from that. It's like, yeah, yeah, you as a person, you're still a good person. Hopefully, you're still you. What you produced, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not that good, and sometimes it's not a fit. So it's 2 tips. One is separating your self-worth from your work. It's very important. And the other one is accept that not everybody's a fit. And we are actually incorporating that into our process now of filtering clients, because you want to work with people that, you know, make you feel good, that respect you. And that's— it's very important because you don't have to— like, everybody thinks you have to. work with the nasty client or the nasty executive. And once you say no, all the positive ones and the best ones will come. So I think that, you know, setting your boundaries and really taking a look at who you work with is important.

It's very important. Yeah, just like you said, you gotta go through the bad to get through the good, or you gotta get the bad apples before you get to the good apples. Yeah, super important. Okay, we are coming to the end, and I have one— a couple more fun questions for you. So one of the questions is, what is your favorite book that you are reading or listening to right now?

Well, by far of all times, my favorite philosophy and book is Start with Why by Simon Sinek. That, you know, I just, I love it. And then I read novels to take my mind off of business too, that I like too, yeah. And of course movies and all that, yeah. This Is Us, the series.

Oh.

That's the best series I've seen ever. The best scripting, the best acting ever. No, I love it. This Is Us.

Yeah, that's my favorite too. But I'm, I'm like, um, um, I'm empathetic, I'm emotional, so I love, you know, real life stories like that. Yeah. If you, um, had the chance to, uh, travel in the next year, where would you want to travel to?

I've been wanting to go to Bali. For some reason.

Well, what reason is that? It came out for one reason, so what reason do you think?

I think it's a combination of a relaxing vibe that I get from what I see, all of the spirituality, um, that comes from there too. So I really feel like I could use a spiritual journey next year.

Perfect. And one last question that I've asked most guests Uh, is as a way to really see life different. Um, I always love to ask guests, what do you see your legacy as? What do you want your legacy to be?

Well, 2 things. One is whoever works with me to see that you can bring your whole self to work, your authentic self to work, uh, without hiding or pretending to be anything else. And that, that's the best thing you can do. That I've been talking with my team about it, and that's very important to me. And the second one, I have 2 kids, and I just hope I'm able to see them grow up to just be satisfied and whole with their lives.

I'm, I'm pretty intuitive, so I feel like there's going to be a holistic change in you in the next year, and I can't wait to see it.

Yeah, good. Yes. Okay, we'll check back then in, in, yeah, in 10 months.

Yeah, see what happens. Yeah, let's do that.

Let's do that. Let's see.

Perfect. And so in the meantime, how can, um, other womenpreneurs either, uh, if they're in the financial industry, work with you, or if they're not in the financial industry, find your podcast?

Well, my podcast is called The Beast of Wealth, um, and you can find me— my name is pretty particular, Alejandra Zlata Polsky. You can find me on LinkedIn, and my email is alejandra.s@scalto.com.

So, uh, are you on social media? I know that, you know, sometimes you have to do it for your business, but you, how do you feel about social media?

I am. I'm on all channels. I try to not get too hooked. I was on Instagram too much lately and I tried to cut back, but yeah, I'm on Instagram and Twitter, LinkedIn, and I partly use it for news too, and then I use it to, you know, keep up with friends and with professional colleagues on LinkedIn. So I, I vary it all a little bit, but try to keep it to, you know, a healthy habit too.

Perfect. Well, thank you, Alejandra. This has been a great conversation on the Sea Life Dipping Podcast. Thank you for being a guest.

Thank you for having me here. It was super fun.

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