Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Estrada.
Hi Barbara, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, into a Cuban family in a very Latino city, I always had a deep connection to my Cuban heritage. (I mean, my first language is Spanish) However, I felt like “the mold” that was my environment outside the walls of my home did not fit me. I knew my greater purpose was outside the city I was born into. So, I left. I set my sights towards the West Coast despite all odds from people who told me it was a “bad idea.” But, I was a manifester at a young age. My dreams of living in Los Angeles landed me at my first choice university – USC. As an alumna of the University of Southern California, I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism with a minor in Spanish language. I was the Founder and former president of the student chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists at my university.
I also founded a student-run digital outlet for students of color at my university as part of my legacy for students to tell stories for communities of color in America. My career has taken me across several media landscapes (on-camera, behind-the-scenes, and digital), ranging in entertainment to international news. I have interviewed several celebrities on the red carpet of Hollywood, community members in the state of Virginia and produced a short documentary in Greece focusing on the intersectionality of the LGTBQI and Greek Orthodox Church. I’ve even reported on the Haitian migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2016. Four years later and I am living life on my own terms. I am now the Founder and CEO of my own online media business, Work in Progress Media. Although 2020 turned into an unexpected year, it was my year to take a risk on myself and embrace entrepreneurship. In 2021, I am embracing my year of alignment. I freelance for media publications and my work can be seen in VICE, We are Mitú, Latino Rebels, NPR, NAHJ’s Palabra, HyperAllergic, Just Begin Magazine and the New York Times. Currently, I am living in Munich, Germany, working remotely as a freelance journalist and an Au Pair for a German family while expanding my knowledge on the German language.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Beyond all the professional accolades, something was missing. This feeling was becoming unshakable as I moved on from my college life. I asked myself, “Where am I going? Why am I not happy?” I eventually landed back in my home city of Miami because it felt like the “safe choice.” I worked with South Florida media startups in the podcasting and film industry and then landed the dream job in working with a public news figure with over two million followers across social media. I considered this position to be the “dream job” that would define my journalistic career. I would soon come to find out that the reality did not match the dream.
A series of events post-college tossed me upside down that tore my confidence in my professional life. I increasingly felt unappreciated at the “dream job,” fell into a deep depression, forced to move out of my apartment due to unemployment, and got into further financial debt. All while realizing I wanted to pursue my dreams in another continent. I even sought a series of odd jobs just to survive in the U.S. after I manifested losing my corporate job. I literally lost it all. And, the scarcity mindset began. Shocking to say out loud? I know. So did I. But, I let go of the limiting belief that these pitfalls are something I need to be ashamed of and instead embrace it as part of my story. In hindsight, I am grateful. Without the challenges I’ve faced thus far, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So, I began to do the “inner work.” I asked myself, “what do I define as happiness?” I looked at my past and recall the time I studied abroad in the Basque Country of Spain as the best time of my life. Meeting new people, cultures different from mine, and experiencing a different lifestyle is all I ever wanted since 2016. I left everything behind in America. I sold almost everything in my possession and moved across the Atlantic to live my life in happiness, which is living abroad.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Content Clarity Coach, Storytelling Guru, and overall Journalist. I help people write effectively and strategize social content. Most people have difficulties trying to find the right words to express their thoughts. I know, it can be a lot. I listen, take notes, find the right words and write as if I was you. This is branding a voice and building a community. My vision is to create a platform focused on building business and personal brands story, educating creatives and entrepreneurs alike about the digital landscape as I candidly normalize mental health on my own platform. I am focused to creating a space for stories and although I’m known for my writing, my ability to connect with people through my interviews is what sets me apart. I’m MOST proud of my story. The highs and lows. The accomplishments I made by the age of 23 despite being unemployed from a company that I no longer grew in alignment with, which is okay and we should normalize speaking about because it’s more common than we would like to publicly accept.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
The first thing that comes to mind has nothing to do with entrepreneurship. It’s actually the time my soccer team and I won first place in a soccer competition. I remember feeling so proud, holding up in the air the trophy we each got for our victory. That trophy must have been half my size at the time. And, I was simply happy to have my parents there witness a part of my life that meant so much to me. I no longer play soccer, but it was a chapter of my life that showed me discipline, consistency, teamwork and believing in myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.barbaraestrada.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollaitsbarbara/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_eMO4qypbhs52FgVBLtzyw
Image Credits
My headshot of me holding my glasses and sitting at a table as well as holding my laptop/talking to my iPhone is by: Annabel Mejia (Instagram is @mediabyAnna)
The other photos of my graduation and rose field (besides the one of me reporting at Univision Miami) is by Magali Gauthier.
