Every March I sit with Women's History Month the same way I sit with a good cup of cafecito. Slowly, with intention. Because there is so much to honor and still so much work to do!

I've been reading How to Be a Rich Old Lady and one part has been living rent free in my head:

Women lose half a million dollars in lifetime earnings, on average, just by becoming mothers.

Not from bad decisions or lack of ambition, from the accumulation of invisible labor that no one ever put on a balance sheet.

And that gap doesn't just disappear, it compounds. According to Forbes, Latinas make up a growing share of the workforce, yet only 4.1% are earning $100,000 or more. By 2050 we'll be more than a quarter of the female population in this country. The growth is there, the earning power isn't.

This month's issue is about that gap, and...

A Times Square feature in New York City that still gives me chills.
Amazing clients who remind me exactly why I do this work.
Something I have been teaching clients behind the scenes: testimonial strategy
Inviting you to join me to celebrate a year of helping corporate escapees own their story

So yes, I'm celebrating Women's History Month. And I'm also refusing to celebrate it quietly. Let's pull the thread, amig@s.

-Lu

🧵 On Times Square and why it still gets me

Earlier this month, my face was on a billboard in Times Square as part of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial CenterMilestone Circles program graduation. I know that sounds like a casual sentence, but it was not a casual moment.

I spent over 15 years in corporate, I was part of that 4.1%. I worked damn hard, but I didn't get there alone. I had people who sponsored me, mentors who opened doors I didn't even know existed. People said my name in rooms I hadn't been invited into yet. I carry that with me every single day.

One of the things I talked about on the Poder Latina CEO podcast was this idea that the women before us made a way even when the path was barely there. Our generation's job is to make the path so clear that the women coming behind us don't have to waste years figuring out they were never the problem. When I saw my face on that billboard, my first thought wasn't about me. It was about every Latina founder who has never seen herself on a stage that big.

Casey and I also laced up this month and ran the Dress for Success San Antonio 5K, She Runs the World. It felt right to put our bodies in the work, not just our words. Community over everything!

She Runs the World 5K

🔍 This is what Thread Studio was built for

Over 540,000 new businesses were formed in January 2026 alone. Layoffs are up 118% from last year. People are leaving corporate in record numbers and building something of their own. And Latina owned businesses? Growing at 33% while non-Latina owned businesses grow at 7%.

We're not waiting anymore, we're building!

Welcome to the Corporate Escapee Club!

The corporate escapees who come to me aren't lacking ideas, credentials, or drive. What's missing is a foundation that holds. Language that lands, and a clear story that actually reflects the depth of what they bring.

The work isn't about creating something new, it's excavation. We pull the golden thread that's already running through everything they've built and architect around it. Their positioning, voice, and bridge narrative connecting where they've been to where they're going. When the foundation is right, the scatter stops. They feel confident in owning their story. The right people trust, invest in and rave about them.

If that's where you are right now, let's talk.

Schedule a fit call

💬 One of the most common questions from clients right now: testimonial strategy

How do you get testimonials that actually sound like something? And once you have them, what do you do with them?

It comes up so often that I've started building the whole strategy into every brand guide I deliver. So let me teach you both parts and show you exactly what it looks like using a real client.

What works better than sending an email or form and hoping someone gets around to it is asking live, with four specific questions. When someone answers in real time, they don't have time to over edit. You get their unfiltered, unpolished truth in their actual words. Then you write the draft, send it to them for approval, and they approve because it sounds exactly like them and took very little time.

Here are the four questions. And here's what my client Estee said when I asked them.

What were you struggling with before we started working together? "After 20 years in corporate, my identity was intertwined with the company and the leaders I served. When I stepped into entrepreneurship I had to answer: who am I without that? How do I show up as that person publicly? I was honestly spiraling."
What feels clearest or easiest now? "Now I'm clear on the person I want people to see and love working with. I have one source of truth to reference for everything."
What felt most valuable about this process? "She didn't give me a brand. She helped me uncover mine. She truly listened and understood where I was emotionally before diving into strategy."
How would you describe working together? "Working together felt natural and safe. That clarity has been freeing."

Those four answers became her testimonial. I drafted it in her words, she approved it, and now it lives across my marketing along with the others because it does a very specific job: it speaks directly to the corporate escapee who is standing at the edge of something new without a map. That is not an accident, that is strategy.

Which brings me to part 2, because getting a great testimonial and then burying it in your email signature is one of the most common mistakes I see. A testimonial isn't a trophy, it is a tool. Different testimonials do different jobs. Some overcome the “is this worth the investment?” objection. Some speak to a specific audience at a specific moment in their journey. Know what job each one is doing and put it in the right place. Here are a few ways to actually use it once you have it:

Add it to your newsletter (see what I did here?)
Turn it into a carousel that tells their before and after story
Write a post about their experience in their own words
Put it on your website where the right person will find it at exactly the right moment

Estee’s goes where someone is in that exact moment of identity confusion. Everything else goes somewhere else.

Corporate Escapee Client Story

🎉 Come celebrate with me

One year ago I had a vision and a whole lot of loose threads. What I didn't fully see coming was the community that would grow alongside it.

The clients who trusted me with their stories. The corporate escapees who showed up to workshops and said "that's exactly me." The people in this inbox who have been reading, responding, and building something of their own in the meantime.

This April 30th is our official Ribbon Cutting, and I want you in the room. Not just to celebrate Thread Studio turning one, but to celebrate what it means when a community of corporate escapees and founders bets on themselves and don't look back.

Come have champagne and pan dulce with me. Connect with other founders pouring their hearts into something that matters. And let's mark this moment together.

📅 Thursday, April 30 | 11:00AM - 12:00 PM CST

📍Working Moms of San Antonio, 11854 Wurzbach Rd

Hosted by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

RSVP here -->

🪡 The Stitch to Remember

The women who came before us built the path with whatever they had. They didn't wait for permission, infrastructure, or the right moment. They moved anyway.

You're doing the same thing, and you're doing it with 15, 20 years of expertise... a rich culture, and a lifetime of experience that didn't disappear when you handed in your badge. It's still there, all of it. You just need someone to help you find the thread, pull it through, and build something that actually reflects the depth of what you bring.

That's not starting over, that's finally beginning.

One stitch at a time. 🧵

–Lu