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Welcome to Ascend with Claire Oliveros. I’m Dr. Claire Oliveros, Filipina American Founder and CEO of Claire Oliveros Consulting, LLC and the NARRA Leadership Institute. I am a women’s executive coach, educator, mother, and spouse. As a former community college president, I created this podcast to amplify and uplift real stories and bold leadership of Filipina and Women of Color leaders, change makers, and visionaries navigating transitions, shedding old expectations, and rising into leadership that is bold, rooted, and healing. Each episode is an invitation for reflection, creativity, and liberated leadership in action.
What does it take to sustain your leadership, not just survive it? What happens when success demands more than your spirit can give? Hi, I'm Doctor. Claire Oliveros. My pronouns are she, her, hers.
Claire Oliveros:And this is Ascend, where we explore what it really means to lead with deep roots and lasting impact. I record the Ascend podcast on the ancestral and unseated lands of the Nisenan and Miwok peoples who have been the caretakers of this land since time immemorial and remain here today building community and lasting legacy. And as a Filipino American woman, I honor and carry the knowledge and ancestral wisdom of indigenous peoples of The Philippines. Welcome to Ascend with Claro Lavaros, real stories, bold leadership. I'm your host, doctor Claire Oliveros.
Claire Oliveros:This podcast is a space for Filipina and women of color leaders, change makers, and visionaries. Each week, we explore what it means to rise through the rise up method, Reclaim, Ignite, Sustain, Excavate, Uplift and Progress. Today's theme is Sustain, the art of leading with resilience and restoration. It's about learning how to stay rooted, centered and nourished while continuing to lead and make change in a world that often demands too much. We talk about what it means to sustain energy, creativity and purpose without losing ourselves and how restoration becomes an act of leadership itself.
Claire Oliveros:I'm so excited to be joined today with Paloma Concordia, founder and CEO of Papa Lowdown Agency. Paloma's work embodies what it means to sustain not just success, but soul through leading with both courage and compassion. Paloma, whose pronouns are sheher, is a first generation Filipina and Spanish American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and gives credit to New York City for developing her business savvy state of mind. Her education and career began in the fashion and retail industry and transitioned into the music business at the height of the digital media boom. Inspired by progressive artists in the Bay Area, Paloma began to explore youth empowerment, programs, and social justice initiatives and found her passion in supporting the progressive arts community through public relations.
Claire Oliveros:Paloma has served as a program coordinator in partnership with Beats, Rhymes and Life and the East Bay Asian Youth Center in Oakland, California, as well as a program director with a nonprofit arts organization, the Estria Foundation. Combining her experience in these fields, she founded the Papa Lowdown Agency in 02/2009, a boutique public relations company specializing in a client base of entrepreneurs and community organizations in the arts, culture and community spaces. Paloma is passionate about empowering Asian Pacific Islander American women through entrepreneurship and public relations and has served on Daily City's inaugural Small Business Commission and for several Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander women focused organizations including the Asian American Women Artists Association. When Paloma is not working with clients she prioritizes physical and mental wellness and raising a family with her husband. Together we'll explore how to stay grounded in purpose and pace our leadership with rhythm, rest and renewal.
Claire Oliveros:Welcome Paloma. I'm so glad you're here.
Paloma Concordia:Thank you, Claire. It's so good to be here and, yeah, talking story with you today.
Claire Oliveros:Yes. Let's jump in. Let's start with what sustain means to you at this season of your leadership.
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. Sustain. That's interesting because I feel like at this point, this is the sixteenth year or season of running this business. And at this point, sustaining it is really what I feel like I just need to do. Done so much to grow the business.
Paloma Concordia:And, of course, it can grow more, but because of the climate, it just feels like sustaining the business, keeping it afloat is where I need to focus energy. And so to me, that means, you know, at a very basic business level, it's like, okay. Keep cash flow coming in. Keep expenses low and just trying to to balance that.
Claire Oliveros:Sixteen years is a huge milestone. Congratulations on your sixteenth anniversary. Given the climate that we're in, have you felt like you've had to make any significant changes or is there a moment when you realized you needed to slow down or redefine what sustaining a business might look like?
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. I think it really shifted probably a little bit maybe like a year and a half ago where I was in a season of, like, let's scale the business. Let's grow. You know? How can we get to revenue of a million dollars a year, right, as a business?
Paloma Concordia:I was already like, okay. I gotta hunker down. I I've gotta slow things down in a way where the business is sustainable instead of, like, trying to focus on all this marketing activity. I just was like, no. We gotta just scale back, just do the work for our clients, you know, and and focus on providing the services that they're expecting from us at a really high caliber.
Paloma Concordia:So I've really had to put away that goal of a million dollars a year revenue, which I don't think is sustainable as a PR agency. You know, there are p PR agencies that make that much. And so there was a moment of like, well, why can't I be that? You know? And especially if you wanna be a business that employs people full time and offers them health benefits and, like, retirement and, like, you know, for myself and for, you know, whoever is on my team, that's the amount that the business would have to bring in to do those things and to, like, provide, like, you know, the 6 plus figure salaries and everything that you're like, that's what I should be making.
Paloma Concordia:And so, yeah, just redefining like, yeah, that's not not that that won't ever happen, but it's almost like, well, what am I gonna have to sacrifice for, you know, for that to happen? And and, yeah, I just I have preteens. I have children, you know, that are about to be teenagers. And I think some parents think of, like, your kids get older, then you have more time to focus on yourself, your business, or whatever. Right?
Paloma Concordia:And I actually am taking a different approach where I think, like, the older they are, I actually should be more available to them. Raising boys, I
Claire Oliveros:think
Paloma Concordia:they actually need their mom more and less as they become teenagers.
Claire Oliveros:Yes. It's a great segue into thinking about how do you as a CEO and founder and also managing leading at home? How do you maintain your energy and purpose while still showing up for others?
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. You know, I'm lucky to have a great team. You know, the people that work with Pop Lowdown Agency really help out in so many ways because I don't have to be there for everything. I think that's where I've compromised of, you know, in my in my youth, I was out all the time before I had kids. I was at every event.
Paloma Concordia:I was at all the things. You know? And I'm really thankful that those relationships and those experiences and the community building actually continues to sustain me today even though I'm not at everything anymore. So I lean on my team to be at events where I cannot be. And then that's a sacrifice where I've just been okay with not being at everything anymore.
Paloma Concordia:And I'm sure everyone in their fees and up is like, yeah, I'm done going to everything.
Claire Oliveros:So Yes.
Paloma Concordia:I know I'm not the only one in that space.
Claire Oliveros:Pick and choose.
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. And I think there's gonna be a second wind, you know, like, and I know that that is there on the on the other side because eventually the kids are gonna get older and I don't need to be as involved. They'll be adults and I can step back into all the spaces. I'll get my dancing shoes back out and be out and about. For now, I feel like, you know, I I'm enjoying the season of actually hibernating a little bit.
Paloma Concordia:I've really approached running this business unconventionally and not not trying to be like any other PR agency. I'm I'm really leaning on my instincts and looking at how I can do things non traditionally so that they are sustainable for myself, for my team.
Claire Oliveros:Yeah. That's really inspiring and grounded in a liberated approach of being a CEO. Know?
Paloma Concordia:Something I started doing, I guess, maybe the last four years is a friend of mine does these energy healing sessions. So that I feel like that's a practice that maybe I do like maybe once a year. It's kind of like a cleansing of, of the energy and chakra aligning and that kind of work. So I feel like doing that has been really grounding and creating a ritual that never existed for me until I met her. Shout out to Gembenites, and her practice is called Umakyat Healing.
Paloma Concordia:She's a Pinay, also, you know, having someone with the same lineage doing that kind of work is really meaningful. And she also helped me set up an altar. So she had an altar workshop where I was like, I know I want an altar. I grew up Catholic. You know?
Paloma Concordia:So altars in a Catholic family, it's Santo Nino. It's the Virgin Mary. You know? And I don't have those on my altar. I am not a practicing Catholic anymore.
Paloma Concordia:And so I'm really more about, like, what kind of decolonizing practices and rituals can I do to help me be connected to, my ancestors, be connected to land? Right? And so those are the things that I think allow me to tap into that intuition. And so having an altar that is more reflective of a decolonized practice in in, like, spirituality.
Claire Oliveros:Jen's work, that sounds so powerful and inspiring. You know leaders lately, of color, Pinay, Filipina, Filipino American community members, and wellness and coaching are talking quite a bit about burnout. Few are talking about the systemic barriers and harm that the grind culture or hustle harder culture is inflicting on so many of us. What helps you sustain hope and creativity through through this to to sort of stay anchored in a decolonized approach?
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. Well, public relations and PR agencies inherently are, like, toxic. And I knew that by, like, what you kinda hear about PR agencies, just the culture of it. And then, you know, I've also experienced it firsthand, not necessarily in a PR agency, but just in, like, corporate work environments. So interestingly, I never actually worked for a PR agency, but I knew that I didn't want to work for one.
Paloma Concordia:And so I just was like, I'm gonna start my own. I just had it in me that I was gonna do it myself. You know, I I worked in retail for Gap Inc. In San Francisco, and that's where they're based out of. Right?
Paloma Concordia:Corporate is there. And so I actually got really great training in their management training program. And so I already knew how to run a business in a way that because of that experience, I only want to support and work with people that I believe in and that inspire me. And so I think I've been able to sustain hope and inspiration because I work with clients that are inspiring and that are hopeful and that are doing real work on the ground that are changing systems, that are also providing education or changing laws or advocating for things for the communities that they represent. And so that in itself was a very intentional decision.
Paloma Concordia:I'm gonna work with people that I believe in.
Claire Oliveros:And that message is so important for us to hear today and meaningful. I love that that's been your North Star. Yeah. Your entire career. I love that.
Claire Oliveros:And you work with some amazing people doing amazing work. As we close Paloma, what does sustainability mean to you now?
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. Yeah. I think sustainability is is listening to yourself. Like, what do you need? You know, I wake up with a to do list, but I don't always follow it.
Paloma Concordia:You know, like, not everything always gets done that day, and I really lean into just how am I feeling and what what is that feeling telling me I need to work on or not work on, you know, or like, no, just take a nap. I work from home and I have before even the pandemic. I think just listening to your body and to
Claire Oliveros:your
Paloma Concordia:instincts, that's what sustains me. And I like to clean, Claire.
Claire Oliveros:Yeah. Cleaning is therapeutic. Totally it.
Paloma Concordia:It's it's one tap. I really think the act of me, myself doing it and my children helped, but I also think that it is therapeutic. And so cleaning actually helps sustain me. It it helps clear my mind.
Claire Oliveros:Yeah. Yeah. It's connected, interconnected, isn't it? It is all work, different types of work and yeah, work that needs to get done. Are there two or three things that you haven't had a chance to share yet that are nonnegotiables for you and your business that that you really make sure you do?
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. The to do list definitely is is great. I pick kind of, like, two to three things that I'm for sure gonna get done that day. Because, right, like, there's a big to do list, and then and then on a Post it note, I write just the three things that I'm gonna do that day. So that's been really helpful.
Paloma Concordia:I I try to do, you know, some kind of exercise. As women get older, we lose bone density. So, you know, doing some calisthenics just to keep your your muscle mass and bone density strong for the long haul, or walking, running, or yoga. I kind of try to, do one of the one of those three things every day. And something I like to do actually with my husband, I would say my husband's like my silent partner.
Paloma Concordia:He's really been a huge support to me growing this business and just being a cheerleader for me. So we I'll do retreats. We do retreats, which even though it's kinda like personal, it's also business. So I think that's something really cool that I encourage folks to do, you know, like every three to four months, do a staycation and get out of your regular environment and do a business meeting. You know, you could kind of do that with yourself as a as a solopreneur.
Paloma Concordia:If you have larger teams, you know, do that with your team. But, yeah, me and my husband also do it together as like, we think of our family as a business. And so we take that time to, like, okay, look at our goals for the year. Like, what are our finances looking like? What are some expenses coming up?
Paloma Concordia:Or, you know, things like that. Doing some retreats every quarter has has become a non negotiable, I think, for for me to just reset and look ahead.
Claire Oliveros:Well, I can't wait to bring you back on for another episode. Really appreciate your insights and wisdom and so much of your story and background resonates with me and I know other women of color leaders who are finding themselves in a very similar season and really appreciate your reflection and expertise. So Paloma, how can our listeners find you?
Paloma Concordia:Yeah. Please, visit our website, papalown.com, and that's papal0d0wn.com. Subscribe to the newsletter there. If you subscribe, you get a free download for a PR guide that we created. I am I am on Instagram at papa lowdown agency.
Paloma Concordia:We have some great workshops coming up under our PR for the people program. So, yeah, stay tuned there. Thank you.
Claire Oliveros:Awesome. Yeah. Thank you. I'll be sure to also include all of these details in the show notes of episode four. And thank you again Paloma Concordia.
Claire Oliveros:I'm so glad to have you on the show. It was an awesome conversation and really enjoyed learning more about your story.
Paloma Concordia:Thank you, Claire.
Claire Oliveros:I'd like to leave you with a leadership reflection prompt. Ask yourself, where in my life or leadership am I overextended and what would it look like to restore balance? How can I sustain my impact without sacrificing my well-being? What rhythms, rituals or boundaries help me return to myself? Let whatever arise within you now simply be information, no judgment.
Claire Oliveros:This is how we begin to practice sustainable leadership with awareness and compassion. I'd like to gift you with an ingot ka take care micro meditation. Let's take a deep breath together. Inhale gently through your nose, hold for a moment and exhale slowly through your mouth. Let's release the pressure to do and return to simply being.
Claire Oliveros:Ask yourself, what do I need to sustain myself right now? What small, loving act can I offer to my mind, body and spirit today? Sustainability isn't speed. It's about rhythm. It's about remembering that rest is not a reward but a rite.
Claire Oliveros:Ingadka, take good care, is not just a phrase but a practice. You deserve to lead with ease, grounded in your truth and your well-being. Thank you for joining me on Ascend for today's podcast. If this conversation resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs a reminder to rest and sustain their purpose. And don't forget to follow the Ascend with Clara Lovero's podcast.
Claire Oliveros:Until next time, keep leading, keep ascending, keep sustaining, and ingotka.