Raquel Gomes: From Burnout to Boundaries and Balance in Business

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Raquel Gomes discuss:

  • The importance of setting boundaries and saying no to maintain focus and balance
  • Overcoming perfectionism and developing trust through delegation and leadership
  • Building sustainable business systems that support both growth and personal well-being
  • The mindset shift required to transition from burnout to passion-driven entrepreneurship

Key Takeaways:

  • By performing a detailed time audit and identifying tasks that don’t align with your priorities, you can reclaim control of your schedule, eliminate low-value work, and create space for what truly drives personal and professional growth.
  • Effective delegation depends on replacing micromanagement with structured onboarding, clear expectations, and consistent communication so your team feels empowered and capable while you stay focused on leadership and strategy.
  • Long-term business success requires building systems and processes that allow your company to operate smoothly even in your absence, ensuring both stability and the freedom to take restorative time away without anxiety or burnout.
  • The decision to leave corporate life before feeling fully ready underscores the importance of self-trust — embracing uncertainty and believing in your own capability can lead to transformation, purpose, and sustainable fulfillment.

“Rest is revenue generated as well.” —  Raquel Gomes

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About Raquel Gomes: Raquel Gomes is the visionary Founder and CEO of Stafi, a virtual staffing company transforming how law firms operate and grow. A former psychologist with an MBA and a background in corporate America and technology, Raquel brings a rare combination of emotional intelligence and business acumen to leadership. Inspired by her own journey balancing motherhood, burnout, and ambition, she built Stafi to empower busy professionals—especially women—to scale their firms without sacrificing their well-being. Under her leadership, Stafi now supports hundreds of law firms worldwide, connecting them with skilled virtual assistants and sustainable systems for success. Raquel’s mission is rooted in redefining work-life balance and proving that thriving in business and in life are not mutually exclusive.

Connect with Raquel Gomes:

Website: https://getstafi.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raquel-gomesstafi/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetStafi

Connect with Steve Fretzin:

LinkedIn: Steve Fretzin

Twitter: @stevefretzin

Instagram: @fretzinsteve

Facebook: Fretzin, Inc.

Website: Fretzin.com

Email: [email protected]

Book: Legal Business Development Isn’t Rocket Science and more!

YouTube: Steve Fretzin

Call Steve directly at 847-602-6911

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You’re the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Steve Fretzin  [00:00]

Hey everybody, if networking feels like a chore for you, you’re going to want to hear about my new podcast, be that lawyer Coach’s Corner. I’ll show you how to build real world relationships and drive business both online and in person. A few episodes are already live, so go listen to be that lawyer Coach’s Corner today. And by the way, enjoy the show today as well.

 

Narrator  [00:21]

You’re listening to be that lawyer, life changing strategies and resources for growing a successful law practice. Each episode, your host, author and lawyer coach, Steve Fretzin, will take a deeper dive helping you grow your law practice in less time with greater results. Now here’s your host, Steve Fretzin, Hey

 

Steve Fretzin  [00:43]

everybody, welcome back. It’s Steve Fretzin, and this is the be that lawyer podcast, if you want to be that organized, if you want to be that successful and you want to be that lawyer, confident, organized and a skilled Rainmaker, guess what? You’re in the right place. We are going to rock and roll with you today. We’ve got a kick ass guest in Raquel who’s waiting in the wings.

 

Raquel Gomes  [01:00]

How are you Hey, good. How are you happy? Monday. Good to see you.

 

Steve Fretzin  [01:05]

I So it’s funny. The first thing I mentioned to you when you got on the call was I loved your post this morning on LinkedIn about talking about just like work ethic and like, how sometimes the crap jobs that we have when we’re younger really mold us and shape us. And I just, I had to comment about it, because I worked at McDonald’s when I was 14, and they had a saying, if you have time to lean clean. And if anybody’s ever heard that, if you worked in a restaurant, you’ve heard that, maybe not okay, but like, if they ever saw you with your elbow on the counter, they’d be like, get a, you know, get a dish towel out and start wiping down things. Be productive. Be productive. Yeah, don’t just sit around. So, yeah, anyway, wonderful to have you. I really would love to start if it’s okay with the quote of the show, and this is a really good one, because I feel like deciding is such a hard thing, especially for perfectionist attorneys and for people who are risk averse, and sometimes deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do. That’s a Steve Jobs quote. So welcome to the show and tell us why you love that quote so much.

 

Raquel Gomes  [02:03]

I love that quote because we all have the same 24 hours in a day, and we have to be very mindful of where we spend our time and we focus our energy and setting your priorities. What are the things that are important to you. So for me is my family, my mental health, physical health, my well being, having joy, having fun, in life, the health and growth of my business and the health and growth of my clients businesses. So if I’m faced with things that are not aligned with either one of this is a no for me. So setting boundaries, being able to say no to things that come your way is very important, because that’s what will make time for the things that are important, right? And grow, not only personally, but in your business.

 

Steve Fretzin  [02:56]

So yeah, let me ask you this. How do you say no? Because I think people say yes and they think that’s the and for some people, saying yes is the way to go, because you have the time and the opportunity to do that. But when you get busy, like most attorneys are, saying no, can be a skill. Do you have a skill for how you say no and how you turn things down that maybe aren’t the best use of your time?

 

Raquel Gomes  [03:18]

I think we have to be honest, it’s like, like, right now this is not aligned with, I’m packed already, yeah, with my priorities at this moment, I may be able to revisit this in three months or six months, or simply just saying, it’s not something that is aligned with my mission, with my vision, with my goals. And I’m sorry, but I’m sure you’re going to find other people that are, yeah, right, and you want to be honest and using that listen, you want to work with people that are so passionate about this, or they are in they agree with what you’re doing, right? Because it doesn’t come from the heart. It doesn’t come from passion. Is not going to be fruitful. I truly believe that, as a business owner, you have to be very connected with your why and your passion, in your mission, and that’s waking up every day and feeling passion is what’s gonna really make you successful. And I think success and passion are very tightly related. So when there is no passion, if it’s just work, it’s not worth

 

Steve Fretzin  [04:15]

it, right? Yeah. And I think to your point, aligning your passion and your why along with what you and how you should be spending your time, and what’s fruitful, and what do you enjoy, and all those things versus, you know, going to a conference you don’t want to really go to, or saying yes to a being on a board when it’s not really aligned, you know, you just think you’re being opportunistic, yes, but also it may not really align with what is, you know, again, either going to Enjoy it, it’s going to make you happy and also maybe be fruitful from a business perspective, right?

 

Raquel Gomes  [04:46]

So I think it’s very important to think about, does this excite me, right? If it doesn’t excite you, I think it’s time to start thinking about, okay, what is it I’m doing? What? How can I make this excite me? And I think we go through. Phases as business owners and entrepreneurs, I think sometimes you could be maybe not feeling as motivated as other times. And I think it’s time is then you have to stop and think why? Maybe you need to rest, maybe you need to take that vacation. Maybe you’re burned out, you’re in high stress mode, and those things really interfere with our ability to feel passion. So that’s why rest is so important, and rest is revenue generated as well.

 

Steve Fretzin  [05:29]

Yeah, people don’t see it that way, especially lawyers. I think they just say a billable hour, and they see, how hard can I work? And that may be good in the short term, but I think ultimately, and I think it’s leading into what we’re going to talk about today. But let’s take but let’s take a step back before we take a step forward. Everybody. Raquel Gomes is the CEO and founder of Staffy. You know, from the post of reading, you working at a bakery and planting like at what you worked at, I was at a bar

 

Raquel Gomes  [05:54]

and, like, no, was that was every restaurant I was behind the counter was client facing, yeah, a bakery, and I would go in and I’ll help clean and set up the place, yeah, just they are greeting clients and just helping them with their purchases,

 

Steve Fretzin  [06:07]

yeah, but the hard work, and how does so take us through your journey leading up to starting this business? And what is about seven years ago with staffing?

 

Raquel Gomes  [06:14]

Yeah, okay, so, yeah. So the bakery job, it was like much sooner in my career, and I had some job, a few jobs that were very grounding for me, like one was working at a bakery where I had to wake up at 3am and drive to the bakery and help them set up and then greet clients and be there until the end of my shift. I also worked as a hostess in multiple restaurants, but that was when I was much younger, when I started, then when I in, when I was back in Brazil, when I started. I started my career in psychology, and after I moved into the US. So just to tell you a little bit about my journey. So I’m from Brazil, I studied psychology. I worked as a psychologist for a few years, and then I moved to the US. I pursued an MBA, and then I started a career in the high tech space, in the telecommunications and high tech space in large corporate America. I climbed the ladder. I started as a sales rep, and I became an Executive Managing large teams, and I was overworking, was 100% burnout, and just to give you some background, so my dad was very successful entrepreneur. My mom was a stay at home. Mom and I come from a very patriarchal and religious family in Brazil, and I would hear that because it was a woman. I had to choose between having a successful career or having a happy family and personal life, that I could in no way have both. And hearing that growing up always, it didn’t sit well with me. Created this inner fire that I was like, hm, I can’t that can’t be true. Why is it that if you’re a man, you can have everything. If you’re a woman, you can’t. And when I decided to study psychology, a lot was to kind of challenge those limiting beliefs that I learned growing up. And because I always I felt early on that my mission was to help women believe that they could have live a full life, and that would start with me. So I studied psychology. I became a psychologist. I worked in clinical psychology for a couple of years, then I moved to the US, pursued an MBA, did the trajectory that I just told you about, large corporate America, and I was overworking. I had no time for myself or for my family. My dad also was a workaholic, so I was like, kind of following his footsteps. And I came to my breaking point when I had a three my daughter was born. She was three months old, and I was faced with a situation that I had to go on a business trip, and so did my husband, and they were separate business trips, and we didn’t have who to leave our newborn with, and my boss was very disinterested. And I’m like, You know what? I This doesn’t make sense for me anymore. I had lost all of the passion for everything that I was doing, I was, like, totally burned out. I had no time to be with my family and to I couldn’t say yes to the things that were important to me and no to the things that I did. I had to do, you know, when you work for a job and you’re, if you’ve ever worked for big law or, you know what I’m talking about, right? You have to sacrifice a lot of your life and just do what you you’re told because, yeah,

 

Steve Fretzin  [09:24]

it’s like, it’s not their problem, right? I mean, this is your family, and it’s your situation. It’s your problem. It’s not but get the work done exactly,

 

Raquel Gomes  [09:31]

and I and then when you need them, they’re not there for you. So it is not a give and take. And that’s when I really took a big break, and when Staffy was born, was really this concept to help, and I’ve created the company with the female law firm owner in mind, but obviously we have male clients as well, but that’s why I’ve created this entire holistic approach to staffing and to services that will help the law firm owner really. Free up their time so that they can grow their business in a healthy way, but also have that time to be with their family, to be able to take be off on vacations, to be able to stop working at 6pm and enjoy family dinner time daily, and not feel guilty about because you have a company, you have a service that is backing you up right, not only by providing great talent, but the whole support that goes behind having that great talent?

 

Steve Fretzin  [10:25]

Yeah, and I think part of the problem that lawyers have, whether it’s again, the perfectionism or the or just the I’ll get, I’ll just do it myself, just easier to do it myself, right? I’ve heard that before so many times, and I’m working with attorneys around the world where, and I’ve got a client in Brazil, a lawyer in Brazil, shout out to Mauricio, and the issue is the mindset is a big part of it. Like they don’t have a delegation automation mindset. It’s just, I’ll get it done, and I don’t know who to give it to anyway. You know, the associate I’m working with is slammed or they don’t have the skill set. And so how do you create or start to transition to having a mindset that allows for handing things off or delegating or just feeling better about it.

 

Raquel Gomes  [11:04]

Yeah, so I think it all starts with inner work, right? Like perfectionist is an illusion. First of all, you think you’re doing something perfect. I’m going to think it’s not perfect, right? I have my other thought of what perfect is, and if you don’t let go of perfect, then you’re always going to have a very small business, right? You’re always going to not only have a small business, but you’re not going to have freedom, time freedom, or financial freedom for yourself. So you have to let go of that. The other thing is, when you’re thinking of delegating, thinking of focus on the end result, right? Not on the how so? Because if you’re going to be concerned every step of the way of how your employees are doing things, you’re going to go crazy, because then you’re not going to be able to have multiple employees. How can you control what everybody is doing? So the micromanagement thing, you have to evolve from not, you know, from micromanager to being a healthy leader, and the way you do that is by setting very clear expectations, telling them what the task is and what you expect as an end result, but letting them know that they have the ability of choosing the path, but that they can go to you. So this is a very important part, because not if you’re only focused, if you’re only letting someone choose, and you become aloof, and you’re not there to answer questions, or sometimes they will need to, they will want your suggestions. Hey, you know what I was thinking of doing this way, but what do you think you have more experience? Should I do this other way? Then you have to be there to answer questions, don’t disappear. So I think that is a very good transition from a leader that is very controlling and start letting go and in creating that trust, because it’s not going to be a switch that it happens overnight, right? If you’re a control freak and you’re a micromanager, you’re not going to just change overnight. So then you have to have this type, this kind of strategies. Obviously, if you hire someone from the streets, how do you know if the person is a good talent, right? How do you know you have to have do a whole vetting and screening process that takes time for you to figure out if you’re hiring the right person. Something else that is very important is audit. Do a time audit right? Take time to think about write down everything you’re doing on a day, and then how much time are you spending doing each one of those things right? And then reflect these things that I just wrote down, what I spend my entire day, what really, truly require me

 

Steve Fretzin  [13:47]

to do them. Yeah, and what’s your value, too, right? I mean, it’s not just, I mean, it’s my value is, as a lawyer, 500 an hour, 750 an hour, $1,000 an hour, whatever it might be. And here I’m finding myself, you know, five hours a day, or four hours a day, whatever doing, $20 an hour, $50 an hour work. Yes, you can’t continue that and expect that you’re going to be sustainable, correct?

 

Raquel Gomes  [14:09]

So that’s very important, and it happens every day. So do that time audit. And then you know, what are from all of those things? What are the things that it could be delegating to someone else? And then, why is that super important? Because that’s someone else that you’re going to be hiring. They need to be able to do those tasks right. You can just hire anybody. You have to vet them, you have to screen them. You have to ensure that they have the right background, the right degree, but that right experience. And what many lawyers don’t take into account is the importance of soft skills and personality, very important, because if a lot of the tasks are client facing, that’s why they have to be high empathetic. You are in the business of helping people as a lawyer, right? They have to be great at communicating. They’re going to be the face of your business. So they have to, clients have to feel warm and so as. When they’re talking to them, you know they have to feel welcomed, and you can sense that from when you’re calling someone, right? If someone is my you can sense a smile across the line. So it’s very important that you take into account the soft skills. Also. You know, if someone to be doing legal work or paralegal work, they have to be have high attention to detail. How do you test these things? You have to test these things because, if not, you don’t know you have the first level of trust, right? If you have a if you meet with a stranger, how do you know if you can trust that person? So when you’re hiring someone, you have things that you have to do, vetting, and in the vetting, screening process, you’re okay. The first step of trust, then the second step of trust is, okay. I’m going to give you a task. You’re working for me. Let’s get this done, and then you’re going to see how that person works with proven SEO

 

Steve Fretzin  [15:50]

and digital marketing strategies that drive actual clients to your firm, rankings.io, prides itself on proof, not promises, mentality. The best firms hire rankings.io. When they want rankings, traffic and cases, other law firm marketing agencies can’t deliver, get more rankings, get cases and schedule a free [email protected] today. Hey, be that lawyer friends. If you’re looking for smarter ways to grow your law practice and want to stay ahead of the curve in legal, tech, business and strategy, then it’s time to check out legal verse media, the go to hub for lawyers who want more. This international platform connects you with global thought leaders through articles, podcast, webinars and interactive forums that are shaping the future of law. Explore everything with a free 14 day trial, including early access to tools peer discussions and a chance to build your brand as a thought leader. Don’t wait. Visit legalverse media.com and register for membership today. Hey everybody, it’s Steve Fretzin as the you know, I’m the host of the be that lawyer podcast, and if you’re serious about growing your law practice, let’s talk. I’ve coached hundreds of attorneys to build bigger books of business without selling, chasing or wasting time. This isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a real 30 minute strategy session to explore what’s possible for you in your practice. Just head over to fretzin.com and grab a time that works for you. And let’s make this your breakout year. I saw a graph one time where it showed sort of the evolution of delegation and management, and it is, you know, yes, day one, you’re onboarding and you’re micromanaging. That’s okay, like you’re a micromanager, because you have to be. They don’t know the job, right, right? And then eventually, you know, you start being some more of like a manager than a micromanager, where you’re giving them direction and getting feedback and all that. And then eventually, you know, they just become more and more independent. As you give them more responsibility, test them out. They come back to you with questions. They’re learning the job. My greatest example is I hired a new VA about, I think it’s about five weeks, and in shout out to Ian, he’s kicking ass. In fact, I’ve already given I told him I was going to give him a raise after 90 days. I gave him a raise after 30 days, and I played it out like, so he knew, like, this is because you’re killing it for me. And so he needed a lot of hand holding from me and my previous VA to learn the job. And now he’s just running independently 90% of the time, and I don’t even have to worry, is something going to get done. It’s fantastic.

 

Raquel Gomes  [18:18]

Yeah, it’s amazing. And you nailed it, because onboarding is so, so important, I like to compare to the life of a newborn, right? When you have a newborn the first month, imagine you have to be very attentive. You have to be there feeding them, bathing them when they’re crying, you know, being with them, watching them sleep. So with a newborn, with the new hires, the same thing, and a lot of law firms where they struggle, or where things go south, is because they think, Oh, my remote hire, my VA is just going to figure things out. They won’t. That’s why we’ve created this onboarding process that we hand hold law firm owners through this entire process, because you can turn a very talented hire into a bad one if you don’t have solid onboarding. So you nailed it in the first month. You have to be there every step of the way. You have to have a whole process, you know, in teaching them how to do the job, and then after, they can take it on their own with your support. You being available to support.

 

Steve Fretzin  [19:18]

And obviously one of the reasons we delegate is because we are looking for more balance. And there’s a work life balance has been brought up on the show, you know, dozens of times. And the word that I’ve, you know, been using and hearing quite a bit lately is life work integration. Some people love it because they really like, I feel like I do that now I’m going to go away, and I don’t want to be disturbed for a week. Okay? I’ve got people to delegate to. I can pull that off too, and just let everybody know I’m not going to, I’m going to be, you know, out of cell service, or I’m going to, I don’t want to be disturbed. That’s okay. But here’s the reality of my life. You know, I actually enjoy what I do so much that if a lawyer client of mine calls me on the weekend, calls me in the evening, has a big meeting the next. Day and needs to talk it through with me. Kind of enjoy it. It’s a little bit not with sickness, but, you know, it’s kind of like my jam. So, yeah, it’s just to me that’s, like, exciting and like, it gets my blood kind of, you know, temperature up. Yeah, that’s not but I think lawyers are in many cases on the spot all the time, all day, all weekend, where they’ve got five partners and 10 clients that all have ability to reach them on their cell and there’s no integration or proper balance your take.

 

Raquel Gomes  [20:27]

I think it’s very, very important whenever you want to disconnect and go on those vacations. Let me tell you. I think it’s very, very healthy and very important and very needed. I now in my this point in my career, I am able to take a 30 day vacation, where I don’t have work calls zero and but that was impossible four years ago because I didn’t set myself back. Four years ago, I didn’t have the mindset that thought, first of all, that I was worthy, that it was very important to me and to my sanity, and it was very important to also my business, because I rest is very important. You cannot be always working in high energy and high passion. It doesn’t work that way. And in order for me to be highly valuable to my business and bring great ideas and strategies and put things up, create new processes and procedures, all of that, I have to be at my highest energy, I would say, yeah, right, and I don’t, and I need to rest in order to feel that as well.

 

Steve Fretzin  [21:28]

But to your point earlier, this is why people need you and your company, and they need to have the ability to delegate, because if everything falls on you, you don’t get that integration properly, or you don’t get the balance everybody’s the people that run companies. They mean, if you look at the people that you know, look at our fearless leader here in the US. I mean, he’s played more golf and taken more trips and whatever, than than anyone in the world. So he’s primarily he feels comfortable delegating.

 

Raquel Gomes  [21:54]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely so. But it’s very important that you set yourself up for success before you go into that vacation, because what I’ve seen now, so it’s just lawyers, just like going and not creating a system for when they’re not there. And you only will create that if people in your team, they feel empowered, yeah, because if they have to come to me for every single decision, if there is no processes for when this happened or that happened, you have to have those processes right, defined for different things, in different situations, for different departments, and people have to feel empowered so they can take decisions. They can make decisions. And obviously, okay, if you’re like absolutely, only call me if it’s like a super emergency, and I’m going to tell you what a super emergency

 

Steve Fretzin  [22:39]

is, right, yeah, lay it out, right, be specific.

 

Raquel Gomes  [22:43]

Let’s talk together what that is, right? And it was incredible that they all feel like, right now, we have 100 internal staff. We have 420 law from clients with 100 internal staff to provide accident service. And I didn’t get a phone call in 30 days. I was just like, you know? And I’m at the point that it’s like, that’s

 

Steve Fretzin  [23:02]

awesome, yeah, that’s it, top of the mountain.

 

Raquel Gomes  [23:05]

But years ago, I’ll be like, I’m no longer needed. What’s happening? Yeah? You know, say I have to work on that mindset too, of not thinking that they need you, and then that makes you important. I think how incredible it is if we can have a business that can run without you, right? That you’re a top leader. If you’re able to create a business that can run without you, you’re the best leader ever, right?

 

Steve Fretzin  [23:27]

Yeah, so let’s go back. You mentioned to me about the we talked right at the beginning about the importance of saying no protecting your time. We talked a little bit about tracking your data, identify gaps and things that you shouldn’t be doing. Is there one more time management tip or time I don’t know if it’s even managing right, but a tip that you regularly talk about that will help lawyers listening, get better control of their time or managing their time.

 

Raquel Gomes  [23:52]

Add a third one. I think I mentioned that the three already. One thing that I want to go back to is how is really, really important for you to figure it out. What is your zone of zone of genius, the things you are very good at with, the things that you truly enjoy. And for me, it’s part of the phrase from Steve Jobs and learn what not to do is as important of learn what to do. Yeah, because the more you can focus for me, I focus on those things, everything else that I don’t like or I’m not good at. I delegate and I hire people that are better than me to do those things, and I find that has been incredible shift for my business. Yeah.

 

Steve Fretzin  [24:33]

And the three things that I really want lawyers to do, number one is be a great lawyer, right? Work great with your clients. Number two is go out and get new business right. And then three, you know, make sure you’re managing the team, or making sure someone is managing the team, so that the work that you’re bringing in is getting done and nobody’s calling you to complain. Oh, it’s like, so, yeah, right. So, like, you don’t have five or 10 hats, you have three hats. And if you have 10 hats. That’s whether you’re running a firm, and like people that run firms, right? They’re trying to just wear every hat. It’s just not, it’s not sustainable, right?

 

Raquel Gomes  [25:07]

Yeah. And so I if that’s an exercise, if a tip that I can give you, that something you can do is, like, figure it out, what are the things you’re good at, the things that you like doing, and the things that absolutely need you focus on those. Anything else you should find people that are better than you. There’s no shame in hiring people that are better than us. Actually, it’s a one very important shift that you have to do in order to truly grow and scale your business, is hire people that are better than you in many areas. And I’ve started implementing that, I don’t know, about three years ago, and it’s been incredible to the growth and scalability of Staffy. So, yeah, awesome, awesome.

 

Steve Fretzin  [25:50]

And let’s wrap up our segment with, and I don’t remember if I prepared you for this yet, so it’s kind of maybe coming out of nowhere, but it’s Raquel’s Big mistake. So you mentioned the burnout, but other than that, is there, like, a big mistake you made in your career that you learned from and came out the other end even stronger?

 

Raquel Gomes  [26:07]

Gosh, I don’t know. I don’t like to think of things that I’ve done as mistakes, because I have a big mindset in thinking that everything that happens to me good and bad, there is a purpose, yeah, and I use it for my growth.

 

Steve Fretzin  [26:22]

Yes, well, that’s the point of the segment. I use the word mistake because it’s more clever than failing forward. I tried both, and the one that people liked was big mistake, so it’s just more fun. Oh, but I think failing forward is kind of what you’re like. We all need to take the hardships, and that was part of your post that I commented on this morning, was it’s the hard times that define us and make us who we become. And I think you’re headed

 

Raquel Gomes  [26:46]

so one thing now good. It gave me some time to think

 

Steve Fretzin  [26:50]

because, yeah, I didn’t know you’re coming up. A little more, a little more flavor on it.

 

Raquel Gomes  [26:54]

Yeah, I if I could talk to my younger self, I would have trusted myself sooner to leave corporate I mean, that’s one thing. I think

 

Steve Fretzin  [27:06]

people hold on too long to those to the big firm or to the corporate thing. It’s like the security of the big corporate name and business and all this, and then the insecurity of thinking of yourself as in doing and executing entrepreneurship is scary.

 

Raquel Gomes  [27:20]

Yeah, but once you realize that there’s no security, they’ll fire you overnight if they have to. There’s no such thing as job security that doesn’t exist. Yeah, that’s just purely illusion. And I stayed way too long, and I was like, way too long, feeling like zero passion about what is what I was doing was just a job, and I hated every day. I was, like, kind of depressed, and I think I went like, two to three years feeling like that. And no one deserves that. No God will always figure things out. And I could have been like, like, knowing where I am now I’m like, wow, I could have done this. I should have done this.

 

Steve Fretzin  [27:59]

It’s so in your quote of the show, right? Not making a decision to leave you made a decision to stay, yeah, and that was the wrong decision, is what you now know. So I think now you’re always making quicker, more impactful decisions, because you’re not going to let a pain just sit with you, or a problem, just sit with you. So I mean, that’s a life lesson that you had to learn your way, yes, but wow, what an impact it is for you now being the success that you’ve had.

 

Raquel Gomes  [28:26]

Yeah, and I love that you’re saying that, because there’s many times that I don’t feel ready. I didn’t feel ready back then, when I left, even three years later, when I left to to start my own business, I didn’t feel ready. I had to take a leap of faith in myself. And I feel like there’s many times that I don’t feel ready to do something, but you’re right, I learned that. And I’m like, I know this is going to I’m going to figure it out. It’s going to be good, and I do it and it’s great. So that’s a life lesson to you. Don’t have to feel 100% ready to do things. You just go with it. Trust yourself. If there’s one thing that you can do, yourself a favor is trust yourself. We have to trust ourselves, right? Yep, we invest in ourselves, to trust ourselves, and we can make things happen.

 

Steve Fretzin  [29:08]

I can’t think of a better way to end the show with that. I of course, have to thank our wonderful sponsors, legal verse, media, international flair, great online publication. Check them out. The law her podcast. Have you been on that with Sonia Palmer? Ooh, that might be an intro for you. Yeah, he’s amazing. It’s all about empowering women, which is right in line with what you’re doing. And of course, rankings, io, the top player. I think I’ll probably be back by the time this airs. I’ll be back from pimcon on stage having an amazing time, great conference. Yeah, I’m so excited to go to Scottsdale, and I’m already back now, but people hear this, yeah, we want to get in touch with you, Raquel, they want to learn more about Staffy and get in touch with you to start delegating their lives in a positive direction. What are the best ways for them to reach you?

 

Raquel Gomes  [29:51]

So our website is www, dot, Staffy, S, T, A, f, i, dot, C, C, and you can get started. Started there. Or feel free to shoot me an email. Raquel, R, A, Q, U, E, L, at, get Staffy, G, E, T, S, E, A, F, i.com

 

Steve Fretzin  [30:09]

Those are the best ways, yeah, and we’ll get those in the show notes. Thank you so much. This was wonderful, and I mean, such an inspiring story. And then on top of that, the takeaways for lawyers to really consider the importance of their mindset in delegation, and how they really, you know, manage their lives in a positive way to get to, you know, where they need to go, not just to sit in the mud and, you know, kind of suffer. So thank you so much. Thank you. My pleasure, awesome. And thank you everybody for hanging out with Raquel and I for the last 30 minutes. And so you can obviously check this out on YouTube, and don’t be afraid to see you know, I know you love the show, but look, there’s be that lawyer Coach’s Corner. You’re going to want to check that out, and that’s a little more direct me to you, but I’d love to have you, you know, comment on that, and also to give us some kind reviews and subscribe. So thank you, everybody. Appreciate you coming to the show. Take care, be safe, be well. We will talk again soon.

 

Narrator  [31:07]

Thanks for listening to be that loyal. Life changing strategies and resources for growing a successful law practice. Visit Steve’s website, fredson.com for additional information and to stay up to date on the latest legal, business development and marketing trends. For more information and important links about today’s episode, check out today’s show notes.