How Embracing My Cultural Identity Advanced My Career
When Yvonne “Bonnie” Garcia was growing up in her South Texas Mexican American community, the Girl Scouts were among her first mentors.
“They helped me find my voice and challenged me to present and speak in front of people,” she says. The opportunity to sell cookies door to door was also huge. The sales and presentation skills I learned during my time with Girl Scouts were invaluable and a big part of my success today.”
Since then, Bonnie has gone on to establish a distinguished career working with major American brands and products. At The Coca-Cola Co., for instance, she was the first corporate marketer to sign Tejana singer Selena to a contract.
“I signed a deal with Selena when she was 17 years old—she was bubbly and sweet, like Coke, and I knew she was the perfect spokesperson,” Bonnie says of the iconic singer. “It validated the importance of connecting Hispanic talent to a brand. Mexican Americans hadn’t seen a big corporation invest in someone like her at the time. As a result, we experienced tremendous brand growth.”
As Bonnie rose through the ranks of the brand marketing world, she learned the importance of using the voice she found as a Girl Scout Brownie and Junior to step out of her comfort zone.
She shared her advice for women who want to follow in her footsteps.
- Go where the jobs are.
In her early 20s, Bonnie moved away from her family in Texas to Detroit to work for a major brewery, taking a job in a predominantly male-oriented industry.
“If I had been afraid to move to a city where I didn’t know anyone, that I didn’t know how to navigate, and into a field outside of the norm for women at the time, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she says.
- Look for mentors.
“I have nieces who I constantly try to mentor and push out of their comfort zones,” Bonnie says. “If young women have a desire and a dream, they need to find mentors who can help them facilitate that dream—to motivate them to be fearless.” - Seek out inspiration for your success.
“Attend seminars, read books—find inspiration wherever you can,” Bonnie suggests. This is so important to her, in fact, that she wrote and recently published a bilingual book of consejos (words of advice) based on her own experiences to pass on to, inspire and motivate the next generation of young women. - Stand up for yourself.
“If you believe you were treated unfairly, this is when your voice matters most!” Bonnie says. “This is the time you have to stand your ground and not be afraid to use it. I found over the years that whenever I used my voice, it helped me move forward.”
Early in her career, Bonnie filled in as a temporary worker for a vacant marketing-director role. After six months, she realized she was making $40,000 less than her male predecessor and that the company was still looking for a full-time replacement, even though it was clear by that point that she could handle the demands of the job.
“This was my first of many “aha” moments,” she says. “I decided to meet with human resources to voice my concerns and obvious differences in salary structure. Two weeks later, I was promoted to director of the department; my salary was doubled and in line with [that of] the previous (male) department head.” - Don’t be afraid to show the world who you are.
After leading a multicultural marketing firm for the past 22 years, Bonnie says that she feels blessed to have learned from and embraced the rich diversity of the many cultures that make the United States such an amazing country.
“As a Latina in the United States, I live in and enjoy two worlds. I love my American heritage and everything America has to offer, but my Hispanic heritage is the soul of who I am,” she says. “We find this true with all cultures living in the United States. A professor of Latino studies we worked with said it best: you can speak to people in a common language, but you get to their heart through their culture. Cultural diversity is the heart and soul of America.” - Be willing to strike out on your own.
“After 10 years in various positions with Coca-Cola, I made the decision to follow my dream of owning my own business and moved back home to San Antonio, wrote a business plan, and started my own marketing firm—MarketVision—with a focus on Hispanic/multicultural marketing,” Bonnie says.
“Today we have had the opportunity to work with major Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and government entities, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, General Mills, Hershey, Smucker’s, and Fisher-Price,” she says. “Major industry leaders turn to us to better understand how to embrace and market to the ever-growing U.S. multicultural market. This has been my passion throughout my career, and I have never looked back.”
