Jennifer Redondo-Marquez and Rose Buado - In Her Purpose

Jennifer Redondo-Marquez and Rose Buado are Co-founders of In her Purpose and Co-authors of In Her Purpose, 40 Principles of Asian Women Redefining Success on Their Own Terms. They joined forces in creating IHP to “to advocate for women, to feed and fuel the future generation, and to spread love!” Both women have illustrious careers and experience, and knew that coming together would bring a powerful platform together. Rose holds a B.A. in Communications Studies and is a Certified Professional Life Coach. Her career has spanned roles as Vice President, Marketing Strategist and Ad Executive for diverse advertising firms in Los Angeles and Orange County. She is a mentor for start-ups and success coach for women entrepreneurs. Currently, Rose is the CEO of artist management agency RVNB, and manages the Filipino American a cappella group, The Filharmonic. Jennifer’s career began in management consulting and she spent over a decade in the tech industry in Silicon Valley. Her expertise bridges the gap between strategy and execution, and turns ideas into action and results. She has two Bachelor degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and currently mentors women for FASTER and Kollective Hustle. Rose and Jenn’s partnership in IHP “provide a space for individuals to share their stories, collaborate, connect, and innovate. We offer career guidance and professional growth programs to help people re-imagine how they look at their career, business, and life purpose.” The IHP book offers stories of 40 entrepreneurial Asian women, sharing their successes and challenges, how they found their purpose and their dream. Together and through IHP, Rose and Jenn are uplifting women of color, encouraging and boosting their voices.

In Her Purpose 
https://www.inherpurpose.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inherpurpose/
IG: @inherpurpose 
Twitter: @inherpurpose 

Jennifer Redondo-Marquez
www.linkedin.com/in/jennredondo
IG: @jennred24 

Rose Buado 
Website: www.rosebuado.com
IG: @rose_buado 

How did you create your respective career paths? And how do your identities as Pinays reflect in what you do?
Jennifer: Although business was not encouraged by my parents, as a kid, I was obsessed! Growing up, my favorite game was Monopoly and I hosted my own auctions where I sold my old toys to my sister and neighbors. I used the proceeds to purchase new toys. In high school, my favorite classes were Geometry and Economics. I created my own major - UC Berkeley lets you do that! Throughout college, I had several internships in education, finance, healthcare, and consulting. Coming out of undergrad, I joined a global management consulting firm where I worked on projects for clients such as Aetna, Chevron, Gap, and more. I got the opportunity to live in the Philippines while working on an outsourcing project. I was able to experience life as an ex-pat versus traveling with my parents for vacation. On my prior trips, I spent time in the province where there is no running or hot water, air conditioning, roads, and electricity at certain points of the day. The economic divide is crazy and it’s sad. It is a great reminder to be grateful for all of my blessings! It’s also a true testament to the sacrifices that my parents made for a better living for themselves and our family. My family’s humble beginnings is what keeps me grounded and motivated to keep it moving.

From there, I moved to Silicon Valley to join Apple Inc, where I worked in both the Operations and Engineering organizations for over a decade. I took a brief detour at a startup where I was part of the founding group of the Employee Resource Groups (ERG). I also started an ERG for first-generation individuals - those who are the first in their family to go to college and/or work in tech in the United States. Being a Pinay is reflected through my hard work ethic, discipline, and values. My mom raised me to be respectable, independent, and strong. Pinays embody grit and grace; it’s part of our genes. Although I do not have yet kids of my own, I mentor young Pinays through FASTER and Kollective Hustle.

Rose: Growing up, my parents instilled the importance of education.  They wanted to make sure my brothers and I finished high school and obtained our college degrees.  That’s all they ever asked for. They encouraged us to follow our dreams and make something good out of ourselves. When I started college, financial companies used to hang out on campus giving away free credit cards; I ended up opening several accounts my first year in college. I realized you could buy everything with credit so I racked up debt really fast! My mom was so mad at me and said she wasn’t going to help me with it!  I had to figure out how to make money fast! I started my first business at the age of 18, teaching dance lessons to the kids in the neighborhood, which led to teaching debuts and then weddings!  One thing led to another and I was planning full on special events every weekend. From that point on, I started helping others start their own businesses - while still in college. I graduated and tested the corporate world; eventually partnering with people creating new businesses.

Filipinos are known to be hospitable, generous, hardworking and respectful. Traits I am 100% proud of. As an entrepreneur you have to be able to wear all hats and go above and beyond responsibility. I truly believe all Pinay’s, once aligned with purpose, on top of all our special traits, dedication, will-power and creativity, will flourish naturally. As a Pinay, I’m happy to say, I am living, learning and teaching this daily.

When did you come together and create In Her Purpose? When did the idea of the book come about? And what is the inspiration and mission of In Her Purpose?
Jennifer: In corporate America, I noticed that I was often the “only” - woman and/or person of color (POC) in the room. A woman or POC in a leadership position was sadly a rare sighting. As I matured in my career, I was in search of a mentor, particularly someone that I could relate to. That’s when I reached out to Rose. At the time, she was a vice-president at an advertising agency. Simultaneously, she was managing The Filharmonic (the all-male, Filipino a cappella group). In that role, she met women at high levels who were responsible for making key decisions. These boss ladies happened to look like us! That’s how she was able to introduce me to Sheila Marcelo, the founder and former CEO of Care.com. Shortly after, Sheila flew from Boston to the Bay Area and took time out of her busy schedule to meet me for coffee. Considering that she had never met me, it was amazing to sit down with her to review my skills, goals, and career options. She also gave me a list of people to meet.

Rose: Jenn and I talked almost everyday about our careers and personal goals. For several years, I would tell her I was going to quit my day job and go full-time as an entrepreneur. While working corporate, I was still able to travel with the band I was managing; I met high performing women running businesses and doing amazing work. After a tour, I would Google the ladies to learn more, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find anything about them and how they got to where they are at now.  So I went on Amazon to see if there were any books on “successful Asian women” but the only thing I could find was a book on dating Asian women! Right there and then, I wanted to change that problem. I told Jenn about my findings and shared my vision on writing a book about women who look like us. I mentioned that I would do it later, since I had so much on my plate, and she somehow convinced us to get started on it right away!  I’m so happy we did!

In Her Purpose (IHP) was born out of our curiosity and yearning to find successful women who looked like us. IHP started out as a book, but it is more than that. It’s the foundation! We are lifting the content off the pages for real-life applications. It’s ideal, not just an idea.

The mission of IHP is to provide a space for individuals to share their stories, collaborate, connect, and innovate. We offer career guidance and professional growth programs to help people re-imagine how they look at their career, business, and life purpose.

How important is uplifting women and sharing their stories of different paths to success?
Jennifer: It is absolutely important! It is necessary! I was born and raised in the United States, and I was the first in my family to graduate from a university in America. Most of my family is in the military or medical field. If I would have known that various careers, industries, and paths existed earlier on, I probably would have figured it out sooner. Perhaps someone could have opened up doors and created opportunities for me. My parents didn’t have a network or Rolodex to make those kinds of calls for me. It’s important to share these stories so that girls and young women are aware that anything is really possible. If I saw women that looked like me do it, there’s hope that it’s also possible for me to reach that goal or level.

I learned the phrase “Lift as you climb” from Joanne Boston (who is featured in our book). This concept is based on lifting up others as you climb up the ladder. There’s enough room to share the limelight and success. When we work together, there’s strength in numbers. We get further and we can accomplish so much more than going at it alone.

Rose: It’s crucial to our generation and for the next.  We are currently building generational wealth and networks for our children and their children. If we don’t share what we know and pave clear paths for them, it would be like reinventing the wheel over and over. Why do that, when we can easily share a story which will provide guidance for anyone who asks for it? I believe it will help our legacy live on, which will provide direction for our future, in which they can expand on and ultimately make our world a better and beautiful place to be in.

What is it like to collaborate and produce content for In Her Purpose?
Jennifer: It is a dream come true for me, especially because I was in search of a mentor. Selfishly, this project gave me the opportunity to approach people that I normally wouldn’t have access to. These women all made different choices and took different paths that have led them to operate at a high level. I’ve learned so much about each person and how each of them were able to accomplish their goals and succeed in their respective industries. My network also expanded, to the point where I view these women as part of our family. They will definitely continue to be a part of our lives moving forward.

Rose: It’s an amazing experience. I’ve always liked working with people but working with like-minded women to reach a specific goal for our community is different. It’s hard to explain the feeling but there’s definitely a refreshing and fun purpose. Meeting new people and working on various projects is something I’ve always imagined myself doing and now it’s happening.

What do you want to accomplish through In Her Purpose?
Jennifer: I want to share these amazing women’s stories, which are documented and told by us. It’s a “her-story” book and is very different from what we were taught in school. We get to control the narrative. We get to bring awareness and educate others - Asian women are not “passive” or “obedient” like they are portrayed in movies and television. Also, it’s an opportunity to highlight women in non-traditional roles (in the Asian culture) and showcase how they are breaking the bamboo and glass ceilings.

Rose: Honestly, for this moment, I just want to share these amazing women’s successes and let everyone know that it is possible to make your passion your career.  Fifty years from now, I want someone to walk into a library or click on a future library app to find our book, and say “OMG, that’s what these women did to help me get to where I am today.”

How important is using your voice and platform for good?
Jennifer: That’s what it’s about! IHP is a community, a culture, and a family! IHP is all about empowering and supporting all women and allies, no matter what color or age. It’s a platform that we are created to highlight and celebrate womxn. It’s a place where we can have heartfelt conversations and where we create opportunities for people to step in to take a risk. We are here to support them along the way.

Rose: It’s 110% important!

How did you choose the women and what was it like to write and publish?
Jennifer:  It was challenging to find women at the start especially because we couldn’t find anything on Google. We started out with our own network. Honestly, we did a lot of research on Instagram. Each woman we met introduced us to even more women. Our initial goal was to feature 20 Asian women doing extraordinary things and killing it in their respective career choices. That number kept growing - we had to cap it at 40 for this first book! It was very difficult to complete this project since all of these accomplished women are very busy. It’s quite a large undertaking, especially while working a full-time job. It’s such a wonderful accomplishment and I am so proud of this project. We can’t wait to share it with you all!

Rose: It is our first book so we had a lot to learn! It has been over a year in the making.  Learning the publishing side was tough but so worth it.  I enjoyed the process and can’t wait to share it with everyone!

When does the book launch? And where can we purchase?
The book launches on Sunday, July 19, 2020. You can find it on Amazon and most digital bookstores as well as inherpurpose.com.

Do you have any advice for those carving their career paths, finding their purpose?
Jennifer: Try everything. Try new things! Don’t be afraid to reach out to people who are doing what you want to do. Get experience through internships - it’s a great way to try something. Don’t be afraid to fail. Fail fast and often! Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Hopefully, along the journey, you will find your purpose and passion. Whatever it is, believe and bet on yourself!

Rose: Find like-minded people and surround yourself with them. Find your support team, your squad, your tribe - whomever will cheer you on and vice-versa. Studies have shown that people who hang out together end up doing the same things. So if you hang out with successful people chances are, you will become successful too.

Are there any other projects you are working on that you're excited about?
Jennifer: During the #covid19 pandemic, I saw a lot of my friends and colleagues lose their jobs and businesses. Also, a couple of my mentees were struggling to find that first job out of college. Many of them reached out to me for help with their resumes, interviewing, and networking. This inspired us to create the “Level Up” program, which is a course that helps aspiring, goal-driven individuals take control of their career and destiny -- whether that’s landing a dream job or obtaining that job promotion. 

Rose: Aside from speaking on virtual stages about our book and career/entrepreneurship programs, we are developing a way to help support the community by providing a bridge between small businesses and consumers. Super excited about what is to come next. Stay tuned!

We also have a virtual summit the week leading up to our book launch. Reset 2020: Get Out of That Funk and Renew Your Purpose will take place July 15 -19. For more details, please visit our website.

Photos courtesy of In Her Purpose