← The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex
The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex
How to ESCAPE the American Trap in 2025 ft. Catalina Restrepo
00:43:12
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- [00:00]
Paul Alex
Welcome to the Level up podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together. Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. Hey, guys, and welcome back to the Level up podcast. My name is Paul Alex and today I have a very, very interesting guest. She goes by the name of Catalina. So Catalina went from not knowing what she wanted to do with her life from, from middle school to high school, just. Just like the rest of us, right? But then she was inspired by an actual teacher in college to become an immigration lawyer. She even took it to the extent of going ahead and creating her first law firm, guys, which is amazing, especially being Hispanic, Latina and making her mom proud from Colombia. Right? So, Catalina, welcome to the show.
- [01:00]
Catalina Restrepo
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me here. I am so, so grateful for this opportunity. And let's do this.
- [01:07]
Paul Alex
Let's rock. Okay, so, Catalina, question one. Take us back. Okay, take us back to that moment. What was life like before you decided to become an attorney?
- [01:16]
Catalina Restrepo
Life was different, to say the least. I am like you mentioned, I'm from Colombia, so. So I was born, and When I was 12, my family moved to the States. And from the very beginning, they told me, go to school, get an education. So I was honor roll, sports, very involved. I get to college, I take this accounting class thinking I was going to be a business major. And I couldn't figure out what the numbers went from one side to the other. Then decided to take some humanities classes. And I met this amazing woman who inspired me to become an immigration attorney.
- [01:56]
Paul Alex
Wow. What was it about that particular woman that inspired you? Because. Because the reason why I say that is, you know, at the age of 37, for. For me, I've had many mentors in my life, but it wasn't until later on where I learned I was just like, wow. I actually had some great people in my life that directed me to become a leader, to become a business owner, to go ahead and think the way that I do. So for that particular mentor, what was it about her that inspired you?
- [02:23]
Catalina Restrepo
She was another Latina. She's from Mexico. And I could see her, how strong she was, how dedicated to the community, how much she wanted to stand up for people's rights, how much she wanted to help those around her. And I decided that I wanted to have that type of lifestyle as well.
- [02:42]
Paul Alex
Okay. And Was there a specific moment or experience after you met her that you were like, yeah, this is it. This is what I'm going to do?
- [02:52]
Catalina Restrepo
I think it was a series of moments. I continued going to school. I didn't go to law school right away, and I got to develop a friendship with her. So I got to meet her outside of school, I got to see her family, I got to meet her on a personal level. And I started to see the deep impact that she makes in the community. And she continues to do so up till this day. She's actually an attorney up in Minnesota.
- [03:20]
Paul Alex
Do you still keep in touch with her?
- [03:22]
Catalina Restrepo
Not as much as I would like. I think I'm one of those secret fans and I follow her, but I don't, unfortunately.
- [03:28]
Paul Alex
You definitely gotta send her this interview.
- [03:30]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes, yes, I will.
- [03:32]
Paul Alex
Yeah, it's gonna be awesome. So from that moment that you were like, hey, I'm gonna become a lawyer, did you think that you were gonna actually launch your own law firm or you were just saying, like, you know what, I just wanna be a lawyer?
- [03:43]
Catalina Restrepo
I just wanted to be a lawyer.
- [03:45]
Paul Alex
Okay.
- [03:45]
Catalina Restrepo
I just wanted to be in the courtroom. Actually, when I did my. At the end of law school, you do kind of a internship. I actually did it at the state attorney's office because I wanted to be in court every single day. And that was my goal at that time.
- [04:01]
Paul Alex
Okay, okay. So starting a law firm from scratch isn't easy. I mean, entrepreneurship is not easy. But what pushed you to actually take that leap into entrepreneurship?
- [04:12]
Catalina Restrepo
Well, my parents were entrepreneurs and my dad was always very encouraging, have your own firm, work for yourself. But I think something that many times we're not told is sometimes if you don't do it organized, if you don't have a plan of action, you're not going to be self employed. You're just going to have your own job. You're not going to have a boss, you're going to have many bosses because now all your clients are going to dictate, you know, when you can take vacation, what time you have to be in the office. So making that switch from being a business owner versus being an attorney who runs a law firm, it's a very important transition.
- [04:54]
Paul Alex
What were some, some of the biggest fears that you had once you learned, like, you know, being a lawyer, obviously you had the experience. How long were you a lawyer before you actually say, hey, you know what, it's time to do a law firm?
- [05:05]
Catalina Restrepo
I was about, I was three years.
- [05:08]
Paul Alex
Three years.
- [05:09]
Catalina Restrepo
Three years a lawyer. I had been working for somebody, and I did not like his lifestyle. I didn't see quality of life at that point. I didn't want to be litigating all the time, and I wanted to be able to have freedom in my life. Pick and choose when I could go on vacation, when I could go into the office, when I could not. The freedom is what I wanted to have the most. And I saw that my boss didn't have that.
- [05:39]
Paul Alex
Wow. Wow.
- [05:40]
Catalina Restrepo
So when I took that leap of faith, I literally just said, this has to work. There was no turning back. And once I had been on my own for about three months and I had that flexibility of time, something as simple as going into the office at 9:30 instead of 9, for example.
- [06:00]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [06:01]
Catalina Restrepo
It was just that taste of freedom, and it was amazing.
- [06:04]
Paul Alex
It's your decision. You're making the moves. You're the boss, you're the CEO, Correct? Yeah. That was very important to you.
- [06:10]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes.
- [06:10]
Paul Alex
I love that. I love that. What fears did you have, actually, when in the very beginning of starting that law firm, what was the biggest fear that you had?
- [06:20]
Catalina Restrepo
That I wouldn't have any clients. Wow.
- [06:23]
Paul Alex
Wow. Is it very difficult to obtain clients having your own law firm?
- [06:28]
Catalina Restrepo
I think in the law firm, in the law area, having a good reputation says it all. So it's just a matter of you creating a good reputation, Having a good reputation, and then it just kind of spreads. A lot of my clients come from word of mouth. They saw me once. I talked to them. I gave, you know, their friend, their cousin, some legal advice. Some take it, some don't. But something I always, always do is be honest with my clients. Sometimes they come in and they tell me, you're the third or fourth attorney that I visited. Okay, that's fine. Because it's kind of like a doctor relationship. You know, if somebody tells you I have to amputate an arm, you, you're gonna go get two or three advices, right? Well, it's the same situation here versus me telling you I cannot do it and taking the time to educate my client. That's the most important thing. Especially in the immigration field, where there's so much information out there and not all the information is really relevant or it would apply to the person. So part of my consultation is to educate my client, let them know why they may or they may not qualify for. For whatever it is that they're looking for. Because that, I think, gives people power. Education gives them options. Education gives them the opportunity to make those decisions that are ultimately gonna affect their own lives.
- [07:59]
Paul Alex
You know, What? I love that because I'm a big believer in clarity. Right. Without clarity, how is a buyer supposed to buy?
- [08:07]
Catalina Restrepo
Correct.
- [08:07]
Paul Alex
Right. Confused buyers don't buy. Right, Emilio? That's right. So let's go back to the early days of your firm. Okay. When did you launch your firm?
- [08:16]
Catalina Restrepo
I launched it in January 15, 2015.
- [08:20]
Paul Alex
I love that. And how quick did that go? 2015. You're like, wow, it goes by fast.
- [08:26]
Catalina Restrepo
Or it went by really fast. I remember my first office was probably as big as this table.
- [08:32]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
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Catalina Restrepo
And it just had one big window. I have a set of clients that actually had their little boy. They would come in on a stroller. We would have to leave the stroller outside our office because it wouldn't fit.
- [08:45]
Paul Alex
That's awesome.
- [08:47]
Catalina Restrepo
And now to see their kids graduate college or high school. At this point, literally seeing people grow up in front of my eyes, go through difficult situations. I've had clients commit suicide. I've had clients die. People be deported under difficulty situations. You know, you see people, you grow with them. And it. Sometimes it's a heavy heart.
- [09:15]
Paul Alex
Right.
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Catalina Restrepo
Because you see good people stuck in really, really unfair situations.
- [09:20]
Paul Alex
No, absolutely. So let's think back to a couple of your first clients. How did you obtain those first clients? Was it just word of mouth? Was it promoting yourself? How.
- [09:30]
Catalina Restrepo
It was all word of mouth. Wow. So I left my old firm, and then some people started looking for me because a, I spoke Spanish. I speak Spanish. So being able to communicate in Spanish was important. I was patient enough to explain things to them. It wasn't me telling them, just pay me and then we'll do the work.
- [09:54]
Paul Alex
Right.
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Catalina Restrepo
I take the time to explain, listen, this is what's going to happen. This is what you can expect. So having that communication with the client was very important and continues to be very important. But in my early days, I was very, very hands on. So I was the person that would answer the phone. I was the person that they would greet when they would come into my office. So that created a good relationship. And that's where a lot of my clients came from.
- [10:20]
Paul Alex
So word of mouth. And then did you continue with that strategy is like, when you got the first set of clients, you were like, okay, as long as I keep doing good business, I mean, it's. It's not going to stop. Right. Or did you add any other client acquisition strategies, like ads, running newspapers, posters, like, what. What were you doing?
- [10:40]
Catalina Restrepo
We started adding things. So I was. I was out on my own for about a year and a half all by myself. I Did everything. Went to the post office, swept the floor, answered the phones. And I remember hiring my first assistant. She's actually my office manager at this point. And I remember telling her, angela, I can only hire you for 20, 20 hours a week. And in my mind, I kept thinking, I don't know how I'm gonna pay her. That was my biggest fear.
- [11:05]
Paul Alex
I love that.
- [11:07]
Catalina Restrepo
But I knew that the money would come from somewhere.
- [11:10]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [11:11]
Catalina Restrepo
And she started. I'll never forget, she started on a Friday. That was her first day. And I said to her at the end of the day, do you mind coming back in on Monday? She said, no, that's fine. Well, she has never worked part time for me. It was one of those, she's here, the work is here. You just gotta go do what you gotta do. Because I was in court, I was representing clients. I was doing all the other things that required my effort. So when she came in, she was helping me from the very beginning. And then we started adding those strategies. Newspaper ads, menus. Like, sometimes you'll go to a restaurant in West Palm. If you guys are ever in West Palm, you may randomly see me on a menu. Yellow Pages. Because our community still uses yellow Pages. So we were in there different newspapers in different areas. I've partnered up with different churches. I like to do a lot of the outreach and community. Hey, I'm here. I'm a real person. Let's talk about your case. Because I have gone through an immigration process myself, and everyone in my office has gone through an immigration process. So when we sit in front of you and tell you we know what you're going through, it's because we have gone through it ourselves.
- [12:31]
Paul Alex
Yeah. You're able to relate because you've gone through the experience. So you know what they feel, and they see that.
- [12:36]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes.
- [12:37]
Paul Alex
So you build the instant trust.
- [12:38]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes.
- [12:39]
Paul Alex
I love that. I love that. And then, so when you were going ahead and actually deploying all these different marketing strategies, did you really have an idea of who was your avatar? Who was your ideal client that you were trying to market to?
- [12:56]
Catalina Restrepo
You are bringing me back to where I think I was just navigating in the dark. And somebody would say, hey, do you want to advertise here? I'd be like, yes, that sounds like a great idea.
- [13:05]
Paul Alex
I love that.
- [13:06]
Catalina Restrepo
I became a real business owner and started looking at these numbers, I think, in the last four years.
- [13:12]
Paul Alex
No, that's great. And the reason why I like this guy. See, look, guys, this is one of the realest things that you see on this Podcast is that I bring real business owners that run traditional business, just like lawyers. Right. And you see that she didn't have it all figured out. I didn't have it all figured out. Some of the most successful people in this world will never have it figured out. I mean, I haven't. I even make fun, and I'm like, yeah, I guarantee you, even Steve Jobs, when he was alive, didn't have it all figured out. He just said, you know what? We're just going to run with it.
- [13:46]
Catalina Restrepo
Exactly.
- [13:47]
Paul Alex
We're going to run with it. And if we, you know, fall on our face, guess what? It's a lesson. Right. We'll never do it again. At the end of the day, that's what it takes to be a great entrepreneur. You can't be a perfectionist. You have to just keep going.
- [13:59]
Catalina Restrepo
You know, you mentioned a keyword perfectionist.
- [14:01]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [14:02]
Catalina Restrepo
And I'm the first child of four in a Latino immigrant household, so high standards from the very beginning.
- [14:11]
Paul Alex
Oh, absolutely.
- [14:12]
Catalina Restrepo
And, you know, failing was never an option. However, there have been failures that I don't see as failures. I see as, you know, learning experiences.
- [14:22]
Paul Alex
Right.
- [14:22]
Catalina Restrepo
Lessons. Lessons. Lessons that have been very powerful. And even to this day, I don't even have it all figured out. And I'm always looking for who's doing it better so I can copy them, so I can implement things into my firm. And how can I make my firm a better firm?
- [14:40]
Paul Alex
Yeah, no, absolutely. And I. And I think that's. That's a great characteristic that you have as an entrepreneur, but as a business owner, because a lot of people, they want to be unique. They want to be unique. They go into the industry and they're like, you know what? We're gonna be unique. We're gonna outshine everybody, and everybody's gonna come to us, and we're gonna be rich. That's not the way it works, guys. You have to follow what is already working. And if you can make it faster, easier, and simpler for people.
- [15:07]
Catalina Restrepo
Right, yes.
- [15:08]
Paul Alex
You found out the. The code. You found out the shortcut, the cheat code, what a lot of people like to say, because you. And it seems like you were doing a lot of community outreach, meaning that you were actually interacting with people yourself. You're in the face. You're the attractive character of your company. So that's what made you successful and was able to allow you to scale your firm now. Okay? So with that being said, let's go into mindset and resilience, okay? Which is very important, because as you guys know, this is the level of podcast. We talk about self help and mindset. That's what you need in order to go ahead and be a successful entrepreneur. So was there ever a moment that you thought, okay, that. About either giving up or you were like, you know what? Oh my God, my business is going to fail. And how did you get through that season?
- [15:54]
Catalina Restrepo
A few moments, actually. So when I started, I had been working for somebody and I saw that his lifestyle was not what I wanted.
- [16:02]
Paul Alex
Right.
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Catalina Restrepo
So I had plugged into network marketing, and the very first thing they told me was audios, books and events.
- [16:11]
Paul Alex
Right.
- [16:12]
Catalina Restrepo
Audio. Listen to somebody's story once a day. Something that's going to keep you going. Something that's going to show you that even though at your darkest hour, you're going to be able to get through it. Books. These types of books? Yeah, because this is going to tell you a story of how someone else did it. But not just about business, but also, you know, spirituality, different types of books. It doesn't have to be one specific area. Just learning about other things. Because you're not going to be the same person if you read 12 books in a year, for example. Right. So, and then events, you want to socialize with people that are doing things differently, people that have, you know, your goals in mind, that want you to succeed, you know, stop watching the news, stop going, you know, with your Auntie Betty who only wants to complain about whatever is happening.
- [17:04]
Paul Alex
Cheesemis?
- [17:04]
Catalina Restrepo
Yeah, Cheese. Miss you. Don't you want to be surrounded by successful people if you want to have a different lifestyle? So about a year after starting to practice law, I plugged in into that system. So I started accumulating tools. So when I did have those dark moments, I would go plug in into a book, into an event, into an audio, and I would recharge. Because if I wasn't investing in myself, nobody else was going to invest in myself.
- [17:37]
Paul Alex
Wow, that's, that's, that's, that's very powerful. The fact that you already had a strategy in case you had a negative experience, you knew where to go to help yourself get out of it.
- [17:49]
Catalina Restrepo
And obviously that those moments did continue coming. So Fast forward to 2020. At that point, I had partner up with somebody. We had partner up at the end of the 2018. And then January 11, 2020 came, and I was riding a motorcycle.
- [18:10]
Paul Alex
Wow.
- [18:11]
Catalina Restrepo
My Harley. And I had an accident. And I was bedridden for the following four months.
- [18:17]
Paul Alex
Oh, no.
- [18:18]
Catalina Restrepo
So I had to completely detach myself from my office. My office is on the second floor. So I couldn't even go up the stairs.
- [18:26]
Paul Alex
That must have been hard.
- [18:27]
Catalina Restrepo
Very hard.
- [18:28]
Paul Alex
That must have been hard.
- [18:29]
Catalina Restrepo
It was. It was one of those turning points in my life that it made me realize I was not living the lifestyle I wanted.
- [18:37]
Paul Alex
Right.
- [18:38]
Catalina Restrepo
So then I go back into my office, have a conversation with my business partner. We decide to go our separate ways.
- [18:44]
Paul Alex
Right.
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Catalina Restrepo
And then here I start looking at my law firm, and things were not being done. Nobody had an order of what was happening when someone would come in. It was a very turbulent time because someone else had been running the law firm, and I had just completely detached myself from it. Getting better physically and coming in to see that it was not being done to my standards was very difficult. So then I plugged myself in into a coaching school. I went and I said, hey, I need help. My law firm is completely upside down. I don't know how to make ends meet. We're in a very difficult financial situation. I have eight people here, and I don't know what to do. And through that coaching, through that mentorship, I was able to give my law firm some order. And it became boring. My law firm became boring.
- [19:44]
Paul Alex
And that culture wasn't there.
- [19:45]
Catalina Restrepo
No. And it was, you know what? Something I learned. Something. Something that just keeps resonating with me. If you are being unorganized, if you yourself, emotionally, financially, spiritually are not, well, your business is going to be a reflection of that.
- [20:01]
Paul Alex
Absolutely.
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Catalina Restrepo
So I started working on myself.
- [20:04]
Paul Alex
Oh, I love that. I love that. No, you have to take care of yourself. You know, how. How you feel, how you act, the energy that you give out, especially when you have employees or anybody working at you or even a partnership. I think it's very important. I think it's very important because at the end of the day, people come to work for you because of you.
- [20:25]
Catalina Restrepo
Yeah, right.
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Paul Alex
Who you are. So this is actually perfect because it leads me to my next question. Okay, so now you really experienced the moment about giving up and how you went through this. But let's talk about the mindset shifts when you took this coaching program, what mindset shifts were critical for you to go from just being a lawyer and the owner of the law firm to being a business owner and a leader.
- [20:51]
Catalina Restrepo
That's. That's exactly what happened. I went from being a lawyer running a law firm.
- [20:57]
Paul Alex
That's right.
- [20:57]
Catalina Restrepo
To making that shift of. My time is worth x amount of dollars. Y My assistance time is worth X amount of dollars. And we have to have an order. We have to have structure, we have to implement systems and Procedures we have to hold people accountable for. For things. And not just people inside our office, but also holding our clients accountable.
- [21:19]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
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Catalina Restrepo
Because I can't help my client if they're not helping themselves.
- [21:22]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [21:23]
Catalina Restrepo
So we implemented some, some time frames. You know, you have to bring me your paperwork by X amount of time. Or we started holding them accountable. Like, this is a partnership. You're working with us to help you. And it became a shift completely in the dynamic of the people that we're working with as the types of clients, the, that we help. But ultimately the type of person and leader I was.
- [21:47]
Paul Alex
Yeah, I feel like a lot of that, especially when you're offering a service, a product, anything to clients usually comes with like the onboarding or the expectations. Right. Because a lot of clients, if you don't tell them the expectations, they're going to assume the world.
- [22:03]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes.
- [22:03]
Paul Alex
Right. They're going to want everything because they're giving you money. So they're going to be like, okay, I want this, I want this, I want this. They're going to expect you to answer 24, 7.
- [22:10]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes.
- [22:11]
Paul Alex
You know, so you have to be very clear on what you're providing them for.
- [22:15]
Catalina Restrepo
Exchange of the money from the very, very beginning. That becomes very clear as to what they can expect, when they can expect to hear from us. You know, our office is open Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. So if you call us on a Sunday, we're not going to answer you. We're not there. We also have to have free time, of course. And something that I implemented with my firm, with my team, is our mental health day. I cannot tell you guys, I love that, how much that has helped us as a team, to bond together, to get to know each other better, to just release all the tension from the everyday life that happens. And not just in the office, but outside the office. So implementing that half day where we go, we have lunch together and then we do an activity, you know, that bonds us even more.
- [23:07]
Paul Alex
Is that something that your mentor showed you or you made it up?
- [23:10]
Catalina Restrepo
Actually, it was a combination.
- [23:12]
Paul Alex
Okay.
- [23:13]
Catalina Restrepo
They talked about having like, powwow meetings, like in the morning.
- [23:17]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [23:18]
Catalina Restrepo
I'm not a very morning person. I wake up after like 10:30 and.
- [23:22]
Paul Alex
Three coffees later, I'm the total opposite. I'm like 5am but oh my gosh.
- [23:28]
Catalina Restrepo
So for me to walk into the office and I'm usually the first one in the office. I'm usually in the office by 8, 8:30. But have let me have a coffee, let me relax for a little bit, then we can have a powwow. So they. They were talking about how, hey, have these meetings, get everyone together. I was like, well, let's make this better. Let's have a bonding experience. So we've gone bowling. We've gone to the golf range. We suck.
- [23:57]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
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Catalina Restrepo
All of us. We're terrible.
- [23:59]
Paul Alex
Yeah. I'm not that good.
- [24:01]
Catalina Restrepo
We were so fine. Like, it was funny because there was this older man, like, on the next to us, and then he got done and he's like, you guys may not hit it very far, but you guys are having so much fun.
- [24:13]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [24:14]
Catalina Restrepo
Yeah.
- [24:14]
Paul Alex
The banter. Everybody's having fun. That's what it's about.
- [24:17]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes. So we're actually going to have one. We're going to go do, like a painting class together. So it's all about getting to know each other. And I tell them I want this to be a fun environment. Yes. It's work, and we're here to be productive. But at the same time, you guys spend eight hours here.
- [24:34]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [24:35]
Catalina Restrepo
We have to learn to love each other, coordinate with each other.
- [24:39]
Paul Alex
Very true. Yeah, it's very true. And I found that the hard way in law enforcement. Law enforcement, very toxic environment. The work, the politics, just like anywhere else. But at the end of the day, what kept me doing law enforcement for as long as I did until I was just like, hey, I gotta go build my own thing, was the people. Was the people, the people that I worked with, the best friends that I made. Right. Best friends that I still friends with till this day, went to their wedding, you know, seen their kids grow up and all that jazz. So it's the same thing in any corporation, any business that you guys decide to do as entrepreneurs, when you guys first start getting your first employee, it's very, very important to treat everyone with respect, no matter what they do, whether they're entry level. No one likes a dictatorship.
- [25:27]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes.
- [25:27]
Paul Alex
People want to follow someone they like, they inspire to be like. And that's what you got to motivate people with, is that passion, the conviction, the belief in what you guys are doing. Right? Yes. So it's good. It's good. So let me ask you, this is probably going to be a little deep question. Okay, but what does this work that you're doing right now, helping people of immigration law mean to you personally? Okay. Beyond the legal side of things, of course.
- [25:53]
Catalina Restrepo
Like I said, as an immigrant myself, I can relate. I can relate to their stories of wanting a better life many times fleeing very difficult situations, many times just fleeing economic disadvantages in their Home countries. But seeing my success stories, seeing a young man be open enough to tell me that his sexual orientation, you know, is different and he needs help, and us being able to help him, you know, advocate for him on his behalf, or seeing that mom or dad that was a victim of domestic violence and was able to get out of that tough situation and provide a better future for their kids, you know, it's empowering to see these people get ahead in life.
- [26:48]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [26:48]
Catalina Restrepo
And I'll never forget, you know, when we talk about my clients, I have a lot of stories, and I think we could spend many hours me telling you, but there are certain ones that really do stick out. For example, there was a child, he crossed the border when he was 15, 16 years old. He was living with a relative, and they were making him pay $500 for rent to sleep on a couch. He wanted to go to school, so he would go to school during the day, then he would work at night. So he started falling asleep at school. So the social workers approached them. Hey, what's happening? They ended up removing him from that relative's home. I didn't find this out until after he was in dcf, Department of Children and Family. And I told him, I'm going to help you. I'm already here. He was so worried he wasn't going to be able to pay me. And I said, don't worry about the payments. We're just going to make sure that we can get you from point A to point B. Yeah. And we were able to get him a special juvenile visa, which later opened up the door for him to become a legal permanent resident. And the day that he became a legal permanent resident, he went and he enlisted.
- [28:01]
Paul Alex
Wow.
- [28:02]
Catalina Restrepo
And he came to our office to tell us how happy, how grateful he was. So seeing that young man, you know, go from that very difficult situation with so much desire to be better, to get ahead in life and go to school and work and then eventually, you know, go and give back to this country was beautiful, and it was very rewarding.
- [28:26]
Paul Alex
It's definitely, I would say, the definition of the American dream.
- [28:30]
Catalina Restrepo
Literally. Literally.
- [28:31]
Paul Alex
Literally. Would you say that's the story that basically brings you back to why you started this?
- [28:37]
Catalina Restrepo
I would say that it's one of the reasons. One of the reasons I also have stories that didn't turn out so happy.
- [28:43]
Paul Alex
Yeah.
- [28:44]
Catalina Restrepo
And those are also reasons, because then I can be a voice to those people, for example, with this new administration. Not to bring politics in here, but it's a little rough. It's a little rough. In the immigrant population, somebody that was pre approved for something called a U visa. A U visa is for people that are victims of certain crimes and cooperate. She had a pre approval, but she had an old, old deportation order. They didn't care about the U visa pre approval, but they went ahead and still removed her and her daughter back to her home country. So now we're working on advocating on her behalf. So she is able to come back at some point. But I know that it's a lengthy process.
- [29:30]
Paul Alex
Yeah, no, absolutely. Usually some of these cases take years.
- [29:34]
Catalina Restrepo
Correct, Decades.
- [29:35]
Paul Alex
What is the longest case you've ever worked?
- [29:38]
Catalina Restrepo
I still have cases pending from when I originally started my law firm.
- [29:42]
Paul Alex
Oh, wow.
- [29:44]
Catalina Restrepo
Those are asylum cases, for example.
- [29:46]
Paul Alex
Wow.
- [29:47]
Catalina Restrepo
Wow.
- [29:48]
Paul Alex
And okay, so how has your identity, your background? Okay, and you already. And you already brought this up. You know, obviously you come from an immigrant family. You've gone ahead and got inspired by your teacher. But would you say, did you ever have any personal experience where any of your family members or friends or close friends had to deal with immigration.
- [30:16]
Catalina Restrepo
In the bright side of things? Yes. I've had cousins that have moved here. I've had most of my family that lives in the United States are immigrants. I do have cousins that are now second generation and their kids have been born here. But I personally sponsored people before.
- [30:38]
Paul Alex
That's awesome.
- [30:40]
Catalina Restrepo
My ex husbands, for example, 1 and 2. And it was a different experience. I can't say that it was a sour experience with immigration. It was very. Oh, okay, you're an attorney. Very easy, actually. But it's still nerve wracking and it's still a process that we had to go through. And so again, it goes back to me telling the client, I know what it feels like because I've been through it.
- [31:08]
Paul Alex
Yeah, no, absolutely. And I'm pretty sure you share your experiences and they're like, okay, she's the real deal. I could trust her.
- [31:17]
Catalina Restrepo
I try to tell them, like, listen, I've never seen this, or I've seen this so many times, or I personally, personally live through it because I do want people to have that level of comfort, that we are there to support them.
- [31:29]
Paul Alex
No, absolutely. And you know, from, from prior. My personal family, you know, they've dealt with immigration lawyers before. And you know, the saying that I always heard, especially growing up is, you know, I don't know who to trust.
- [31:42]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes.
- [31:43]
Paul Alex
I don't know who to trust because it feels like they're charging me 10,000, 20,000. You know, they're charging me this money and I don't know where it's going. And it comes down to the lack of clarity. Right. It's just like you're getting charged for X, Y and Z. This is the reason why you're getting charged this amount. And then they go and they. They get different bids, correct? Right.
- [32:00]
Catalina Restrepo
Yeah.
- [32:00]
Paul Alex
So it happens all the time. So with that being said, let's talk about if anybody's watching right now and they're like, oh, my God, I love her. I love her. Right. What recommendations, if you're not available, would you give to someone who is looking for an immigration law firm? What would be some good traits that they should look out for when they're going out there and searching for the right law firm to work with?
- [32:25]
Catalina Restrepo
Well, the first thing would be to look them up, make sure that they are attorneys. That's a big problem, especially here in South Florida.
- [32:31]
Paul Alex
Okay, let's talk about that.
- [32:33]
Catalina Restrepo
Well, a lot of notaries, a lot of paralegals, a lot of people that are, hey, I can fill that out for you kind of people. They're not the best type of people to trust. Immigration law is not like criminal law. It's not like bankruptcy, but they have certain parameters and laws. Now. They've. They signed a bill actually last week that is going to punish a little bit more of that people just filling out paperwork. Got it. So first of all, make sure that they are lawyers. You can ask for our bar number. I'm more than happy to always give my bar number because I want to build that trust. So the first thing is that. The second thing is that you feel comfortable with the person. You know, interview them is not only them interviewing you to see if they can help you with the case, but it's you interviewing them to see if you feel comfortable with them. You're gonna be talking about very intimate things. You know, I've had clients that have told me about their health history, their sexual orientation, things that they've never told people in the past. So it's a very deep relationship that we end up developing. So you have to feel comfortable with them. And third, that. That if you can get somebody to give you a referral, you know, you can always look at Google reviews. Those are there. But it's that trustworthiness, right, of somebody bringing you to somebody that they know that they've trusted as well.
- [34:05]
Paul Alex
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. What would you say, on average, what would be a good estimate if somebody want to go ahead and get, like a consultation? What would be like, the fee that they would pay from a good immigration.
- [34:20]
Catalina Restrepo
Lawyer based on your recommendation, I would say anywhere between, like, if you want a consultation with an attorney, I know good attorneys that don't charge more than 100, $200, and I know very good attorneys that charge 500, $600 and every flavor in between. So I just believe it's, you know, if you feel comfortable with them, if you're able to get somebody to recommend them because they already know them and obviously that they are attorneys.
- [34:50]
Paul Alex
Yeah, no, that makes perfect sense. And I think the biggest key takeaway here in the needle mover for me, if I was looking for. For immigration, Immigration lawyer, is that bar number for sure. Because a lot of people, they're scared. They don't know what to ask.
- [35:04]
Catalina Restrepo
Correct.
- [35:05]
Paul Alex
You know, So I think this is great information. Okay, so let's go ahead and move on to your legacy and some more advice. Okay. For the audience. So what does legacy mean to you when it comes to your firm and the work in immigration?
- [35:20]
Catalina Restrepo
I like that word, legacy. To me, it means when. When people hear my law firm, I want them to feel that that's a safe place for them to be educated, to get legal advice. And if. When I'm gone, that they know that they can go there and be helped.
- [35:41]
Paul Alex
Yeah, I love that. I love that. And are you. How many lawyers do you have in your firm that are already. You're seeing you're grooming up to be leaders?
- [35:50]
Catalina Restrepo
It's really funny. It's really funny because I groomed them so well that they went and they opened up their own firms.
- [35:55]
Paul Alex
That's. It happens. I've had the exact same thing. I've had mentees. You know, after the second or third year, they're like, hey, dude, I know everything. So I'm about to go start my own thing.
- [36:05]
Catalina Restrepo
And it's really great to see them thrive and be successful. And sometimes I'll get a message, you know, hey, I have this case. Can you help me? Or what would you do? Do you want it? No, I don't want it. But having that close relationship, because we're not enemies. We're colleagues. And I think in the legal field, sometimes it's more of a adversarial kind of scenario, and it doesn't necessarily need to be that way. But at this point, I have a group of freelance attorneys that I work with, and so we work together, but they don't work, like, at my firm.
- [36:45]
Paul Alex
Got it, Got it. That makes sense. So if you could give your younger self, okay. A piece of advice before launching your law firm, what it. What would it Be.
- [36:58]
Catalina Restrepo
Get a mentor. Get a mentor. Get a mentor. Capital letters, underline Get a mentor. Somebody that's gonna give you an idea of what their mistakes were and how you can avoid making those mistakes. You're gonna make mistakes no matter what. But they're not mistakes. They're just learning lessons.
- [37:17]
Paul Alex
Of course.
- [37:18]
Catalina Restrepo
But certain things can be learned from somebody else. So, for example, if it was my younger self, I would tell myself, make sure you get on your payroll first. You're your most important employee. And as business owners, many times we're the last ones to be put on that payroll, and then we pay everyone else. And if there's anything left over, then we may get a check or we may get, I don't know, a thousand dollars to cover, you know, all your expenses for three months. No, no, no. Put yourself on the payroll first.
- [37:51]
Paul Alex
No. Absolutely no. That's. That's. That's great advice. And what do you want people to remember you for? Okay. Not just as the lawyer, but as you.
- [38:03]
Catalina Restrepo
I want them to remember me as somebody that cared for them, that always had their best interest in mind, that was honest, even though many times that honesty could have been difficult to hear. But because I loved people and I want what's best for people, I was always willing to be honest with them.
- [38:23]
Paul Alex
No, I love that honesty is the best policy. I know it sounds cliche, but it's true. Yeah, yeah. So let's also talk about your other ventures. What else do you have going on right now? I know you're super busy, but, I mean, thank you.
- [38:36]
Catalina Restrepo
Thank you. I'm also a bestseller author.
- [38:40]
Paul Alex
I love that. What's the name of the book?
- [38:42]
Catalina Restrepo
It is called own up your finances, take charge of your finances in English. I first launched it in Spanish, and it became a bestseller in Spanish.
- [38:50]
Paul Alex
I love that.
- [38:51]
Catalina Restrepo
It's talk. It talks about mentality around money, our limiting beliefs, and how we can change that mindset to open up ourselves to be receiving more abundance.
- [39:02]
Paul Alex
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. When you go ahead and you do good by people, you provide value, you care, conviction. There is an abundance of wealth that could be generated. People don't understand that.
- [39:15]
Catalina Restrepo
And, you know, abundance encompasses. That's why I don't talk about money. I talk about abundance. Of course, because abundance comes in all shapes and forms and sizes.
- [39:24]
Paul Alex
Of course.
- [39:24]
Catalina Restrepo
Abundance and relationship. Relationships, friendships. The. The way you have a relationship with your kids, your family, your co workers, you know, and then that eventually reflects into abundance in your spirituality, that connection with a higher being, whatever that may be under your terms. But if we leave one of those areas, you know, and obviously money. But if we leave an area unattended, we're not going to be wealthy, we're not going to be abundant. There's always going to be something lacking. So if we work evenly on different areas in life, then we're going to be able to achieve anything we put our mind to.
- [40:02]
Paul Alex
You have to be successful in all aspects of life in order to live life by design. I always think, like, your health, your mindset, your values, your core values, absolutely everything. You know, you just overall have to have a good vibration to you in order to bring everything to you.
- [40:19]
Catalina Restrepo
Yes, yes.
- [40:20]
Paul Alex
So I'm a big believer in that. So this is. This is usually the last question I ask all my guests, so I'm going to ask you the exact same question. So now this is the Level up podcast, and this is all about self help. What we can do to go ahead and help the people that are watching this. We're going to have about 100,000 people watch this episode. Okay. When it comes out, and then over the span of 30 days after it comes out, probably have a million downloads, which. Pretty cool.
- [40:49]
Catalina Restrepo
That is pretty awesome.
- [40:50]
Paul Alex
So with that being said for everybody that's watching this right now that really loves your story, okay, what are some words of inspiration that you want to actually help them out with and talk to them?
- [41:01]
Catalina Restrepo
All right, so first of all, thank you, thank you, thank you for, you know, listening to me, my story. Obviously, Paul's a great host. I want to thank him for that. Ultimately, whatever you invest in yourself will have a return on investment that you cannot measure. And that return on investment comes with relationships, friendships, your health, you know, and eventually will reflect in your bank account and whatever is going on inside of you will reflect on the outside. So work on you.
- [41:37]
Paul Alex
That's it. I love it. And where can people find you?
- [41:40]
Catalina Restrepo
You can find me on Instagram, kata c a t a.restrepo r e s T R E P O Or you can call my law firm if you have questions about legal advice. 561-809-2268 and lastly, are you coming out.
- [41:56]
Paul Alex
With anything, like, as far as, like, a coaching program, a mentorship? Like, what if people want to actually learn from me? What if there's some inspiring. Lawyers are like, hey, hey, I need to talk to Catalina. I need to go ahead and pick her brain about starting a law firm.
- [42:09]
Catalina Restrepo
You know what, it's really funny that you say that, because my coaching had been focused on money, mindset, Latino women, but I hadn't really thought about coaching other attorneys. And you're like the third or fourth person that has asked me that. So probably within the next year I will come up with something.
- [42:28]
Paul Alex
Yeah. I mean, that's how it happens, right?
- [42:30]
Catalina Restrepo
Yeah.
- [42:30]
Paul Alex
Life by design, guys. All right, guys. Well, that's it. We have another interview here at the Level of podcast with Paul Alex. Guys, make sure to leave a five star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Make sure to share this with a friend, family member, somebody you care about, okay? This episode's gonna help them level up. Gonna help you level up, and I'll catch you on the next one. Thanks for listening up to the Level up podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to share with a family, friend and everyone you know who's ready to level up. Leave a five star review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you tune in. It really helps spreading the word. And don't forget to check out officialpaulalex.com for more episodes and resources to kickstart your journey. Let's level up together.