Female Disruptors: Zakia Torres of Quartz and Rainbows On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Female Disruptors: Zakia Torres of Quartz and Rainbows On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

“Stay true to yourself” is the best advice I’ve received and the best that I can give. It’s super hard to grow a business and keep up if you have to wait to see what the next person is doing. My business flows easily because I’m just being me… my bright, foul-mouthed colorful self!

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Zakia Torres.

Zakia Torres, an entrepreneur disrupting the spiritual space. Master Manifestor, inspiring women everywhere to walk in their truth, trust their intuition, and manifest a ravishing rainbow after every treacherous storm.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Honestly, I didn’t choose this career path. I feel like it chose me. My very spiritual grandmother (even called a witch at times) passed away the same summer of my separation from my now ex-husband and I feel like she passed me the torch. When I was a young child I remember her telling me that I was just like her but I didn’t know it yet and she saw something in me that I didn’t even know existed. I became obsessed with learning more about healing and spirituality. My business allowed me to share it in a way that newbies like me could relate to and still feel comfortable with.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

A lot of spiritual brands that I see online keep things very safe and neutral. My brand is colorful, I use provocative words and the whole brand is a reflection of who I am. I am far from perfect but I’m growing and I’m not the depressed woman with no hope for the future that I once was. I think it’s my authenticity that is disruptive.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This mistake won’t sound funny to some, many will think it’s a good problem but I remember a day that I made thousands of dollars with a flash sale but I had absolutely no inventory, so it took weeks to get the orders out from just that day. Making a lot of money fast always sounds good but honestly, it can destroy your business, if you aren’t prepared. The lesson that I learned was to trust my process, don’t rush success. Get my back end in order and then the rest will happen exactly when it’s supposed to.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I have many mentors that I haven’t even met yet. I read books, watch YouTube and study my favorites. I watch a podcast called the Social Proof podcast hosted by a duo named David and Donni. They are my current mentors because they share the good and bad parts of entrepreneurship and I soak it all in. I listen to people who are where I want to be in business as well as in my personal life.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disrupting an industry is positive when you can come in and help people improve their lives while still growing your business. Disrupting would be negative if you are coming in strong and selling false promises. I make my customers understand that although I believe in my products 100% they need to believe in manifestation and do the work!

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

“Stay true to yourself” is the best advice I’ve received and the best that I can give. It’s super hard to grow a business and keep up if you have to wait to see what the next person is doing. My business flows easily because I’m just being me… my bright, foul-mouthed colorful self!

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I’m nowhere near done. The book that I will release when I finish writing will shake up my industry because it’s raw, honest, and inspiring. I am taking accountability for the bad choices that I made throughout my life that I do not regret because they lead me to exactly where I am today.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Living Untethered by Michael A. Singer was a complete life changer for me. It helped me to be present and realize that I control my thoughts, they don’t have to control me.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would inspire a movement where we all learn how to face our self-limiting beliefs and change our mindsets. A lot of the things in our way come from childhood trauma and not being taught to dream bigger and have faith. I just want people to believe in themselves and keep pushing through tough times.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Many years ago, way before I started my business, a very successful person told me that “Life is what you make it.” I hated hearing that, I just didn’t understand it at the time but it’s the truth. We all have the power to change our lives and become what we want to be if we truly believe that we deserve it.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can follow me on Instagram. I’m very active there @Quartzandrainbows

and you can check out the coolest spiritual lifestyle brand — Quartzandrainbows.com

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: Zakia Torres of Quartz and Rainbows On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

August 16, 2022