Seed of the Week

Building Momentum Together: My 2025 Roadmap Starts Now 🌱

Over the past 8 weeks, I’ve shared stories, strategies, and insights to fuel our journey as creators and entrepreneurs. Siembra Connect is still in its early days, and while I work to find the right rhythm, I’m committed to translating these insights into actionable steps that will help us create lasting impact in 2025 and beyond.

Roadmapping Change: It’s time to take everything I teach in my private practice and turn it into a solid plan. remember, I am building a brand while you watch me, I am enhancing content strategy, and building a strong support network— all in real time in a mediums I have no real track record with for my brand and that is newsletter / email marketing.

So I will be breaking down my process so you can learn step by step how I am making real progress building this project. This content will be shared primarily via our podcast that will be launching via YouTube and Spotify in the coming days.

If you have not noticed, my preferred day to post is Sunday, but I am testing different theories of what day may be the best day, but we will not waiver from at least a weekly post.

The State of Siembra Connect

So far, in 7 weeks,

Membership - I have over 80 people subscribe that are engaged.

Open Rates - I do have over 63% open rates and trending towards a 7% click rate

Sponsorships - I have been able to secure 5 sponsors so far via Beehiiv and 1 sponsor independently.

Now I want to be clear, I share these numbers because my experiment is to be transparent while building this brand with you. If you know me, you already know I value relationships more than “stats” but I also know we are all trying to build businesses so talking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is important too.

As we move forward, I will be finding ways to teach you and provide resources to grow.

How are we going to start this process?

Audit, Align, Amplify: This is my framework that I’ll be sharing. I’ll start by auditing where I am, aligning every piece of my brand with my core mission, and getting ready to amplify what’s working. These small adjustments are the foundation for something powerful in 2025.

Activity: Here is resource that can help you jump start your 2025 by auditing your online presence.

I Am Finding My Flow: Growth isn’t just about speed; it’s about finding the right pace. Siembra Connect is evolving, and your feedback fuels our progress. Keep sharing what resonates, and I’ll keep shaping this space to make it valuable and real for you.

Together, we’re building a community rooted in collaboration, growth, and genuine impact. This is the groundwork for a 2025 where we’re not just surviving—we’re thriving.

And that’s why I’m here. That’s why I built this. For us.

As I am,

George Torres

Founder, Siembra Connect

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Cultivator Spotlight: Julio Varela

I want to take an opportunity to introduce one of my favorite people on the web, Julio (Julito) Ricardo Varela is an award-winning journalist and senior leader but, i also consider him a friend.

Back in the early Twitter days, we connected when Julio tweeted that “Urban Jibaro” was the best handle he had ever seen. We met during the LATISM era, got to know each other in the Hispanicize era and furiously participated in a weekly three way competition for most engaged Facebook Fan Page (Latino Rebels, Being Latino & Daily Sofrito) when the Latino explosion of content creators emerged on social.

He is a very necessary voice…

Who is “Julito”?

As President of Pulitzer-winning Futuro Media, he was responsible for the business/operations side of the organization and played a key senior leadership role in overseeing the company’s editorial vision. Previously, he was the company’s Editorial Director, leading the teams at  Latino USA, Latino Rebels, the In The Thick political podcast, and the Community Podcast Lab.

As Vice President of New Business Development for Futuro Studios, he headed up the division’s new business initiatives, which have received industry accolades and have positioned Futuro as a major player in the premium audio space.​

Currently, he is an MSNBC Columnist on a freelance basis. He is also the founder of The Latino Newsletter. He is exploring new career opportunities ​(Visual CV).

In 2011, Varela founded Latino Rebels, a top U.S. Latino digital media site. In 2018, Latino Rebels officially joined Futuro Media. He co-hosted In The Thick for eight years, from 2015 to 2023.  He was a frequent contributor to Latino USA, and as Digital Director for Futuro from 2015 to 2020, Julio expanded the show’s digital footprint, overseeing historic gains in podcast, online and social audiences.

Before his nine years at Futuro, Julio was Digital Producer for Al Jazeera America’s “The Stream,” and his work has been featured in many global outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC News, Quartz, Le Monde, WGBH, WNYC, Face the Nation, Fusion, Univision and Telemundo. He has made numerous national TV appearances.

In 2015, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists honored Varela with its inaugural DALE Award, “given to an individual or company that steps up and goes above and beyond to ensure Latinos are fairly and accurately represented.” In 2018, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción named Varela one of Boston's top Latino leaders.

He was also a contributing reporter at The Boston Globe and a top publishing executive. Varela graduated cum laude from Harvard College.

What is he doing now?

Julio Ricardo Varela is stepping up in a way that feels so necessary right now. He’s launching The Latino Newsletter, a fresh, daily subscriber-only news source that's all about telling our stories from our perspective. Julio’s no stranger to this work; he’s the mind behind Latino Rebels, a site that’s been giving us real, unapologetic coverage for years.

After this year’s wave of layoffs that left so many talented Latino journalists without platforms, it’s clear there’s a huge gap in how our stories get told. Major outlets tend to box us in, simplifying our political views or treating us like a single voting bloc. But as recent Pew Research data shows, we’re a dynamic, evolving community with diverse perspectives. And while other outlets try to tell our story from the outside, Julio’s making sure that we’re the ones controlling our narrative.

At Siembra Connect, we’re excited to support The Latino Newsletter because this is the kind of independent, premium journalism our community needs. It’s real, it’s raw, and it’s ours. If you’re looking for news that’s by us and for us, don’t miss out on this.

Join The Latino Newsletter and be part of a movement that’s reshaping how we see ourselves and how the world sees us.

Click here to subscribe and stay connected. 

My SIEMBRA Toolkit

Here are the apps, platforms, or tools that can help creators, entrepreneurs, and professionals work smarter and more efficiently. I primarily focus on tools that I am currently use to build Siembra Connect.

I will start by sharing this platform Beehiiv, I just shared on Threads just a few days ago, that in less than 30 days… I have monetized via Beehiiv directly, which is not a lot but I did it with 50 subscribers and three newsletters. I would not have made anything on all the popular social media apps at all. As a matter of fact, a popular food creator had a video that garnered over 1 Million impressions and barely made $36.

I am going the let them tell you all the ways you can make money by delving into your passion of sharing information that matters.

If you happen to sign up for Beehiiv thru my link, I will be sure to add you to a private group where I will help you with all that I am learning building Siembra Connect.

Creator Wellness

Here I will focus on mental health and wellness tips specifically for creators and entrepreneurs. Discuss managing burnout, finding work-life balance, and how to prioritize self-care while maintaining productivity.

^{Note: some of these may not be current headlines but have very valuable info.}

Partnership & Brand Opportunities

Again, this week, I would like to dedicate this space to Here are some potential funding sources for podcasts created by people of color, along with their links:

Foundations and Grants

• Ford Foundation: https://www.fordfoundation.org/

• W.K. Kellogg Foundation: https://www.wkkf.org/

• Open Society Foundations: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/

• National Endowment for the Arts: https://www.arts.gov/

• Corporation for Public Broadcasting: https://www.cpb.org/

Fun fact, I am launching a podcast soon, I am sharing this with you before I have even applied, let me know if you learn anything I can share with the collective.

Cultivate & Connect

Here are some upcoming events…

Cultivator News

Here are some of this week’s leading headlines

Short and Snappy:

• Creators Rise: The New Economy of Influence https://www.forbes.com/creator-economy/

• Monetize Your Passion: The Creator Economy Explained https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/2022-youtube-creator-economy-impact-report/

• From Hobby to Hustle: Your Guide to the Creator Economy https://thesixfigurecreator.com/how-id-start-a-content-creation-business-now/

• Level Up Your Content: Tips for Success in the Creator Economy https://www.udemy.com/course/social-media-content-creation-101/

• Join the Creator Revolution: Build Your Brand Today https://blog.willa.com/post/10-influencer-platforms-for-creators-to-join

Intriguing and Click-Worthy:

• The Secret Sauce: How Creators are Making Millions https://uxplanet.org/enabling-creators-to-track-their-content-creation-journey-on-graphy-a-product-design-case-study-d331b616dbf1

• Beyond Likes: The Business of Being a Creator https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qF1CZPwwSUA

• The Future of Work: The Creator Economy is Here https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/research/future-of-work-report-ai

• Are You Ready to Be a Creator? https://www.gyfted.me/career-quiz/content-creator

• From Side Hustle to Full-Time Gig: The Creator Economy https://www.cnbc.com/2012/01/23/People-Who-Quit-Their-Jobs-and-Made-Millions.html

Informative and Engaging:

• How to Build a Thriving Creator Business https://www.experiencewelcome.com/blog/webinar-content-creation-101-how-to-create-engaging-webinars-that-drive-revenue

• The Top Tools and Platforms for Creators https://later.com/blog/content-creator-tools/

• The Psychology of Viral Content https://www.sparringmind.com/viral-content/

• How to Collaborate with Other Creators https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/guide-successful-brand-collaborations-influencers-creatives-alfred-qjzgf

• The Importance of Building an Authentic Brand

  https://sproutsocial.com/insights/brand-authenticity/

I love AI… because I believe in Human Led creativity.

I see AI as an invaluable creative partner that enhances my content in ways that were previously unimaginable. It allows me to streamline the process, giving me more time to focus on the heart of storytelling while still maintaining authenticity and creativity. With AI as a tool, I can dive deeper into research, generate fresh ideas, and refine my work more efficiently. It’s not just about saving time; it’s about using technology to push the boundaries of what's possible in content creation, allowing me to produce more meaningful and impactful work.

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