The Relationships and Decisions That Built My Career
- May 6
- 3 min read
By Ashley Rivera Mercado
Nobody hands you a seat at the table. Sometimes you have to build the table yourself and invite others to sit down with you.
That's a lesson I've learned over seven years of working across nonprofits, startups, and corporate environments as a marketing and communications strategist. It's also the philosophy behind Mujeres in Marketing, the national nonprofit community I founded to support Latina marketers and creatives through career development, programming, and genuine community-building. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The Shift That Changed Everything
Early in my career, I thought my job was to execute. Create the content, hit the deadline, move on. That changed when I joined a tech startup right when it was scaling into a full-fledged company, where clarity wasn't always a given. There was no playbook for how communications should flow, how teams should coordinate, or how internal work should translate into external messaging. So I started building one.
I found myself improving onboarding communications, creating frameworks for cross-functional campaigns, and helping translate complex technical work into language that actually landed with audiences. Slowly, I realized I wasn't just doing marketing.
I was building systems that helped an organization communicate better and operate more effectively. That realization fundamentally shifted how I understood my own value.
It also pushed me to think bigger. If I could build structure inside a company, what could I build in a community?
Creating the Room Instead of Waiting for One
The question that led me to found Mujeres in Marketing wasn't complicated: Where are the spaces built specifically for Latina marketers and creatives? When I couldn't find a clear answer, I decided to create one.
Building a national nonprofit from the ground up while managing a full consulting practice wasn't a small undertaking. It required me to operate at a different level, thinking about community growth, programming strategy, partnerships, and long-term impact alongside the day-to-day work of execution. It made me a better strategist. It also made me a better leader, because leadership isn't just about making decisions. It's about building environments where other people can grow.
A Different Approach to Networking
My approach to professional networking has always been rooted in community, not transactions. The most meaningful opportunities in my career haven't come from business cards or cold LinkedIn messages. They've come from being in the right rooms consistently, through organizations like Mujeres in Marketing and many others, and contributing in a real way over time.
The relationships that have opened the most doors are the ones I wasn't trying to leverage. They were built through follow-up, through showing up for other people's milestones, through collaboration that had no immediate payoff. That kind of consistency builds trust in a way that a single networking moment never can.
For women, and especially for Latinas navigating industries where we're often underrepresented, I'd add this: don't just join spaces. Create them. When you build the room, you get to shape the culture, the access, and the relationships inside it. That's not just community-building. It's a leadership strategy.
What I Know Now
The decisions that most shaped my career weren't always dramatic. They were the quieter choices to build structure instead of waiting for it, to stay in community instead of going it alone, and to invest in other people's growth as seriously as my own.
I didn't wait until I had all the answers to lead. I started building systems, communities, relationships, and let the clarity come through the work.
If you're early in your career and wondering when you'll feel ready, here's what I can tell you: the readiness comes after the decision, not before. Make the move. Build the table. And when you get there, make room for someone else.
Connect With Ashley
Instagram: @mujeresinmarketing
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