Entrepreneur – Ozisco.com

3 ideas to sell better while social distancing

I have been working from home since late February, which means I have had to adjust my way of selling while social distancing and observing the shelter in place order in Seattle. Below are three ideas that have worked for me as I adapt to the new normal of working from home and unable to visit clients face to face. If there are other methods or strategies you’re applying to generate positive results, please share them with me.

1/ Sell with empathy. We are in the midst of social distancing, not empathy distancing. Almost every salesperson, including me, likes to think they connect better with potential clients face to face instead of virtual. The reality is that how we show up is usually consistent regardless of the communication channel. Also, it is times like these where there is uncertainty and crisis that reveals our true self. Now more than ever, investing the time to master social and emotional skills will benefit our customers, employers, and most importantly, ourselves. According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, one of the fastest-growing skills that employers will demand by 2030 is social and emotional skills. They define “social and emotional” skills as “soft skills,” which include: advanced communication and negotiation, empathy, the ability to learn continuously, to manage others, and to be adaptable.

So what does it mean to sell with empathy?

Selling with empathy for me means walking a mile in someone else’s shoes even if the shoes do not fit. Having empathy is not just the ability to understand the feelings of the other person; it also involves sharing the feelings. Selling with empathy is also about having compassion for these executives navigating these complex challenges. These executives are responding to this crisis with improvisations as there are no playbooks, so be patient and compassionate. Your goal should be to make a genuine connection not just a sale.

This article by Colleen Stanley, President and Chief Selling Officer at SalesLeadership, Inc., offers practical advice on how to sell with empathy. You can also get her book, Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success.

2/ Find opportunities to help your potential client execute ideas faster. If you’re in enterprise sales, you’re probably familiar with the concept of Time To Market (TTM). It means the length of time it takes from a product being conceived until it’s available for sale. The companies that can bring the best products to market the fastest often gain the lion share of the market segment. As executives and decision-makers meet internally to explore ideas of how to navigate the challenges that this pandemic is having on their businesses, they will seek partners to help them not just go from idea to revenue, but idea to survival in the shortest time possible. Once you have developed a deep understanding of your potential client’s challenges (because you’ve mastered selling with empathy :)), you will be able to provide a valid and refreshing point of view of why you’re the right partner to execute the ideas.

3/ Insert humor. We all know the saying that laughter is the best medicine. As our potential clients deal with the pressures of today and uncertainties of tomorrow, a good laugh could be the highlight of their day. You don’t have to be a stand up comedian with a special on Netflix to make people laugh. You do need some creativity though. For example, I wore a t-shirt with my client’s logo during a video conference meeting. During my introduction, I shared that although my employer pays me, the company I really work for is my client, hence the t-shirt I was wearing. They all had a good laugh. Mission accomplished.

“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop laughing.”—Michael Pritchard

Bonus: When it comes to staying connected, meet your customers where they are. One of my customers said their preferred method of staying connected is through Telegram, so I downloaded the app. Another said text📱 messages, so we became texting buddies. Another said Slack, so I joined their channel. Another said phone calls☎ , the other said email📧 , and her colleague said fax machine📠. Just kidding about the last one, no one uses fax machines anymore; but if they did, I’ll get a fax machine.😁 This concept of meeting your customers where they are would hold true even after things get back to normal. My recommendation is to discover your customer or potential client’s preferred method of staying connected and adapt to it.

PSA: During this pandemic, let’s all follow the recommendations of medical professionals and do our part to flatten the curve. Also, keep doctors❤ , nurses❤ , and first responders❤ in your prayers.

Happy selling, and be safe.

Amazon Web Services is hiring sales professionals. If interested, find job postings here and send me a note. Happy to refer and coach you through the process.

Self-care could get you a hat-trick

Last week Monday, I exhausted every means possible to get a hold of a client involved in a deal I was spearheading. I emailed, called, texted, and left a voicemail, but he did not respond.

The next morning, he replied to my text apologizing for being unreachable since he was stuck in back to back meetings. He then suggested we set up a call for 5pm later that day. I asked for an earlier time in the day, but he was firm that he was only available at 5pm. This was a problem. I had a soccer game starting at 5:10pm, and knew our conversation would take at least 30 minutes. There was also a looming deadline, so it was critical we spoke soon. I had to decide whether to take the call at 5pm and risk missing the soccer game or reschedule the meeting to a different day and risk missing the deadline. Playing soccer brings me a lot of joy, and I also thrive on going above and beyond for my customers, so this was a difficult situation.

This dilemma reminded me of a conversation I had a few weeks back with my mentor. He encouraged me to prioritize self-care as part of my daily routine to live a more balanced life. He shared that more than exercising regularly, self-care is any activity that we deliberately do to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health. According to Forbes, neglecting self-care means not knowing your worth. By making time for self-care, you “maintain a healthy relationship with yourself as it produces positive feelings and boosts your confidence and self-esteem.”

The common challenge with self-care is making adequate time for it. Tchiki Davis, Ph.D, author of Outsmart Your Smartphone, recommends twelve strategies to get started with self-care. To resolve my earlier dilemma, I relied on her “say no to others, and say yes to your self-care” strategy. Below is how she explains it:

Learning to say no is really hard; many of us feel obligated to say yes when someone asks for our time or energy. However, if you’re already stressed or overworked, saying yes to loved ones or coworkers can lead to burnout, anxiety, and irritability. It may take a little practice, but once you learn how to say no politely, you’ll start to feel more empowered, and you’ll have more time for your self-care.

I told the client that 5pm wouldn’t work since I had a soccer game starting at 5:10pm. I suggested we reschedule for the next day, and he accepted. In parallel, I worked to ensure we had enough runway so we could still meet the deadline.

The soccer game started promptly at 5:10pm, and by the end of the first half, my team was down 1 – 4. During the half time break, I encouraged the guys by reminding them we were better than our first-half performance. All we needed was to focus on getting one goal at a time. Within the first 5 minutes of the second half, I scored our second goal, getting us to 2 – 4. We made some technical changes, which allowed our team to score three more quick goals within ten minutes, putting us ahead at 5 – 4. I then added another goal with five minutes left in the game, putting the score at 6 – 4. Our opponents got a quick break and scored a goal with two minutes left, putting the score at 6 – 5. Knowing they would increase the pressure, I reminded the guys that offense is the best defense. Since our opponents committed more of their guys to attack, it left their defense vulnerable. We took advantage, and my teammate provided a perfect through pass. I then dribbled past two defenders before hitting the ball past the goalkeeper on his left side. The score was now 7 – 5, with twenty seconds left in the game. When the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game, we had managed to come back from three goals down to win the game 7 – 5. I thought to myself, had I taken the call and missed out on the game, I wouldn’t have been in a position to help my team and be a part of such a memorable comeback story.

The next day, the client asked about the soccer game, and I relived the drama all over again. Even better, we met the deadline, deepened our connection, and progressed our discussions. This experience was a reminder to prioritize self-care because it earns trust with clients and it is good for business.

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FIVE Questions with Michael Amadi, Founder of Jikoro

Michael is a passionate entrepreneur focused on leaving a legacy that is filled with inspiration and courage. With the realization that “life is rented”, Michael approaches his mission to feed millions of people in a sustainable way with great enthusiasm and urgency. Although Jikoro as a company is still in its infancy (about 1 year old), the idea for the company has been gestating for years. Michael is putting to work his training as a scientist to build a company whose mission is to leverage technology to create products from palm oil that are less harmful to the environment and people. Essentially, creating a better product for tomorrow, today. The Agriscience industry in Africa is ripe for disruption as it is dominated by companies with antiquated technologies that also lack leadership when it comes to dealing with the realities of climate change.

Jikoro’s plans include leveraging technology to bring hydroponic farming to Nigeria and partnering with Universities to innovate on seed genomics.
In addition to building a company that outlasts him, Michael wants to create millions of jobs for talented youth in Africa who are yearning for the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families. Michael and his team at Jikoro have many exciting plans and their version of the future is filled with hope, determination, and courage.

Jikoro recently took first place in a business pitch competition organized by Umu Igbo Unite, at their 2019 annual conference in Minneapolis. I learned about Jikoro through the pitch competition and invited him to take part in the FIVE Questions series. I hope you are inspired and compelled to cheer on the team at Jikoro!

1. What is your unfair advantage as an entrepreneur and why should people want to do business with you?

I find this to be an interesting question because it illustrates in one aspect your fit and the other, characteristics of an entrepreneur. To appreciate my unique abilities, you would have to personally interact or shadow me for a day. You would quickly find out that I equally represent the Naija (Nigerian) hustle and accomplish my goals with a strategic mechanism. Nigeria is a unique country in dire need of multilateral solutions for all including men, women, and the youth. It’s estimated there are nearly 80 million youth ready to learn and work throughout impoverished regions of Nigeria. Throughout West Africa, a few small organizations are doing the best they can to be the change agents. However, to make the real impact it takes a collective of people and organizations. Jikoro LLC is ready to make the difference one-step-at-a-time, as our innovative strategies focus to eliminate the burdening hunger crisis and eliminate the technological barriers to entry. We are crafting a vision and creating opportunities for tomorrow, now. Our motto “Sustainable Agriscience for A Better Tomorrow”, today defines our innate hunger and desire to succeed. We should not lament and willow in stagnation; rather, let us be our own change agents. Our collective actions will be our unfair advantage.

2. What role has mentorship played in your journey as an entrepreneur and what’s your advice on how to seek out and foster relationships with mentors?

Either it’s this question or perhaps it’s the answer that goes on in life to be undervalued in its various forms. I’d have to say my journey as an entrepreneur is unique in experiences and achievement. Each day you wake up to face and overcome adversities through each stage and after each accomplishment. Mentorship is defined by the Oxford dictionary as, “guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution.” The reality is that not everyone has a mentor to speak freely or directly to. Similar to myself, you may become indirectly motivated to take the first steps. Virtual platforms such as YouTube and findings on the internet are great tools for those seeking inspiration. However, I should caution everyone not to pay for free advice and stay focused exclusively on stories and interviews without the glam. Watching and learning from women who essentially created their career positions were my first exposure to entrepreneurship. While in college I started my path towards entrepreneurship with a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, which allowed me to expose myself to as many unknowns as possible. Prior to starting Jikoro, I was presented with the opportunity to meet a few CEOs in the field of biotechnology and other industries. If you are given a similar opportunity, write down a few questions you are going to ask the individual in a notebook or diary. Your goal is to learn about your future mentors’ critical thinking process, focus, and their past experiences (e.g., successes and failures).

3. Why is the cause you are pursuing or problem you are solving the most important for this generation and how can people support /help you move your cause forward?

Well around the world the average age of a farmer is 60 plus years, and in the continent of Africa 60% of the population are under the age of 25. Let’s focus on Nigeria, the most populous country with the largest economic factor (e.g., GDP) in Africa. Without the need of a microscope, youth unemployment and data representing the quality of life is dismal. Primarily such concern for poor health is due to unemployment, hunger, and inaccessibility to resources. While Jikoro is only an agricultural sciences and farming company, the potential of a robust agriculture industry should bring excitement, as the number of improved lives may be exponential. Our vision is to develop the next generation of farming technologies and food crops to feed a nation through science and development of a stable supply chain. Moreover, we are focused on eliminating the biotechnology barrier and innovating to produce bio-engineered oil seeds and specialty crops for advanced technologies (e.g., biofuels and affordable medications). When you do the math, innovation plus product, multiplied by scalability equals profitability in the business world. A profitable agriculture industry translates into new forms of income, resulting in affordability of key services (e.g., healthcare) and investments in infrastructure, such as roads and water systems. There’s a saying, “those who fail to plan, plan to fail” and so far, no one has been able to disprove planning. In all realness, hopefully, individuals with additional resources will pick up where we left off and learn from our mistakes. To succeed, we are utilizing the grassroots community business funding model, so donations, investments, and partnerships are welcome, as well as feedback and advice. If you really want to help, first check out Jikoro’s website (https://www.jikoro.international), then if you feel compelled, contact us by email. Remember, it takes a village.

4. Reflect on all of the key milestones or sacrifices you’ve had so far in building Jikoro to what it is today, which of these milestones or sacrifices would you say is the most pivotal and why?

Too many milestones but selling my car and investing the money into the business was the most pivotal sacrificial milestone. I woke up and said today is the day, now each day I remember moving forward is the only way to go. Today, I’ve obtained all the necessary permits and formed a few collaborations. Tomorrow, big data will be flowing in, new products will launch, and a new research team will be built from the ground up. All these milestones excite me and I look forward to achieving each one. You can stay up to date with our movements by following us on Instagram — @jikorollc

5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continues to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?

Great question! Idioms and quotes are equally inspirational, from Mahatma Gandhi’s “Be the change you want to see in the world” to Maya Angelou being attributed with “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” During challenging times, I find myself going back to the advice I received as a kid and throughout college. If you are frustrated, go for a walk. Feeling disappointed? Remember the hundreds, if not millions, facing a tougher decision than you are. And most of all, communication is key. Stay in touch with family and friends; and remain focused on your vision. As for when all is well, be humble.

Hey, You Have A Cool Accent!

In Dr. Praya Agarwal’s article on Forbes, she cites research that shows it takes less than 30 seconds to linguistically profile a speaker, and make quick decisions on their ethnic origin, socio-economic class, and background. Additionally, we assign values such as pleasantness and prestige but also intelligence based on accents. In Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success, by Sylvia Ann, she found that executive presence rests of three pillars: gravitas, communication, and appearance. In the communication pillar, some of the executives she interviewed cited off-putting accents as an example of a verbal tic that undermines an individual’s ability to have superior speaking skills and ultimately, executive presence. Essentially, accents are part of our identity, whether good or bad.

My family journeyed from a village in Nigeria (Avu) to the United States (Texas) when I was fifteen years old. I immediately enrolled in high school with big dreams and a thick accent. Almost instantaneously, I became the punchline of many name-calling jokes, including the very degrading “African booty scratcher.” Maybe it was bullying, or perhaps it was just high school kids having fun; either way, it made me feel uneasy, unwelcome, and isolated.

One day, I shifted my perspective and made the conscious decision to fully embrace my accent and turn what many labeled as a disadvantage into an advantage. Luckily, my English Teacher acted as a mentor and assured me that with practice I could become as eloquent as a young Sidney Poitier (she thought we resembled each other). Her coaching helped me master my pace, tone, and cadence. These coaching exercises helped me find my voice and ensured I was not only heard but understood.

In my first sales job after college, one of my prospects was convinced I was calling from an “offshore” country during a cold call. My accent was the culprit, again. Granted, he was partly right; the monotony of the job probably caused my mind to wander off to the bustling streets of Lagos with suya in both hands. However, physically, I was definitely in the United States trying to make the almighty dollar. Let’s just say the sale never happened with that prospect.

Over the years, I’ve noticed my accent thickens during big presentations which could be distracting for the audience. So at the start of a big presentation, I often let the audience know that it is okay to interrupt me if my accent hinders their ability to understand me. By saying this, it diffuses tension for me and the audience; they empathize and become invested in my success. I call this reverse accent profiling. Is that a thing? It should be. #LoveAllAccents

So how do you empathize with someone with a thick accent at work?

Resist the desire to make fun of the accent, in private or in public. A mentor once told me when someone makes fun of you with the intent to demoralize and belittle you, what they’re actually doing is projecting their insecurities. Secure people are usually looking for opportunities to uplift others rather than make them feel insignificant.
Reach out and offer to coach and mentor the person. If you’re someone with an accent who thinks it is inhibiting your success, don’t be shy to ask for help. Reach out to colleagues, leaders in your community, senior management, or seek out professional coaching.
For those in leadership, encourage those with thick accents to speak in front of the team or group and provide ongoing feedback, coaching, and mentoring.
Highlight the person when they contribute ideas to team meetings. A brilliant African pharmacist I spoke to described how she would make a suggestion in a meeting but get little acknowledgment. A few minutes later in the same meeting, someone else would suggest her exact idea and get all the admonition and praise. This act happened multiple times until one day she got frustrated and responded to the individual that kept repeating her ideas “I might have said it with an accent, but that’s exactly what I just said.” It stopped happening.
Make a genuine attempt to understand the person with a thick accent, and meet them where they are. It’s fair to say we all have beautiful accents; if they can understand you, why not make an effort to understand them.
Realize that it’s not just an accent, it’s an asset. #MyAccentIsAnAsset

Special thanks to Jennifer Obiyo, AG Ukwa, Beth Fatusin, Emilia Lusia Fomuso, Ale Esposito, Jacob Alao, Stephen Ozoigbo, Garrett Mihelich, David Chau, for their inspiration and contribution.

Conversation with Solu Nwanze, Executive Coach

What compelled you to start Expanded Impact and what has surprised you the most about your journey thus far?

I followed my passion! I have always been drawn to leadership development, leading or founding organizations at school and work to foster learning, development, and growth. A series of activities led me to coaching including meeting my first mentor, Katie Hingle, who is a certified coach, my first coaching experience at the Watermark conference, and my first coaching class with CTI (Coaches Training Institute) while founding a speed coaching program for minority employees at Adobe.

In pursuing my passion, I became aware of the impact of coaching which compelled me to take massive action to become a trained & certified executive coach. As my confidence matured, establishing Expanded Impact was the natural next step. With Expanded Impact, my vision is to navigate established and emerging leaders through self-discovery and personal transformation as they expand their impact to themselves and others. Expanded Impact currently provides executive coaching, leadership development workshops and dynamic talks that spark awareness, confidence, and action.

What’s surprising about my journey so far is how my insurmountable mountains become distant landscapes in hindsight. With every milestone, I best myself and redefine my capacity. This is the possibility available to us all. In short, I continuously expand my impact as I help others expand theirs!

2. What makes goal setting a critical element in achieving success? Why do so many people have challenges setting and exceeding their goals?

Goals setting is critical to achieving success as it defines the goalposts towards bringing your passions to life. Goals and their corresponding actions are the concrete ways to develop skills towards your passion. As Gary & Jay mentioned in “The ONE thing,” passion without skills goes nowhere. When you build your skills, you will see results which in turn, fuel your passion. Increase in your passion leads to developing more skills towards that passion, leading to more results.

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Some common challenges towards setting and exceeding goals that I have observed through my coaching are:

We barely take out time to reflect and set goals for ourselves. Setting aside time regularly, be it quarterly or monthly, is a way to make this part of your routine
We make goals too broad without a plan to measure the outcome, and therefore, lose our zeal. Set SMART goals to ensure you know when you are on-track or not.
We set too many goals leading to a lack of focus, and again, nothing gets done. Or worse, we lose sight of the most important goal. Try focusing on the one important goal first, you’ll learn something that will inform your next best step.
We don’t give ourselves the necessary support structure – be it in accountability partners or triggers that remind us of the what and why of our goals. Recruit accountability partners like a coach or a friend who will hold you accountable without judgment.

3. Why is the cause you are pursuing or problem you are solving the most important for this generation? How would future generations benefit if it’s successful? What is at risk if you do not succeed?

In our fast-paced and noisy lives of today, we drown out our own voices so easily. We are swept by the hustle and bustle of daily activities, politics, gadgets, etc. Coaching is a practice of reflective inquiry that creates space for us to (re)discover our inner wisdom. What happens when we connect to our inner wisdom is we discover self-confidence, we learn to drown out fear and doubt, we see choices, we get unstuck, and we create our path. In essence, we become leaders in our own lives and take up the space we already had but may not always see. The impact is we have more capacity to give love and share our passions with those around us.

If we don’t develop to our full potential, we cannot give/share our gifts fully. We already see the impact of this today. Let’s take the workplace for instance. Imagine what it is like working for a manager who had poor leadership skills. What does that do to your growth opportunities, your ability to learn, your happiness and satisfaction on the job? How much of your intellectual capacity do you really bring to work in this space?

Now imagine working for a manager who is a great leader. Notice how well you would thrive, your higher level of happiness and satisfaction, your eagerness for learning and growth, and the overall value you would add to the company.

Now, multiply the impact in both cases above by five employees. What if those employees are also managers, what is the impact on their employees?

What happens when a disengaged employee goes home? How does that impact their engagement at home? How do they interact with their children? What are their children learning about life?

You see, work and life are all life; your life! And that is what is at stake.

4. Starting a business or even a side hustle can be challenging. What advice do you have for someone struggling with an idea they want to start while balancing a full time job? How would you advice they get started?

Map out what you want to do and most importantly, why you want to do it. Your “why” will be the driving force you will always go back to when challenged.

Then go ahead and develop your goals, starting with what is most important to tackle first, build your test, take action and learn from it. Learn from others who have done something similar so that you stand on the shoulders of those before you and get a head start. Next, get your supporters along for the ride, never go at it alone. These will be the people to cheer you on, offer advice, help, provide contacts, etc., along the way.

But most of all, go ahead and start. I was reminded of this simple advice recently by Aman Gohal, “Just go ahead and do it, don’t overthink it.”

5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continues to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?

Never stop learning. My dad taught me this lesson a long time ago, and it has stayed with me since then. We learn from successes and failures. Being a lifelong learner means being a sponge, always open to new possibilities, and new people. Learning comes from everywhere and everyone!

You can connect with Solu Nwanze on LinkedIn and her website.

Conversation With Chuka, Founder of Divercity.io

The representation of minorities in the tech industry is a topic that should be dear to any reasonable person’s heart. The stats are startling and requires attention and action. According to a 2014 report by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), 83.3% of Tech Executives are white, 1.9% are black, 3.1% Hispanic, and 10.5% Asian. The distribution is similar in Management; 76% are white, 4% are black, 4% are Hispanic, and 13% are Asian. Although these numbers are bleak, the opportunity that comes with workforce diversity is valued at almost $400B says CompTIA CEO, Todd Thibodeaux, as reported by techrepublic. Similar conclusions were reached by McKinsey & Company in 2015 and in 2016 by the Pearson Institute for International Economics, who both reported that “a company with more diverse representation in senior management will likely achieve greater profits.”

A minority tech CEO and Founder that sees the opportunity in diversity is Chuka, whose company, Divercity, was founded with the sole purpose of increasing the representation of minorities in the tech industry as well as other largely underrepresented industries. He approaches diversity from an objective standpoint, and believes there needs to be an intentional attack on diversity in the workplace for their to be a major effect. Chuka advises we shouldn’t rely on the overrepresented to fix the issue; rather, the minority needs to step up because if we don’t push for it, no one else would.

We spent some time going through the F.I.V.E questions, below are the highlights:

Tell us about your background and the early inspirations in your career

I moved to the United States from Nigeria in 2000 and studied Economics at the University of Texas, Arlington. After graduating, I got a job as an Analyst at an analytics company in Dallas. Earlier in my career, I had no idea that being black meant anything in the US and was oblivious to race. I was the only black person at the company and felt there was a higher standard for me. One of my supervisors would watch constantly over my shoulder and drill me about my work. It was a tough working environment. [Interestingly, according to a 2017 study from Kapor Center for Social Impact and Harris Poll, unfair treatment in the workplace is the single largest driver of turnover in the tech industry.] It was no coincidence that a few weeks later, the supervisors called me into their offices and said they have to let me go. I eventually understood the color of my skin and me standing out was different and uncomfortable. Following that experience, I applied and got a job at Deloitte. After a few years, I decided to go back to school and attended MIT, where I obtained my MBA. Following the MBA, I worked at Yahoo, where I ran Business Development Operations for a few years and later joined Ubisoft as the first Analytics Manager. Having also subsequently ran analytics teams at Warner Bros and Unity, I often felt lonely always being the minority and wanted to do something significant about it. This drive led me to build a platform to connect companies with minority professionals. In 2016, my co-founders and I conceived the idea of Divercity. It was that moment I committed to being part of the solution. My goal was to make it easy for minority aspirants to connect with each other for mentorship, knowledge sharing, and recruitment. I’ve been bootstrapped since then and have a team of 10 people across Los Angeles, San Francisco, Lagos, Europe and Australia.

2. What surprised you the most about your journey so far?

As a company in the pre-seed stage, what has surprised me the most is the difficulty in raising capital as a black entrepreneur. The standards are higher and there is a lower level of risk tolerance. It’s an even harder sell when I pitch to black VCs. It may be environmental or racial, but I think it’s a combination of both. The fact is there is a small number of Black VCs, which means there’s an over subscription which means they get a higher number of inquiries from Black founders so they are super selective. You may not even get the gift of a No. This is when you get a response with saying No or check back later. Most times, it’s silence. What keeps me going and excited is that we are trying to solve a problem that is real and relatable. The solution is a necessity, and with necessity comes conviction. The solution will eventually emerge, with or without funding. The timing is good for us, as we’ve been getting a lot of support. With movements such as #TimesUp, #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, #OscarsSoWhite, and other societal awareness, we believe the timing is good for us.

3. What is your unfair advantage?

We’ve built a job marketplace from scratch with diversity and inclusion at the forefront. Right now, a lot of the platforms don’t have that in place – Linkedin, Angellist, etc. In our platform, we encourage you to self identify ethnically and genderly. We are encouraging people to trust us with that information because we can use it to connect them to the right company. Our team is nimble and agile but we are made up of minorities and underrepresented, so we understand the problem firsthand and we have the skillset to build a solution. Even for Diversity and Inclusion Leaders, they can use our platform for better targeting and get faster results. No more trying to travel to career fairs and conferences with hefty entree fees and not to mention, the time spent traveling and travel expenses that can quickly add up. Our main customers are companies looking to increase diversity.

4. What’s been the most pivotal sacrifice so far and what advice do you have for others?

Well, my dad would be the first to let you know that the reason I am not married is because of my startup. Building a company from scratch takes a lot of time and money and more money. I do intend to settle down. I want to have a sense of purpose rather than live a traditional life. If I can have both, amen to that. I feel like I am living my purpose now, and I realize it’s a journey. There are milestones that I reflect on like a successful launch, scale, brand affinity, exit, etc. My main source of joy is being able to facilitate opportunities for people through our platform, advice, funding, and just helping them chart their part towards their own purpose. My hope and dream is to be remembered for having tackled the diversity and inclusion issue and paved the way for aspiring minority entrepreneurs. My biggest fear is that it would take a long time to materialize, and I am not a patient person by nature. Failure is not an option.

My advice is to have resilience and grit. You’ve probably heard some crazy stat that 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs fail. But what you don’t hear is that 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs give up. It’s one thing to pivot, change, or exit, it’s another thing to just give up. There’s a difference between something failing and something taking a while and you making amends to get to your goal. Make sure you’re solving a real problem and I recommend people do something centered around their passion.

5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continue to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?

There are two that stand out. The first is by Winston Churchill – “Never give up.”

The second is from my Dad. He said whenever I drive to make sure I drive for the people around me. Pay attention and be aware of their mistakes. Learn from other drivers around you. Driving is not one dimensional. Most times, you’re usually not the only person on the road. You’re a better driver when you pay attention to other drivers. It ensures you are safe, careful, and observant, not just for yourself but for people around. When I apply that thinking to anything I do, I tend to get success.

F.I.V.E Questions with Ade Adesanya, Co-Founder of Moving Analytics

Multiple studies show that 90% of startups fail. As the co-founder of Moving Analytics, Ade Adesanya takes on this hard truth every day. He calls it “de-risking” his startup. He does this by having a laser focus on solving his customer’s problems while drawing inspiration from the impact his company is having on many lives. I met Ade during a talk about technology and entrepreneurship hosted by the Umu Igbo Unite chapter of Los Angeles. Ade was named a Forbes 30 under 30 and his company has raised $2M in VC funding. We invite you to get into the mind of Ade in this F.I.V.E questions feature:

1. Briefly describe your background and how you got started.

I grew up in Lagos and came to US in 2007 to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Houston. I always had a passion for building things and caught the technology bug early in my college days. In my junior year in college, the Social Network movie detailing Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook’s story came out. The movie inspired me and my friends to find more problems in our community that technology could solve. We agreed to tackle a problem many college students battle with every semester, buying textbooks. We founded a company called Givepals to serve as a marketplace for students to trade textbooks with each other. The idea expanded to other items including, DJ services, cars, boats, and much more. At its peak, Givepals had over 3000 active users at UH; however, the company closed after we graduated and were unable to expand to other campuses due to engineering challenges.

The experience at Givepals inspired me to move to California and immerse myself in an environment where I could learn how to commercialize technologies and improve my project management skills. I enrolled in the Engineering Management program at University of Southern California (USC) and I also got a job at the USC’ Stevens Center for Innovation where I worked with researchers to commercialize their intellectual property into startup companies. Through my job at Stevens, I met my business partner Harsh, who was a postdoctoral fellow who had secured 2 patents for tracking and improving physical activity for chronic disease management. Harsh was looking to commercialize his patent into a commercial product and was looking for some business help in identifying a customer, fundraising and forming a team. Through our research which consisted of interviewing over 200 clinicians, hospital administrators, and non-profits like the American Health Association we discovered a business opportunity in the cardiac rehabilitation industry.

For those lucky to survive a heart attack, cardiac rehabilitation is a program designed to help patients improve their physical fitness, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, quit smoking, and improve other cardiovascular-related risk factors. Research shows patients who do rehab double their 5-year life expectancy and cut their risk of a second heart attack by up to 50%. The challenge is less than 15% of patients enroll in CR programs because there are very few programs which are located far away from people’s home and work. As a result, health systems are also shuttering their brick and mortar CR programs due to the high operating costs and unprofitability. This leads to more cardiac patients dying and getting readmitted within 12 months. Our team realized that there was an enormous opportunity in delivering cardiac rehab digitally through telehealth. This is how we founded the company, Moving Analytics.

2. Flashback and then fast forward to the present, what has surprised you the most about your journey (with Moving Analytics) thus far?

What has surprised me so far is the long sales cycles in healthcare. Our customers are large health systems. When you start, you have this conviction that since you have a solution to such a big problem, they would want to move fast to make something happen. That is unfortunately not the case since our sales cycle takes about a year, and could be longer for more complex agreements. It can be challenging at times because you still need to keep the business going while negotiations are progressing. Managing your expectations for the type of business you are in is important to your long-term success. Activities like the hundreds of demos we used to do when we first started that we thought weren’t working back then are now leading us to get more qualified leads and slowly chip away at the length of the sales cycle.

3. Why is the cause you are pursuing or problem you are solving the most important for this generation?

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death. 1 in 10 people die from heart disease – more people die from heart disease than cancer. However, heart disease doesn’t get as much attention. Our platform and program help reduce the risk of dying from heart disease. As millennials, we live for experiences and want to continue to do that for a long time. If we can solve this problem, it means we would live longer and our parents would live longer. We would spend more time with our loved ones. The fact is there is a benefit to being healthy and there is a cost associated with it as well. Heart disease and heart failure are expensive diseases, and we are committed to fighting and preventing it with our platform.

4. Reflect on all of the key sacrifices and trade-offs you’ve had to make to get to where you are today. Which of these would you say was the most pivotal and why?

Running a startup is a huge commitment of your time, and personal relationships could suffer. We’ve been running the business for 4 years and in those 4 years, I’ve had some special personal relationships that didn’t work out. I’ve had to learn to manage my personal relationships better and realize it’s marathon, not a sprint. I’ve also started paying a lot of attention to my physical and mental health. When it comes to mental health, I try to share what’s going on in my life so my family and friends can help. It’s like you’re bringing them along on the journey.

5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continues to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?

“Don’t build your idea in a vacuum.” Get out of the building and get in front of your customers.

A lot of people have ideas they want to hoard and not talk about for various reasons. The reality is most people do not care about your idea. Knowing this, I always try to socialize my ideas and in the process, I often determine what it is I need help with to take the idea to the next level. It’s interesting because when I share my ideas and where I need help, people would find ways to help me.

For more details, contact Moving Analytics.

F.I.V.E Questions with Ismail Maiyegun, Co-Founder of Hingeto

Hidden in the credits of any successful entrepreneurial story are small fonts of close calls, pivots, rejections, adversities, doubts, failures, etc. Ismail’s entrepreneurial story is no different. He is quick to tell you that the journey is just as important as the destination and having an unshakable self-belief, surrounding yourself with like-minded people, and working your a$$ off will get you farther than you’d expect. Ismail and his team are building a venture called Hingeto, to tackle inventory risk in retail. The Oakland, CA based startup has raised $1.9M in seed round funding to date, and are backed by Y Combinator (W16), Kapor Capital, Cross Culture Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Stanford University / StartX (S16), Comcast Ventures, Andre Iguodala, #blessed & Base Ventures. Hingeto launched with a limited-edition collection of bomber jackets designed by Oakland Raiders superstar, Marshawn Lynch. Ismail was kind enough to make time to share his story with the hopes of uplifting and inspiring other entrepreneurs. Enjoy!

1. Briefly describe your background- education, work experience, etc. What is the most exciting or rewarding aspect of what you do now? What could make it even more exciting or rewarding?

I attended Stanford University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Computer Software. In High school, I got my A Levels in Computer Science, Math, Chemistry & Physics. I started programming in my early teens. After graduating from university, I worked for a financial-technology company in San Francisco that was co-founded by Bill Harris (former CEO of Intuit & interim CEO at PayPal). After spending four years there, I decided it was time for me to work full-time on my own ventures given the success I had enabled for those I had consulted and advised on the side.

My focus is now on Hingeto, a YC company I co-founded. We’ve raised ~ $1.9M to tackle inventory risk in retail.

I also serve as Chairman of the Board of Big Wolf Games, a company I co-founded before Hingeto.

One of the most exciting & rewarding aspects of my current role is to see how the solutions we build based on our customer’s feedback make a difference in their livelihoods. I also, admittedly, love the power I have in being able to bring any idea to life (it remains exhilarating even after almost 20+ years of programming). What would make it more exciting & rewarding is to look in the room and see more people that look like me, armed with the skills to pursue their dreams the way I have been able to.

2. Flashback and then fast forward to the present, what has surprised you the most about your journey thus far? What advice do you have for others looking to take a similar path? Is there something you could have done differently to get to where you are faster?

My biggest surprise has been how methodical building a successful company can be, once you master certain core principles and strategies.

The biggest thing I would have done differently is that I would have saved a lot more money before going on the entrepreneurial journey so that I could avoid contract work while building my ventures. Luckily, while it’s worked out so far for me, I had way too many close calls earlier in the journey that could have been avoided had I invested in having 6 months – 1 year of income stashed away.

But at the same time for me, knowing my personality, not having that cushion, created the urgency I needed back then to be able to build fast, iterate fast, close deals, etc. I don’t think I’d advise other entrepreneurs to do the same, because for me, my “worst case” was that I would find a mini-gig to “re-up” if needed – which would derail me for a few weeks/months but I knew that if need be, I could hypothetically continue finding contract work indefinitely until I figured out the long-term money maker – although that would not have been ideal. I built relationships with some agencies that sent me opportunities all the time specifically for this purpose.

For others looking to take a similar path, I would tell them to start small right now. I’d advise them to begin absorbing everything they can about starting/building a business and to begin surrounding themselves with positive/like- minded-people. Most importantly, I’d advise them to start putting their learnings into action immediately, even if on a small scale. I’d advise them to focus on building mini ventures that can make $10/month, then $100/month, then $1000/month then $10,000/month then $100,000/month and so forth.

It is extremely difficult to predict the future success of your company, but what is more within your control is what happens within the next few months. Then after that, focusing on the next few months after that. And after that. And when you look back 1-2 years later, you’ll find a few things will have happened.
You will have achieved product-market fit on one of the experiments you were running
You will have success on some small (or even large scale)
You will fail, but those learnings will make you more enlightened for the next thing you work on.
You will have built confidence in variety of competencies that empowers you to be a better entrepreneur (or employee or employer)

Hingeto builds no-risk inventory solutions for large retailers & small brands, mainly in the fashion/apparel niche (primarily Streetwear).

A lot of people express their identity by what they wear on a daily basis. Even those not looking to make a fashion statement, express a lot about themselves by what they decide to wear and what not to wear. When my co-founders approached me with the idea they were kicking around (they previously worked at a $130M online retailer and understood the industry very well), I was somewhat hesitant about if this would be something I would be passionate about because I am not one that cared much about fashion at the time.

However, after discussing the idea a few more times & digging deeper into the macro & micro economic implications of the issues such as excessive waste due to excess inventory, shifting consumer shopping habits, business process & logistics issues experienced by large retailers, predatory sales practices that severely impact small brands (many of which were being run by minorities), my interest was piqued. I also realized that streetwear was arguably the biggest driver of fashion trends & culture, outside of luxury.

While these issues were multi-faceted & complex, we identified what we believed was the root cause of many of them: Inventory Risk. To that end, we are building valuable solutions to solve this from a few angles as it isn’t a one-size-fits-all problem.

I hope the work & impact we achieve with Hingeto will leave a lasting legacy & change the way small brands & large retailers work together and to foster a healthy ecosystem that allows all involved to thrive in the modern economy.

I am also the Chairman of the board of Big Wolf Games, a 6-person gaming venture I co-founded before Hingeto. While on the surface, gaming feels as though it provides no direct societal impact, one of the reasons I’m so passionate about games, is their ability to reach a wide audience across all socioeconomic/cultural/ethnic/language backgrounds.

Games also provide a temporary escape/reprieve from the day-to-day hardships many go through. I started programming in my early teens because I loved games so much & wanted to learn how to build them, so games have changed my life.

One thing about games is that building them requires the ultimate blend of a variety of highly skilled competencies (art, animation, engineering – client side & server side, psychology, emotion, user experience, product, etc.). Building a successful game is arguably one of the most difficult things to do, and hence, it is a challenge that stimulates me intellectually (even if I’m not the one writing the code).

Games we’ve built (both internally & as part of joint-ventures) are played by millions around the world which is really awesome. The revenue is also very nice (lol).

4. Reflect on all of the key sacrifices and trade-offs you’ve had to make to get to where you are today. Which of these would you say was the most pivotal and why?

I’ll speak about one big moment for me I had in addition to more general sacrifices/tradeoffs I’ve had to make during my entrepreneurial career.

The big moment was when I liquidated my 401(k) at the time (hence incurred early withdrawal penalties) as well as liquidating the FB stock I had at the time (which I bought right at IPO).

One on hand, these investments would have been worth a nice chunk of change today had I left them alone. However, at the time, I NEEDED the cash to get through another month of payroll, so I did what I had to do. I also always felt that the biggest investment I could ever make was in myself / ventures, and I wholeheartedly believed that I would make 5-10x whatever I was sacrificing by being able to “stay alive” for a few more days/months/years.

At that moment, I felt that it was best for me to withdraw from the stock market entirely and focus on $AIM (my initials & personal stock ticker :-p) & forego any upside I had from holding those positions.

Thankfully, that worked out for me. And thanks to the hustle, I put myself in a position where I’ve been able to generate several orders of magnitude more than what I forewent, but it was very very risky & I would never recommend anyone else do that (unless you have the same mindset and skills to be able to execute).

The next set of sacrifices is around lifestyle. Randi Zuckerburg posits that you can only pick 3 out of Work, Sleep, Family, Fitness, or Friends.

My biggest lifestyle sacrifices have revolved around my lack of balance across these 5 things, particularly early on in my career. In my early 20s, I neglected sleep, fitness and focused mostly on Work, Friends, and Family. I have paid the price for the lack of focus on my fitness & sleep (in the form of random health issues here and there), and I never got to focus on my family as much as I thought I would.

My rationale was always to work hard now (i.e. be in a position to retire in my 30s), so that I could focus on everything else later.

I realized the naiveté of this approach and shifted things in my late 20s where I sought to have more balance across all five areas because the journey was just as important as the destination. I have only recently (I am now 32) been able to feel like I am making real deliberate moves to achieve more balance across these key areas.

All in all, I disagree with Ms. Zuckerburg, and I believe there is a way to achieve balance across all five areas if one is deliberate about their time.

5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you’ve received that continues to be a source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?

One of my early clients from my consulting days once told me that the most powerful I could do with my ventures, is to give myself the financial runway to figure things out because it was just a matter of time before things start to click/work and that it wasn’t an “if it works” but more of a “when it works”. That has stuck with me.

A similar piece of advice I got during my track days at Stanford (unrelated to business) was during a time we were doing a stadium steps workout.

I was struggling badly & felt like quitting the workout, and one of my good friends/teammates said “Just take one more step man. And then one more after that & you’ll get there. Don’t think of how much more we have to do. Just focus on getting through the next step.. then next set and before you know it we’ll be done.”

I’ve taken that mindset shift and applied to many things that feel insurmountable at first.

Other things I do to get me through difficult times is to recite

If by Rudyard Kipling
See it Through by Edgar A Guest

I have those two poems memorized completely and will recite them once or twice a week at any given point.

Connect with Hingeto

F.I.V.E Questions with Jeffrey Manu, CEO of GrowingStartup.com

Jeffrey, CEO of GrowingStartup.com, beams with charisma and passion. A conversation with him is highly engaging and inspiring. I was fortunate to cross paths with him during a networking event organized by the African Technology Foundation at the Google Campus in Mountain View. The event featured talented entrepreneurs from all over Africa and the diaspora pitching their ideas to members of the Black Google Network and other invited guests. After conversing with Jeffrey for a few minutes, I knew I had to feature him on the F.I.V.E Questions project.

1. Briefly describe your background and how you got started. What is the most exciting or rewarding aspect of what you do? What could make it even more exciting or rewarding?

I grew up in Ghana for most of my life. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs so I grew up in a home where the drive to school was peppered with pep talks on how to spot business opportunities. One time my mom came home with some doughnuts and proceeded to say “I bought them for this amount, you should take them to school and sell to your mates.” I was too shy at the time but I wish I’d started my mini-doughnut business at the time.

After high school I worked as a business to business salesman on the streets of London. The compensation was only commission based so I didn’t get paid if I didn’t sell anything after twelve hours of work. That taught me that products are a commodity in most markets but the ability to sell is what defines the success of many entrepreneurs.

I started GrowingStartup.com because I wanted to help entrepreneurs make better decisions and to give them a proven system that attracts customers and increases sales.

The biggest problem for struggling business owners is wisdom. The ability to know and do what is right consistently is what I provide through our apps and content. Within the next decade, we’ll be the destination fight for business owners who want to know how to attract paying customers and boost sales.

What I love about what I do at GrowingStartup.com is that I get to help people turn their ideas into profits. It’s a calling for me almost the same way a pastor sees his ministry. Having hundreds of millions of aspiring and early stage entrepreneurs using our products and services to start and grow profitable businesses would make it even more exciting. We plan on creating other forms of content such as video games and TV shows for entrepreneurs so that’s something else I’m really looking forward to doing.

2. Flash back and then fast forward to the present, what has surprised you the most about the success in your business? What advice do you have for others looking to take a similar path? Is there something you could have done differently to get to where you are quicker?

What has surprised me is the effectiveness of content marketing. Even while I was working as copywriter for an advertising agency, I started out cold calling small businesses that I knew I could help with branding and web design services. As a matter of fact I did not even have a company name or website at the time. I just went and pitched the value of my services and I had over 90 percent conversion rates. What happened afterwards was that I realized consulting did not scale and what many small businesses needed was a system to increase sales and multiply their conversion rates. I started blogging about marketing and sales and that brought in clients from all over the world.

My advice for people who have a job but would want to start their own businesses would be to focus on a need or problem that they can solve better, cheaper or faster than anyone else.

My success would have been accelerated if I had learnt how to market and sell better at the beginning. The second thing is faith. I have learnt that what separates the top performers in business from the others is a mixture of boldness and understanding. Those two pillars are the keys to exponential growth.

3. What is your unfair advantage? What would your colleagues or clients say are the main reasons that make working with you rewarding?

My unfair advantage would be two-fold and that is having the boldness of faith and using love as my business strategy. By God’s grace I don’t believe in impossibilities like most people do. I also know that the less excuses you have the easier it is do what’s necessary.

With regards to love I believe the easiest way to innovate and get paid more is by giving more value to your customers than anyone else in your market. People always buy things at a discounted price to the real value so giving people magnitudes more than they are paying for is good.

I reckon that’s what people will say is rewarding about working with me. For example, the last time I sold an online course, I noticed one of the students needed help. I conducted special consulting sessions for free just to help her. She’s now a lifetime client.

4. Reflect on all of the key sacrifices and trade-offs you’ve had to make to get to where you are today. Which of these would you say was the most pivotal and why?

The most pivotal sacrifice would be how much time I spend reading and imbibing knowledge. Many of the advice out there is tactical. There are a lot of do’s and don’ts that don’t produce results. I found out that understanding how to create the best products and most importantly how to get the right people to buy them makes up for the 50 steps to success that we see and hear all around us.

5. What is the best piece of actionable advice that you’ve received that continues to be source of inspiration in good times and challenging times?

It’s biblical. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (amplified version) talks about how to use love in daily life. It’s not the emotional or sexual high the movies paint it out to be. In my business we make it a point to out-give (and out-love) everyone else. That’s invaluable advice.

Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth]. Source: https://www.bible.com/bible/8/1co.13.4-8.amp

Jeffrey Manu’s Bio

Jeffrey A. Manu is a Marketing Strategist and the Founder of Growingstartup.com, a media and technology company. At Growingstartup.com, he builds technology and content that help aspiring and early stage entrepreneurs to start and grow profitable startups.

He enjoys reading business books, biographies, Christian books and watching movies and TV shows. He particularly like shows like The Profit and Billions. Above all else, spending time with my wife is his greatest pleasure. In addition to this, he enjoys playing basketball and reassures himself that he could have played in the NBA league 🙂 #Baller

Connect with Jeffrey on LinkedIn @Jeffrey Manu and Twitter @JeffreyManu

F.I.V.E Questions with Rachel Hill, CEO of RachelTravels.com

I’d like to introduce you to the elegant, business savvy, and well-traveled Rachel Hill. Rachel left a very lucrative corporate career with Johnson and Johnson to follow her passion and has continued to blaze her path to success. She’s been featured on multiple online publications and recently launched a new venture: i Hired Me, co to provide coaching services to aspiring entrepreneurs. This is the 2nd installment of our Find Insights Via Engaging™ (F.I.V.E) Questions with an Entrepreneur series.

10599690_588556584607271_5703129443369329583_n — Rachel the Tiger whisperer…

1. Briefly describe how you got started as an entrepreneur. What is the most exciting or rewarding aspect of what you do?

After leaving my job in Summer 2014, I decided to take some time to travel through South East Asia solo. I rebranded my blog, www.RachelTravels.com as a ‘journal’ of sorts for my family and friends to keep up with my travels, people I met, my perspective, and some ideas on how to travel authentically but on a budget. Never looked at it more than a travel blog of my thoughts.

I always knew there was a way to create Online Businesses, but never quite knew how to start and what was really out there. As fate would have it, in Thailand, I ended up meeting a young guy from Ireland who was splitting 6 months of the year traveling the world (at the time he was studying Muai-Thai in Thailand) and the other 6 months in Ireland! He told me he had online businesses and connected me with his Mentor. The rest is history from there!

The most exciting and rewarding part about running a travel blog as a business, is all the AMAZING people I have an opportunity to connect with very organically! On top of that, I am sharing my love and passion of traveling the world, especially as a woman of color, with others and showing them how they can easily do it too!

What could make it even more exciting and rewarding is showing and inspiring even more people of color to travel and experience the world abroad!

2. Flash back and then fast forward to the present, what has surprised you the most about mastering your unique set of skills and what advice do you have for others looking to learn a similar skill or discover their talent?

Honestly, I had no idea that being a Project Manager in Digital Marketing would equip me to grow my Brand to this level so quickly. As a Project Manager by trade, being very strategic, analytical and organized comes with the job. But continuing to nurture these set of skills helps in staying consistent, planning out content, and negotiating contracts/ agreements, or even creating product offerings.

My advice would be to continue to cultivate any skill set you have. While I am no longer in Corporate America, it is a priority for me as an Entrepreneur to stay abreast of what is going on in the industry, by investing in Coaches, mentors, courses, training, etc. It is the only way you can become a Master in your craft.

If you’re looking to “discover” your talent, ask yourself questions such as:

What do I LOVE doing that I am always wanting to learn more and more about?
What do people constantly ask my opinion, insights, and advice on?
What truly lights me up on the inside?

Start there and see what you come up with!

3. What is your unfair advantage?

Hmmm. Not sure if this is “unfair”, but I rarely ever meet a stranger. I just love people and can easily connect by being unapologetically, genuinely, and authentically myself. I have found that being unapologetic and vulnerable with my personal and professional experiences really allows potential and current Customers and Clients to trust and identify with me.

4. What is your current favorite and least favorite city that you’ve visited and why?

Favorite City: Cape Town, South Africa – outside of the stunning views, wine country, and gorgeous people, it has such a rich history and culture. While it is not perfect (but what place or person is?!), it was one of the BEST travel experiences I have had.

Least Favorite: Every city I went to in Cambodia! It seemed as though everyone was trying to get over on you and rip you off. Not to mention it was the hottest I have ever been in my life. Perhaps one day, I will give the country another try.

5. What is the best piece of actionable advice you received that influenced your decision to launch your business and has still continued to deliver dividends till today?

”It does not have to be perfect the first time around, just TAKE ACTION!”

Perfectionism is a real thing! Attempting to get everything perfect is only delaying you from starting and making progress. Getting started and taking action NOW is the only way to progress, you can tweak, build, and implement along the way! And 9 out of 10 times, things will change anyway!

******

Rachel is active on social media. Connect with her on LinkedIn: Rachel Hill | Twitter: @RachelTravels_ | Instagram: @RachelTravels

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