Amplify Your Business

Amplify Your Business Boundaries, Business, and Boobs

For Episode 223 of Amplify Your Business, we’re celebrating International Women’s Day with Heather Roberts, the founder of Extraordinary Women, and host of the podcast Boundaries, Business, and Boobs. Heather works with highly successful female entrepreneurs who also have families and children, and help them create a business and life that works for them. Many women are brought up in a society where they’re taught that they need to please, and do everything for everyone, and meet everybody’s expectations, which just leads to burn out. Heather then comes in and helps these women become the directors of their own life; to help them set boundaries in their lives and their businesses.To learn more, check out Extraordinary Women, and the Boundaries, Business, and Boobs podcast.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:30 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
03:09 - What is Extraordinary Women? What do you do? What are you trying to accomplish?
12:16 - Can you tell me more about your entrepreneurial background?
23:37 - Was it difficult for you to overcome the thought processes typically imposed on women in regards to traditional gender norms?
29:02 - How do you define success now as opposed to at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey?
31:01 - If you could go back in time and write a letter to your pre-entrepreneurial self, what would it say?
34:35 - If anyone in our audience, specifically women, wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Digital Wellness in the Age of Hyperconnectivity

For Episode 222 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Amy Blankson, the CEO and Co-Founder of the Digital Wellness Institute. Amy is also a best-selling author, with her work, The Future of Happiness. She is a member of the UN Global Happiness Council, and a graduate of Harvard University and the Yale School of Management.
 
Amy created the Digital Wellness Institute to help organizations develop a roadmap for finding the sweet spot between productivity and well-being in the digital era. These days, the vast majority of people spend most of their days on their phones, tablets, or laptops, staring at their screens for most of their waking hours. Amy believes that that sense of hyperconnectivity creates a mental strain not only on us personally but also on our productivity at work and our abilities to communicate effectively. This is where the Digital Wellness Institute comes in. They’ll go into an organization, help business leaders identify their current digital culture, determine ways to measure it and find ways to improve it.To learn more, visit the Digital Wellness Institute’s website at https://www.digitalwellnessinstitute.com/ 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:18 - What are three things that you think every entrepreneur needs to know?
02:10 - What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made on your entrepreneurial journey?
04:13 - What is the Digital Wellness Insitute, and what problems are you trying to solve?
08:01 - Has the pandemic influenced digital culture at all? And if so, how?
10:42 - What trends have you seen in terms of individuals who have a better grasp on digital wellness than others?
13:12 - What is your personal approach to digital wellness?
16:21 - Tell me about the journey of transitioning from your last entrepreneurial venture to the Digital Wellness Institute.
20:11 - Can you tell me a little bit about how you navigate through your own self-doubt?
23:39 - Are there any secrets, tips, or advice that you could give to other entrepreneurs just starting out on their journey?
27:11 - Walk me through your thought processes as you were trying to figure out funding for the Digital Wellness Institute.
31:36 - If you could go back in time and write your younger entrepreneurial self a letter, what would it say?
33:31 - If our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Connecting Knowledge-Seekers with Knowledge-Keepers

For Episode 221 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Rebecca Kirstein Resch, the founder and CEO of Inqli. If Quora and Tinder got married, had a baby, and that baby grew up to become an entrepreneur, it would be Inqli. Inqli is a platform that matches people who have the desire to learn with people who have knowledge to share. If a new entrepreneur or a student has a question, they would ask it in the Inqli platform, and they would instantaneously get matched with the right people who would be able to answer that question. The matching is made via an AI-based system that matches question askers to question answerers based on the knowledge-sharer’s skills, interests, purpose, and values. In short, Inqli is an inclusive knowledge-sharing platform that enables the connection of individuals who wouldn’t otherwise connect.To learn more, visit https://www.inqli.com/ 
 
00:00 - Intro
00:46 - What are three things every entrepreneur needs to know?
07:10 - What does Inqli do? What problems are you solving?
14:18 - What kind of impact did COVID have on your business?
17:33 - How did you overcome the challenges you faced during the pandemic?
21:08 - What is the business model from Inqli going forward?
24:37 - What do you think will be the key to your success in the next three years?
30:05 - What makes the entrepreneurial lifestyle difficult for entrepreneurs?
32:04 - If you could write your younger entrepreneurial self a letter, what advice would you give?
34:13 - If our audience wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Shaking Up the IT Reseller Space with Opkalla

For Episode 220 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Brice Ulrey, the Managing Partner at Opkalla. Opkalla is an IT trusted advisory firm. Opkalla lives in the IT reseller space, but does things a little differently than your typical IT reseller. What they’re trying to do is solve the problem of biased agendas in their space. They consider themselves “vendor neutral.” Where most IT resellers have 20 to 30 vendors in their portfolio, Opkalla boasts over 300 different providers. Instead of singing the same old song that each solution that solves a business problem has only one provider to solve it, Opkalla brings two to three providers to the table and allows their customers to evaluate each one before deciding which one to go with. To learn more about Opkalla, visit their website at https://opkalla.com/. 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:18 - What are three things every entrepreneur should know?
09:15 - Let’s talk about what Opkalla is all about. What problem are you solving?
18:27 - What are the secrets to your rapid growth over the last four years?
21:56 - What was easier for the growth of your business through COVID, and what was more difficult?
26:23 - How has that impacted you post-COVID?
30:46 - From your perspective, what do you think is the most difficult thing to deal with in the entrepreneurial lifestyle?
35:05 - What’s easier now at this stage of your business that wasn’t as easy at the beginning?
39:36 - If you could send your pre-entrepreneurial self a letter, what advice would you give a younger Brice?
42:23 - If someone wanted to connect with you, how could they do that?

Amplify Your Business Gorditos Fresh Mex Embracing Local Culture as an Expat Entrepreneur

For Episode 219 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Deidra Ciolko, the owner of Gorditos Fresh Mex. Deidra is an expat from the US who moved to the Dominican Republic 13 years ago. She and her partner decided to open up Gorditos Fresh Mex after noticing a gap in the market for fresh Mexican food in the Dominican. Employing locals has helped Deidra and her partner fully grasp not only the language but the local culture, which has helped their restaurant see great success since its opening. Bringing in fresh ingredients from local farmers and fishermen has allowed Deidra to realize her restaurant’s mission: creating a difference by putting more into the beautiful country she calls home than she takes out of it.To learn more, visit their website at https://gorditosfreshmex.com/ 
 
00:00 - Intro
00:46 - Where are you originally from?
02:14 - Tell me about your experience working here in the Dominican Republic as an expat.
04:32 - 13 years into this venture, tell me about the ride so far. What has happened that’s surprised you?
06:30 - Can you tell us about the regulations around starting a business in the DR vs North America?
09:05 - What advice would you give to other expat entrepreneurs who want to set up a business here in the DR?
14:55 - Is this the place where you’re going to retire or will you go back to the US eventually?
16:17 - How do we find Gorditos?
17:59 - Outro

Expat Entrepreneur: Building a Successful Business in a New Country

For Episode 218 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Emma Givera, the owner of Bushnel Construction S. R. L. Bushnel Construction was founded by Emma’s partner, and when she moved to the Dominican Republic from Toronto, the two realized that her outgoing personality, expertise, and connections to other expats could really ramp up their business. From a small development company, Emma and her partner have grown Bushnel into a business that’s poised to take over! As of March, they’ll begin construction on 47 brand new, custom-made villas across the Dominican Republic.
 
00:00 -Intro
02:15 - Can you give us a little backstory of your experience being an expat entrepreneur in the Dominican Republic?
05:33 - Why are so many people investing in the Dominican?
07:20 - What was it like having to learn a brand new industry in a foreign country?
10:19 - What advice would you give to other expats looking to move to the Dominican Republic?
11:52 - What would be the best way for our audience members to connect with you?
12:47 - Outro

Amplify Your Business From Real Estate Agent to Expat Entrepreneur

For Episode 217 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Julie Hewell of Homecore Realty.  Julie is the owner of Homecore Realty in the Dominican Republic. Originally a real estate agent from the United States, Julie moved to the Dominican Republic with her family, with dreams of retiring and living the good life, spending time with her kids. However, as her kids entered their teens, Julie found herself looking for a new challenge. That’s when she founded Homecore Realty, a real estate agency that focuses on providing personalized and honest service to clients, both Dominican locals and fellow expats alikeTo learn more, visit the website at https://www.homecorerealtydr.com/ 
 
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Was it your intention to move here to the Dominican Republic and start a business?
01:26 - Can you tell us a little bit about your work before you became an ex-pat and moved to the Dominican Republic?
03:21 - Are the realtors you work with local or ex-pats like yourself?
03:54 - What have been the biggest surprises you’ve had as an ex-pat starting a business here in the D.R?
06:03 - Did you find getting your business up and running to be slow-moving based on having to deal with the slow-moving trades out here?
06:39 - Who is your typical target market?
09:57 - Have you had any experience with corruption since opening a business in the DR?
11:40 - Do you have any advice for other ex-pats who may want to start a business here in the DR?
16:09 - Outro

Amplify Your Business The Power of Peer Networks

For Episode 216 of Amplify Your Business, we’re joined by Kit Lisle, the founder and moderator of the Operators.pe. Acting through their Strategic Growth Council, the Operators.pe is a peer community of private equity-backed C-level executives that are ready to act as a board of advisors for SMBs that need that network to help solve strategic growth dilemmas that will allow them to grow and thrive. They match clients with the best peer group for their industry and provide a safe, confidential, trustworthy environment, as well as experienced moderating using a format proven to drive results.
 
In addition, the Operators.pe, in itself, is an online community where executives can go to bounce questions off of one another. They also hold annual events that allow private equity backed executives to get together and network with one another.
 
00:00 - Intro
01:11 - What are the three most important things that every entrepreneur needs to know?
05:30 - Tell me a little bit about the Operators.pe.
15:10 - Did the idea of the Operators.pe come out of a need that you had?
19:00 - What did you find the most challenging with this startup versus your previous experience as an entrepreneur?
23:02 - Has it been a struggle to build both sides of the market at the same time?
27:11 - How do you determine what success looks like?
31:32 - What do you feel is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to achieving growth?
35:39 - How can our audience members connect with you?