Business Fit Magazine October 2019 Issue 1

Oct 2019

The

Importance of

Teamwork

SHE

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR

October 12th, 2019 Hilton Old Town Antwerp, Belgium

Together is Better

Finding YOUR

Carrot

Neli Vazquez Rowland Pioneering Architect of Social Enterprise and Sustainable Businesses

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Today’s Inspired Latina is a book series of inspiration and hope, a poignant collection of 27 personal stories that will activate your passion in each book. It’s a positive, empowering read for anyone sitting on a dream and thinking it can’t come true.

Today’s Inspired Latina shows that it can! Learn more at www.todayslatina.com

acqueline Camacho-Ruiz is an award-winning entrepreneur, international speaker, philanthropist and author of ten books. She is founder of The Fig Factor Foundation and the creator of the Today's Inspired Latina book series and international movement.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:

www.todayslatina.com / www.facebook.com/todayslatina

I have now been the editor of Business Fit Magazine for just over a year, my first issue being September 2018. It has been an interesting journey. I have been the editor of other publications, but this one has been a little different. The articles we publish are varied, while some are informative and provide guidance, others are insightful and thoughtprovoking, causing me to reflect on the ways I view some things in my own life.

Veronica, the publisher and founder of the magazine, has a strong sense of team spirit, after all her motto is Together is Better. We are only a small team, but our dedication and commitment to making BFM the best we can, makes us a powerful one.

That power has enabled us to pull together to create a special edition, at very short notice. All working as a team, offering suggestions and ideas of how we can make it work, without compromising on quality and content.

I have been very lucky in my working life to have had two bosses whose idea of teaching me was not by showing me what to do, but by encouraging me to think about how I could achieve the task in hand. I learned so much from these people, not least the confidence to find my own solutions and believe in myself.

When you work with people who welcome new

ideas and listen to suggestions, you cannot help but be more loyal and hard-working, even when sometimes the requirements are challenging.

Teamwork is not only important in your working life it is vital in family life. I have been reading the book Becoming by Michelle Obama, it is a fascinating insight into her life and the transformation from a Chicago South Shore community area to entering into the Whitehouse. The support she provided to her husband, in order for him to become President of the USA, was without doubt a contributing factor to his success. However, she is also quick to point out his support for her when she wanted to make career changes in their early life together, and for the causes she chose to champion during her time as First Lady. Their belief in each other and their drive to make life better for people struggling with healthcare, education or racism is uplifting and inspiring.

In this issue of Business Fit Magazine, we feature another amazing woman, Neli Vazquez Rowland, whose project A Safe Haven, helps rebuild the lives of people impacted by poverty, behavioural healthcare, substance abuse, prison re-entry, and homelessness.

We hope you enjoy our special issue.

Claire Morley Editor www.businessfitmagazine.com

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FIT FEATURES

Travel - p28 Tindog Tacloban - Putting Things in Perspective Claire Morley

Neli Vazquez Rowland p14 Audrey BarbierLitvak p38

Well Being and Burnout Nova Reid p10

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4 Proven Practices for Guaranteed Success In Business Amy Throw p24 Relational Capital: Together is Better Verรณnica Sosa p44 The Relationship You Have with Your Parents Alex Roseman p48

Creating Teams and Moving Towards Success Ismael Cala p6 International Business Expansion MaLish p20 The Power of PR Stunts Jacqueline CamachoRuiz p34

Publisher & Founder Verónica Sosa Business Fit International Advisory Board Viola Edward Vikki Thomas

REACH OUT For information on advertising or placing an article in Business Fit Contact us: Email: hello@businessfitmagazine. com editor@businessfitmagazine.com Phone: +32 468 218 887

Contributors Alex Roseman Amy Throw Gabriela Rodil Ismael Cala Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz Lilli Rohde Maike Benner Nova Reid Victoria Bengtsson General Editorial Coordinator Claire Morley Art and Design Director Leo Collier Bett Graphic Designer Adverts Javier Sanchez

What’s Holding You Back & Ideas that Can Propel you Forward Gabriela Rodil p8

Let your Carrot Brand You Victoria Bengtsson p12

Social Media Team Cristina Aguayo Rub Diaz

Copyright © 2019 by Verónica Sosa.

All rights reserved.

This Magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.

M-20318-2017

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Business

Creating Teams and Moving

Towards

Success

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Regular Business Fit Magazine contributor, Ismael Cala, looks at the importance of teamwork and how it contributes to the overall success of a business.

We are social beings and, as such, we evolve from interaction with others. The fact of meeting new people, establishing close relationships, sharing goals and dreams and opening ourselves to new experiences, mark us in a positive way and impacts our ability to work as a team.

Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Group consortium, which brings together more than 360 companies, has it very clear. In his beginnings with the “Student” magazine, he didn’t have much money to pay employees or improve facilities. In fact, they worked in a basement. But the excitement and promise of potential success united them and guaranteed that everyone focused their efforts in making the magazine achieve its goals.

For two years, Google organised the Aristotle Project, a study with the participation of 180 companies to learn about the five fundamental characteristics or patterns shared by the most successful work teams. That’s how they proposed to understand their collaborators better.

The excitement and promise of potential success united them

Every good team guides by the “not established” rules.

Among the results, they found that every good team guides by the “not established” rules. Also, in general, there is always at least one leading figure, which allows members to contribute equally in discussions, focus on goals and develop their individual capacities without fear.

Among other topics, the research established that the five things that characterise a successful team are: psychological security, trust, structure and clarity, sense of work and the impact it produces.

Psychological security stands out among all, since people admit they feel much safer when exploiting their creativity if they know that there will be no prejudices or that they won’t be punished if things go wrong.

These topics are always present in our business conferences, but the meeting par excellence to address them, in an exhaustive way, is En Cuerpo y Alma, (In Body and Soul) which took place last November on the beautiful beaches of the Riviera Maya (Mexico). Speakers such as Guillermo Ferrara, Samar Yorde, Erika Ruiz and Jacques Giraud focused, from their respective specialties, on enhancing the abilities to work as a team.

Being successful, in this sense, requires various experiences, including mindfulness exercises, lectures, visualisation, morning meditations, yoga classes and excursions. Planning 2019 to be the best year of our life was part of this process.

Ismael Cala is a life and business strategist, best-selling author, and international speaker specialising in personal development and mindful exponential leadership. The New York Times identified him as “the Latino Larry King”. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), USA. Founder and president of CALA Enterprises Corporation - focusing on leadership, mindfulness, happiness, productivity, and excellence. www.IsmaelCala.com

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Spirituality

What’s Holding You Back And Ideas That Can Propel You

Forward Gabriela Rodil

Put Fear in Your Pocket

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is acting despite fear.

Worrying doesn’t change the future, but it can certainly ruin your now

The bad news is that fear is not going anywhere.

The more you try to ignore it or pretend you are not afraid (which sometimes happens via rationalising things), the more power it will have over you.

The good news is that you can embrace your fear. I say take your fear with you. Acknowledge the feeling, say ‘thanks for the warning’ and then put fear in your pocket and go do it. Ask for the raise, promotion, opportunity or meeting. Get clarification in your performance review to make sure you have a roadmap on how to succeed.

When? Now.

Because there is no tomorrow—I mean that in the most positive sense—you get to choose how you take it today. Instead of thinking that I am announcing the end of the world, think that I am telling you to seize the day and not leave for tomorrow what you can do and say today.

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Now is all we have. You can’t do something yesterday because it already happened. You can’t do something tomorrow. You can only think about it and—worse—worry about it. Worrying is having a physical reaction to something that is not happening. Worrying doesn’t change the future, but it can certainly ruin your now.

How you feel right now is important. It defines how you show up at home, in the office, to your manager and employees. Again, you have a choice here. What do you want to focus on NOW? I say find things right now in your life that you love and that you are thankful for. You will develop much better relationships at work and in life.

Forrest Gump has been right all along.

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get." I like to say: life comes in assorted packs. “The only certainty is that nothing is certain,” said the ancient author and natural philosopher, Pliny the Elder. There are no guarantees, let alone extended warranties. So, what do you do? The best you can. Always. You try, and if it doesn’t work, you try something else.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

We are beyond creative and are experts in film editing. We edit out parts of what happened. We have certain memories on a constant replay in our heads. We can forget events completely, and we can be triggered to remember things that never happened.

And we are well-oiled and well-meaning machines! Something happens, and we associate a story with it without even realising it. Here is a simple example: You don’t receive the call you are expecting. You assume the person doesn’t value you or your time. That is the tip of the iceberg!

Who hasn’t been caught thinking, “He doesn’t care,” “She knew this would upset me and she did it anyway,” “They are doing this to test me,” or “My opinion is not important because no one bothered to ask,”? We also do it with ourselves: “I am not good with math,” or “I don’t like rejection, so I don’t ask for what I want.” And the list goes on. It creates self-imposed ‘limiting beliefs.’

we need to really mean it. We need to consciously ‘re-think’ the stories—change the narrative that often holds us back. Instead, think and say things like, “I am proud of myself for even daring to try,” or “I know that I can master anything.”

I think Henry Ford was dead-on when he said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't; you're right.”

Make Yourself Useful

Luck is not a strategy. Luck is icing on the cake.

Take steps every day to be useful to others and to the world. Have the mindset to be of service, and you will be. Here are ways to do that: Offer to help. Wash the few dishes in the sink (yes, even if you didn’t leave them there). Call people you love and say hello. Send the ‘thank you’ notes.

Donate items you don’t need anymore. Mow the neighbour’s lawn. Give a heartfelt compliment or offer your seat on the bus. At work: Say “hi” to people. Smile. Bring pastries every now and then.

Volunteer to help with new initiatives or make the next pot of coffee.

Be Your Own “Sponsor”

Let people know what you do—what is accomplished and the difference it makes. No, I am not suggesting you brag. I am suggesting you give “status reports.” This will come easier to the extroverts, I understand. If you are on the shy side and don’t feel comfortable announcing to everyone what you did, then have one-on-one with the people that need to know. Lean into the discomfort, “Fake it until you make it.” At first it is a huge effort, and eventually it becomes natural.

Pick any of these to get started and see how it snowballs. You will start increasing your impact anywhere you go.

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t; you’re right.

If only we used our powers for good and assigned positive meanings to what happens. To do that,

Gabriela Rodil is an award-winning entrepreneur and a gifted CFO with deep expertise in the critical areas of financial strategy, systems management and execution. Gabby Rodil is an international business woman, who speaks six languages and has clients throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. She is originally from Brazil and has lived or had extended assignments in over 20 countries.

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Body

Wellbeing and Burnout Without our health we have nothing

Nova Reid

We live in a culture which celebrates being busy and are finding it increasingly difficult to switch off.

We are overloaded with content, we have more access to information and opportunities thanks to the digital world, but it is also overwhelming us.

We often celebrate being busy like it is a badge of honour, confusing being busy as a sign of success, so the cycle continues year-on-year and we frequently send ourselves into a state of burnout.

Burnout is an extended period of time where you experience exhaustion and a lack of interest in things.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that the common belief that being busy is a sign of success and hard work is so prevalent that we actually fear inactivity, which is detrimental to our physical and mental wellbeing. Being in this constant state not only has a negative impact on our wellbeing, but it stifles creativity, productivity and prevents us from producing our best standard of work.

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So if burnout does not serve us, why do we continue to get into this vicious cycle?

Researchers at The University of Chicago also link an innate fear of inactivity, to a fear of failure.

So perhaps this might go some way to explain why so many not only find it hard to say no, but hard to switch off and regularly find ourselves in a state of burnout.

It’s worth noting, a study commissioned by Montreal University reveals that women are more likely to experience burnout than men, (of course some of this may be linked to the default parental and gender roles that are bestowed upon us, generally speaking, there is an expectation that women who are parents are also the main caregiver, so this must be taken into consideration too, but it is not the only factor and is not true for those who are not partnered or parents). Research also shows us that women and are more susceptible to anxiety than men.

Perhaps it is time for all of us to take ownership and stop normalising and enabling the culture

of burnout and instead to start prioritising our wellbeing. After all, without our health we have nothing.

Be truthful with yourself and ask - what kind of service am I giving to my customers / employers/ or employees, if I am in a constant state of exhaustion? They deserve better and so do you.

So what can you do to stop the cycle of burnout?

Be self-aware - If you are noticing low level anxiety, trouble sleeping, unexplained weight loss, short temper, trouble concentrating, cynicism about your job or industry, reduced motivation, an increase in stress and a decrease in self-care, take action to increase your self-care, or ask for help and seek advice from a medical practitioner.

Stop Multitasking

We think multitasking shows efficiency - it doesn’t.

We can achieve so much more and are more productive when we focus on just one thing at a time. Use your to-do list to encourage you to focus and be more productive. Restrict it to 5 things.

This will encourage you to actively complete a task before adding a new one. If emails or social media notifications are a distraction, take control and remove them from your mobile phone and only access them when you are on your desktop.

Take control of your usage and people’s access to you.

Pay attention to your natural coping strategies

The first thing we do when become pressured at work, or start to feel stressed, is ditch our natural coping strategies. When in-fact it’s these strategies that keep us mentally well and healthy, so at times of pressure, we should be increasing them.

Are there things you enjoy doing that you have stopped and don’t feel you don’t have time for?

Not only should you re-introduce them, but increase the frequency of doing them! Your mental and physical health will thank you for it.

Take time out without the guilt

Don’t be a martyr to your health or happiness.

Sometimes you need to hit the pause or reset button and that is ok. It is not a sign of weakness, or that you aren’t capable, but a sign of caring about your own wellness, valuing your worth and self-preservation.

Investing in yourself is investing in your wealth, so take every opportunity to do things that nurture, inspire and energise you. When you are replenished instead of depleted your output increases, your creativity and productivity improves and you cultivate an environment for innovation. That’s where you want to be operating from, because that’s where the new opportunities and magic happen.

Prioritise wellness

Schedule regular self-care: You should ideally try to implement self-care on a daily basis. In the same way you schedule time to do administration, schedule regular self-care in your diary. Take that walk in nature, listen to that mindfulness podcast, take a new class, have that massage or long soak in the bath, learn something new, finish that book. Switch off your phone, block out that time for yourself and prioritise it. Disconnect from any electronic devices at least an hour before you go to bed, so you can prepare your body to shut down and sleep and not overload your brain with stimuli.

Women are more likely to experience burnout than men

Nova Reid is a diversity campaigner & wellbeing mentor passionate about

helping people discover their best selves. Nova is a certified NLP Life Coach, an expert in her field and has appeared on Sky News and the BBC and frequently writes for national publications. She runs bi-annual retreats to help professional women who are tired of settling, to ditch burnout and prioritise their wellbeing. www.novareid.com, nova@novareid.com

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Environment

How we let the

Carrot Brand Us Victoria Bengtsson

Many business developers talk about how important it is to find your own "why" behind what you do, figuratively speaking - your own "carrot".

For some people this carrot becomes clearer than ever at a certain time in your life. Anyone who has experienced the life changing moment of becoming a parent will know what I am talking about. The nine months of excited waiting and mental preparation is also a time of questioning and confrontation of yourself and the life you have created. Not to mention the moment you stand

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with that tiny bundle in your arms for the first time and see in his smile how strongly he believes in you. You are a hero and he makes you feel that you could do anything (even go through months of sleep deprivation). It is not a coincidence that this is the moment when many people decide to start their own business, and for once realise their dreams, even if it might not sound economically logical at the time. But your support has never been as great as when your small cheerleader enters your life, and you have never had such a strong why.

For me, on the other hand, I didn't start a company, I was already in the middle of running my second successful company, this time in the field of Architecture and Urban design. However, I was questioning if I was really doing what I set out to do. Was I contributing to a better world, better health or was I just using the business to make a living? I hear many company leaders let their ‘why’ be compromised to fit the need of customers and colleagues while losing their own purpose. But in moments of doubt, how do you know and make sure you are still contributing to the fulfillment you need to feel to run your business - to the capacity it needs to bloom its fullest?

I decided to start from an empty sheet of paper and evaluate where we were standing, heading and how far that was from where I or we as a team wanted to be. We needed new clear measurable and true goals that anyone who would join the company and the vision could achieve. At the same time a new guideline was released for Sustainable Development Goals for businesses.

I realised they correlated a lot with our main reason for starting the company. We decided to create our own guidelines to make sure that we reached our financial targets and also how we measured our success in reaching the SDG:s for 2030 and that year, in every project. One of our goals was to contribute with 1000 new green and food producing areas around Europe by 2030 as well as enabling more than 10,000 people to cocreate their own environment.

We also calculated how much we had already contributed and noticed we had already achieved more than 30% of the next year's goals, which was very motivating. We knew this way of measuring and monitoring social and ecological impact instead of solely financial goals was a very unusual one, even in the field of architecture, but we saw it as necessary. We also wanted to make sure they matched with many of our more public customers' goals.

Today we are proud to use our environmental goals in our marketing and believe it is something to be proud of without Greenwashing. We get a lot of positive attention from clients, partners as well as students who want to join the team. We use the goals as a support for ourselves to know

we are heading in the right direction and that we are making meaningful change. We want to be sure that the day we quit the business we can with numbers, pictures and quotes showing how many more people could influence their own building environment and green facades and how it can improve their quality of life. Our proof of success will not only be financial.

5 tips on how to profile your business through sustainability goals.

1. Start with looking deep into why you are running or started your business, most often it is something more than just earning money to make a living.

2.

Let your deeper meaning form a vision and mission.

3. Look up and read the SDG goals and try to understand the true meaning behind them.

4. Formulate measurable goals which go hand in hand with your vision, development and financial goals. For instance put up goals to inspire at least 200 women to take better care of their health. This will also lead your company toward your financial goals leading to more lectures or followers.

5. Communicate your goals in your marketing, to your colleagues and to your customers. We all love to see people who have a strong why to their business and if money is not carrot enough for you, make the real carrot be clear instead and be proud of how that leads you forward.

Let your deeper meaning form a vision and mission

Victoria Bengtsson, is the Co-founder of The Foodprint Lab, Architects

and Food System Designers. Victoria started her first business as a yoga teacher in Sweden when she was 20, while studying to become an Urban Designer and Architect. Six years later she put a team together and started The Foodprint Lab. Shaping the architectural environment with a continued focus on physical and mental health.

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Interview

Neli

Vazquez Rowland Transforming the lives of people suffering poverty and homelessness

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Serial social entrepreneur and philanthropist Neli Vazquez Rowland and her A Safe Haven projects have garnered dozens of awards including the nomination by Rotary International to the White House as a Champion of Change Honoree by President Obama.

She has served as the keynote speaker at top corporate and academic settings ranging on the topics of leadership in a time of crisis at Harvard University in Boston Massachusetts to the topic of human rights violations by the prison systems at Colombia University in Bogota Colombia. Here she shares her success story and how A Safe Haven is helping the homeless find work and dignity.

I had no money of my own, no affluent networks and as a recent college grad I was in debt and had very little real-world experience with investments.

Besides who was going to take financial advice from a 21-year old and from someone named Neli Vazquez, at the time. To say, that I felt I was in over my head is an understatement.

Who are you?

I couldn’t help but think that if I failed, that the door would be bolted shut for any future Latina or Latinos in the future. Then one day I had an epiphany while I was on a trip to Mexico visiting my mom. I realised that I had to take an inventory of who I was and consider what unique assets I bring to the table. After doing some due diligence and research, I decided I would specialise in investing in Mexico and Latin American emerging markets. It was a risky move, my investment firm didn’t even have an emerging markets research department, and it was brought to my attention that the firm did not support my decision, but I stood my ground because I was convinced it was a good idea and at this point what did I have to lose? My gamble paid off as NAFTA passed and caused my investments and my clients to do extremely well. Within a few years, I became a top broker in my firm and highly regarded as a subject matter expert in Latin American markets.

I remained in the industry and prospered for over 13 years.

I am a graduate of Loyola University, Chicago, I participated in an Executive Management Training Program at Dartmouth, and enjoyed thirteen years working in financial services. I am the co-founder and pioneering architect of A Safe Haven (ASH), an award-winning, vertically integrated, social and economic development model that rebuilds the lives of people impacted by poverty, behavioural healthcare, substance abuse, prison re-entry, and homelessness with a holistic, individualised, case management approach.

I serve on the board of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Advocacy Council. I am married to Brian Rowland, ASH Co-Founder and military veteran, and have two wonderful sons Devin and Dylan. That grew up in the business and now lead our real estate team and manage all of our related real estate development and property management services.

I am someone who values her time with her family, and friends, and likes reading and running to clear my mind, (I recently put a waterfall pond in my wooded lot yard with Koi fish in it, so I’m trying to learn to pray and meditate, more).

What is your major discovery in life? And how has it influenced your life?

For several months I eavesdropped and tried to emulate my colleagues who seemed to be having success in the business by recommending investments based on the firm’s research.

However, it didn’t work for me and it was obvious I was on track to starve (it was straight commission!) or get fired due to my inability to convince prospects to invest, whichever came first, because, quitting wasn’t an option.

Today, we are at a pivotal time in our World’s history

I was the first Latina to be hired by my firm in the late 80s to work as a finance investment professional. Why I got hired? Your guess is as good as mine. I had none of the qualifications.

Having grown up in a poverty-stricken community,

Photo Credit: Daisy Jimenez @Dai Brand

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Interview How do you see the role of women?

That they take the lead and own the responsibility of working together to fight for our children’s future. Speaking up and doing their part to contribute to reimagining the current systems which are currently hurting people and families socially, and economically. That they advocate and work to replace the status quo with proven models which work for the vast majority of people in their time of need and help them get on a path to pursue their dreams of independence, selfsufficiency and wealth. It is every mothers and fathers dream to take care of and to provide for themselves and their children, with dignity. There has never been a more meaningful time to get involved, our children and our future generations, depend on us getting this right.

As a visionary, what has been your greatest challenge?

The biggest challenge for me was understanding 25 years ago that the system was broken and getting others to see that the issues of addiction and alcoholism were spreading. Getting them to see that the growing prison population due to ‘manageable and fixable problems’ was going to not only affect individual lives, but the lives of families and communities. In fact, the ripple effects would be felt by all of us both financially and by society at large. The consequences of this would not only affect us now, but also for generations to come in the form of costly entrenched issues like police protection, criminal justice systems, an overburdened healthcare system and crime and violence.

What is your hope for the future?

My hope is that regardless of age, sex, race or family make up, we step up as a collective society to help those facing challenges get their lives back on track. Making it simple for people to have access to the right sort of help before things become catastrophic and more costly for everyone. Today, we are at a pivotal time in our World’s history where poverty and hunger are prevalent even in the richest nations in the world.

Yet we have the resources needed to fix this imbalance. Not by taking away from the rich to give to the poor, necessarily, but by holding our public funding accountable for allocating resources based on objective ‘performance metrics and best practices’. Donors and investors should be incentivised to give and invest in

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systems which actually get results, foster better outcomes and can even potentially provide a good return on their investment over time, too.

It does not have to be a zero-sum game.

I am excited to know we are now at a time where we are considered ‘WOKE”. We are more enlightened and aware of the challenges and consequences of unmitigated poverty and the violence and social unrest which surely follow when a group of society is oppressed and chronically disadvantaged. Whether you live in Syria or Chicago, the trajectory always leads to violence when people are desperate and have nothing left to lose to feed and protect their families.

What led you to become a serial social entrepreneur?

I didn’t start out being an advocate and a serial social entrepreneur, but the demands of the problem led me to become one. With every barrier people faced, it required us to create, invest and develop a solution. Transitional housing and wrap around support systems alone were not enough as people faced barriers to employment and affordable housing. To combat this, we started social enterprise businesses like the landscaping company, catering business and staffing business which today help us get almost 1,000 people a year out of homelessness and out of the vicious cycle of incarceration into jobs.

Next, we expanded our affordable and senior housing real estate portfolio to include over 40 real estate developments that range from 35 to 170 units with more investments on the way as demand continues to surge and the scarcity of affordable housing has become more prevalent.

All of this has happened in the last two decades, prior to that the topic of helping the homeless, substance abusers and the incarcerated get back on track, remained in the shadows. It was not widely recognised as a mental health ‘disease’ as it is today, due to the lack of understanding compassion, and the stigma associated with these issues affecting these impacted populations.

Tell us about A Safe Haven.

This year marks a very special milestone. I am celebrating the 25 year anniversary of having co-founded A Safe Haven LLC and A Safe Haven Foundation a multiple award winning model that is literally transforming the lives of over 5,000 people a year from poverty and homelessness to independence and self-sufficiency in a sustainable manner, with their pride and purpose

Poverty, apartheid and slavery are not natural

restored. Every day I get the opportunity to lead a team of over 250 dedicated professionals who are helping adults, youth, children and military veterans in crisis reinvent themselves so that they can get back on their feet with jobs and housing. If they say happiness is derived from the joy of helping others, then I believe I must be among the happiest people on the planet.

How do you see the future of A Safe Haven?

I was the visionary and the pioneering architect of one of the most holistic and comprehensive models designed to identify the complex root causes of poverty and homelessness. It offers an individualised multi-disciplinary integrated team approach to solving these issues. My goal is to continue to scale our brand like an A Safe Haven franchise concept so we may help influence a paradigm shift on how public and private partnerships can align our resources and our efforts to foster predictable and sustainable success. Ultimately, we want to provide people with a trusted brand offering the highest and most consistent standards of care. Somewhere they can refer to immediately and check themselves in if required instead of waiting until their problems become catastrophic.

Fame has never motivated me, but we are grateful for the attention which has catapulted us to into the spotlight. We are traveling a lot more to share our story because we need to make sure we shout our work from the mountaintops, so people know that proven and scalable solutions exist and all we need to do is replicate it, everywhere.

Where did the idea of A Safe Haven come from?

When my husband and I started to have children, we have two sons, Devin and Dylan, we wanted to be good role models so decided we should

Interview by Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz

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Interview

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start to do some philanthropic work. The year was 1994, the year Nelson Mandela became President. My favourite Mandela quote is ‘poverty, apartheid and slavery are not natural, they are man-made and can be solved by the actions of human beings’. He summed up that it was about the ‘system’. Systems either create a path - an inevitable path to poverty or a path to opportunity and wealth.

In our quest to give back we sought to donate to a charity helping people overcome challenges and thoughtfully created a path to self-sufficiency and potentially wealth. After a few months of research, I realised that charities were not set up to solve the root causes of the problem. The only metric they used was encounters, such as how many people they fed, or sheltered, overnight.

That was it? Where was the data on how many people get back on their feet? I was personally appalled to think that albeit well-intended there really was not an overarching plan or system either philanthropically or publicly funded that actually helped to address root causes. It was almost impossible to access the help for people to get back on track without going through lots of hoops and different places. Instead the frustration left them hopeless and my research showed a trend of them becoming generationally dependent on the system. That is when I learned the system was not only fragmented, piecemealed and broken, but very expensive and financially unsustainable! My heart went out to those who ended up trapped in the “system”, especially for the mothers with children and our military veterans who deserved so much better.

As a finance professional, I needed an ROI to justify parting with my hard-earned money. I was determined to find a way to accomplish both the idea of giving back and getting a return on my investment as a real estate investor and towards making a real social impact.

Since inception, our philosophy was doing well through doing good. Our work is proof that they are not mutually exclusive terms. A Safe Haven LLC and A Safe Haven Foundation are hybrids which integrate this concept. Although we seek donations and public funding for the foundation to provide more people access to the social services, we also have continued to take the risk by investing in more real estate. Today we own a substantial affordable housing real estate portfolio which continues to provide safer, professionally managed and maintained housing for those we serve and who are in distressed communities lacking quality affordable housing, which has continued to build our wealth.

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Business

International Business Expansion

A Piece of Cake or a business trap?

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Offering an insight into expanding your business abroad, Maike Benner and Lilli Rohde, business consultants from MaLish, tell us about the advantages of going international and how to go about it, avoiding some of the pitfalls even the big companies have encountered.

Walking down the shopping Malls in London, Stockholm or Frankfurt we see the same boutiques, stores and brands. Thus, one could be tempted to say that business internationalisation nowadays is a piece of cake: consumer tastes have levelled, marketing campaigns work the same everywhere and foreign markets are ‘dying’ to be flooded with our products.

However, what seems to be an El Dorado environment for ambitious company leaders can easily turn into a trap or money burning exercise.

Some impressive examples of prominent business failures are:

McDonalds in Bolivia Woolworth in Germany Starbucks in Brazil McDonalds exited Bolivia some years back after realising that the Bolivians preferred their local cuisine and never perceived McDonalds as a healthy and trustworthy alternative.

At the height of business success in America, Woolworth decided to enter the German market.

The great selection and customer service – like greeting customers at the door and helping them with their shopping – was perceived by the German public as ‘intruding on their privacy’ and people preferred to shop elsewhere.

To this day, Starbucks is present in five Brazilian cities. Of course, the country with its 210 Million inhabitants has more than five cities but Starbucks refrained from further expansion because they struggled within the Brazilian market. Brazilians love to drink coffee – that was not the issue – but traditionally Brazilians drink “cafezinho” (Espresso with sugar). Expensive coffee drinks with a lot of milk (which is not a common foodstuff) do not sell well in Brazil.

internationalisation is not impossible, however, success must be carefully planned.

The first question which often arises concerning internationalisation is: Why do companies go abroad in the first place? Critics name overconfidence, ignorance and power as most common motives. Supporters see economic advantages (like economies of scale), competitive and comparative advantage and progress as the drivers. What do we mean by this? As supporters of internationalisation, we want to focus on the advantages.

The bigger the production batch and the greater the specialisation, the cheaper products can be sold. A household example of this economy of scale effect is cooking two portions of rice - one for consumption, one for storing - saves time (preparation time for two portions is the same as for one) and additional energy and water use is negligible.

Secondly if people, companies or nations specialise in certain products they are better equipped to produce, or if it is given by nature (e.g. Caribbean = warm weather = specialising in tourism, Saudi Arabia = natural resources = oil exploitation), and these people, companies and nations start trading with one another, then the overall economic output is greater.

The third argument about comparative advantage does not imply a better product or service, it only shows the country, company, nation can offer a product or service of the same

Success must be carefully planned

If large companies with high budgets, huge marketing expertise, international employees and customer bases fail, what does this mean for smaller companies who decide to conquer the international market? Of course,

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Business value at a lower price. For example, a company which manufactures a product in China may have lower labour costs than a company which manufactures in the U.S., so it can offer an equal product at a lower price.

After the advantages of internationalisation, let’s talk about how to go international. There are various ways to enter a foreign market. Most common market entry strategies are: •

•

•

•

Export: In theory, the easiest step to enter a new market, is to start with exporting.

Production sites and offices remain at home, products are simply shipped abroad.

Making use of modern-day technology like Webshops, involves little risk and easy expansion of customer base.

Cooperation’s, Franchise, Licences: with an already existing and successful product / service you can enter a foreign market with risks that can be overseen Sales offices in countries you want to trade: advantage is that you can hire local staff which has knowledge of culture and local conditions Production sites in countries you want to trade: here it is similar to the point above.

To have a local production site helps you also to get access to local raw materials, and this can have a great impact on your cost calculations.

Summary:

Bringing your business to another country is fun and rewarding (personally and financially) but it needs to be done with care. Proper planning and market knowledge are important because as with people, you seldom get a second chance for making a first impression in a market.

- Take your time but also do not lose momentum - Have a strategy - Ask experts such as us We, Maike and Lilli, have extensively worked in different countries and gained intercultural knowledge and deep insights of them. Those range from native experiences in Germany and Russia, to student, travelling and working experience in Australia, Canada, Ireland, North and South America, Egypt, Eastern Europe.

Speaking many languages, knowing cultures in depth Malish can support with tips, management of your corporate expatriate services and international expansion. malish.global/about/malish-international/

Independent of the market entry mode, the strategy and the WHY needs to be clearly defined.

A brief overview and questions companies need to ask themselves: • • •

• • •

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Why do I want to go abroad?

Do I (we) speak the language, are familiar with the culture?

Will my brand/marketing and name work abroad? (the English word “mist” could be an interesting product name yet in German “mist” means rubbish and thus might be counter-productive) Have I conducted a market analysis (competitors, customers, channels, costs)?

Do I have legal, social, work related advisors?

Which official contact point can help me?

Like Chamber of Commerce, trade agencies, consultants

As with people, you seldom get a second chance for making a first impression in a new market

Lilli Rohde Co-founder MaL!ish, Business Strategist, International Speaker and International Coach, Lilli managed international sales teams, implemented systems, tools and processes on a global scale and launched successful products in her time within the Food and Beverage industry.

Maike Benner Co-founder MaL!ish, Business Strategist, Finance Expert and International Speaker, Maike has supported, managed and led various projects in her professional and volunteer life. Her analytical, communication and project management skills have made her an expert in the field of system implementation, workshops and trainings.

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Mindset & Emotion

Two Subtle Shifts and four proven practices for guaranteed success and significance in business and beyond

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If you're anything like other entrepreneurs I’ve coached, you are constantly working in your business. Creating programs and products, delivering services, managing finances, leading a team and much more. Sometimes you feel successful and believe your work has significance. Other times you’re overwhelmed, overworked, and discouraged. If you desire less overwhelm and more joy, more success and deeper significance, you’re on the right page! As a seasoned entrepreneur and business coach, I'm delighted to reveal two mindset shifts and four proven strategies that have powerfully impacted my clients’ businesses. To expand your success and achieve deeper significance in life and work, follow these practices.

Choose the right mindset

First, assess your perspective. Reading "Mindset" by renown psychologist, Carol Dweck five years ago changed my life. Her research shows that our mindset, not just our abilities and talents, bring us success. According to Dweck*, success in any area of life can be dramatically improved by how we THINK about our efforts. Entrepreneurs with a fixed mindset believe their efforts don't make much difference because results are predetermined. Another hallmark of a fixed mindset is looking at every situation through the lens of "success or failure". Fixed mindsets create an urgency to prove yourself over and over. Fixed mindsets keep us stuck.

On the other hand, entrepreneurs with growth mindsets believe basic qualities can be cultivated through our efforts and that we can change and grow through application and experience.

A passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it even when things get tough is a hallmark of a growth mindset.

What mindset runs your "mental operating system"? Be honest with yourself, is it fixed or growth oriented? By consciously, consistently choosing a growth mindset, you will grow, learn and evolve as an entrepreneur and as a result, so will your business. You and you alone have the power to choose your mindset, behaviour, and results. Choose wisely, choose often and commit.

Second, ask yourself, am I working on or in my business? Working IN your business means delivering your services/products, managing your team, paying your taxes. You get the drift.

Working ON the business includes activities that keep your funnel of new business full. As busy entrepreneurs, we must be vigilant in working

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Mindset & Emotion ON our business while simultaneously working in our business. If we don’t, at some point, our funnel will be empty.

Here are four proven strategies to work ON your business for ultimate success:

1. Block time in your calendar weekly to cultivate new relationships. 30% of your time should be devoted to business building. Make phone calls, send thank you notes to current clients, ask for referrals, get out of your office and network.

2. Make a personal connection with prospects.

In our current state of the world, the personal touch is disruptive and it pays dividends over time. Pick up the phone, send handwritten notes or interesting articles. The point is to make it personal and they'll remember you. You can send emails and text messages and post to social media- but in the ever-increasing world of technology, the power of authentic relationships trumps all. When was the last time you received a handwritten note? How did you feel when you did?

3. Block time into your daily calendar for business creation - program development- anything that will help you serve more clients in the future. A slow steady trickle of this activity will help your business grow. It is not rocket science but many fail to attend to these matters.

Now take that “consuming thought” place it in the chest and lock it. You can come back it when you want to. But now, the negative thoughts and feelings are locked up and have no more control over your day. This simple strategy has helped my clients stay focused on the business of growing their business- feelings no longer drive the business, the entrepreneur drives it.

The secret to success is found in our daily routines. Take your first step to ultimate success today! * Carol S. Dweck , PhD, MINDSET, The New Psychology of Success, 2016 Ballantine Books

What mindset runs your "mental operating system"?

4. Manage your thoughts or they will manage you - have you ever gotten through most of the day and realised that you spent 70% of your time on busy work - cleaning your office, responding to emails, sending emails - but realised you did not actually accomplish the top three actions on your goals list? Perhaps you were avoiding the critical actions because you were frustrated with a coworker, puzzled by a prospect or worn out from family challenges. These thoughts consumed your mind preventing you from achieving your goals.

Use the control chest technique

Your feelings should never drive the train of your daily actions. To help you manage your feelings, try my “control chest” thought experiment.

Imagine a beautiful small chest with a lid and lock.

Amy Throw is a serial entrepreneur, executive coach, speaker, strategic

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thinking partner and confidante to women executives, entrepreneurs, and companies who value women in leadership. She is the creator of Full Circle 7, a comprehensive, holistic approach to Executive Presence that concentrates on seven key elements that encompass leadership and character potential. www.amythrow.com

Travel

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Tindog Tacloban

Putting Things in Perspective

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Travel Business Fit Magazine editor, Claire Morley, writes for our occasional Travel Fit section in this issue, sharing with us her experience of volunteering in the Philippines after the havoc wreaked by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.

In light of recent Hurricane Dorian’s devastation throughout the Bahamas and the constant warnings that climate change is affecting our weather, I am reminded of the worst Typhoon ever to hit landfall, Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda. I have some knowledge about this, while I was not there when it happened, three months afterwards I was on my way as a volunteer to the decimated city of Tacloban on the Philippine island of Leyte to help with some of the rebuilding.

My reasons for going were several-fold. I had always wanted to do some volunteer work, not with local charities, although I have done much of that, but something deeper, something altruistic, something where I got my hands dirty, something which put my life into perspective. I had wanted to go to Romania in 1990 after Ceauşescu’s orphanages had been exposed, to help there, but circumstances then didn’t allow. In late 2013, I was struggling with a bout of depression, something which has plagued me on and off throughout my life. Although this was nothing like my suicidal depression of some thirteen years previously – fortunately I had managed to understand my triggers and coping mechanisms since then – but I was feeling hopeless, helpless, emotional and unfulfilled. When Yolanda happened, I wanted to go, I wanted to feel purpose in my life, I wanted to reach out to the people there and offer my help.

So in March 2014, I boarded an Emirates flight from Cyprus (where I reside) and headed to Manilla. At that time, flights into Tacloban itself could only be made during daylight hours due to lack of power, so it was the following day before I completed my journey and therefore light when we circled the city. I had a window seat and I stared disbelievingly, open-jawed at the ground beneath us. Of course we had all seen the news footage of the terrible devastation but looking at it in real life was a different story. The place was flattened for as far as the eye could see, an ugly scar, where once coconut trees had grown, and people had lived.

The arrivals part of the airport had no remaining walls or baggage carousel, it was open to the

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elements. Once I had managed to wrestle my baggage through the throng of passengers, I was met by a jolly Filipino woman who drove myself and another volunteer the 15 minutes it took to get to the house which was to be my home for the next month. We passed untold numbers of “tent cities” the makeshift accommodation for those who had lost their homes. Trees, buildings, cars, shops – everything destroyed. The one thing which hit me the hardest was the trees. Those which hadn’t been uprooted and lay stricken on the ground, were bare, tall trucks stripped of most if not all of their leaves, it made me weep.

And everywhere there were banners – Tindog Tacloban meaning Rise Up Tacloban.

The house the volunteers occupied was situated in a district called V&A. Two large rooms were filled with bunk beds housing 10 people in each, sharing one bathroom. There was no running water or electricity. Two makeshift showers had been erected in the garden containing buckets of water we got from a hose and scoops for us to pour water over ourselves. It was basic. The generator would run for a couple of hours every other day, a chance to recharge phones, diesel was expensive and hard to come by, so a luxury item.

The projects the small charity I was volunteering with included creating a communal vegetable garden; clearing schools of debris so the larger

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Travel

All of these children will have already learned the meaning of loss

charities with more funding could come and start rebuild projects; working with a building company to create housing for the displaced families and the soup kitchen, providing a hot meal to the kids.

I worked mainly on school clearing. It was hot and humid and labour-intensive. We had to wear gloves, hats, safety glasses and steel cap boots.

Wield shovels, picks, wheelbarrows and ladders to make safe areas for the kids to play. There was debris everywhere, from rubbish, to rebar to concrete and fallen trees to children’s sodden schoolbooks, we collected it all in wheelbarrows.

Most of the school buildings where we were working were unsafe and the kids are being taught in tents provided by Unicef Whenever they had a break from lessons, they came running out to us.

“What your name?” “Where you from?” “How old are you?”

They excitedly helped us with our clearing up, cheerfully riding in the wheelbarrows giggling and playing like school kids do and yet all of these children will have already learned the meaning of loss. If not a family member, then a classmate or teacher, friend or neighbour, would have perished on 8 November 2013.

It was an interesting month. I had to co-habit with total strangers, each with their own views and reasons for being there. We had a rota for cleaning the bathrooms and washing up, which not everyone adhered to. Some volunteers clearly had a better work ethic than others. We had to adjust to each other’s idiosyncrasies and

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habits. There were 20 of us sleeping in the two makeshift bedrooms, so we had to compromise – which some managed better than others. And of course there were personality clashes, not everyone got on with everyone else.

The lack of private space, sharing a bathroom with 20 others, outside showering, no electricity for the first couple of weeks, no running water and no internet – the physical hardships - were things I was able to adjust to quite easily. What I found harder was making allowances for others and trying not to be judgemental. So this I realise is a part of me which I need to grow and develop. I need to learn to be more forgiving and compassionate, we all deal with things in different ways, which is not to say one way is right and another wrong, we all need to learn to respect one another’s viewpoint. One of my strengths is my organisational skills and there were times I got incredibly frustrated seeing how the house would benefit from being more structured in the day-to-day running. However, as I was only there for a short period, and being a newbie, I had to learn to let it go.

Throughout the month I stayed in Tacloban, the one thing which never ceased to amaze me, was the positivity, gratefulness and smiling faces of the Filipino people I met. We would use public transport, the brightly painted Jeepneys to get to and from our work, wearing our IDV – International Disaster Volunteer - t-shirts, we would get constantly thanked by passengers on the bus for coming to help them. These people were living in tents, all their belongings had been washed out to sea by the destructive and fatal storm surges which had accompanied the typhoon. They had lost loved one. Gone thirsty and hungry, had fought to survive. They had endured all of that, yet they were still smiling.

They humbled me and brought my perspective back into line.

Typhoon Yolanda displaced over 4 million people; more than 6,000 people were killed with 1,800 missing. In addition, 1.1 million houses were either partially or totally damaged, 33 million coconut trees (a major source of livelihoods) were destroyed. It is now five years since Yolanda struck the city of Tacloban, it is finally beginning to return to normal, with the cost of rebuilding at nearly $6 billion.

Following my time volunteering in the Philippines, I decided to write a fictional book to try and raise awareness of the struggles the people of Tacloban had to endure.

Once the initial news is over, that’s not the end of the problem for the people living through it. And to my horror, I discovered unscrupulous people took advantage of the vulnerable. Children were recruited into the sex industry and specifically one I had never encountered before, Webcam Sex Tourism. My book, Tindog Tacloban, follows one family through their struggle to survive.

Available on Amazon as an e-book and as paperback, it was a bestseller in its category.

#1 Best Seller

TINDOG

TACLOBAN CLAIRE MORLEY

Claire Morley is an eco-warrior in her adopted country of Cyprus. She is the Editorial Coordinator for Business Fit; she has worked as a journalist and editor in Cyprus and has written a fictional book inspired by her experience as a volunteer in the Philippines. She also runs a business helping authors to self-publish and promote their books www.myepublishbook.com

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Business

Award-winning serial entrepreneur, Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz, gives Business Fit readers some tips on what should be considered when using PR stunts to ensure maximum benefit.

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Many businesses wonder how they can land media opportunities, feeling as though they are not worthy of “feel-good” stories that can be shared with others. There is always an opportunity to share valuable content that activates the audience- through clever, strategic PR Stunts…but what, exactly, are PR Stunts?

PR Stunts are either events or initiatives which connect two or more organisations (typically a local business to a nonprofit) with a clear intention to benefit both. The receiving organisation (i.e. nonprofit) gets the financial support or goods for their constituency and the giving business gets the positive “feel-good” exposure with their client base and local community through media placements (i.e. radio and TV public service announcements or newspaper articles).

Selection of a nonprofit:

The selection of a nonprofit is critical. Some things to consider: a) It should align with your vision or personal connection (are you recommending they use a personal connection or establish one?). b) It should have a substantial constituency which can expand the reach of your brand. c) It should be proactive to collaborate on the initiative. d) Be grateful for this new relationship so you can infuse other ideas for partnership opportunities in the future.

Identifiers when considering a PR Stunt: Strategic- Every PR stunt should be carefully planned and executed to ensure maximum benefits and exposure.

Collaborative- PR stunts are founded on collaboration with nonprofits or other groups in need - communication and ongoing support is very important.

Resourceful- Due to the nature of PR stunts, they are typically done with limited resources (either time, money or support) and the person coordinating them should be very resourceful in order to connect opportunities which are not easily found.

Creative- Creativity plays an imperative role

Important items to know when conducting a PR Stunt: Photos- It is important to capture photos or video which depict the story in every one of these initiatives in order to get the full benefit of this promotion.

Sharing- Use the photos and videos to share on social media vehicles, send them on an eblast or newsletter to your contacts, add to your blog or email signature, but most importantly, send to local media with compelling captions for possible inclusion in their publication offline and online.

Follow up- Media outlets receive hundreds of emails every day. Follow up with media outlets a few days after you have sent the photos, especially because they contain attachments.

Ideally, you want to give the media outlets heads up that the large high resolution image(s) are coming.

Releases- Make sure to have a public release announcement or individual model release if you plan on taking photos during one of these PR stunts, especially when children are involved. If you don’t have their permission, you may still take photos, but make sure their faces don’t show (i.e. if you have a presenter, you take photos of the speaker from behind the audience).

Tracking- Make sure each PR stunt is properly documented and shared, if not, it might be a waste of effort. It is important for each business to be strategic about these initiatives in order to get the maximum ROI and ROO.

Here are 19 ideas to consider: Idea 1: Buy books from a local author and donate them to a local school - put in a note inside of each book that says: “Book courtesy of <insert name of business here>” Idea 2: Choose a local family to give gifts to through a local nonprofit organisation Idea 3: Buy food or coats/gifts to deliver to the local homeless shelter Idea 4: Provide free coffee from a local coffee shop to bring joy to the local community, totally unexpected. Put up a sign outside that says “free coffee today courtesy of ________.”

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Business

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Idea 5: Holiday gifts to an underprivileged group, such as young Latinas. Ask them to come to your office to pick them up on a certain date/time and take photos to capture their appreciation.

Idea 6: Gather a group of employees to volunteer at a local food pantry while also donating money to buy more food.

Idea 7: Have local fireman and police officers decorate Christmas trees, partner with a local nonprofit organisation to deliver them to local needy families.

Idea 8: Share inspirational books with local victims of domestic violence.

Idea 9: Collect t-shirts from local runners, make a quilt and donate it to a local charity to be used as a fundraising item.

Idea 16: Invite local young ladies to feel like “princesses” for a day, sponsoring an inspiring event where they share their dreams, write in a journal you provide and vote for the person that inspired them the most.

Idea 17: Provide free advice and support to a local nonprofit for a special event or initiative; capture the challenge, action and results of your contribution.

Idea 18: Rent a hot air balloon to provide rides in order to raise money for a local nonprofit.

Idea 19: Select a local sports team, chorus or a band and provide them with gear, instruments or a trip, especially if they have no resources. It will make a positive impact in their life and they will be emotionally connected to your company

Idea 10: Provide giveaways to a TV show audience in exchange of live mentions - have the host surprise the audience with the special giveaway Idea 11: Partner up with a local nonprofit organisation and name that day “the <insert the name of the nonprofit here> day at <insert the name of your business>.” Through a powerful partnership, you can harness the power of media. The nonprofit gets the exposure as well as the business from the joint marketing efforts.

Donations can be collected on that day for the nonprofit.

Idea 12: Volunteer to teach at a local school through Junior Achievement.

Idea 13: Hire a local author to bring an inspiring message to an underserved school followed by a book signing.

There is always an opportunity to share valuable content that activates the audience

Idea 14: Run a 5K or half marathon in honor of a local nonprofit organization.

Idea 15: Bring joy to a kid’s camp by providing entertainment or special gifts.

Jacqueline Camacho-Ruiz is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, international speaker, philanthropist and author of ten books. She founded The Fig Factor Foundation and created Today’s Inspired Latina book series and international movement. Jacqueline is a regular guest on local and national TV, radio and print publications. She has featured in Forbes, INC Magazine, Despierta America, CBS World News and others. www.jackiecamacho.com

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Interview

Audrey

Barbier-Litvak Seize every opportunity that arises, without fear

As General Manager for Southern Europe, Audrey Barbier-Litvak is passionate about innovation and was inspired by the mission of WeWork. Not only do they create collaborative workspaces, they are also involved with refugee initiative, mentorship programmes and accelerator labs. Here she tells us more about WeWork and how workspaces are changing.

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This year, we opened our first location in Brussels

Who are you?

I am the General Manager for Southern Europe at WeWork, based in Paris. WeWork is a global community platform which provides its members around the world with space, community, and services through both physical and virtual offerings. From startups and freelancers to small businesses and Fortune 500 companies, our community is spread across 111 cities and is home to over 527,000 members.

stride, encouraging both my teams as well as my children to seize every opportunity that arises, without fear. I believe if you harness your energy to reach goals instead of obsessing about what could go wrong, you will be surprised at how much you can achieve!

I feel very fortunate to be living and working in my home city, and it’s great to have Paris as the base for our Southern Europe headquarters. I grew up in this city with my parents and two younger brothers and went to school locally. Having initially studied Law, I decided to change my career path and went on to achieve a Masters in Marketing and I developed a real love for digital marketing. In between pursuing my career within this industry, I had four children (including twins!) before joining several e-commerce companies, including Rocket Internet where I met my current manager, Anthony Yazbeck, Managing Director, Internal Operations, who introduced me to WeWork.

I’ve always recognised the importance of maintaining a balanced professional and personal life and am grateful for the flexibility I have with my job at WeWork which has allowed me to make time to spend with my family. At work, I make sure to engage with the WeWork community and join in our events which are provided for the members –and employees– in our buildings. I’ve found myself join lunch and learn sessions, and even spent my mornings at some of our yoga classes. It’s also been great to see so many of our members get involved in our events, especially our large enterprise members, who make up 40 percent of WeWork’s global community. They participate with entrepreneurs as well as members from smaller companies, and it’s been fantastic to watch these different business groups interact. These events allow me to reset and take time out of my day to concentrate on myself as well as maintain my concentration; my days at work can be very busy!

From the moment I set foot in a WeWork, I knew it was something I wanted to be part of. I was also inspired by the mission of the company. Anthony hired me to join as General Manager of Southern Europe, and not only have I been impressed by how much of a difference WeWork is making in the world, be it through the collaborative workspaces, refugee initiative, mentorship programmes or accelerator labs, but also the dedication demonstrated by WeWork employees. I’ve met incredible people since joining the company: working across different cultures and countries has led me to new teams across the business and to learn new ways of working. It’s been an incredible journey so far, and I look forward to continuing our growth across the region: in September this year, we opened our first location in Brussels and I can’t wait to build our community there.

What is the single best piece of business advice which helped shape who you are now?

The best piece of advice I have received is that “fear doesn’t prevent danger”, which I apply to both my professional and personal life. It helps reset my mind to not be afraid of taking risks and has allowed me to chart an exciting career path so far. I have definitely taken this notion in my

Does “Balance” in life exist for you? How do you achieve it?

If you were in the jungle what kind of animal would you be and why?

I feel very strongly about female leadership and empowerment. We recently found that within the WeWork global community, 39 percent of all senior roles (executives, senior managers, managers and sole proprietors) at WeWork member companies are held by women, compared to 24 percent of those roles held by women globally. I think being a woman in my role as GM has helped inspire my team and other women in the WeWork community, too.

With this in mind, I would be a lioness; combining tenacity, female power, strength and determination. For me, a pride of lions represents our strong community –both members and employees– at WeWork, demonstrating complex teamwork, strategic planning and that sense of community and belonging. I also love the idea of being ruler of the jungle, but I think that’s my ambitious streak revealing itself!

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Interview

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What is your major discovery in life? And how has it influenced your life?

I have always been ambitious, and from a young age I was keen to know everything I could. My days at school are such fond memories, with every day marked with a momentous new discovery. For me, the one that stands out the most was reading my first book. My imagination ran wild whenever I read new stories, and to this day I still can’t get enough of books. As I grew older, my love for reading has helped satisfy my thirst for knowledge. I have learned a lot through this hobby of mine, from non-fiction books on female leadership, best business practises and key management skills, to fiction that has taught me about friendships and family dynamics. I now bring these learnings to every aspect of my life, especially to my role at WeWork, and I am always on the hunt to learn more.

Which woman inspires you and why?

I have always been inspired by women. From women in sports, politics, leadership roles and everything in between, I’m proud to be part of the female force. A hero of mine, and I’m sure for many other French women, is Simone Veil. Having survived the Nazi concentration camps, she spent the rest of her life dedicated to improving the lives of women in France, championing female rights in terms of control over fertility as well as fighting to legalise abortion, which passed in 1974 under “Veil’s Law”. For me, she represents female resilience, ambition, humility and compassion. She has left behind a legacy that is truly unmatched and I remind myself of her tenacity every day to encourage me to strive for more, not just for myself, but for women as a whole.

How do you see workspace changing in the future? How will design differ from today’s work space?

We live in a world that is constantly changing, especially in the last few years where we have witnessed a fundamental shift in the way people work. From start-ups to enterprise businesses, there has been a notable change of direction towards a more flexible working environment for their employees. At WeWork, we design each space with a specific location, community and neighbourhood in mind; we don’t design for WeWork, we design for humans. We’re constantly

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Interview

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working out ways to enhance collaboration in our spaces, whether this be through architecture and layout, or interior design and placing furniture in specific ways so people can connect more easily.

We’re designing for the future of work, and I believe that more and more companies will start to adapt this flexible workspace environment and integrate more collaborative design elements to bring more people together.

Do you think flexible workspaces are a trend or is the way forward?

Over the years, more and more people are moving to cities in search for a community, purpose and the opportunity to be a part of something greater than themselves – to create their life’s work. The shift that we have seen towards flexible workspaces is profound; we don’t see it as a trend. Over 527,000 members collaborate every day in our spaces around the world, and businesses are moving towards inspired and innovative flexible spaces to help build a sense of community as well as encourage productivity for their employees. However, at WeWork, providing flexible workspaces is really just one aspect of what we do; we consider ourselves to be much more than just a workspace. We are actively bringing an already burgeoning community of local entrepreneurs, start-ups and bigger companies together with like-minded people all over the world who are connecting on-site in the physical location, but also with the global WeWork network via our member app. I think this is a unique combination that makes WeWork the leading force that is changing the future of work.

How do you expect Work/Life integration to change?

Maintaining a work-life balance is really important; not only does it help you perform better in your role by having a break and being able to switch off, but it is vital for your quality of life. WeWork provides a unique sweet spot in the balance between work and life outside of the office through flexible working style, homey interiors and community-driven initiatives. From lunch and learn sessions to yoga classes and meditation, WeWork is dedicated to the welfare of its employees and members, recognising the importance of taking time for yourself to relax and unwind, as well as having time out of your working day to engage and socialise with other like-minded individuals. We can spend as much

time at work as we do at home, so at WeWork, we feel passionately about creating an inspired and productive work environment that also lends itself as a space that embodies comfort and relaxation.

What impact will WeWork have in the future of cities?

WeWork is best known for innovative and flexible workspaces occupied by businesses of all sizes, however our impact in the cities in which we operate aims to go far beyond a well-designed communal space. At WeWork, we champion business growth and innovation by offering our members mentorship, programming and the opportunity to be a part of a global network.

Not only do we help our members grow through collaboration and creativity, we also have an impact on local surrounding communities. In a recent report, we found that establishing a new WeWork building in a new city brings a significant amount of new people, businesses and economic activity to the local area.

The report shows that 70 percent of WeWork members around the world are new to the neighbourhood, and one in ten members have moved closer to their WeWork locations since joining, resulting in more business in the surrounding area. In London for example, WeWork members spend nearly three times as much as the average Londoner on pubs, restaurants and cafes, ultimately injecting more than £75 million per year into local neighbourhood business. We are incredibly proud of the initiatives we have put in place as well as the positive impact we achieve on both a local and global scale, and we look forward to continuing expansion into new cities, and into new cultures.

We don’t design for WeWork, we design for humans

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Mindset & Emotion

Relational Capital:

Together

is Better!

Verónica Sosa

We are constantly hearing how the social divide between the rich and poor, between those who have and those who don’t is growing wider. I think it is safe to say that a chasm has now opened up between them, making it ever harder to reach across from one side to the other.

How much of this separation is down to Relational Capital? I use the term “relational capital” which I feel is best defined as “a set of all relationships – market relationships, power relationships and cooperation – established between firms, institutions and people.” (Welbourne and Pardodel-Val, 2008).

Relational capital is the network which helps people succeed, it can be personal networks or on a community level, it enables people to believe they have a say in where their life’s journey is taking them. Our world has become increasingly

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capitalist, one percent of the population holds half the world’s wealth, with predictions that by 2030 it will increase to two-thirds. Elitists and the establishments with far greater relational capital and considerably more influence are only interested in protecting their own personal interests and development. Hoarding their relational capital and using it to keep others from accessing it and excluding ‘outsiders’ from economic opportunities.

Those at the other end of the scale have started to realise their relational capital is diminishing and no longer extends beyond their own income group. Social institutions, such as unions and churches, which gave a voice to them previously and provided them with access to greater relational capital have seriously declined. This inequality will result in those at the bottom end of the scale being unable to invest in education,

young people will drop out of school, and despite having aspirations, with no relational capital support, they will be unlikely to achieve them.

And it doesn’t stop there, they will be more likely to be burdened by debt and long working hours adding stress to family life and potentially leading to mental illness or problems with addiction. In the past such inequality has provoked revolution.

We need to start applying social conscience into our way of thinking, introduce more mindfulness and less greed, reaching out a helping hand to those who truly want to work hard and achieve, but no longer have access to the relational capital which would have helped them in the past.

open our circles and welcome others in. I’m not suggesting this will be easy, the whole tapestry of our society has shifted to make us greedy and protective of our own wealth and success.

The rich and successful are rewarded making it harder for those struggling to make it. There has to be a shift in our mindset. We need to become more mindful of others, we need to encourage success for everyone if we are going to make the change from a greedy non-caring society to one that is happy, fulfilled, successful and united.

Together is Better.

My motto has always been Together is Better. I believe in helping others achieve their goals, my initiative behind Business Fit Magazine was to support entrepreneurs by giving them access to tools to grow and to empower women, encouraging them to use conscious business practices.

I believe in giving, in sharing and working as a collective group, supporting relational capital for everyone and my vision is for others to follow this principle. We should all have access to opportunities, however it seems we have become very good at protecting our own interests, rather than giving others a helping hand. We all need to change our attitude, to help bring a halt to the growing disparity between those with the power and those with hopes and dreams which are being shattered through no fault of their own, but due to the closed circles of the elite.

Applying relational capital in my own experience, is not always easy. By providing opportunities to fellow entrepreneurs hoping to build their careers and their businesses, I feel at times that my willingness to share can be taken for granted.

There has to be balance. If we open up our circles to let people in, we have to feel they will not take advantage, but also share our own integrity.

We need to take responsibility and work towards collective change, our shared interests need to brought back into line with our personal interests, we need to support the development of relational capital for the many. We have to start giving more and taking less. We all need to

Verónica Sosa is the Founder of Business Fit International and Business Fit Magazine, Founder of SHE, author , International Speaker award winner, TV Personality, Business Expert. She has more than 18 years of experience working in the editorial sector & corporate sector as a Manager in Marketing and Sales for International Publicity Companies in Spain. Verónica is dedicated to empowering women towards better lives and rediscovering themselves.

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Mindset & Emotion

The relationship you have with your parents

is what you have with the

World!

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Helping people who have lost focus and purpose get back on a path of fulfilment, Alex Roseman explains why solving our relationship with our parents can help us find joy and success When I share this concept with people, I regularly get met with silence, then they take a deep look into themselves, usually with their head tilted and then they repeat the question back to me. Then say “Hhmmm, that is interesting - my relationship with my parents is... erm not great!”

How many people do you know who are truly happy, blissful and joyful to be around and then if asked about their parents/caregivers will not have a kind word to say about them?

I haven’t met anyone yet.

This article is aimed to best assist you on your journey, broken down to three simple steps on how to Wake Up! Go Big, & Live Extraordinarily!

The story you tell yourself is like carrying a bag of bricks

My story...My mum died when I was nine years old and I wasn’t worthy enough for her to stay much less live. I felt unworthy.

So what happens when you carry around something like this?

Well, it’s not great I can tell you!

• Insecurity, which ultimately will affect your business. If you are not secure your business is not secure as the business is just an extension of yourself.

• Financial success, yet left unfulfilled as this story/burden is haunting you consciously or unconsciously. Which keeps you from happiness.

• You never really get to express who you really are and don’t show up as the biggest version of yourself.

Think of one time in your life where you felt like you hurt someone, felt guilty about a situation, or where you may have blamed yourself and write it down. When you understand the power of universal law, you will see that you can’t have a negative without a positive.

The story we tell ourselves is running in the background and dictates our decisions unconsciously.

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Mindset & Emotion

How many of you have seen the worst day of your life turn out to be the best day of your life?

I want you to see how in fact what you did and what they did, turned out to be positive. List down how it served you and them and find that positive until you are grateful for that situation and person. Your mind may struggle to show the positive side, but you must keep going until it is resolved and you see the beauty in the resolution.

We should learn from our experiences not be trapped by them.

Why have I come up with this conclusion?

Well, it’s something I have learnt through various seminars, books and personal experiences - my own and others I have coached. The people I meet who are not joyful and generally play the victim role, who struggle through the challenges life has to throw at them have not resolved the relationship they had with their parents.

Most of the issues we face as adults, can be traced back to incidents from our childhood.

I had a client who was having a major problem in selling her products. She just couldn’t close the deal. She found it impossible to isolate their objections and therefore couldn’t address the problem and consequently froze. I soon found out this inability to isolate her client’s objections went back to her childhood when her parents would prioritise spending money on their home rather than on her. Back then she was unable to articulate the problem and felt rejected and unloved and carried it on into her life.

She was susceptible to the trigger and reverting back, frozen and unable to know why she was not overcoming this block. Left to avoid situations like this and ultimately making her business suffer.

All from a decision, a little girl had made.

It has been known for many, many years that problems in our childhood manifest their way into our adulthood. Often causing us great pain, the ability to identify in a client where this pain comes from is something that I have been able to recognise successfully.

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How big are you willing to dream? What does it look like?

The two fears that keep you from this are: 1.

The fear of not being loved 2.

The fear of being rejected Which then asks the questions Am I enough? Am I worthy?

The biggest problem is we tend to set our goals too low.

Plant an acorn in the ground and a beautiful oaktree will grow higher and higher and reach the sky, but if you put the acorn in a pot there’s only so much growing that can be achieved.

The same applies to us. Without the foundations, we can never grow!

What I do is help you find that space to grow. To unlearn behaviours, beliefs and other limitations you have carried unconsciously for many years.

Knowing who you are, what you are and why you are is what is the meaning of life.

“Shoot for the moon, if you miss we will fall among the stars” Les Brown

Visibility has never been easier!

Social media has allowed us to express ourselves in the most amazing way, but it has to be respected.

There are too many people using this incredible tool in many negative ways.

Say goodbye to your comfort zone and look into your inner greatness.

We all have the capacity to be great, we all have a voice which should be heard. I want you to take a deep breath and reach inside yourself and commit to a Facebook live.

There can be no fear in this, only an expression of belief and joy. I leave you with this thought. I love my work. It has become an affirmation for my life.

Wake Up, Go Big & Live Extraordinarily.

Peace and love,

Alex Roseman is an Award-Winning International Speaker, Breakthrough Coach & Best Selling Author. From down and out to speaking for the world’s largest seminar promoting company representing leading names in personal development including Tony Robbins. He lives to inspire, teach and show anyone what is possible. www.alexroseman.com - teamcoach@alexroseman.com

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