The 10 Most Successful Business Leaders Revamping the Future Vol2 by Prime View

www.primeview.co | July 2021

The

Nicole Mixdorf Balance by Nature (Chief Wellness Officer)

EDITOR’S NOTE

The 10 Most Successful Business Leaders Revamping the Future. The resilience and determination of employees in today’s time help companies keep their people performing at their best while work processes shift. While everyone was working from home, employees learnt the art of multitasking and balancing work-life and household chores. However, with offices resuming work and employees returning to work, there is an essential need for leadership evolution. Business leaders worldwide are trying to find the best-suited solutions for their companies, people, and ecosystems. Just like our history’s empires, businesses rise and fall as the times change. Likewise, some remain at the top for ages, while others fizzle out within a couple of years. The key to long-term sustained success is through great leadership. A great business leader can motivate others, have a clear vision others can believe in and can lead innovation within an organization. When companies have great leaders taking the reins, investors, consumers, and employees are all going to want to buy in. To be a great Mentor, you also need to be a great leader, and many of the world’s most well-known companies have some seriously smart people at the helm. As the ongoing pandemic continues to make global news headlines, business leaders who want to stay ahead and remain successful are looking for stable footholds in this time of uncertainty. With that in mind, Prime View presents “The 10 Most Successful Business Leaders Revamping the Future”, celebrating leaders who are doing their best to innovate and technologically evolve the industry. Do share your thoughts with us. Prime View Magazine editor@primeview.co

The 10 Successful Business Leaders Revamping The Future

SONAL K

STEVE R DAVID S

DNYANESH K , JOHNSON J.

SAM K.

RICHARD D.

Alex S. , ANJALI G.

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Cover Story

Chief Wellness Officer at alance by Nature

ARTICLE

CONTENTS

Chief Wellness Officer at Balance by Nature

It was exactly 9 years ago when Nicole Mixdorf, a motivational leader & seasoned professional took the leap into entrepreneurship with her brainchild Balance by Nature, an award-winning Corporate Health & Wellness Consulting Firm. Her vision was to help other busy professionals find more balance in their lives and thrive.

Nicole always wanted to have her own company, as she grew up working in her family’s business. Entrepreneurship is in her blood. She started her career in corporate sales and management while working in the travel industry. Once her dad got sick with cancer, the stress from work and home became too much and eventually made her sick. After taking a leave of absence to heal her body, Nicole realized what an impact a stressful work environment has on the health and well-being of employees, so she set out to change the paradigm. She launched Balance by Nature in 2012 to help companies retain their top talent, increase innovation, and improve health outcomes by implementing wellness programs that allow their staff to show up as their best selves every day.

More about the Balance by Nature Balance by Nature helps businesses create cultures of health where their employees can thrive and do their best work. It offers inspiring content to support the physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial well-being of employees, which has become even more important due to the intense stress from the global health pandemic. The team takes a consultative approach in designing engaging wellness solutions for their clients, tailoring the program design to match their needs, interests, and budget. Their programs include elements of mental health, stress reduction, fitness, nutrition, holistic healing, personal development, team building, and leadership coaching. Each wellness program is unique, providing the perfect solution for each company. Further, Nicole apprised, “Balance by Nature is excited to launch a new Wellness Studio TV channel with a full calendar of live events, video on-demand, and wellness challenges that will make it easy for participants to create healthy habits, no matter where

they are located. The weekly schedule of live events include Yoga, Qigong, Bootcamp, HIIT, Pilates, Zumba, Bollyx, Meditation, EFT Tapping, Healthy Cooking Classes, Music Therapy, and our Wellness Speaker’s Series, viewable on our TV apps, mobile apps, or on the web. We are also launching an Apple Watch Fitness app, allowing participants to immerse themselves into our fitness classes in a new way. There will be special monthly events through the channel, including sound baths, group reiki healing sessions, hypnotherapy, and video series for sleep, anxiety, and yoga therapy. We are developing strategic partnerships with corporations, hotels, and other inspiring organizations that are doing great work in this world. The future is bright, and we are excited to enjoy the journey!”

Clientele & Corporate Ethics The clientele includes organizations that are looking to reduce stress and create a healthier work-life balance for their employees. The company has worked with some amazing brands like Hulu, Accenture, LA Philharmonic, LAX Airport, and Westfield, to name a few. “Our clients appreciate our innovative approach to wellness, along with our ever-expanding list of wellness experiences to choose from, and our personal touch. We are constantly receiving feedback from employees telling us how happy they are that their employer provides them with such wonderful resources to feel good and bring their best selves to work”, Nicole proudly said.

Fierce in the Face of Challenges Balance by Nature was launched with an onsite model, where their employees would go onsite to the client’s offices to teach in-person classes to their staff. Once COVID hit and all the employees went to work from home, every single client they had called within a 24hr period to cancel everything. It was a powerful moment as Nicole meditated on the best way forward, instantly receiving the idea to go online. She took the whole company online in a mere 30 days and started live-streaming everything. It turned into a blessing as this new virtual model allowed them to expand their services to remote workers all over the world. 10

The Support behind the Success

“I am incredibly blessed to have been brought up in a happy and loving home, where my parents helped me to believe in myself and my abilities from an early age. Not everyone is that lucky, so I never take it for granted. I also had some incredible mentors and business coaches along the way that inspired me to think bigger. My husband has been my rock through thick and thin, believing in me, and supporting me when I decided to leave my lucrative corporate career behind to start my own business. Every experience throughout my life has brought me to this point, and I wouldn’t change a thing!”, asserted Nicole.

A Day in Nicole’s Life While talking about her daily routine, Nicole said, “My morning ritual consists of a gratitude practice, followed by 10 minutes of yoga and 10 minutes of meditation. I repeat positive affirmations in the shower and then listen to an uplifting audiobook or podcast while I get ready. After having a healthy breakfast, I will write down my top 3 goals that I want to accomplish for the day personally and professionally. I block my tasks into my day around my calls and meetings, allowing me to have focused time to work on my projects without distractions. I often schedule one walking meeting each day, where I invite someone to go for a walk at the same time and talk on the phone, rather than hopping on Zoom.” “At the end of the day, I enjoy playing with my kids and cooking dinner for the family. I designate different activities each night throughout the week so that I can fit in all things that are important to me – nights to watch a show with my hubby, nights to read, nights to take a bath and write in my journal, nights to work on projects, date nights, etc.”, she further added.

Feathers in the Hat

• Top Corporate Wellness Solution Provider USA 2020 – Manage HR Magazine

2020 and 2021 have been BIG years for Nicole! Balance by Nature has been blessed to be recognized as Best Corporate Wellness Company in the USA in 2021, among other prestigious awards, and Nicole Mixdorf has been awarded as Most Influential Woman in Corporate Wellness Services in the USA 2021 and 2021. Below is a list of all the amazing awards and recognitions:

• Most Innovative Corporate Health & Wellness Consultancy – Western USA 2020 – GHP News

Balance by Nature: • Best in Corporate Wellness Services USA 2021 – Global Business Awards • Best Corporate Health & Wellness Consultancy California 2021 – Corporate Vision

Nicole Mixdorf: • Most Influential Woman in Corporate Wellness Services USA 2021 – Global 100 • Top 100 Healthcare Leader in the World 2020-2021 – International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare • Most Influential Woman in Corporate Wellness Services USA 2020 – Acquisition INTL Magazine • Most Influential Woman in Corporate Wellness Services 2021 – Lawyer International

• 20 Leading Companies of the Year 2021 – Global Business Leaders Magazine

Advice for Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs

• 30 Most Reputable Companies of the Year 2021 – Silicon Review

Get clear on your vision and get started! Don’t allow other people to project their fears onto you. Hold your dreams in your heart as your truth and take action to turn them into reality. Find a good mentor or business coach to help you embark on your new journey, and do not be afraid to fail. Some of the most successful people have failed countless times, but they keep pivoting until they get it right. The key is to enjoy the journey!

• 30 Admired Companies to Watch 2021 – CIO Bulletin • 50 Most Innovative Companies to Watch 2021 – The CEO Views • Top Employee Wellness Solution Provider USA 2020 – HR Tech Outlook Magazine

Favourite Book Super Attractor by Gabby Bernstein

An Expert Legal Practitioner, Navigating Commercial and Corporate Matters with ASV Law

ounded in November 2011 with Simon Vumbaca in the leadership role as a Managing Partner, ASV Law has been alleviating the most pressing challenges faced by the leading international corporate and commercial clients with key consulting solutions. It is not incorrect if we introduce Simon Vumbaca as an experienced lawyer and dynamic leader as he is spearheading this London-based international law firm successfully and taking it to a higher altitude. Citizen of the world, Simon is a dual qualified Lawyer, Commercial Litigation and Corporate Law Solicitor. He holds over 25 years of experience handling and resolving complex commercial cases internationally previously heading up several international legal teams. Backed with skills and knowledge, Simon’s career can be defined as aiding people who need guidance and support in legal issues. As a dynamic leader and a visionary, he has resolved many complicated cases and what he brings to clients is worth much more than just legal advice. The strategic approach to any issue he brings has a compounding effect on the future of the client’s business.

ASV Law & Service Portfolio ASV Law is an established international high-profile law firm that delivers innovative legal advice to global Clients. There is an award-winning team, dealing with very high-value claims as well as corporate and commercial advice to elite Clients with an aim to resolve problems and add value to people’s life. The firm specialises in complex cross-border and multi-jurisdictional work and has significant expertise in specific sectors of the law: Commercial and Civil

Litigation, International Arbitration, Sports Law, Technology, and IP. In practical terms though, they cover corporate law, commercial and construction litigation advice, international arbitration, and sports/entertainment law. Here, English, Italian, Spanish and French-speaking lawyers enjoy significant worldwide success in Commercial and Civil Litigation. Further, Simon apprised, “We believe there is always a way to add value in the resolve. We operate on the basis that what clients want is their problem to be sorted out; mostly they don’t care how. It is for us to do our best to come up with the resolve. The simple application of the law will not always end it. So we create a long-term strategy to resolve the case that tries to avoid future occurrences of the same issue, augmenting the client’s position. This is how ASV enriches the client’s position. This is also why we are super attentive when taking new cases.”

The Decision to be a Lawyer What really influenced Simon Vumbaca and attracted him to the law was the application of the logical to reach the illogical, or was it the other way around? The law offers the path to so many professional options that it was the logical step for him. He knew he liked the intellectual challenge of litigation. The idea to structure a strategy using what facts you have and the law to protect a client was a natural exciting matter. The more he practised it the more successful he became.

Maintaining an Unbreakable Faith with Clients “Given our focus on results, naturally we attract high performance and result-driven organisations and 14

ASV hand-picks its clients as Simon and his team’s focus is to augment a client’s position by creating a strategy for the case that adds an advantage they continue enjoying into the future. Many ASV clients return to them for further strategy-led legal advice because they are their primary focus and they improve their position. A ‘legal’ response is fine but what Simon does is create fulfilment and value in the client’s professional life immediately and into the future long after the case has concluded. “In being honest in my assessment of the cases, not being afraid to say no, delivering and being committed. I don’t judge people and how situations come to be. I focus on impact, consequences and resolve - these are the factors that empowered me to grow”, shared Mr Vumbaca.

Road ahead

Simon Vumbaca | Managing Partner

ASV Law individuals such as HNWs, overseas royal families, global conglomerates, elite sportspeople, and sports club owners. I come with an energy and desire to make a real difference to my clients. My approach is always strategic and focuses on adding real value that impacts immediately and lasts into the future. This is why my clients return to me time and time again. This is also why we are very careful when we choose and accept instructions. Experience has taught me that if we over-deliver and do what said at the offset, delivering the results agreed, trust or professional respect is created. We are also very discreet and confidential about our business and our client’s one”, asserted Simon Vumbaca while talking about his strategies on maintaining an unbreakable faith with clients.

Hiccups on the Way & the Secret Sauce The challenge was maintaining a caseload that allowed Simon Vumbaca the correct level of time to focus on each client.

ASV Law has developed an innovative approach to legal services, focusing on resolving and adding value, from strategy to tactical implementation. They created a Strategic Alliance Partnership Programme with strictly selected firms in different jurisdictions to deliver the global legal services their clients require around the world, adding value to their business. They remain the central point of contact that manages the strategy and coordinates local implementation of it with local partners.

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A Piece of Advice for Entrepreneurs

Favourite book

Work smart, utilise and learn from the skills and knowledge of people around you, keep an open mind all the time and question yourself. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake as this is a learning point.

“Lao Tze’s Tao teh Ching was the first book that really inspired me. Derived books such as the I Ching also impacted me. Many other books had some inspirational parts, but the Tao teh Ching illustrated to me how simplicity and completeness could be reached in one sentence. Right, wrong and other values change with society and times they are contemplated upon. The way of things and universe does not change and brings a degree of clarity that I like to revert to when things get confusing”, said Mr Vumbaca on asked about his favourite book.

Jewels in the Crown • AI 2020 Leading Advisor Awards – Leading complex cross-border Litigation and Arbitration Lawyer of the Year • Advisory Excellence 2020 – Certificate of Excellence • Corporate NTL 2020 Litigation Law Firm of the Year, England • Spears500 – Top Recommended 2020 • Global Law Experts 2021 Recommended Experts • Global Law Experts 2021 Recommended Law Firm

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Magnificently Driving Successful Ventures

ohn Yanyali is the man behind multiple successful business ventures. John began his entrepreneurial journey by investing in the agriculture, education, construction, and marine industries. He further expanded into the Smart Industry, with a focus on the energy, finance, infrastructure, transportation, and security industries. He presently holds over 15+ years of experience in different industry verticals.

John is a visionary with a positive mind and a can-do attitude. In 2007, he formed a partnership with a California-based technology company that specializes in electronics manufacturing services. In 2008, he expanded his portfolio by partnering with Elektronet, a digital technology provider focused on Smart Industry. With his involvement, Elektronet soon became the largest manufacturer and developer of custom hardware and software systems in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2016, John launched Jova Digital, a North American provider of intelligent revenue management services. Currently, he is the General Partner of First Drop Ventures and serves on the executive board of Duuple. When asked about his inspiration behind his journey John apprised, “Successful people have always inspired me. I’ve always believed that becoming an entrepreneur would allow me to become a part of a network that has already established great businesses. I was fascinated with the concept of finding the next profitable idea and changing people’s lives. Watching someone with nothing grow to become a successful businessperson was enough for me to save up money to start my businesses.”

A Glimpse of Duuple- The Challenge-based App Duuple empowers individuals, brands, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to create their goal-based challenges. With a mission to provide a fun platform for social innovators and organizations to empower each other and their communities, Duuple provides a platform for users to donate to causes and advocate for issues that matter. Through user-generated videos, users participate in social good along with cheers, energy, excitement, prizes. The user-created challenges provide discoverability and virality –with an immediate call to action for fun and social good amongst friends. Whether it is just friends competing with each other or a charity raising funds, it is a fun and interactive way to challenge your network and share hilarious and engaging content. Over the past few years, social networks have been turning a simple act into a movement — especially when aligned with charities and social initiatives. Thus, it’s an innovative way to challenge your friends while stepping out of your comfort zone into a world of good.

Overcoming Challenges Like a Leader Start-ups like Duuple face lots of challenges from creating an app that users can connect with, to getting enough funding for development. It is easy to get overwhelmed and lose focus of where one’s energy should be directed. It is no secret that there are thousands of mobile apps on the market. Start-ups are coming up with new apps each day and the biggest challenge for John and 18

Suggestion for a More Balanced and Equal Industry Companies need to empower leaders who are more in tune with the workforce and recognize the importance of cultural factors such as pay transparency, the availability of family leave, and the freedom to be creative in helping employees thrive. While leaders think culture is important, most of them are not prioritizing it. Industries need leaders who are armed with an awareness of both the perception gap and the barriers to building more equal cultures. They can “say, do and drive” the behaviors and policies that will close the gap and overcome the obstacles in their organizations.

A Day in John’s Life

John Yanyali | First Drop Ventures | Founder

his team was creating an app that stood out from the rest. Once they figured the strategy, they had to jump the hurdle of market penetration to gather enough data to prove the concept. They made it a priority to align themselves with their users; What do they need? What problem is Duuple solving for them? How easy is it for them to recommend Duuple to other users? Funding is another great challenge that start-ups face. It may cost an average of $200,000 to develop a usable app and push it to the market. Most start-ups get stuck at the funding stage, with a great idea for an app but with no capital to catapult their dream forward. The strategy for funding Duuple was approaching the right investors. They communicated the three-prong approach, which includes individuals, non-profits, and brands, Duuple offers with the investors to create challenges for fun or social good.

“My days are not rushed. Instead, I take time to rest, recharge and make decisions carefully. I go to bed early; I get up early. Once I am up, I take some time for myself. I like to read the news while I drink my coffee and eat my breakfast. When I am ready to turn to business, I devote all of my focus to the companies I invest. I set my first meeting at 10 a.m. The first meetings of the day are the ones that require the most brainpower. Anything that’s going to be mentally challenging, that’s a 10:00 a.m. meeting. At the end of the day, I try to avoid making decisions. To be as effective at making decisions as possible, I also prioritize sleep. I get eight hours of sleep unless I’m traveling in different time zones. For me, I need eight hours of sleep because I can think better, have more energy, and be in a better mood”, said John while talking about his daily routine.

Favourite Book The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 19

A Seasoned Leader Looking Ahead to Succeed A lot is happening! Now, Duuple has become one of the most entertaining mobile apps that will soon be expanded globally. The company has an ambassadors program coming up that will allow the company to create its own influencers. Additionally, they have an augmented reality feature, which is almost ready to be released – and it will take engagement to the next level. Overall, Duuple is on its way to becoming one of the most successful apps in its genre!

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Awards and Milestones One of the most memorable milestones was when Duuple hit 1 million downloads. Everyone on the team was so excited. This victory was celebrated with teams across three time zones for a whole day. Additionally, the company received the best mobile app award, the best design award, and the most innovative mobile app award. The co-founder and CEO, Abby Frimpong, was also recognized for her impact in the industry and for her efforts in leveling the playing field for female entrepreneurs.

Advice for Entrepreneurs John’s message for young entrepreneurs is, “Challenge your comfort zone. You can’t achieve anything if you are always afraid of stepping outside. You need to prepare for financial shifts, so start small and snowball it.”

Five things that have changed in sales because of COVID that will never be the same as before Since COVID began impacting our lives many people have reached out to us at Datasocial seeking help with an updated sales process now that face-to-face networking is basically gone. There are severe doubts about whether we will go back to selling on golf courses and restaurants when the pandemic passes. The pandemic has accelerated some changes due to the absence of physical relationships, yet many of them will never be the same as before.

1. The growth of Smarketing

Founder at Datasocial

Traditionally the sales and marketing teams teams have been at each other's throats, but today they need to learn to work together. Thus, marketing has grown faster than ever. Why? Sales have always given very little value to marketing leads because they could generate their opportunities at expensive restaurants and golf courses. But with everything closed, they have had no choice but to look pleadingly to their peers for leads to work with. And this has led to more and more talk about the "lead hand-off" - what the mechanisms are for handing off leads from marketing to sales and what each of the teams has to commit to. Who calls the leads? How long do sales qualify the leads they receive? None of this is new, but COVID has given it the importance that sales teams have traditionally tried to take away. In this scenario technology tools can bridge the gap between sales and marketing and the tech is continually growing. 22

2. Prospecting by providing value is the answer What if inbound can't give me the leads I need? You simply have to pick up the phone or email and try to generate leads by providing value. And providing value is the most important part. Finding opportunities so that in the sales process, the other prospect receives value even if they don't buy from you, for example, with an audit of their website or CRM. It's no use calling everyone with nothing to offer. We are past that time; it is the time to provide value, even if it is remotely.

3. Automation and value The automation of sales and marketing tasks is here to stay. It did not arrive with COVID; it has been with us since the 90s when the first marketing platforms were born and have been evolving ever since. According to Gartner, "A marketing automation system is a system that helps marketers execute multi-channel marketing campaigns by providing a scripted environment for creating business rules and interfaces to a variety of third-party applications."

information face-to-face, it is key to have real-time and updated information about the opportunities we are working on. Therefore, it is more necessary than ever that technology is at the heart of the relationship between the customer and the company.

5. A connected technology stack Now that people can't see each other, it's time for applications to "talk to each other". The switchboard can no longer be a horrible room full of underpaid people, where everyone is shouting simultaneously, but a cloud application that connects the whole team and is synchronized in real-time with the CRM to which it constantly sends information. The same goes for the other applications where we interact with the customer, which are many and create silos of information that are not accessible by the other team members that may contain very valuable information. It is time to have a connected technology stack and a CRM that reflects all interactions with customers, wherever they are.

These tools, mostly from the marketing world have been overtaking sales and today many sales tasks can be done semi-automatically, such as importing leads into a CRM or sending sequences. Far from worrying about the tasks that teams no longer do, there is an opportunity to add value to the tasks we don't automate, spend time on the leads that are truly qualified, and focus our time on creating meaningful and value-adding relationships.

4. Sales teams have begun to value CRM. In times of scarce opportunities, each one must be carefully nurtured and worked on. CRM, which most sales forces see as a divine punishment, has become an ally that gives them context about the relationship with the potential customer, informs them about the technology that customers use, about revenues and employees, tells you about the interactions that other departments have had and in some way sheds light on the customer relationship as a whole. Now that we do not meet our partners in the corridors or at the coffee machine and we cannot share customer

A Fashion Entrepreneur, Walking the Untravelled Path to Success with her Brand, Recycled Karma

ene Park, a passionate, fierce, and customerdriven fashion entrepreneur, transitioned these motivation-steering words into reality by launching her brainchild brand, Recycled Karma, in the global fashion industry. Recycled Karma is a vintage and classic rock & roll inspired premium streetwear fashion powerhouse, designed in Los Angeles, California. The company partners with the most sought-after, iconic and instantly recognizable artists that include AC/DC, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin, KISS, Blondie, Joan Jett, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Black Crows, The Police, Poison, Duran Duran, Wham!, Woodstock and many more. They create products of impeccable quality, and the coolest, most stylish looks, at an affordable price point.

However, just like any other entrepreneur, she too experienced her share of challenges. But she chose to remain unfazed and rather things in her stride. And, despite all the difficulties, everything from learning English to overcoming cultural differences, she achieved the current position of a woman-owned and operated fashion brand by believing in her dreams. Undoubtedly, it was a roller coaster ride but was indeed worth the pain as she is one of the leading fashion entrepreneurs. Jene is funny, young at heart, down to earth, accomplished, badass CEO. She was born and raised in South Korea, and later she emigrated to LA at age 29 with dreams of making a life of her own.

company, Max Azria: “Hard work and Perseverance”. Don’t ever give up, and no matter what keep pushing and chasing your dreams. Following his advice, when I run into obstacles I know the only way I can overcome them is by truly believing that my dream can come true through dedication, perseverance and hard work”, state the leading lady.

Hurdles on the Way & Clientele Recycled Karma is a young company, only 3 years old, and during half of that time, they had to overcome a pandemic. Despite that, the company is experiencing massive growth, almost doubling revenue each year. The biggest challenge is managing the cash flow to support the production so they can fulfil the orders, and investing in infrastructures like warehouses and employees. They are lucky to be experiencing tremendous growth even during the pandemic, but the team is definitely going through some growing pains.

Recycled Karma serves a variety of customers from high-end boutiques, speciality chain stores, and department stores as well as direct to consumers through e-com. The fashion industry is super competitive and a brand must offer a product that is unique and desirable. With that mission, they design and make the coolest and highest quality tee-shirts in the fashion industry. The edgy and fashion-driven collections are elevated by speciality washes and a distressed worn look, making them as soft as cashmere and super-luxe. Not only that, with on-time Jene’s Biggest Learning from Initial Days delivery and the best customer service, the company is quickly conquering the market. Over 90% of our “After completing FIDM, I started working for the customers are repeat customers, wanting the product women’s contemporary fashion powerhouse BCBG, the season after season. only company I wanted to work for. I learned the two most important things in my career from the owner of the 26

The Successful Journey

Jene Park | Creative Director Recycled Karma Brands Contributions towards Environment “The fashion industry is one of the most environmentally damaging industries. I feel the industry leaders must do our part (even if just starting small) to change the way we make and consume our products. That is why my priority has been to create a fashion collection with function and purpose and to help the environment at the same time by giving consumers fashionable but sustainable choices. Our green label tee-shirt is literally made from five recycled water bottles and post-industrial cotton, all of which are sourced domestically here in Los Angeles. My vision is to form a group of like-minded companies and produce a full range of sustainable and green product lines”, Jene shared.

While talking about the factors that lead her towards success, Jene says, “All experiences, good or bad got me where I am today. I had my fair share of failures and mistakes throughout my career, some big and many smaller ones. When that happened, I always just get up and try again. I fell 10 times and got up 10 times. There’s no giving up and I am not afraid of failing, it never stopped me from trying. I was lucky enough to have had so many amazing and wonderful people who helped me throughout my career; my partners, customers, bosses and co-workers that I have worked with. Together we learn from each other. I am still learning every day, especially from young people. They do things so much differently than I do and I am fascinated by it and am learning their ways to viewing and solving problems. But among all the wonderful people, there is one person I owe all my success is my husband Steve. I could have never done what I have done without his relentless help and support.”

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Recent Milestones • The wholesale grew from 200 POS to 2000 POS from 2019 to 2020

• Jene Park launched e-com in Jan 2020 and grew sales 30x by Dec 2020.

Advice to the Future Leaders Working and running a fashion company requires lots of stamina and physical strength to manage the extensive travel schedules and the grueling workload. So eat well, sleep well, stay fit and don’t take anything personally.

What’s Next? The long-term goal of Recycled Karma Brands is to conquer the world with the best t-shirts in the fashion industry, with a focus on vintage-inspired, impeccable quality, with the coolest design. Currently, they offer products in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and Japan, but starting next year they are going to open up to more international markets targeting 35 to 40 countries by 2025. They are also planning to expand the product line beyond t-shirts and offer an amazing product range to men and kids, and eventually open their own flagship stores in major cities in the US and around the globe.

Favourite Book: Becoming by Michelle Obama, an intimate, powerful and inspiring memoir by the former First lady whose story inspires us to do the same!

By Betsy Wiersma, Wiersma Experience Marketing

hat differentiates your business from the pack? What communicates your business’s heart and soul? What can unite employees, connect with customers and help your community? Consider philanthropy as a business tool! We call it “Do Good and Have Fun!” For the last 16 years, I have dedicated my life to uniting amazing women from all walks of life to help others. Our Denver Colorado CampExperience ™ Network has raised over $1 million in cash and in-kind support for 50+ charities in Colorado and around the world. We gather women for both online and in-person events, promotions and campaigns, and each year we choose charity partners to receive the Network’s donations. Over the 16 years we are partnered with large organizations like our Mile High United Way in Denver and small organizations like the Sock It To Em Sock Campaign. Each time we look for a specific project or group we can make a difference for and engage our volunteers. There are so many examples of Doing Good and Having Fun. One of my favorites was 1000 Acts of Peace in September of 2019. We gathered donations of more than 20,000 items of shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, floss, tooth paste, combs, sanitized wipes, Kleenex, a bottle of water and a Luna bar. Then 130 ladies assembled 1000 knapsacks in 2 hours, loaded onto busses and delivered the donations to the Mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado, to gift to agencies that served people experiencing homelessness.

We have developed a style of “sisterhood by choice” in that we treat each other as family and treat others as our own. Our community involvement generates positive energy, publicity and more opportunities for our members and sponsors. This experience has proven the following three tips for your organization’s community success.

Match Your Mission to Your Mate A great way to choose a community partner is to match the passions and purpose of your organization with a like-hearted “mate.” Like dating, try some conversations with potential community partners and find a match. You might start with your stakeholders to see where they are involved and what type of experiences are working. There may be timely issues in your community or you may need to serve multiple markets across a country or a region. Look for:

• Leadership stability and fiscal responsibility. • Check some references to ensure a top reputation. • What are the deliverable goods and/or services and who specifically is served? How is the “good” measured?

• What are the needs and specific opportunities to

involve staff or customers? For example, our volunteers gathered new socks for men, women and children and the socks stayed in each market to help local groups.

The process of partnering has elevated the stature of our organization, attracted new members and kept the loyalty of current members. Our focus on helping others rates high in surveys about organization interest and market reputation. 31

Choose A Scale That Makes Success Easy My mom always asked, “Did you bite off more than you can chew?” Even as I kid I wanted to do it all, save it all and take every opportunity for the FUN of getting involved. I have discovered (the overcommitted and tired way) that with community involvement (and life) you can choose the “scale” of involvement. This means when you discover the magic of a cause that matches your interest, develop a “menu” of ideas both large and small. This scales serves you in many ways:

In a world running fast and working hard, take a minute for some thoughtful strategy. Consider philanthropy and some Do Good Have Fun for you and your team!

• The menu of specific needs and tasks can fit the

multiple interests of your employees and customers. Just Do It … Go, Review and Repeat! Include the time, level of commitment, location After creating the perfect partnership and developing and what to expect when serving. your action plan just do it! Take action and begin. The magic of the Do Good is the Have Fun! • When you start and complete an exact task, the small success starts positive momentum. When you get even small “wins,” you start to stack up the good deeds and start the reputation of the project to be viable and FUN!

• The process of developing the menu can unlock more creativity and is great for the process of developing a working partnership with your community

In hundreds of projects, we find that the journey of helping others is even better than the destination of any goal. Goals can always move and change. The journey is the juicy relationship-building process. The activities connect hearts and minds. The positive impact generates possibility thinking and a fresh outlook. And these relationships and shifted perspectives contribute not only in the community but back in the organization.

fierce, action-oriented, and passionate lawyer, Liliane MUBANGA puts her leader hat on spearheading Thambwe-Mwamba & Associes, a dynamic and progressive law firm based in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. 16 years ago, the optimistic visionary joined Thambwe-Mwamba & Associés as a Senior Executive to help those in need of legal advice on the lines of finding the silver lining in the dark clouds. Liliane MUBANGA registered at the Bar of Kinshasa/Gombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has been a member of the Bar Council of the said Bar for a term of 4 years. She is also the Mining and Quarrying attorney with the senior partner, Maître Alexis Thambwe-Mwamba. Besides, she has had training in OHADA; Hydrocarbons; Public Procurement; and Insurance, among others. In academics, Liliane Mubanga holds a Degree in Law, with a specialisation in Private and Judicial Law from the University of Lubumbashi, she has completed other trainings for which she is also the holder of a Certificate of speciality in insurance law, a Certificate of competence in oil rent production sharing law and a Master’s degree in International Commercial Law.

Thambwe-Mwamba & Associés: Providing Innovative Law Solutions

This professional firm is home to seven expert lawyers and offers integrated services. These seven attorneys bring with them a rich background in different industry verticals. It empowers the team with the adroitness and the expertise to address matters concerning different fields like banking, general trade, construction and hotel industry, mining, and many more. The proficiency and skilfulness of the team have been entrusted by a large number of people. With its excellent support and legal service, the team stands out among the rest of the players in the markets. Even if Thambwe-Mwamba & Associés remain a human-sized unit in order to better serve the clients. “Our law firm with a human face combines the ability to imprint a personal mark in the relationship with the client, and the professionalism in the handling of business,” apprised Liliane Mubanga. “Our commitment to our clients is unique because the client is at the centre of our approach, which consists of getting to know them better, understanding the specific nature of their case, and assessing their needs in order to better assist, advise and guide them”, she further added.

Mindful of the ever-growing complexity of legal Thambwe-Mwamba & Associés emerges as one of the matters with the globalisation of markets and most influential names for legal support. The firm business, which require an ever-increasing covers legal advice in various areas of law but more specialization of lawyers, the members of the firm particularly, in business (creation of companies, drafting keep on deepening consistently their knowledge of of deeds, special contracts, Due-diligence), Mining, preferential matters, thus maintaining its Insurance, Real Estate Development and Management, multidisciplinary vocation. The synergy of the skills Real Estate Investments, Labour law (they assist both of the members, reinforced by those of external employers and employees) and also Family law consultants recognized in their specialties, enables the (divorce, succession and filiation). law firm to master a broad range of areas of law. 34

Hurdles on the Way

Liliane Mubanga Thambwe-Mwamba & Associés Law Firm Reforms by the Government During the period 2001 to 2014, in addition to the institutional reforms that were undertaken by the governments, these were also supported by economic reforms that had the implementation of the global development goals as their foundation. These reforms were structural and were accompanied by infrastructure programmes, the strengthening of the banking system, the improvement of governance, which led to the reform of state-owned companies, and the liberalisation of the energy and insurance markets. These liberalizations have led to a change in legislation; in this context, the law firm can cite the mining code in 2001, which has been amended to date, the investment code with the creation of the national agency for the promotion of investments, the law on energy, the hydrocarbons code, the insurance code, the new business law (Ohada law), the law on telecommunications, the law against money laundering and terrorist financing and the creation of dedicated agencies, the law on subcontracting ......;

There has been a definite impact as a result of changes in legislation, especially on business law; the creation of companies has become flexible; this has encouraged the creation of new companies and a competitive market and net banking has developed following the strengthening of the banking system. After the instability of 2015, there was an economic rebound, good growth with a double-digit growth rate, however, there was a slowdown following the political instability which calmed down after the elections and the handover of power between the elected president and the outgoing one. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic which put a damper on things. It is the new challenge for doing business and the traditional challenges of corruption, the development of new solutions, and price stability. The government is making efforts to ensure that the recovery is effective with or without Covid-19.

A Piece of Advice for Companies The companies must reinvent themselves and propose new solutions to get out of the pandemic and then, they must take advantage of the legal tools set up in DRC (new laws, liberalization of the economic sectors such as insurances, energy, telecommunications, and new technologies) in a market of more than 80 million consumers and with the presence of country relations. Thus, it is necessary to rethink the implementation of tools to facilitate exchanges; in particular re-launching the chambers of commerce with different countries such as the States of the European Union, Asia (China, Japan, UAE and others), the African countries, the USA, Great Britain.

The Letter to Leaders As a pioneer you might approach yourself-“I agreed to accept this?” The appropriate response is yes and numerous are happy you did. As a director or building main you have the ability, want and manner to lead others. You acknowledged this test and obligation as a hireling pioneer and your errand won’t be for the swoon of heart. You will require conviction, strength and above all pledge to yourself as well as other people to be successful.So what is being a pioneer and all the more significantly, what do compelling pioneers do any other way? John Buchan states, “The assignment of initiative isn’t to place significance into individuals, however to evoke it, for the enormity is there as of now.” If transformational-genuinely viable administration is to happen it is through building up the authority in you and of people around you. Really powerful pioneers instinctually and purposefully experience their convictions – through their activities. A considerable lot of your activities as a pioneer will be illogical to institutional preparing, practices, and conviction structures inside your association. Your capacity as a pioneer to perceive and explore through difficulties will be the contrast between foundational versus situational change. Customary ways to deal with persistent change starts with the attitude of how would they address the issue inside the current institutional structures. From the beginning this approach will yield common outcomes when the normal outcomes are a long way from run of the mill. As transformational pioneers, you should be anything other than regular. Change endeavors should be drawn closer with a crisp arrangement of eyes open to all potential outcomes for genuinely impactful and supportable outcomes to happen. As a pioneer you should have the right stuff to foresee and withstand the institutional protection from secure existing conditions that will definitely will happen. As a transformational pioneer you should have the fearlessness to surrender positional expert and endow authority in others. This distributive initiative approach comes through strengthening, coordinated effort and shared responsibility as the standard and desire for all. Each individual in your association has intrinsic and learned administration aptitudes. Administrators and building principals must have an intense familiarity with every individual’s abilities and use them for the advantage of the association. On the off chance that you comprehend what institutional boundaries are set up that demonstration against organizing these endeavors you will be more fruitful in separating them. In doing as such you will make a culture enabled to go out on a limb and bolster creative ways to deal with settle the intricate issues your school or area may confront. We are altogether conceived with natural interest however after some time institutional norming limits our senses. 36

Pioneers can’t contradict institutional practice but instead, discover approaches to change the conviction structures that characterize the way of life and supports interest. Be True to Yourself A pioneer is a man who others normally incline toward and through this association, enhance the initiative and efficiency of others towards finishing the association’s objectives. A pioneer must have full consciousness of your staffs’ qualities, constraints and you should have the bravery to perceive your qualities and shortcomings too. There is almost certainly that you will be tried professionally and by and by on each choice and move you make. You should be clear and predictable in your embraced and authorized convictions on what is best for the association and how you expect to move the association towards the course you look for. Remain consistent with your own and expert feelings and you will discover others will put resources into you and your authority. Put People over Processes No association will be fruitful until the point when the pioneer encompasses the association with skilled and submitted representatives. Human capital is the most imperative resource for any effective and reasonable association. This is additionally the most troublesome region confronting capable pioneers yet completely essential to progress or disappointment. Individuals trump forms. As a pioneer you are coordinated through arrangements, statutes and desires to take after specific procedures. Procedures are imperative They give an unmistakable “guide” for others to take after to guarantee proficiency of activities. Plainly comprehended and identifiable procedures empowers every individual in your association the capacity to work all the more productively. As a pioneer you will discover circumstances where procedures may knock up against what is best for your work force. At the point when this happens you should will and ready to survey these obstructions and change them. Keep in mind forget your work force will be relied upon to complete the procedures and your duty is to guarantee they have each opportunity to be effective. In the event that methods or approaches go about as obstructions to use your association’s human capital-change them. Have a Plan When others put stock in your feelings and promise to the association they have to know you have an arrangement. Be particular with regards to the objectives of the association, forms for coordinated effort, have a distributive authority structure as a top priority. Recognize and expressly lay out the means to execute the arrangement. When this is expert your staff can picture activity. Be predictable. Try not to misjudge consistency with firmness. Others will put resources into you when they feel persuaded you are predictable in your conviction structure and way to deal with complex issues. Transformational pioneers insert ceaseless criticism forms and the adaptability to turn when essential. In the event that your activities are conflicting it will make an increased domain of tension constraining or dispensing with others to put resources into your heading and authority. Impart and after that Communicate Again Correspondence is the way to moving every one of the parts working in synchronized mold. A pioneer imparts conviction, reason and responsibility each moment of consistently through activities, basic leadership and the average correspondence mediums. Most importantly, pioneers comprehend listening is the most essential factor of being a powerful communicator. The message is more vital than the medium. As a pioneer you should be available to include from others, process that information and roll out the improvements important to guarantee achievement. 37