Entrepreneur Mindset feat. Jason Tartick by themindset360

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET

Summer 2020

COLIN WAYNE

for Redline Steel

BERT BALAS for The Straw

BRET LOCKETT Knowledge is POWER

GARY VEE Master Content STRATEGY

JASON TARTICK

TIME TO

YOUR LIFE

GOZEL ORA DubaÃ¯ Fashionista

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET HOME OF CREATORS, INNOVATORS & VISIONNAIRES.

S U M M E R

E D I T I O N

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

Contents

Editors in chief

Photographers

CDN Johana Morena

Tropikal Garden @alextanoa @andympics @johnseye.dubai @gracefullgreiss

Contributing writers Gilles Pauchon Nicolas Bernard Loana Robert Damien Chaumel Jeanne Leblois

Marketing/Design

THEMINDSET360.COM

Agence nüvo

@THEMINDSET360

06 RESTART

20 THE COACH

34 INNOVATION

12 E-COMMERCE

22 THE VISIONARY

34 DESIGN

14 RETHINK

26 STRATEGY

38 IN THE AIRS

18 FASHIONISTA

30 GASTRONOMIE

feat. Jason Tartick

feat. Colin Wayne feat. Bert Balas

feat. Gozel Ora

feat. Bret Lockett

feat. Pouya Hashemi

written by Gary Vee

feat. C19-Certiﬁed

feat. Cosmo Creative feat. Soloﬂow

feat. Chef Aaron May

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

RESTART

“The fulfillment I endured knowing that one person may have been positively impacted by my message was just so rewarding.”

J A S O N T A R T I C K . C O M / R E S T A R T 6

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

RESTART

JASON TARTICK T I M E

T O

( R E ) S T A R T

ason Tartick is a former suitor on ABC’s The Bachelorette, Season 14, who fell just short of the final rose but still ended up finding what he was looking for all along. He currently resides in Nashville, TN with former ABC’s The Bachelorette, Season 11 star, Kaitlyn Bristowe and their rescued Golden Retrievers, Ramen Noodle and Pinot G. Since appearing on ABC’s The Bachelorette, Jason’s charismatic personality has landed him co-hosting opportunities on shows such as Live From E!, Yahoo Finance, E! Daily Pop, and The Bachelor Premier. If you missed him co-hosting, you may have seen his roles on ABC Listen to Your Heart Finale, Celebrity Family Feud, Today Show, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, HLN, Fox, People TV and The Ryan Seacrest Show. Recently, Jason has founded “Restart” an informational, educational and inspirational channel aligned with financial, professional, and personal wellness. In addition to one on one consulting, group consulting, blogs, tutorials, newsletters and small business consulting. Restart offers premium content on their Instagram page and YouTube Channel. His Restart Real Talks have been a hit, where he will interview prominent professionals within their respective fields to drill down on how they launched their careers further understanding the lessons we can learn that aren’t taught in textbooks. Hello Jason, thanks for sharing your story. Could you tell us about your new platform RESTART? Restart is an informational, educational and inspirational consulting channel aligned with financial, professional, and personal wellness. In addition to one on one consulting, group consulting, tutorials, newsletters, networking membership, merchandise and small business consulting, Restart also offers premium content on their social media channels. You can find Restart’s public social media pages on IG Restart_Reset and YouTube Restart with Jason Tartick. Restart members also have private access to exclusive content

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under YouTube Membership, Restart Facebook Blog, Restart Twitter, Restart LinkedIn, Restart Community Text App and the Restart Membership portal including many offerings. Restart Real Talks have become an engaging part of their channel. Restart Real Talks are empowering conversations with prominent individuals who have excelled within their respected fields. The purpose of the discussion is to focus less on where these individuals are today, and more on the life lessons acquired through their career navigation that can’t be taught in classrooms or in textbooks. Restart has had an incredible list of guests such as Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, The Bella Twins, Erika Nardini, Colton Underwood, Ryan Serhant, and many more. As the pandemic started to sweep the nation, hundreds of thousands of Jason’s followers reached out to Jason on social media, all with the same message – “holy sh*t, what is happening and what do I do?” Peoples’ lives were disrupted, they were panicked, and they looked to him for answers. As The Dow Jones & S&P 500 were plummeting they caught the headlines of almost every news outlet. In an attempt to gauge his 1M+ overall social media following, Jason polled his audience asking them a binary “Yes” or “No” question…. in 2 to 3 sentences could you explain to me what the Dow Jones is? After the 250,000 plus people responded in a 24 hour period, the results were in ... 90% of those who answered the poll could NOT explain the Dow Jones in two to three sentences. This was eye opening to Jason! He knew there was a massive gap in what we were taught in our education system and what we actually needed to know on a daily basis, but these numbers took him by surprise. He then created a tutorial breaking down the concept of the Dow Jones in an easy to understand manner. High level, his tutorial compared the Dow Jones to the market as vitals to our body and the tutorial landed with his audience, receiving over 500,000 views and 3000 comments. This beta is what lead to the start of Restart which was created in March 2020.

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

RESTART

How did your experience in the TV world help you to develop the skills required to launch RESTART? It was my 9+ years in Corporate Banking, lending over $100,000,000 in capital to Middle Market Companies across the country, 5 relocations, and an MBA in Accounting & Finance, that really helped me develop the skills and acumen to launch restart. Being in the TV world allowed me to be more comfortable in my own skin. It gave me the power to know it’s OK to discuss your feelings and not act like the corporate America robot that most corporations ask of their employees. Being on TV also helped me get really comfortable with being in front of a camera and for the purposes of Restart being able to present and speak with great comfort while being authentic to who you truly are and what you actually believe in is a skill set that was developed through my media/TV experience process

“I envision Restart to be a place that connects people in all different industries, backgrounds, locations and experiences.” Why is it also a passion of yours to be a life coach and advisor to others? I have emceed at corporate and charity events across the country including: Gildas Club, Friends of Carly, Alzheimer’s Association, Children’s Miracle Network, and the Boys & Girls Club (2020). I also lead a successful speaking and Q&A tour at the following universities: Quinnipiac, DePaul University, University of Kansas, University of Rochester, SUNY Geneseo, Northeastern University, Loyola Marymount University, Nichols College, Sacred Heart University, and Iowa State University. In each of these experiences I continued to feel so satisfied when I said something that clicked with the audience. The fulfillment I endured knowing that 1 person may have been positively impacted by my message was just so rewarding. In addition, nothing makes my blood boil more than seeing someone get taken advantage of! And nothing makes me happier than assisting someone with the right intent achieving something they have always wanted to accomplish.

@jason_tartick

@restart_reset

Today, you have hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, and more across other platforms. What do you consider to be some of the most effective ways to do so? My platform was started strictly by pure luck, but has been built overtime with dedicated effort and care. I was very fortunate to be on a reality television show which is what sparked my initial platform. After the last episode of the season I was on aired, I had around 400K

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

RESTART

NOUN,

NEW

IG followers and 50K Twitter followers. I had a great experience on the show, inevitably leading to the exposure that generated this platform. Since the show finished airing (August 2018) I have been able to effectively grow my IG following to 780K, Twitter following to 120K, A new YouTube Channel to 8.5K subscribers, a business IG Page (Restart) to 45K, a page for our two rescued golden retrievers of 220K and I figured why the hell not? So I’m attempting a TikTok page which has 44K followers. I want to preface without Bachelor Nation or the show I would never have this following! That said, if I was providing any insight into growing your channels I’d start by asking, why do you want a following? What purpose does it serve? Can you handle internet trolls hitting at your deepest insecurities? Can you withstand constant emails, messages, comments, questions, etc? With a following, comes a responsibility so before creating one make sure you’re prepared to handle that. Once you have a clear understanding of the responsibilities and liabil-

START

BEGINNING.

dollars on a billboard ad or the same money on an Instagram ad? The answer here is why social media is so important, because the answer couldn’t be more obvious…ANSWER: INSTAGRAM AD. When you advertise on a billboard it’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of the billboard dollars spent. It becomes subjective when you try to justify that expense, who saw it? How many people saw it? What’s the return on initial investment? Who bought the product? Who visited the site? Who called? Etc. With an IG ad, before the ad is even executed, you know exactly who the individual or businesses following is. You then will learn all of the demographics, what interests align with those demographics, locations of followers, trends of page, etc. Thus, the budgets are all aligned with proven measurable statics and insights. Once the ad is posted, you will have direct insight into the performance of the ad. It’s the most objective form of advertising there is in 2020.

“Restart will bridge the gap between the wealthy/famous and the lost but ambitious.” ities that come with a following, I’d then say it’s so critically important to understand yourself. You must know who you are, what you’re good at, what differentiates you, how your story could impact others, areas in life that you’re passionate about, etc. This is where your channel business plan starts, UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF! Once doing that you have to magnify and accentuate the things that make you, you! If you’re funny, BE FUNNY. If you’re knowledgeable in a specific area, DROP KNOWLEDGE. Tell your story and do it so damn authentically to who you really are. Why is social media so important these days? Social media is so important these days because it has proven to be one of the most effective tools for streamlining a message to the masses. It’s a means of reaching the masses in an instantaneous, self-created, unregulated, and measurable manner. One of the key drivers that I just mentioned from a business perspective is the fact social media posting is all measurable! If you owned a business, would you rather spend $X

Where do you see RESTART go in the future? I am very focused on building a credible, reliable and informative brand. I just signed a 2-part book deal with HarperCollins Leadership that will be aligned with career navigation and personal finance management. In addition, we are working on enhancing each of the offerings of our business model. I hope this company continues to grow with the foundation that’s been put in place which is to protect, inform, inspire, and educate individuals with providing the lessons to life that aren’t necessarily taught in our education system. I envision it to be a place that connects people in all different industries, backgrounds, locations and experiences for the good of one another. Restart will bridge the gap between the wealthy/famous and the lost but ambitious. The goal is to have an infrastructure in place that ethically and accurately provides solutions to anyone looking to restart and reset the way they are approaching their professional, personal, and financial lives. I want Restart’s legacy to long outlive my existence.

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

COMING SOON w w w. a s t r o n a u t m i n d s e t . c o m

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

E-COMMERCE

COLIN

WAYNE

olin Wayne is a US Army Veteran who was injured eight years ago in Afghanistan. Since his return home he has turned himself into a world famous fitness model, social media influencer and the big CEO of Redline Steel - America’s largest customized steel monogram company based out of Alabama. From partnering with A-list stars, pioneering various marketing techniques, to giving back millions in products to frontline workers, farmers and other veterans, Colin has been an inspirational entrepreneur to all! Colin, can you tell a little bit about how you got started and what led you to become an entrepreneur? Back in 2015, I saw a market opportunity of endless potential through digital marketing. At the time, there were zero companies spending money through Google on paid search, so the market opportunity was an uncharted territory. How did you start your brand Redline Steel? I initially wanted to order a customizable baseball monogram for my son as a gift. After consulting with a local manufacturer, I eventually decided to make a deal to buy into the company. On the day, we were supposed to sign the legal documents, the guy never showed up, resulting in the deal falling through. Being that I already had my mind made up to go into this business, I decided to invest my own money for equipment the following day and told the manufacturer that I would instead be a competitor. How did your past military experience (US Army) help you in your business endeavors today? The Military helped instill a “Don’t Give Up” mindset that aligned with the business values that I currently hold today. I’m willing to work

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M E N T A L I T Y “I’m willing to work harder and longer than the average Joe. Having that ‘whatever it takes’ mentality is one of the most important qualities when building a brand or business.”

@colinwayne1

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

redlinesteel.com

E-COMMERCE harder and longer than the average Joe. Having that “whatever it takes” mentality is one of the most important qualities when building a brand or business. What do you think are the most common issues we face when launching an e-commerce business? One of the biggest challenges for any entrepreneur is being able to not only find the perfect market for opportunity, but also building a customer list through consumer trust. Understanding your audience is crucial to converting website traffic into lifelong customers. How did you finance the first steps? I acquired a purchase order before starting the business that helped self-fund the initial startup cost. The purchase order was a 1,500 Qty PO with a large military memorabilia company known as Grunt Style. Can you tell us a little bit about your customer: Who are they, where are they from, and generally what are they looking for? Our customer base mostly consists of Christian, conservative women within the 35-65 age demographic. Many of our clients and customers alike are interested in customizable products for their children or families and/or are interested in our extensive Faith-based collection of products. How has social media paved the way for Redline Steel? Social Media has been a tremendous utilization to the growth and sustainability of Redline Steel. The majority of our first-time buyers are sales through paid ads and digital media on Facebook and Instagram. As a military veteran, what is your opinion about today’s burning issues in the United States like racial conflicts, violence etc.? My stance is simple: No Discrimination, No Racism, and a complete and honest equality for all. As a Veteran in the United States Military, I fought for the basic rights and freedoms of every American. That said, to indicate “All Lives Matter” would dismiss the very problems that we are facing in this country right now, which discredit the “Black Lives Matter” Movement and their mission statement of committing to a world where every black citizen has the social, economic, and political power to thrive within the community. As a Nation I wholeheartedly believe that we must create change starting at all levels (Local, State, and Federal) by which there has to be

“No Discrimination, No Racism, and a complete and honest equality for all. As a Veteran in the United States Military, I fought for the basic rights and freedoms of every American.” true accountability for all actions: Police Brutality, Public Profiling, and Abuse of Power has to stop.

continuing to grow and scale our business, we wanted to give back not only to the community, but also to the country as a whole.

What about COVID-19? Can you explain to us how Redline Steel has helped essential workers? In March, we created a collection of “Giveback” products to thank the essential workers for their hard work and dedication despite the dangers they faced each and every day during the pandemic. The objective was to send a free sign to those that tirelessly worked to keep us safe. All we asked was that the customer paid for the shipping cost. As we’re

What is one motto you live life by? Pain and Failure will not defeat me. I want my trials and tribulations to fuel me rather than beat me. I don’t dwell on the negatives. Instead, I focus on what’s ahead and try and learn from my mistakes and shortcomings. We cannot allow others to dictate how far we’re able to go in life. We have to decide this ourselves and then follow that by actually taking the steps to get there.

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

13 13

RETHINK

BERT I n t e r v i e w

b y

D a m i e n

C h a u m e l

With various countries enacting variations of plastic bans, which includes the use of plastic straws, Bert created the globe’s top selling reusable straw. Bert’s passion has always been to help save the planet and keep people healthy/safe, and with The Straw, he does just that. The product allows restaurants and people to stop using wasteful one-off, single-use plastics and keep within new laws, and instead have their own straw with them wherever they go, that only they have touched / cleaned. Plus, it’s the first reusable straw that has its carrying case that also doubles as a cleaning device with water or mouthwash.

Could you please introduce yourself? What led you to create THE STRAW? My name is Bert Balas, I’ve owned and operated various businesses over the years from construction to manufacturing and been an avid outdoorsman all my life. About a year and a half ago, when we first heard the buzz of single-use plastic straws being banned. The proposed transition of going back 60 years to paper straws did not make any sense, it is still single-use! After researching reusable straws available on the market, nothing was portable, versatile, and easy to clean. There was room for improvement! After sketching a few designs and some market research, a new innovative straw started coming to life. Personally, this is the first time I have heard about this concept. It’s amazing! Do you consider yourself as a pioneer of this niche (reusable straws)? The ancient Sumerians used precious metals to craft straws thousands of years ago, so the reusable straw has been around for some time.

I believe we are the first to introduce a reusable straw that can be assembled into one of four sizes and there are no other reusable straws with a carry case that doubles as a self rinsing container like The Straw. We have designed The Straw for maximum portability as it is an everyday personal item. The user can add water or mouthwash to the case before leaving home and carry a quick rinse everywhere they go in the watertight case. After using The Straw at lunch time, you simply put The Straw back into the case and shake for a quick rinse. What do you think needs to be done to change people’s consumption behaviours and have more initiatives to help the planet like yours? One of the biggest contributing factors in changing people’s consumption behaviours are the options that are available. This is really up to us as entrepreneurs to lead with new innovative ways that entice people to make more environmentally friendly decisions. With a global population approaching 8 billion, the environmental impacts of our lifestyle choices are becoming quite obvious. There is an island

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean twice the size of Texas! Unfortunately this isn’t going to change over night, but every step we take is a step closer to a sustainable future. Where do you get your design inspiration from? I absolutely love the outdoors! My respect and appreciation for nature is probably one of my biggest sources of inspiration to do what I’m doing with The Straw. There is also a sense of duty that motivates this mission. When you see so much litter in city streets, on beaches and nature trails, you just have to start somewhere. The Straw is just the beginning of my goals to do my part and help promote a sustainable future. How have you built relationships with your producers and suppliers? Production and manufacturing is taken care of overseas by my partner of 15 years. We have worked on various projects together and I am very fortunate to have such a hard working, reliable person on my team. We have developed

RETHINK

a great relationship over the years through many trials and tribulations, we have had failures and successes. To build relationships with partners, producers, suppliers or whatever the case may be, we must put ourselves out there to start, push through the hard times when they come, but also know when it’s time to move on. What do you believe the future will look like if we don’t reduce our plastic waste? This is not something I want to even imagine. There is something like 300 MILLION TONS of plastic produced every year, 50% of which is for single-use purposes! If we continue down this path, there is no coming back. Research shows the average person consumes an estimated 50,000 plastic particles every year and breathes in a similar quantity. Lots of marine life and birds already suffer in unimaginable ways, mistaking plastic pieces for food or getting caught up and tangled in debris. Plastics can contain toxic chemicals that increase the chance of disease and affect reproduction. Many of these animals ingest so much plastic that cant be digested and eventually die. There

is no doubt that plastics have been extremely beneficial throughout the past 100 years, but if we continue manufacturing single-use plastics and mistreating this commodity the consequences will be devastating. We must reduce, reuse and recycle.

“One of the biggest contributing factors in changing people’s consumption behaviours are the options that are available. This is really up to us as entrepreneurs to lead with new innovative ways that entice people to make more environmentally friendly decisions.“ You just partnered with PETA... Why was this an easy choice for your company in regards to a charity to work with? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals align with our mission to protect nature and have created a large network of business and

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

individuals. We hope to collaborate with various PETA partners in the future and support missions that are working toward a sustainable future. What plans do you have for the future of THE STRAW? Single-use plastic straws are being banned across the globe, we would like to see The Straw take its place instead of single-use paper straws. Single-use still requires resources, manufacturing, packaging and transportation, this just isn’t sustainable for our growing population. The Straw is designed to inspire a sustainable future and we will continually improve The Straw by design. This is an everyday personal item that we expect to be around for many years.

Official website: thestraw.shop

Innovators, entrepreneurs & visionnaires w w w . t h e m i n d s e t 3 6 0 . c o m

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

FASHIONISTA

“I’ve always dreamed to walk on a fashion show of my own brand.” @Gozel_ora

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

FASHIONISTA

GOZEL O

started my modeling career about 3 years ago when I just arrived to Dubai after my graduation. To be honest I never thought of being a model but all my friends and people around me were telling that I should be a model as I was the tallest one among them. I was scouted by one of the agent who works for Bareface modeling agency (one of the leading in Dubai). When he reached out to me I didn’t take it seriously but had some kind a feeling inside me that I should give it a try. After 3 days we ended up by signing a contract and my modeling career has started.

NUTRITION

ORIGINS

TIME MANAGEMENT

I am from Turkmenistan, it is a country located in Central Asia. I grew up in a very small town and were taught by my parents that I should study hard to get diploma and work in an office. It was some kinda respect among to our relatives and their friends if your kid is educated.

DUBAI

I love Dubai’s fashion industry! This city has given me so many opportunities, If you are good enough, your hard work will never stay unnoticed. In these 3 years I have worked with so many amazing brands and people which I am really proud of.

EDUCATION

I am holding bachelor’s degree of Global economy. I know economy and modeling is completely different industries but you never know where your life will take you. I have also collaborated with so many photographers, fashion designers and make up artists. I think it helped me a lot to gain my confidence. Of course it was hard when I got my first job. It was a video shoot for Carrefour, I still remember how nervous I was as I didn’t know what to expect but the client and all the team loved my work which helped me to understand that if you want to succeed, always push yourself from your comfort zone.

Recently I started being a vegetarian which I really enjoy, I feel so much better in terms of my health as my body started not accepting meat by giving symptoms like stomach aches. I switched to it gradually. First it was red meat then chicken but still sometimes I ate fish but soon I will stop as well. I am exercising 3-4 times in a week mostly it is running but as it is summer in Dubai (40-50 degree), I can’t run outside! So I replaced it with rope jumping at home.

It has been not easy decision but because of current situation, I had some free time and I tried to share my experience (via Youtube) with girls who thinking of starting their modeling career. But apart from that I have another job as well. I am not sure if you know but I am working at the hospital too as health package coordinator. Trust me my whole life is full of surprises! Of course, It’s not easy to manage my time because It takes so much energy. Running a YouTube channel makes it more harder but again, It’s all about passion and satisfaction for me.

INSTAGRAM

Instagram is the first online platform that helped me to be recognized by other people as I was a girl from a small town that didn’t know anyone. No connections and no financial support, I had to make myself by my own. Most importantly, being recognized by my people from my country is something special for me, I have been their pride and a source of inspiration. So I am grateful for all my social media family because without their support I wouldn’t not be who I am today. I create new contents on a daily basis and represent brands that I truly support and trust. I think my followers have already seen me in all my moods but mostly I try to create a positive vibe.

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

THE COACH

BRET LOCKETT I

ret Lockett is a retired former NFL player who is now one of Hollywood’s top Business Consultants and Performance Coaches. He has been helping other professional athletes strive in their investments off the field, while helping entrepreneurs get the most of their business ideas. Hello Bret. Could you tell us about your role and journey as an entrepreneur? While playing in the NFL I realized that football was not guaranteed. Plagued by injuries a few years in a row, I started searching for alternative opportunities that didn’t require my athletic ability to reap financial upside. Shortly after my career, I started in the aviation business and real estate. Since then, I have been an investor, board member, and advisor, for several companies across different industries. After realizing my passion and where I was best suited, I decided to pursue a business in consulting and create a coaching platform to help entrepreneurs and business owners win in business.

problem I solve for my clients is identifying a clear path for the business. For some that may be selling a business or going public, for others it is building a sustainable business that can scale and allows them and their families to reap financial stability. Whether it’s business strategy, financial or operational improvement, or managing risk, understanding which aspect of the business the bottleneck is, is critical to success.

“Self-improvement (...) is a necessity to consistently remain a leader in any industry.”

What should a leader expect to get from the coaching process? I believe businesses should be driven by human development, not product or service development. Two-thirds of CEOs don’t receive any outside advice on their leadership and business skills, nonetheless, their overall business. Blind spots aren’t as easy to see when you’re running and gunning, and business is on an uptick. But blind spots can become devastating to the overall business if not properly addressed, the goal is to be proactive and not reactive. More importantly, the chokehold on any business is always the leader who runs the business. My process always starts with evaluating the overall business team. For smaller companies, it is the founders, and for larger companies, it is C-level management. I want to understand exactly what skills the leaders possess so I can identify how to build a winning team. I focus on building key personnel first, then the business.

What type of services do you offer today to clients? My consulting services are designed to address a company’s end-to-end business needs. As an executive coach, the number one

What makes an effective business advisor? Can you tell us why coaching is a good investment? The number one quality of an excellent business advisor is being able to deliv-

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

er high-level results. Ultimately nothing else matters, which is usually the first apprehension for most companies hiring outside consultants. Subsequently, finding a consultant that cares as much about your business as you do is extremely important. Someone who isn’t there for their own personal upside but for the gain of your business. Finally, try to find a business advisor who is extremely high on the emotional intelligence quota. It’s one thing to be smart, it’s another to be emotionally intelligent. Just like any investment, placing your money with the right person is just as important as the actual investment itself. Do your homework, ask questions, and find a coach whose personality fits you and your team. What is the biggest challenge for a consulting firm nowadays, especially during this COVID-19 time? Since COVID-19, the consulting industry is down by more than $30 billion. The hardhit services are those who were involved in charging clients for time-on-site and running with large overhead, mostly employee salaries. Companies like Deloitte, Accenture, and PwC have already let go of about 5% of their consultants. However, the greatest challenge will be for companies struggling to understand that help is necessary. The flipside is not being afraid to pay a consultant when funds are limited.

“Knowledge is power and giving the world, particularly our youth, access to the right information is a big passion of mine.” @bret_lockett

How do you inform yourself about trends and how do you keep your business knowledge up-to-date? Self-improvement both personally and professionally is a necessity to consistently remain a leader in any industry. As a coach, I understand the value of having my own coaches and mentors. I meet monthly with a host of individuals who help me to continue to develop my business acumen from memory and business coaches, to health and wellness trainers. Continuing education is also critical to my development as well. Currently, I’m enrolled at the Kelley

@bretlockett26

School of Business going through the MBA program. Staying at the top of my game is a must if I expect to help others do the same. Do you plan to develop your brand on platforms like Youtube or even offering online courses? Accessibility to resources and visibility to the masses is extremely important to me. Knowledge is power and giving the world, particularly our youth, access to the right information is a big passion of mine. Although courses don’t give specific advice, creating a platform that provides useful and relevant content is one of the ways I give back to the world.

ENTREPRENEUR MINDSET SUMMER 2020

bretlockett.com

What does the rest of 2020 hold for you? I have several fun projects and surprises I am working on from a sports coaching application to working with the Flow Research Collective, founded by world-renowned author, Steven Kotler. What is one quote you live life by? Rest in peace… “Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom” - Jim Rohn

THE VISIONARY

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T H E R E

ouya Hashemi was one of the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States! He is now fully recovered and has gone on to become the CEO/Founder of RapidScreen (via its parent company SpinTouch), a cutting edge advanced Artificial Intelligence thermo-imaging technology thermometer / facial scanning system that businesses including the Four Seasons, Johnson & Johnson + many others all over the US are using to screen both employees and customers for their temperature and other symptoms with COVID-19. The system is FDA recommended to safely open businesses and adheres to CDC and EEOC Guidelines. The product is non-contact, fully automated all-in-one kiosk with mask detection and fever alarm, and reads temperatures in less than 2 seconds from up to 3 feet away with its Heimann Sensor.

a sense of trust and safety with employees and customers. Many companies are using manual temperature reading methods, which are extremely costly, it also completely ignores the social distancing guidelines that are set in place. With RapidScreen, companies can read the temperature of individuals prior to entering their facilities 24/7, limiting access to those with a fever, or potential virus.

Hello Pouya, could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to your RapidScreen product? As the pandemic started to affect the world, I found that my business needed to adapt. After falling ill myself, with COVID back in January we made it our mission to pivot the company to help other businesses reopen safely. While recovering at home and working with the SpinTouch team virtually, RapidScreen Temperature Kiosk came to life. Developed with the latest innovations in Automated AI Temperature Screening Technology, RapidScreen is the fastest and most cost-effective way to protect customers and employees.

What kind of innovation are you achieving with RapidScreen? I’ve always been a tech geek myself, so I am constantly researching and digging up products and technologies that have not hit the market yet to generate new, cutting-edge ideas. For us, it was always important to use the latest and greatest technologies while ensuring a great level of reliability and consistency. Since many of our clients include not only Fortune 100 companies but also governmental agencies, which require an extremely high level of dependability.

What are the benefits of companies choosing RapidScreen? Prevention is key and being a business owner myself, it is important to instill

In addition our temperature screening sensors are double the accuracy compared to similar devices on the market. With innovative features such as our facial mask detection, companies can also mandate mask requirements. There is no need for manual labor, simply have guests stand within 3 feet of the touchfree display to automatically scan individuals, temperature reading will appear within 1 to 2 seconds.

RapidScreen is developed with the latest Automated AI Temperature Screening Technology, and remains the fastest and most cost effective way to protect customers and employees while easily complying with government and company policies to temperature check. We also

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I S

WA Y . ”

integrated the Heimann Sensor, which is the world’s leading German technology in infrared thermopile arrays to effectively scan and read body temperature. What type of company would benefit the most from your solution? We originally thought that this would be mostly popular within the restaurant and retail industry, using RapidScreen to scan customers before entering. Although, we have seen a much larger response from almost all other industries as well. About 85% of our clients are using the device to screen their employees before any plans on screening their customers. As businesses continue to reopen, we expect to see a slight shift and increase in customer screening in order to curve the second wave of the virus. How does it feel having recovered from the coronavirus disease? While experiencing COVID-19 symptoms I was unaware of the extent of my illness as there were no known cases here in the US. At the time, I just figured it was a terrible flu or something of that sort. In general, I am the type of person who doesn’t visit the doctors office unless I am literally dying. I usually fight through the common cold or flu myself, but this was a different experience. After visiting the doctor, they performed a flu test which came back negative and they simply said I would eventually recover. Even the simple act of drinking water caused excruciating pain. This was definitely one of the sickest times I’ve ever been in my life. As more information about the virus came out in the coming months, it became clear to me that I had COVID-19 when I was finally able to take an antibody test.

Follow @heypouya

spintouch.com/rapidscreen

THE VISIONARY

â&#x20AC;&#x153;For as long as I could remember, anytime I was faced with an obstacle, I would strategize on figuring out a way to get through it. The more impossible the challenge, the more energy and motivation I would have towards overcoming it.â&#x20AC;? As an entrepreneur, what did you do to successfully manage your mental resilience? I am not going to lie, it was extremely difficult to focus during my COVID experience. Even after the recovery, I was seeing a huge downturn in our business, since most of our clients were not looking at investing in experiential technologies for events. Through virtual meetings and a lot of long nights, my team and I developed RapidScreen. I really wanted to achieve my goal of bringing this innovation to the market to help reopen businesses and prevent others from catching this virus. With my passion and vision, I shifted my entire focus to making this happen, bringing RapidScreen to life.

What advice would you give startup founders to keep managing costs and cash flow efficiently during a crisis? Opening back up is a daunting task for many business owners. I have a lot of empathy for small business owners, as they have limited resources and are faced with the challenge of taking every precaution possible to protect their employees, vendors and customers; and at the same time generating revenue for the business. During times like this, businesses need to be creative in staying afloat and really need to find small ways to pivot from cutting down costs or generating additional revenue in a completely different vertical. I would suggest the business owner having an open dialog with their employees to get their thoughts and discover

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new and innovative ideas on how to best move forward. At the very least, they will get closer to their team and learn something about their organization they may have not known. Do you feel confident in your business postCOVID? By adapting my businesses through this unforeseen time we are confident that we can not only survive post-COVID, but thrive. It is important to stay relevant and keep adapting as the world continues to change. By pivoting and working towards a better future we can get there successfully. It is not easy and the future is still unclear, however we are working towards something better, not only for our business but for others as well.

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“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” - Old Chinese proverb

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THE GARYVEE CONTENT STRATEGY: HOW TO GROW & DISTRIBUTE YOUR BRANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT? W R I T T E N

B Y

G A R Y

V E E

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GARY VEE W W W . G A R Y V A Y N E R C H U K . C O M

astering content strategy, creation, and distribution for your brand on social media is a difficult and long process. But, in an effort to provide you guys with as much value as possible, I’m going to help speed up that process and show you how I do it on a daily basis for my personal brand.

Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur and the Chairman of VaynerX, a modern day communications parent company, as well as the CEO and Co-Founder of VaynerMedia, a full-service digital agency servicing Fortune 500 clients across the company’s 4 locations.

My content strategy is predicated on a “reverse pyramid” model. It starts with a piece of “pillar content.” With my personal brand, it takes the form of a daily vlog, keynote, Q&A show, or another video that I do. Since I start from video, my team is able to repurpose that one piece of content into dozens of smaller pieces of content, contextual to the platforms that we distribute them to. This could take many different forms — for example, if you’re not comfortable on video, you could record a podcast. You might even film yourself recording the podcast so you could have a video out of it as well. And from that video or audio clip, you can create content for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more.

podcast called the GaryVee Audio Experience, which is distributed on my iTunes, Overcast, and Stitcher, amongst some other platforms. In addition to what I just mentioned, I continually post “micro content”, that is distributed to my Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Quora, and many of my other social channels. “Micro content” is created from each episode and is used to drive awareness back to the original longform content. Long story short, I am constantly creating and posting as much content as possible and in a way that is contextual to each platform. Like one of my favorite quotes, “watch what I do, not what I say“, this is a really good time for you to sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and carefully take note. Observe my platforms and review my content. Think about how my strategies can be applied to your personal brand, your B2C product, or your B2B marketing strategy.

Personally, I create a ton of content. I publish a new episode everyday on the GaryVee Video Experience, which is distributed on my YouTube channel, Facebook Watch Page, and IGTV. I then also have a daily

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GASTRONOMIE

AARON MAY

“We got involved with feeding the homeless and then the first responders. This kind of interaction and donation probably wouldn’t have happened during the ins and outs of day to day business.” doughsunset.com

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GASTRONOMIE

Chef Aaron May is one of America’s top chefs who has made numerous appearances on The Food Network and appeared on Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”. He is now one of the new owners and top Chef at the famed pizzeria on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California that everyone from Chrissy Teigen to Lil Dicky eat at called Dough Pizzeria & Bar. Hello Chef, how did you get into cooking and where did you first learn to cook? I started cooking with my grandmother when I was really just a little kid. Exploring all sorts of flavors and markets in Chicago. I just fell in love with it.

What other cuisines do you wish to explore in the future? I think there are a lot of micro cuisines people are finding... Nashville hot chicken, Szechuan peppercorns, hyper local very specific foods. I love that.

When did you first know you wanted to be a Chef? When I was 12-13 years old and would go out to dinner with my parents - watching the restaurant world and the cooks and servers and the smiling faces in the dining room as celebrations swirled around. I knew that was a life I wanted to be a part of.

What did you learn from your experience in France during your apprenticeship at the Ecole Ritz Escoffier? The French know how to appreciate food, art and everything... And that rubs off on a fellow.

How many restaurants do you own? How do you manage your time between them? I have a lot of projects I’m involved in. An event center, restaurants, my catering and events business. The key is having a great support system around you to help with all the heavy lifting. For example with Dough Pizzeria on Sunset, I have a great partnership set in place that allows the business to function with or without me.

The negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy and especially the restaurant sector are well known. However, what are the positive consequences in terms of social impact? How have you been involved on a daily basis? Throughout this ordeal we really tried to get ahead of what we can be doing. We got involved with feeding the homeless and then the first responders. This kind of interaction and donation probably wouldn’t have happened during the ins and outs of day to day business. In the past few weeks we’ve been

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able to donate about $10,000 worth of pizza to the different BLM protests around West Hollywood. We got so much love and appreciation that we just kept going back each day. Where can you find Chef Aaron May outside of his kitchen? You mean when I am not at Dough Pizzeria working?! I love traveling as much as possible! Exploring for new flavors and foods and experiences! As an entrepreneur, is success a reward or a responsibility? Definitely a fine balance of reward and responsibility. So many people are depending on you that it’s definitely your responsibility to make it work. So come by Dough Pizzeria right here in West Hollywood and help us make it work during these crazy times!

@chefaaronmay 31

INNOVATION

dam Engelhard & Andy Halpern are the co-founders behind C19-Certified, which is a brand new compliance training e-learning program for employees in the United States that was created based on new regulations and political guidelines that companies re-opening need to follow. The program teaches and certifies business owners how to operate their business with confidence during and post COVID-19 with steps on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, social distancing training / regulations, and other best practices for various types of industries. A lot of major companies are taking this certification with the ever-changing new regulations being put into place. What is C19-Certified? How does your program help organizations respond to the current pandemic we are all facing? We are an e-learning compliance program that trains employees on the COVID-19 virus and the best workplace practices to help mitigate the spread of the virus. We are proof that an employer has done their part to educate their workforce as required by state and federal regulations. What are your educational backgrounds? Adam: University of Alabama, B.S. in Commerce & Business Administration. Andy: University of Georgia, BBA and MACc in Accounting Let’s say I’m a business owner and I plan to reopen my company soon. How can I protect my employees? How can I use your solutions? What is the process? The most important thing is to have a formal written operating plan detailing the steps and operating protocols your organization is enacting to respond to State and Local reopening requirements. Step two is ensuring employees are trained on the best practices and fully understand their role in these updated operating protocols.

That’s where C19 Certified comes into play. We work with a Company to make sure its employees understand the best practices to mitigate risk and the expectations when returning to their workplace in the new normal. How did you two meet? It’s a funny question because I don’t think either of us can remember exactly when we met but we started going to the same school together in first grade. I like to think we met on the basketball court at recess. Let’s talk about C19-Certified beyond COVID-19. Hopefully this pandemic will disappear one day in the future so what is your long-term strategy? What is your vision for C19-Certified? Our ultimate goal is to become a full service provider of e-training solutions to help businesses comply with state and local requirements. While we will continue to provide pandemic prevention education, we want to also develop other workplace training courses (i.e. sexual harassment in the workplace, diversity and inclusiveness training, etc.) that we can offer in the future. If you weren’t building C19-Certified, what would you be doing? Looking for other ways to help businesses and employees get back to work as quickly and as safely as possible – When the pandemic hit, we spent weeks brainstorming what we could to help organizations during this crisis. Ultimately, we determined that education and training needed to be prioritized and this is an area where we could help. If we hadn’t chosen C19 Certified, I think we still would have been pursuing a way to help businesses operate in this new normal. What would you advise the new-age entrepreneurs coming up in the industry? Adapting quickly to any market is essential, though ultimately it will be your persistency that will lead to success. Nothing is built overnight and credibility takes time.

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@dougellin

“Nothing is built overnight and credibility takes time.”

c19-certified.com

ADAM ENGELHARD & ANDY HALPERN

INNOVATION

W W W . C 1 9 - C E R T I F I E D . C O M

FAVORITE QUOTE: “You have to play the hands you’re dealt.” Nobody plans or wishes for a global pandemic to hit – it’s up to each one of us to respond and make the most of the situation.

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DESIGN

COSMO CREATIVE Owner and Creative Director of Cosmo Creative Kevin, please tell us more about you? Where do you come from and what originally made you want to become a graphic designer? Hey, my name is Kevin Aigbedion, but everyone calls me “Cosmo”; a nick name I had since I was in High school. I am from Grand Prairie, TX and I have been married for 4 1/2 years and I have 2 boys. Like any creative, I started with the simple curiosity of playing around with design tools like Photoshop. It all began over the summer of my Sophomore year at the University of Houston. After countless hours of self-taught classes, I felt confident enough to start designing event flyers for my fraternity (Alpha Phi Alpha). This was a successful endeavor and with each event, an opportunity to continue honing my skills.

My approach is to bridge the gap between my client’s wants vs what i feel they need to take them to the NEXT LEVEL.

A couple of years later, I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and headed into a stale job market, only to land on my friend’s couch. But, I took this opportunity to continue improving my graphic design expertise and digesting everything I could about branding. It was a tough blessing in disguise. I worked with friends, creating logos and designing websites. I then started collaborating with small businesses, learning from their expertise and providing my solutions to enhance their brands. Nine years later, Cosmo Creative continues to grow and support small businesses around the country. How would you describe your approach to design? My approach is to bridge the gap between my client’s wants vs what i feel they need to take them to the next level. I want my client to leave satisfied and ready to take on the world with this new visual presence I have created them.

What would you say is your strongest skill and how have you honed that skill over the years? Well, at first my strongest skill was flyer design. I feel I changed how flyer design as done in Houston. I started doing flyers with dynamic images with fast turnaround that made me get a name in Houston. Then I transitions into working with small companies to where i got to hone in on my logo design skills. Logo design is my main service now and I love it. I feel the only way to hone in on your skills is repetition. there I do, the better i get at know what the client would want to see. What type of project do you enjoy working on the most? Do you have some preferences, as a graphic designer? I love working on full branding projects for small companies. It thrills me to help them create their whole visual brand from scratch. I don’t have any preferences, As long as you have a good attitude and want to be able to trust me with your design; then I’m all for it. Describe your creative process. I have to get to the know the client and their needs/ wants; then i can figure out how to bridge the gap between what they want and what I feel they need. I make sure to provide various options for the client, so I can get a more accurate account of what they like, then I proceed to detail out the design to their liking. What are you currently working on? More and More Logos. Currently, my company does about 40-50 Logos a month, So i am spending most of my time creating and editing and providing the creative direction for different logo projects for different companies.

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“A lot of time we want to wait for the perfect time to start something new and we tend to overthink it. We may get bored down by the potential hurdled that may be in our way.” @COSMOTHEBEAST

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shot by @Irina_Shakhova_Photographe 36

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IN THE AIRS

SOLOFLOW 18-year-old social media and YouTube star Soloflow does incredible extreme acrobatics everywhere he goes, and with his popularity growing, he has found his way into the business and fashion world, recentlylaunching the label, Soloflow W W W . S O L O F L O W . C O M Please give us a brief background on yourself and tell us about your YouTube channel which is really niched. I grew up in Boston and when I was around 12 years old I saw some really cool parkour videos and knew I wanted to learn to do flips. A few parkour lessons at a gymnastics gym later and I could flip standing on the ground. That gave me confidence to go try other tricks and make my own artistic movement out of it. By the time I was 16 I made it out to LA - I needed to be surrounded by palm trees and the California vibes. At this point I had started to gain a pretty big fan base from cool flipping videos I had posted. It’s a special feeling having people so supportive of what you do. My YouTube is a way to express my creativity and a stage for my flips.

When & why did you start making YouTube videos? I only started making YouTube videos about a year ago. It started when I felt limitations to what I could express on other social media platforms like Instagram. YouTube videos are so much more in depth than an Instagram post and allow me to show more than just a flip but bring my personality to life. It’s like a different form of art for me and that’s not to mention the video editing which is an art in and of itself. I try to have a unique feel to all my videos and the ultimate answer to why is because I love to do it, it’s my passion.

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IN THE AIRS

Your YouTube channel (as of today) has over 277,000 subscribers, with over 24 million video views. When you started out did you ever imagine your audience would become so large? I didn’t, but I don’t really imagine anything specific for my future and never have. I’m all about living in the moment and following passions and wherever that takes you is up to the universe. I’m thankful to have so much support and a strong fan base and have people to share my creativity with. It’s been a great journey and I’m looking forward to see where it continues to take me.

What can you tell us about the financial picture of YouTubers? I can tell you if you let money drive your decisions and content then you’ll end up with nothing. If you’re looking to start a YouTube channel you have to be authentic and real or you’ll fail to connect with people. In terms of getting paid, that’s a bi-product of being authentic in my mind and dependent on views, ads and timing of each video but there’s no simple equation to it.

“Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not or it’ll end up ﬂopping.” How did you go from making videos to starting your own clothing brand? I’ve always been huge on fashion and view it as another form of art expression so in that sense it goes hand in hand with videos. I felt constrained having to wear other brands designs in order to try new styles which drove me to make my own brand. We have a great team and our styles are very unique with a fresh California vibe. We have some really unique tie dye styles and washes as well as some mismatched styles. We even sell socks in mismatched pairs - why should you have to buy two pairs of socks to get a mismatched pair! Tell us about the making of your new collection Soloflow Brand? Soloflow Brand is a unique, fresh style with a California vibe. We make shirts, hoodies, hats, pants, shorts, socks and more. We just released a bunch of new mismatched socks. Everyone has been going crazy for our socks and we’ve had issues keeping them stocked. Our Rose Jersey just dropped too which is one of my favorites.

@soloﬂow7

Who have you learned from or been inspired by? I learn from a lot of great people and videos. In particular some names that come to mind are Pasha The Boss and Damien Walters who both do some pretty awesome tricks. That’s said, in flipping you need to develop your own unique style.

Looking ahead we’re working on some really cool tank tops, shirts and hoodies in unique dye styles so be on the lookout for those! What are your goals for the future? My ultimate goal is to just keep doing what I love. Right now that’s flipping, traveling, making creative videos and fashion. Who knows if that will change in the future or not but I think as long as I keep following my passions I don’t need to have specific goals or plans. A lot of my creative energy has been shifting towards fashion recently so I hope to continue growing that part of my life and channeling that in Soloflow Brand. What is your advice to anyone else looking at either starting a YouTube channel or getting into running their own fashion label? If you’re starting a YouTube channel be authentic! Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not or it’ll end up flopping. In terms of starting a fashion label, there’s a lot to learn. Don’t just blindly rush into it. First decide the style and vibe you’re going for, find brands you love and study them and talk to manufacturers. Also, always keep an emphasis on quality, it’s impossible to build a strong fashion brand if the stuff you’re selling is low quality. Planning is huge if you’re getting into fashion.

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