Sandra Nomoto

Episode
Sandra Nomoto is a writer and aspiring world traveller. After earning her University degree and working in public relations,...
Key takeaways
- Nobody does it alone in business—find a trusted community or tribe that can refer business, provide support, and act as your cheerleader squad, especially when starting out solo.
- Invest time in branding from the beginning by clearly defining who you are, what you stand for, and your purpose, as this will save you from having to rebrand later when your business no longer reflects your true identity.
- Carve out a specific niche to stand out from the competition rather than trying to service many industries, especially when starting small or as a solo entrepreneur.
- Get comfortable with networking early on, as it's the primary way to meet partners, clients, and build relationships, even if you're an introvert who works best one-on-one.
- Roll with the punches and remember tomorrow's another day—bad moments and difficult days will pass in business, and better opportunities are always coming.
Transcript
Full transcript page · Interactive episode
============================================================ TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS ============================================================ [00:00] SPEAKER_00: Today's episode is brought to you by Shaw Business. [00:03] SPEAKER_00: Shaw Business offers a whole suite of smart solutions like Smart Wi-Fi. [00:08] SPEAKER_00: With dedicated networks for you and your guests, Smart Wi-Fi keeps everyone's [00:13] SPEAKER_00: connection separate, safe, and secure. [00:17] SPEAKER_00: And it reaches all corners of your business. [00:19] SPEAKER_00: So whether you're at your desk or in a meeting room, you're still connected and ready for business. [00:24] SPEAKER_00: Smart Wi-Fi is one way that Shaw Business is powering the entrepreneur. [00:30] SPEAKER_02: It's VanCouver's podcast on the Canada's podcast network. [00:42] SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone, I'm Angela Faye, hub builder and co-host of British Columbia's podcasts. [00:49] SPEAKER_01: Part of the Canada's podcast network, your source for great insights from entrepreneurs [00:53] SPEAKER_01: from across Canada. We talked entrepreneurs who are making it happen here, [00:57] SPEAKER_01: so you can listen, discover, and engage. [01:01] SPEAKER_02: We're super excited this afternoon to have Sandra Nomodo with us. Welcome to the show Sandra. [01:08] SPEAKER_02: Thanks so much for having me Angie. Absolutely a little bit about Sandra. She is a writer [01:12] SPEAKER_02: and aspiring world traveler. Learning her university degree and working in public relations. [01:18] SPEAKER_02: At the age of 25, she launched conscious public relations [01:22] SPEAKER_02: ink, a virtual communications firm. And over the next 10 years in business, [01:27] SPEAKER_02: Nomodo was awarded the 2009 volunteer of the year by women in film and television [01:33] SPEAKER_02: VanCouver. She earned a B corporation certification and contributed to E Women Network VanCouver, [01:40] SPEAKER_02: earning the best social media and community engagement award in 2016. [01:44] SPEAKER_02: That doesn't end there. Sandra also founded and grew the VanCouver short film festival from 2005 [01:50] SPEAKER_02: to 2015. And is the author of the newly published book, The Only Public Relations Guide You'll [01:57] SPEAKER_02: Ever Need. She blogs at Sandranomodo.com and for cold tea collective and serves on the board of [02:04] SPEAKER_02: the VanCouver mural festival. She practices transcendental meditation daily, sells a line of bold [02:11] SPEAKER_02: journals and has been eating vegan since 2008. What is transcendental meditation? [02:19] SPEAKER_03: It's a type of meditation. There are many. And from my knowledge, this is the most popular [02:26] SPEAKER_03: practice one around the world. And it was founded out east. It's actually a practice that's been [02:33] SPEAKER_03: done thousands of thousands of years. But it was a fellow named Marishi. I forget his name now, [02:40] SPEAKER_03: but he was the one who brought it to the west from India in the 70s. And since then, [02:47] SPEAKER_03: it's been able to grow around the world. And especially here in North America. And yeah, I consider [02:54] SPEAKER_03: myself pretty lucky to be practicing daily for it'll be five years in July this year. [03:00] SPEAKER_03: Fantastic. How was a little bit more about yourself? Where you're from? And maybe a few details [03:07] SPEAKER_03: on your current business. Sure. I was born in Montreal, but my family moved very quickly after I [03:13] SPEAKER_03: was born to VanCouver where my dad got a job here at West and raised in East VanCouver. And this is [03:21] SPEAKER_03: the area where I live now as well in the South Main area. After after high school, I got my degree [03:27] SPEAKER_03: in English literature and film studies at UBC. And right after that got my career started in public [03:33] SPEAKER_03: relations. So after working for a small firm for about a year and a half, I went from [03:39] SPEAKER_03: intern to office manager and assistant to the partners pretty quickly. I decided to venture off [03:45] SPEAKER_03: on my own. And that's when I started my business that I ran for a decade up until last year. [03:51] SPEAKER_03: And currently I'm now contracting for a few different companies. One is this first CEO in the cannabis [03:58] SPEAKER_03: space. She runs a new cannabis tech accelerator called Grotec Labs. Grotec Labs was founded [04:07] SPEAKER_03: in August of last year. So it's a very new company. And it's a partnered with Victory Square [04:14] SPEAKER_03: Technologies, which is a well-known technology fund. And so we are looking to find cannabis [04:20] SPEAKER_03: technology startups to invest in as well as help them go through the process of scaling and [04:27] SPEAKER_03: growing a company so that we can solve a lot of the pain points that are coming out of legalization. [04:33] SPEAKER_03: You know, cannabis legalization is can be a great thing. But now there's, you know, between [04:38] SPEAKER_03: all of the steps that, you know, we need to go through as far as regulations. We're really looking [04:43] SPEAKER_03: to solve a lot of the gaps in pain points within that industry by investing in those who are [04:51] SPEAKER_03: who are solving that here in BC. And yeah, Grotec Labs is the business and Grotec Labs.com is [04:58] SPEAKER_03: that site. And the other is actually a very well-known Canadian entrepreneur named Madeline Shaw [05:04] SPEAKER_03: who founded United Girls of the World Society, which produces G-Day for Girls age 10 to 12. So [05:13] SPEAKER_03: some parents in Vancouver or Victoria might recognize that event. And she's also starting up a [05:18] SPEAKER_03: pretty exciting co-working space that will be family inclusive called Nest Works. [05:24] SPEAKER_02: Nest Works, awesome. Now I realized we're going back in time a little bit. I think of your [05:31] SPEAKER_02: formulation copy. And part of this part of the podcast is understanding on your journey. So [05:38] SPEAKER_02: I'm going to start my first farm. Did you think it's fine now? I think to start your company when [05:44] SPEAKER_03: when you were starting out? No, I didn't look at outside financing. So I started out as a sole [05:51] SPEAKER_03: proprietor, individual consultant that did, consultant, publicist, I would say. And really all you [05:59] SPEAKER_03: need to do that job is a computer and then printer for, you know, documents. Now I barely [06:06] SPEAKER_03: use my printer, but yeah, I would say I spend definitely no more than $1,000 of my own personal [06:13] SPEAKER_03: funds on starting my business. And I actually created my own very first business cards by, [06:21] SPEAKER_03: yeah, designing my own business card and getting that printed locally. And then I tell myself [06:25] SPEAKER_03: flash at one point to even create my very first website. Flash is almost becoming redundant. [06:31] SPEAKER_03: Is it in this day and age? Oh, absolutely. As soon as WordPress came into play, like that changed [06:37] SPEAKER_03: everything. It just, yeah, it's such an easy platform. I still use it now for my personal site. [06:42] SPEAKER_03: And that's the one that I recommend to everyone else. Awesome. Curious, how do you make money now? [06:48] SPEAKER_03: So, as I mentioned, I'm an independent contractor for a few serial entrepreneurs. And I just, [06:55] SPEAKER_03: as you mentioned, I just launched my first book. And that's definitely a side hustle, but a great [07:02] SPEAKER_03: way, I would say to, yeah, to make some extra cash on the side. Well, it's a great to segue into, [07:08] SPEAKER_02: you know, it's a big deal to run your own company and especially a PR company for 10 years. And [07:14] SPEAKER_02: then, you know, transition that just to independent consulting. Tell us a little bit about your long [07:19] SPEAKER_02: term vision and how, you know, maybe your book and what your ideas as far as what you've learned [07:25] SPEAKER_02: so far, how your career will look like in the future. Yeah, that's a great question. If you ask me [07:33] SPEAKER_03: that right around the time I closed down my agency, I would have had no answer for you. And [07:38] SPEAKER_03: I would have said, you know, anything besides marketing and communications because, because, [07:43] SPEAKER_03: yeah, I mean, I've done it for over 10 years now. And I feel like I'm ready to move on to something new [07:49] SPEAKER_03: and, and hold some different skills. But yeah, being in a different role for these, for these [07:54] SPEAKER_03: female entrepreneurs, it allows me to, I believe, use all of the skills that have gained as a business [07:58] SPEAKER_03: owner and now apply it to their business. So a lot of administration operations, I am doing a bit [08:05] SPEAKER_03: of writing and communications. But I love just learning about new businesses and being able to [08:10] SPEAKER_03: provide solutions that, you know, they may not see. And I've had some time now to think about [08:17] SPEAKER_03: what the next big step might be for me. And I'm really fascinated right now with therapy. And [08:24] SPEAKER_03: specifically the hypnosis method of therapy because I know the brain has a huge, plays a huge [08:31] SPEAKER_03: part in how we all operate. And I think that, yeah, there's, there's something untapped there that [08:37] SPEAKER_03: a lot of scientists have talked about, but I don't think we've able to incorporate it quite, [08:43] SPEAKER_03: quite into daily practice as we have meditation. So I'm thinking something around that maybe, [08:50] SPEAKER_03: yeah, maybe something I'll be looking at when I'm ready to invest in more training. And also [08:56] SPEAKER_03: because we're in a world now where we've got some huge complex problems to solve. And I believe [09:01] SPEAKER_03: that if we can get some of that, some of those personal barriers out of the way, because we can't, [09:06] SPEAKER_03: we all can't do it alone. We've got to learn to work with each other and work with other people [09:09] SPEAKER_03: in order to solve these big problems. Yeah. And if we can't, if we can't do that, that's going to be [09:15] SPEAKER_03: a huge issue. So, yeah, so I really believe it right now, whereas I was working with companies [09:20] SPEAKER_03: and telling their stories, I really think my next calling might be working more one on one with [09:26] SPEAKER_02: individuals. Super. What are the biggest benefits of being an entrepreneur, or at least, you know, [09:34] SPEAKER_02: somebody who is servicing other entrepreneurs as well in Vancouver? I would say because Vancouver [09:42] SPEAKER_03: and, you know, it's just some extent BC, I would say, we're a very small, to medium business type [09:48] SPEAKER_03: of community. It's very easy to start your own business, I would say. Of course, it depends which [09:55] SPEAKER_03: industry you're going in, but it's not hard to find like-minded communities who are in the same [10:01] SPEAKER_03: industry, maybe mentors that, you know, you might want to work with, who might be able to lead you [10:07] SPEAKER_03: along the way. A lot of networking opportunities, I feel like, you know, you're only one degree away [10:13] SPEAKER_03: from whoever you want or need to reach. That's what I feel like it's like here in Vancouver. [10:20] SPEAKER_02: I agree. It's pretty easy to get out and and meet people. So, what are some of the tougher things [10:24] SPEAKER_02: or the challenges, maybe for our listeners who aren't yet doing business in Vancouver, [10:29] SPEAKER_02: British Columbia? What should they be keeping an eye out as a, as a [10:35] SPEAKER_03: entrepreneur doing business here? Yeah, great question. Something that I didn't think of when I [10:40] SPEAKER_03: started my business was just the amount of competition. And so, that's not necessarily a bad thing, [10:45] SPEAKER_03: because like I said, there's, there's a lot of small, medium businesses out there. I think what you [10:50] SPEAKER_03: have to focus on now when you're starting a new business is how you're going to carve out that [10:55] SPEAKER_03: each and stand out. Let's say you are going to start your own public relations or digital media, [11:00] SPEAKER_03: a digital marketing company. What sort of market are you looking to target? Because there are a lot [11:07] SPEAKER_03: of big firms out there who service many industries, but you know, if you're, if you're starting out [11:12] SPEAKER_03: small or solo, it's almost better for you to carve out that niche and be known for a specific type [11:17] SPEAKER_03: of PR or digital marketing that will help you set, set yourself apart from the competition. [11:25] SPEAKER_02: If you were to start all over again and you just moved to Vancouver, this time you don't know [11:30] SPEAKER_02: anyone knowing what you know now. You've been here for number years in business. What would you do? [11:36] SPEAKER_02: And how would you do it all over again as a entrepreneur? Yeah, I mean, I, I feel like it's, [11:42] SPEAKER_03: it was similar because I, I didn't set out to run my own business when I was younger and I kind of [11:47] SPEAKER_03: just left into it. Definitely become a comfortable networking because that's the primary way that [11:53] SPEAKER_03: you're going to meet, you know, whether it's partners that you're going to work with, meet clients. [11:58] SPEAKER_03: I come across people all the time at networking events where like, oh, I hate networking, I hate, [12:02] SPEAKER_03: you know, meeting people and I'm like, well, you're here. You know, you're, you're practicing now. [12:09] SPEAKER_03: And you just got to get comfortable with that. And what I did was I spent a lot of time on meetup.com [12:15] SPEAKER_03: and I went to every networking meeting under the sun that I could find and I found that that gave me [12:22] SPEAKER_03: some great practice because I'm an introvert with just shaking hands, it's changing business cards, [12:27] SPEAKER_03: talking to people. And if I were to do that again, I would probably spend less time doing that, you [12:32] SPEAKER_03: know, maybe six months rather than, rather than two years. But yeah, if you get over that initial fear [12:38] SPEAKER_03: of networking and then you know exactly where you need to be in terms of the clients or customers [12:44] SPEAKER_03: that you need to find, then you're, you're much ahead. And then the second thing I would say was, [12:49] SPEAKER_03: or what I would do is invest in some help with branding right off the bat. Because like I said, [12:55] SPEAKER_03: I came up with my own logo and business card. But now what I advise or what I advise to [13:01] SPEAKER_03: all my past clients and anyone else, you know, starting a business is, you got to really invest [13:07] SPEAKER_03: that time in the branding and figuring out, you know, who are you or who is your company? What do you [13:13] SPEAKER_03: stand for? What's your purpose? And have that really all come out in the design in the beginning, [13:19] SPEAKER_03: because that's going to save a lot of time later on when you realize this happened to me. [13:24] SPEAKER_03: You know, I'm running a company that actually doesn't reflect really accurately who I am or what [13:30] SPEAKER_03: industry that I want to focus on. And so I have to do that process over again. [13:34] SPEAKER_02: Bit of fun as far as your location, you know, we all do some of our best workouts side the office. [13:39] SPEAKER_02: Is there a place in Vancouver or I guess even in NBC, maybe near where you live or work, [13:46] SPEAKER_02: where you recharge, get inspired, or just go when you're needing to think? [13:52] SPEAKER_03: I would say it's not really location dependent for me. It's definitely just spending time alone, [13:59] SPEAKER_03: whether that's yeah, going for a walk outside. And I know many many of the DC entrepreneurs have [14:06] SPEAKER_03: mentioned going out in nature. That's that is really important. We've got some great weather here [14:12] SPEAKER_03: to do that on the West Coast. Yeah, or it's or spending time with with family and friends, [14:18] SPEAKER_03: not talking business is always great. Or you've been watching like a really good TV series or [14:24] SPEAKER_03: movie. Travel, I would say is also really important to me again to just hop out of that business mindset [14:31] SPEAKER_02: and recharge. Sandra, do you think entrepreneurs have to be weird or unique? Of course, [14:38] SPEAKER_02: in a positive way, I mean, or are they wired differently? I don't know if I would agree with either, [14:45] SPEAKER_03: because I feel like everyone is weirder unique in their own way. And that's great. And like I [14:51] SPEAKER_03: said, that's that may help you stand out from the rest of the competition in your industry. [14:57] SPEAKER_03: And then as far as being wired, I think everybody can be trained. [15:02] SPEAKER_03: Maybe there are some folks who, you know, may be born into a family of entrepreneurs. And so [15:07] SPEAKER_03: they may have been exposed to it maybe growing up and they might have a leg up when they finally [15:12] SPEAKER_03: decide to jump in. But I think, yeah, as long as you're dedicated, you can definitely train in [15:19] SPEAKER_02: terms of the mindset that you need. Absolutely. Now, I mean, you've just written your own book, [15:27] SPEAKER_02: but which I'll maybe ask another question a little later in the podcast. But what books are you [15:32] SPEAKER_02: reading now? And why are they audio books? Are they physical, turn the page books? And can you [15:38] SPEAKER_03: recommend anything in particular for our listeners? Yeah, right. Right now, I'm reading a lot of [15:45] SPEAKER_03: personal books, which I didn't use to. There used to be huge stack of business books when [15:51] SPEAKER_03: I was running my agency. So I would, I would select anything from, you know, the best sellers to [15:56] SPEAKER_03: to books on marketing and especially cause marketing. But right now, I'm, yeah, I'm really enjoying [16:01] SPEAKER_03: digging into more to into books that are personal topics of mind. So right now, I'm digging into [16:08] SPEAKER_03: the ebook for becoming supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispensa. And he's one of, I would say, today's leading [16:15] SPEAKER_03: scientists and personal development gurus, who's really into neuroscience and healing the body [16:25] SPEAKER_03: with your mind. And so I'm, yeah, about halfway through that, it's super fascinating. Exactly [16:31] SPEAKER_03: the type of stuff that I'm into right now in terms of, yeah, how to heal yourself, both, [16:36] SPEAKER_03: both physically and emotionally just by tuning into what your mind can do for you. [16:42] SPEAKER_02: Okay, I'm totally curious. Can you give us a sound bite? What's one thing that you can do [16:48] SPEAKER_03: yourself to heal your body with your mind? Okay, so yeah, the type of meditation that I mentioned [16:55] SPEAKER_03: earlier that I do is transcendental. And they, you know, they say you shouldn't try to think [17:02] SPEAKER_03: any thoughts. But the method that Joe Dispensa introduces in becoming supernatural, he actually [17:09] SPEAKER_03: introduces quite a few forms, but there is one that centers around the chakras of the body. [17:17] SPEAKER_03: So starting from, you know, the chakras around the pelvis, going all the way up to the chakras [17:23] SPEAKER_03: that that's above your head. So not even, not even on your body. And if you place your focus on all [17:29] SPEAKER_03: those and send love and gratitude and healing thoughts to each of those centers, you would come out [17:37] SPEAKER_03: of that healthier and, yeah, I would say more balanced. I think that's the concept of it. So, [17:43] SPEAKER_03: yeah, that was one of the ones that was, yeah, that was pretty neat to me. [17:47] SPEAKER_02: Awesome. Well, we talked a little bit about your meditation and, and, you know, the, the downside of [17:54] SPEAKER_02: relaxing and relaxing the words. What about the outside of the center of the life? What are your [17:59] SPEAKER_03: favorite activities in C. And what do you do? Yeah, well, I guess fitness is a big part of my life. [18:08] SPEAKER_03: So I like, you know, going for runs with my husband in a neighborhood, I do you get home. [18:14] SPEAKER_03: Like I said, like hanging out with friends on the weekends, love eating out. And I'm a, you know, [18:20] SPEAKER_03: fairly new vegan. So Vancouver is great for those types of restaurants. Or we go out to, yeah, [18:27] SPEAKER_03: to watch a movie. Now that it's getting warmer, you know, hiking season is under waste. So really [18:33] SPEAKER_03: looking forward to that. Although some people hike year-round, it's good for them. I prefer the [18:38] SPEAKER_03: warmer weather. Yeah, I just, I just learned to knit about a year ago. So that's, that's one cool [18:43] SPEAKER_03: thing that I actually enjoyed doing while I'm doing more sedentary activities like watching [18:47] SPEAKER_03: movies. I don't feel as lazy and I am actually doing something along with that. Awesome. [18:53] SPEAKER_02: Give me one favorite vegan restaurant you've discovered in Vancouver. Oh, well, my favorite by far [19:00] SPEAKER_03: is the Acorn, which is very vegan friendly. It was actually recently named the best vegan restaurant [19:07] SPEAKER_03: in the world by one of the media outlets. Whoa, that's fantastic. Yeah, and that's right in my [19:12] SPEAKER_02: hood right on Main Street. There you go. Sandra, this is always a tough question. But if you [19:17] SPEAKER_02: weren't derling what you were, what you're doing now, you know, and you've made a transition [19:22] SPEAKER_02: recently, I appreciate that. But if you could flick a switch and choose a completely another profession, [19:28] SPEAKER_03: what would you delve into? Well, you know, world traveler is, is, you know, one of the titles that I [19:33] SPEAKER_03: just call myself because I really do want to travel to more countries. And so if there was a [19:39] SPEAKER_03: career that would allow me to travel and I love writing as well. So, you know, maybe something like [19:46] SPEAKER_03: a travel journalist or writer blogger that would probably be it. What's the next destination on your [19:52] SPEAKER_03: travel list? I am headed to Toronto and Montreal in September to visit a friend and also attend [20:00] SPEAKER_03: a cousin's wedding. So, and I've been to both places, but really looking forward to introducing my [20:05] SPEAKER_02: husband who hasn't been nice. Sandra, business, how a favorite word quote or sentence that you can share [20:14] SPEAKER_03: with our listener. I've got a favorite quote. It doesn't necessarily need to apply to business, [20:20] SPEAKER_03: but it certainly does in my opinion. And that's roll with the punches tomorrow's another day, [20:26] SPEAKER_03: because everybody's got bad days and you certainly will when you run your own business. But yeah, [20:32] SPEAKER_03: I think if you can, if you can remember that, you know, moments pass and there's always a better [20:37] SPEAKER_03: opportunity coming the next day or the next moment that'll help get you through. If you had to pick [20:43] SPEAKER_03: one or two words, describe yourself. What would they be and why? The first thing that came to me was [20:51] SPEAKER_03: introvert, because I just think that describes me pretty well. I work best one-on-one with people. [20:59] SPEAKER_03: I've gotten used to, you know, the big networking events now, but as well as public speaking, [21:04] SPEAKER_03: but I do think introverts have this, have a unique ability to listen to others, and that can be very [21:12] SPEAKER_03: useful in business. And the other would be intuitive. And I would not call myself that, you know, [21:19] SPEAKER_03: maybe five years ago, but now that my, you know, I've been practicing meditation for quite a few [21:24] SPEAKER_03: years now, and not only am I free from running my own business and asking myself a lot of [21:31] SPEAKER_03: questions about what's next for me. I'm learning to hone my intuition a lot more lately. [21:38] SPEAKER_02: And I am going to jump on that what's next for me and ask you, what are your top two or three things [21:46] SPEAKER_02: on an inspired life list, whether it's a TED talk, you just launched the book, what's on that? [21:52] SPEAKER_02: If you look forward to doing it in the next, say decade or so. [21:56] SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I actually do have a personal bucket list, and there are quite a few travel destinations [22:02] SPEAKER_03: on there. I'm just trying to think if there's, oh, one is, one is become a really good vegan cook. [22:08] SPEAKER_03: And I think I'm, I think I'm well on the path to doing that because I've been, I've been cooking [22:12] SPEAKER_03: vegetarian for quite a number of years now. Yeah, and I've got a good solid deck of recipes, [22:18] SPEAKER_03: I would say that I'm, I've now started to share on my personal blog. So I'm just making sure that all [22:23] SPEAKER_03: of those are, are refined and of course improving my, my, my, knife skills. But yeah, I think I'm [22:30] SPEAKER_03: well on the way of that. And then probably one of the more unique travel experiences that I'd like [22:35] SPEAKER_03: to have is going to New York Fashion Week with at least one of my siblings. So I'm the middle child [22:42] SPEAKER_03: with an older sister and a younger brother and both of, and all of us, I would say are into fashion [22:46] SPEAKER_03: a little bit in different ways. And so I think it would be cool for all of us to just go see a [22:51] SPEAKER_03: couple shows in New York City, which is an incredible city. Yeah, and just have that experience together. [22:57] SPEAKER_02: That's how I would love to tag along with you guys if you decide to go so good. Sure, we'll let you know. [23:03] SPEAKER_02: Thunder, any advice you have received and, and put your heart, you can pass a bunch of [23:09] SPEAKER_03: lunch, you can urge out British Columbia. I've received so much great advice over the years, [23:15] SPEAKER_03: I have to say, but I would, what, what I have heard repeated so many times, and I would, [23:22] SPEAKER_03: I would definitely repeat again, is that nobody does it alone and it really does require a community. [23:28] SPEAKER_03: And even if you are a solo printer, you really do need to find a community of people that you trust [23:34] SPEAKER_03: and that you can rely on that can refer you business. And yeah, it can just, can just be that cheerleader [23:40] SPEAKER_03: squad for you because especially when you are starting out alone. Yeah, it can be hard to know who [23:47] SPEAKER_03: to turn to, but yeah, it's definitely super important to find a tribe. Excellent. [23:54] SPEAKER_02: This one is a little bit of fun just to get a little bit of insight on you, Sandra. [23:59] SPEAKER_02: Now, if you can imagine there was a small tropical island just up of Fiji, has a phone booth, [24:04] SPEAKER_02: but no internet. We're going to drop you off there and you won't have a computer, [24:09] SPEAKER_02: smartphone or anything. You can use that phone booth, you know, for a call to get somebody to come [24:14] SPEAKER_02: and pick you up. How long would you last on the island before you made the call? [24:20] SPEAKER_03: You know, I love this question. It's so great. And so I've been thinking about my own answer. [24:27] SPEAKER_03: And I actually think of two scenarios. So if I were dropped off, like, was absolutely nothing [24:34] SPEAKER_03: on, you know, no backpack or anything, I wouldn't last very long to be honest because I'm not a [24:39] SPEAKER_03: good camper. I'm a city girl. And so if I'm not able to keep myself warm or feed myself, [24:44] SPEAKER_03: like I'm just not going to last for like 24 hours, probably. [24:48] SPEAKER_03: The second scenario is if I know I'm going there, even without, you know, the smartphone or [24:54] SPEAKER_03: anything, if I were able to bring the best in solar tech, in solar tech with me. So, you know, [25:00] SPEAKER_03: I'm talking like solar inflatable tent, solar powered flashlights and grittles. And [25:09] SPEAKER_03: like, then I'm going to have a good time. If I can sleep and I can, you know, I'm vegan. So I can [25:15] SPEAKER_03: feed for food and make my own food, then, you know, I'm going to have a good time. I would say, [25:20] SPEAKER_03: probably, try in last 10 days before I made that call to go home. Yeah, but I try as long as [25:26] SPEAKER_03: for as long as possible to explore what's there on that island and swimming and just spend a lot [25:32] SPEAKER_02: of that quality time alone. I think if I was ever to end up on a on a VG in the island in the middle [25:37] SPEAKER_02: of nowhere, I would definitely choose Sandra to have as my vegan cook. I can tell you. [25:44] SPEAKER_02: We would have fun. Yeah, we would have fun. [25:53] SPEAKER_03: Best way to get ahold of me is my personal site, SandraNamoto.com. Or you can find me at that [26:00] SPEAKER_03: with that name on all of the social media platforms. I'd say the last thing I want to say is, [26:05] SPEAKER_03: yeah, please come and check out my book. You can have a look at it on Amazon or on my personal site. [26:11] SPEAKER_03: And yeah, I think it's a really helpful guy that'll help anyone in an organization, whether you're [26:17] SPEAKER_03: in marketing or running your business or not. And I think it'll give you some great tips on how you [26:22] SPEAKER_03: can improve both your relationships with your employees or team, as well as your clients and [26:28] SPEAKER_03: customers outside of outside of the company. And Toss again, we're just reminding you of the book [26:33] SPEAKER_03: and the only public relations guide you'll ever need. Fantastic. So we've learned about [26:39] SPEAKER_02: SandraNamoto, middle child, writer, aspiring world traveler, East and Cuba resident. And of course, [26:46] SPEAKER_02: soon to be world guru, vegan recipe cooking collections. So thanks again for joining us, Sandra. [26:54] SPEAKER_02: We've enjoyed having you here and I'm sure listeners have too. Thanks Angie. [26:59] SPEAKER_01: Hey there. Thanks for taking the time today to listen to British Columbia's podcast on the [27:04] SPEAKER_01: Canada's podcast network. We hope you enjoyed the show today. Make sure you sign up for our [27:09] SPEAKER_01: newsletters and write a review for us on iTunes. Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, [27:16] SPEAKER_01: LinkedIn or at Canada'spodcast.com. You can check out what other entrepreneurs are doing across [27:21] SPEAKER_01: the country. I'm Angela Faye. See you next time.
