Cultural Heritage and Entrepreneurial Spirit with Migena Agaraj.

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Hello, welcome everybody to
another episode of Arthur's

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Round Table.
Super grateful for everybody

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who's paying attention and
shares it with others and the

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family office insights community
that's been kindly sharing it

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with their communities.
And so we're, we've had a lot of

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fun doing these podcasts and we
have lots more coming up.

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And today we have a new friend,
my Jenna, who is actually, we

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didn't know each other, but we
figured out we knew each other

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in a serendipitous way through
other people that we knew.

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So I'm really, really grateful
that you come on today and love

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to hear your origin story and
start at the beginning and talk

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about your business and that
will be fantastic.

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And we and we also share some
cultural heritage and

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background.
Albanian and Greek might as well

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be the same thing.
I just logistically, but

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culturally super appreciate that
it well and as well.

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So thanks for doing this.
Oh, no, thank you, Arthur.

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It's it's a pleasure.
Or do we go by Arturo like

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Artur?
Actually my my name is

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Athanasios.
ATHANASIOS So that's what I'm

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going to call you from now on.
ATHANASIOS Then so I'm again,

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I'm with Hardy and I'm grateful
to be in your digital home

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because this is where you have
all of your guests and I'm

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grateful that you made time for
us today.

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I love talking about where I
come from, what I do, how I do

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things because I feel that, you
know, when you share and you're

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not a Hager of information, it
makes life so much more

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beautiful.
And I love, I love being on

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podcasts because the time is, is
going by so fast, especially

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with technology.
And why not let, let let

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technology be our tool and us
control it and dictate it and

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tell it what to do and make it
our ally.

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So then, you know, we are in
these spaces like yours where we

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get to say, oh, this is where I
come from.

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And maybe there is somebody out
there who has no idea where

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Albania is and one person
learned something about a place

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that they didn't know it
existed.

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So not undermining the the power
of sharing just one little thing

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and spaces like this make it
possible.

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I am in the Bronx, you are in
Utah somewhere, or maybe I don't

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know, Belize, I don't know,
somewhere like somewhere you

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could be, you know, like in the
farm, you know, hanging out with

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the with the vineyards.
And then you're like, oh, let me

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just hang out with me again for
an hour and see what she's up

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to.
And yeah, so thank you again so

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much for having me.
And what, what do we talk about?

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Do we talk about where I'm
coming from?

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Yeah.
Let's talk about the beginning,

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like the beginning of your
journey, if that's all right to

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to the extent that you want to
share that.

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Yeah.
The beginning Well, I was born

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and raised in Albania in a very,
very tiny town of no more than

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300 families.
Used to be just an empty piece

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of land at some point, and
during communism it was

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converted into a bunch of
buildings in the school that had

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all the grades on through high
school.

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So you can imagine, everybody
knew everybody.

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And I went to school with my
cousins and I had cousins in the

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same class I was in.
Grew up with my grandparents

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from my dad's side and mom's
side of the family not far away.

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So my childhood was so awesome.
Mom had a tiny cafe, Dad had a

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shop because he's a Carpenter by
trade.

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So literally, I grew up with
entrepreneurial parents who had

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their own businesses and I
literally had no time to play

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outside.
But I find myself being the the

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bank for the family holding all
the little money, like the

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dollars, like we call them neck.
And mom would say, here is the

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money.
And I'll say, wow, that's a lot

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of money.
And she's like, no, no, no, this

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is not all profit.
This is how much is profit.

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The rest needs to be used to buy
more of these products to sell

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the next day.
So before I even started first

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grade, I'm learning PNL without
knowing that.

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I'm learning that profits on
loss that.

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Doesn't even happen today in
school like 0.

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Or negative, rather, right?
I feel like it's more negative.

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And Fast forward, I'm in New
York City from that little town

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to the Bronx.
Talk about cultural shock.

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I didn't speak English at the
time.

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I spoke Italian and I started
working as a Hostess in a diner

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and learned Spanish before I
learned English being on

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survival.
Because of the the back of the

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house, right, That sort of
thing, yeah.

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Literally, it's a Greek diner in
White Plains.

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We have this family friend whose
husband was working there as a

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chef.
The lady hands my mother this

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bag of clothes.
Maybe they'll fit me again on

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like she would get them from
this wealthy ladies in

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Westchester.
And I'm like, oh, here is a

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white shirt.
Oh, cool.

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I have my mom's shoes.
OK, maybe all I have to do is

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buy a pair of pants.
Great.

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So here's my uniform to be a
Hostess.

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So I'm wearing other people's
clothes, mom's shoes.

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Thank God for those shoes.
And in one of the books that I

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am a collaborator in, The
Powerful Female Immigrants, I

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literally talk about walking in
my mom's shoes, but literally,

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like actually literally wearing
her shoes.

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And with no, no English, no
experience.

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So I thought I started this
diner as a Hostess and I'm

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questioning why are these people
hiring me?

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Like I have no clue what's going
on over here and all I had to do

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was smile, stand by the front
desk and seat people.

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Like I could count 2-3.
Cool.

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Learn the numbers and you know,
making $5.00 an hour I believe,

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or 7, $7.00 an hour.
And I'm like, wow, I don't know

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if I'm scared that I'm going to
lose this job the next day

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because they'll realize that I
don't know English or they'll

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love me so much because back
home I received training before

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I even went to 1st grade.
Being in this environment and

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the fact that this was a very
big diner in comparison to my

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tiny Cafe that mom owed made no
difference.

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Customer services.
Customer service.

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And what a, what a great place
to do it in New York City

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because there's so first of all,
there's opportunity.

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So there was there was an
opportunity for the diner to

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prosper and be able to pay you,
right.

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Very true.
And then people are expecting

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while you're in New York City
that there's multicultural

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influences in languages.
You know, It's, it's, I don't

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mean to interrupt the flow, but.
Now please do.

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Interesting when you know New
York City is a completely

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different planet than the rest
of the country.

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But Oh my God, the rest of the.
World anyways, but being a New

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Yorker, you expect and are
tolerant of people who have

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accents and speak a little
differently.

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But they also rise to the
occasion like you did and say,

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OK, I need to deliver, right?
It doesn't matter what it is, I

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just need to deliver, right?
I need to deliver for sure.

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There I am having a couple of
shifts a week, would take the

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bus every day for an hour and a
half.

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And then I realized that people
loved working but also having

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days off and I didn't, I didn't
want to have days off.

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And my first paycheck ever in
this country was $189 stapled

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inside an envelope, handy to me.
And I take the envelope and of

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course, I don't open it in the
workplace.

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I open it when I come home to
show it to mom.

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And I learned a very important
lesson.

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It wasn't 190 dollars.
It wasn't rounded to $200.

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It was exactly the hours that
were agreed and the amount that

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was agreed minus the break, the
clocking in maybe 5 minutes

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later.
Like the way the math worked

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out, it was precise.
And I'm thinking, I love this so

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much because of that principle
of it.

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And I grew up with that
principal mom always teaching me

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that if you want to give
something to somebody, you give

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it to someone without expecting
it.

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But if it's what you earned and
it's with sense attached to it,

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it's yours.
So you always pay attention to

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that.
And I always look for that in in

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relationships, even Fast forward
to today in business, I don't

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believe in rounding up, but I do
believe in precise exact.

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If we've, we've agreed that you
are $5 short and you will give

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it to me later, I expect it out
of principle.

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And if my response to you that
moment is no author, you can,

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you can buy me a coffee
tomorrow.

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Please do not give it back
because then I'll get insulted.

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But if we agreed and I say, OK,
no problem, whenever you have

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it, that means you have to
return it.

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And what I do with that, it's up
to me, but it cannot be up to

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you.
You can't decide.

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I decide and vice versa.
So here I am.

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Great.
So I've earned $189.

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We get this Z bag, put the money
inside the Z bag and hide it

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inside a bucket of flour that we
would buy to make our own bread

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because we don't have a bank
account.

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And literally our buckets of
flour.

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It was our bank at first moving
in this country and mom couldn't

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get a job because again,
language barriers, no

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experience.
So here I am working in this

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diner.
By week two, I'm like, hey, can

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I pick up more shifts?
Can I do your shift and can I

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work your shift?
So I went from work in two days

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a week, Arthur, to Monday
through Sunday, 2 shifts for

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three years with no days off.
Not a single Saturday or Sunday.

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And when I wasn't at the diner
on that double shift, I was

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picking up other shifts at their
other restaurant walking

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distance.
I wouldn't have to take the bus

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to spend another dollar and
$0.75 each way.

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And when I couldn't go to White
Plains because I had registered

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to learn English now at a
university next door to where I

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live, I would pick up some
shifts at a bakery in the Bronx

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for $100 for three days.
I mean like $6.00 an hour only

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because there's 18 hours free.
And I can't have those 18 hours

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not making something in return.
And in the process, at the end

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of the day, they throw away the
bread and all these things that

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they had cooked that the next
day they could not sail.

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So they're is this opportunity
for my family now to, to eat

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without actually having to, to
buy the food that we would eat.

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So from the moment I moved here
for the next three years, that's

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my journey, either learning
English as a second language,

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working Monday through Sunday
and like that's it.

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Like I, I knew nothing about
Manhattan, nothing like I'm

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Bronx, White Plains.
Then I start college, Hunter

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College in New York City.
So now I am taking a bus 7:00 AM

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waiting tables because now I'm a
waitress.

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Like I upgraded after working as
a Hostess.

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Of course, I started to make
more money and I pretty much ran

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the place like literally like I
love this so much.

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Oh my God.
Like it's, it's meeting

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customers and serving them and
memorizing all of their foods

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was one of my absolute favorite
things to do.

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Like I would see them walk in
and I'm like, oh, here is Fred

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and he this is what he eats and
I'll get it ready.

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He sits down, boom, it's there.
Like how does she see us?

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Right to be in service, right?
Oh, to be in service.

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And it makes me so happy that
people are like, Oh my God, like

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that.
That sense of gratitude.

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So then I'm a waitress.
Take a bus, go all the way to

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White Plains by 7:00 AM.
Wait tables all day, breakfast,

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lunch, walk to White Plains
train station.

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Take the Metro North, go to
Hunter College in the city,

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study all night, then take a
subway and come in the Bronx.

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So I'm a bus, a train, a subway
every day.

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So hunters like. 1668, you're
really good.

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Here.
I am now doing this for six

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months.
I can no longer sustain the

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whole going in three boroughs or
other different counties at this

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point between Manhattan, Bronx
and Westchester.

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The family was gracious enough
and they had so many restaurants

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in the city.
So from working at the City

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Limits Diner in White Plains,
I'm now at Mollivos in the city,

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starting again as a Hostess
because I don't have New York

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00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:33,160
City experience as a way.
On 7th Ave. 7th Ave. and 50

225
00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:36,200
between 56 and 57.
There there are.

226
00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,920
The lemono soup is the best.
Lemono.

227
00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,680
Yeah, the best.
I know that menu by heart.

228
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:47,920
Literally I am now working as.
A space too big restaurant.

229
00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,400
By the way, they no longer renew
the contract at that location

230
00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,520
because everything, I believe
the Wellington Hotel either

231
00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,400
shifted or did something.
So now they're in a different

232
00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:03,040
location as of recently.
But there I am now working again

233
00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,320
as a Hostess.
Then months later, I learned the

234
00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,120
menu.
I go back to being a waitress.

235
00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:10,600
I am now at Hunter College
playing catching up because I

236
00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,720
started college much later, not
as soon as I got back into this

237
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,840
country.
Very important for me to be

238
00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:21,360
educated for my family.
It's it's one of the missions to

239
00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,080
accomplish to honor the
sacrifices of being in this

240
00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,760
country and do something with
what was either given to us.

241
00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:32,920
Worked hard for, paid for work,
like all of all of the things

242
00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,600
combined.
So I am now taking classes

243
00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:41,720
Monday through Sunday, graduated
with like 3° in three years

244
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,040
while having a full time job at
Molly was then eventually at

245
00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:48,040
Milo's restaurant where I'm the
cat where I'm a captain.

246
00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:53,320
So I went from three jobs to two
jobs and and school.

247
00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:57,880
And then Fast forward I end up
working as the human resources

248
00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,280
recruiter for a Class A
commercial real estate space.

249
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,280
And of course the pay was very
little in comparison to what I

250
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,240
was making as as a waitress or
captain in restaurants.

251
00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:11,360
Because Milos.
Like the second most expensive

252
00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:13,440
restaurant in the city.
Clearly.

253
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:14,600
Yeah, anytime.
Right.

254
00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:19,400
It is very, very, very
beautiful, expensive, great and

255
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,080
all the things but.
Outstanding place, yeah.

256
00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,600
It's so cool.
And imagine I'm there for eight

257
00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,560
years.
Talk about the level of

258
00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:37,480
experience now strengthening my
customer service skills without

259
00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,640
even knowing that I was doing
and the sales aspect of it,

260
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:45,400
because as a captain, we would
sell the the best wines with the

261
00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:51,280
best fish pairing and, and
creating a beautiful experience

262
00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:56,000
versus oh, you're hungry here.
These are no, how hungry are

263
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,480
you?
Where did you come from?

264
00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,400
Oh, you just flew from Dubai.
Well, you can't have this like

265
00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:05,320
turn into this extension of of
the person's well-being.

266
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,360
And I'm not saying that
everybody thinks in those terms.

267
00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:18,600
But to me, it was like a world
of so many unknowns and at the

268
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:23,280
same time of surprises because
you sometimes didn't know who

269
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:26,400
would sit at that table.
So you had to rely on your

270
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,880
instinct to feel what that
customer was feeling.

271
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:34,960
Someone not smiling at you, but
then you look at them enough and

272
00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:37,760
you smile, and then they have no
choice but to smile back.

273
00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:42,400
And that that beautiful reward
of how I just changed someone's

274
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:50,400
second because of how I it was
part of their emotions for like

275
00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:54,480
2 seconds or two hours or now
for years because they'll say,

276
00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,880
oh, it's Meganna working today.
Great, cool.

277
00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,400
We want to sit with her.
Well, she's not available.

278
00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:01,000
She has no table.
All right, we'll wait at the

279
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,640
bar.
Like, are you freaking kidding

280
00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:05,160
me?
Like they're like, Oh my God,

281
00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:07,319
who are these people?
I'm like, oh, that's so.

282
00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:08,920
And so they came from
California.

283
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,720
How do you remember all these
names?

284
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:16,240
Or Meganna, go upstairs.
We have an upset table.

285
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:18,520
We don't want them to ever not
come back.

286
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:20,280
So go fix it.
OK, Sure.

287
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,599
I'll go fix it.
So I'll just go upstairs and

288
00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:25,040
well, hello.
How are you?

289
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:26,200
And they'll be like, who are
you?

290
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,480
Like, completely attack me.
You're not our waitress.

291
00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,920
I'm like, OK.
Oh, I see you having a martini.

292
00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,720
Oh my God, you love feta cheese.
So do I am obey and I make my

293
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,040
own.
Oh, OK, cool.

294
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:43,280
Like just working around their,
like emotions and expectations

295
00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:47,360
because at the end of the day,
they're there because they want

296
00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:51,960
to be there and they're willing
to compensate for that time.

297
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,520
So you need to honor that.
Well, I need you to honor now

298
00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,240
you, Arthur, Please don't be a
waiter.

299
00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:01,080
Just be be on the podcast.
Just kidding.

300
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:03,840
I was just teasing.
So that's my world author for

301
00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:11,560
like 12 years being in this
country while my mother feeling

302
00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,600
upset that here I am economics
degree, minored in history,

303
00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:21,080
minored in Italian, speak 5
languages and I'm still waiting

304
00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,400
tables.
Making a lot of money.

305
00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:25,160
But it didn't matter at that.
Point.

306
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,840
Yeah, right.
Because I also learned that

307
00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:31,160
money was not a motivator for
me.

308
00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:38,400
I was non motivated by money.
I was motivated by by by that

309
00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,840
respect, the professionalism and
doing something meaningful.

310
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,760
So I worked very hard because I
knew that I was providing for my

311
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:50,840
family and I knew that I was
contributing and I didn't feel

312
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,600
useless.
And then I would go to school

313
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:58,680
again, honoring ancestor
sacrifices for my parents to get

314
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,160
to the point to leave everything
behind to be here.

315
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:06,480
And how can I not go do the
things that I was very capable

316
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:08,680
and able of doing?
And it was a choice.

317
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:14,520
So then working hard and rushing
to go to the restaurant from

318
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,520
school.
I lived on chocolate for three

319
00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,440
years.
Like I had no time to eat.

320
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,800
I had no time.
I would take winter classes,

321
00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:28,560
summer classes, full semesters,
21 credits per semester with bag

322
00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:32,520
Deans to open registration.
So I can register for 21 credits

323
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,360
per semester versus 12, which
was almost double.

324
00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:41,920
And I had a fantastic GPA and
took all these languages in fast

325
00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,480
tracks, two classes per semester
versus 1.

326
00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:48,760
So I bought back time like
that's what I was doing.

327
00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,080
I was buying back time.
I was in.

328
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:54,320
I was, I said, what can I give
up for this?

329
00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,680
Literally, I never went out to
this day.

330
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,240
I mean, I don't go out like my
going out is there are summit,

331
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:04,960
there's events, I'll meet
awesome people who get to talk

332
00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:09,080
about live business and
networking at the different

333
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:11,080
venues.
And to me, that's, that's very

334
00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,000
satisfying.
So I know New York, but not

335
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,640
really.
I know, I know the heart of it.

336
00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,720
I know the energy of it, but if
people were to mention certain

337
00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:23,200
names of certain places, I would
be like, I don't even know where

338
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:24,800
that is.
And I and they're like, wait,

339
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,800
you're in New York 23 years.
I'm like yes, but.

340
00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:33,840
Being in New York, unless you
live a certain lifestyle, unless

341
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:38,400
you're in a certain industry,
you're dictated by that industry

342
00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,320
and your environment becomes
that go.

343
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,400
Across.
And you, you could agree to

344
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,160
this.
And if I am in the restaurant

345
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:53,680
business, for over a decade, I
spoke restaurant language like

346
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,440
no other.
I have an economics degree.

347
00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:01,040
I can't speak finance language
because I couldn't get hired in

348
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,160
the financial world.
I had 0 experience.

349
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,080
I had no internship.
I could not afford to have an

350
00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,880
internship because I am working.
Money for your.

351
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,040
Family I needed to work because
one thing that I didn't want is

352
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:19,080
to have a student loan.
We had a lot of debt come in

353
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,280
this country.
I was not about to add on more

354
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:26,880
to it.
We we ate cereal for years until

355
00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:34,520
we saved the money and paid it
back like at a speedy level.

356
00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:39,440
Then when and people often ask
me like when did you really when

357
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:41,720
did you really feel like you,
you made it like you're in New

358
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,360
York.
I never feel like I made it like

359
00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:46,440
I don't even know what that
means.

360
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:48,360
What does it mean to even make
it?

361
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:55,560
It has such a such an individual
definition that there is never a

362
00:21:55,560 --> 00:22:00,280
right or wrong answer.
But I say often time that when

363
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:07,360
we paid our debt is actually
like the first day for the rest

364
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:10,880
of our lives in this country.
Maybe it's.

365
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:18,440
A Wiring.
And the fact that we honored and

366
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,320
the way you honor someone doing
something for you is by

367
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,640
returning what's not yours, but
it was gifted to you for you to

368
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:29,080
have a better life.
So to me, that's when I felt

369
00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,680
that, OK, now I can breathe.
Then I'm going to school, I can

370
00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,480
get a job.
All of a sudden, I find myself

371
00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,600
as a human resources recruiter,
full time, temporary.

372
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,440
What does that mean?
That means that I would work 40

373
00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,320
hours plus a week.
But this was not permanent.

374
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:51,480
It was seasonal, $16.00 an hour.
I'll take it.

375
00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:54,400
Meanwhile, I'm making six
figures in the restaurant

376
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,320
business.
But it didn't matter.

377
00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:59,800
I could care less about the
whole pay cut.

378
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:06,000
Starting back.
From experience, not 0, but

379
00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:11,000
there is a quote that I will not
do justice.

380
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,840
But it goes something like this.
There's certain people out there

381
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:21,480
who truly hope and wish that you
don't recognize your own values

382
00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,720
because they do.
They want to take advantage of

383
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,240
it.
Because they exactly, they don't

384
00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:31,280
want you to know who you truly
are, which nobody really knows

385
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,040
who they truly are, ever.
I think we're in the process of

386
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,360
discovering ourselves every day
if we paid attention.

387
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:42,360
But at a minimum, having a
restaurant experience on my

388
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:47,240
resume, I felt so little, so
meaningless, useless.

389
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,640
I had nothing to bring to to
this organization.

390
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,640
I felt that they were doing me a
favor to to literally open that

391
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,560
door so I could go work.
And they they felt that they

392
00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,200
were doing you a favor too, no
doubt.

393
00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:03,840
I now I know back then I didn't.
Back then it was 100% the favor

394
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,960
was on them.
And there I am, wearing a suit

395
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,880
order every morning.
Pants, blazer, beautiful shirts,

396
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:16,560
hair always up, never down,
always makeup, heels and smell

397
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:18,760
in perfume.
And 4:00 hit.

398
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,280
I negotiated with them.
I don't want my lunch breaks

399
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:24,440
because I need that half an hour
to take the subway from the West

400
00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,280
side to the east side to go back
at Milo's, wear uniform and

401
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,400
smell like fish all night.
So I'm doing this.

402
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:34,680
Suits every morning, uniforms
every night, Monday through

403
00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,400
Friday, 40 hours.
And Milos is Monday through

404
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,040
Sunday because on the weekends
we make more money, as you know.

405
00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:43,720
And 8-9 months go by, it's a
Wednesday like today.

406
00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,440
And someone from HR says, hey,
thanks for your time.

407
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,080
Your last day is Friday, 2 days
from today.

408
00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:53,640
I'm like, thank you so much.
I expected it.

409
00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:59,000
Yeah, I honor those commitments.
If it was said that it was

410
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,760
temporary, it was temporary.
It was a matter of time.

411
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,280
I worked as if that was my
company hired thousands of

412
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,320
employees that went into the
skyscrapers, help them with

413
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,600
their applications.
There was never lack of the

414
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:16,120
different system.
There were not systems more like

415
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,720
techniques and and skills that
were needed for certain jobs

416
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,400
that need you to get done in
these big buildings of New York.

417
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,600
And everybody knew Meganna.
People would come in and say,

418
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:31,320
hey, I am Meganna's cousin.
And literally at that point is

419
00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,720
just me and my parents.
My brother is still back in

420
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:36,800
Europe.
I had no cousins.

421
00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:39,760
And I would be like, I don't
have any cousins in America.

422
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:44,040
I'm like, who is my cousin?
And I'll just look and random

423
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:45,200
people.
I'm like, yeah, oh, yeah, yeah,

424
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:47,240
sure.
Here, let's meet in the meeting

425
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,080
room.
Next thing you know, here's my

426
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,560
wife, here's my son, here's my
daughter, my son-in-law.

427
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,840
Can you hire us?
OK, what can you do?

428
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,840
So I would have like 30 plus
interviews a day.

429
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:02,120
No time to eat.
Here I am now, no more job in

430
00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:05,120
the morning.
I'm back at the restaurant,

431
00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:07,520
which I never stopped. 2 weeks
later they called me back and

432
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:08,720
like hey, do you want to come
back?

433
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:13,320
It was like a Wednesday again.
I'm like sure.

434
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,800
What do you want me to do now?
Well now you're going to replace

435
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,320
everyone in the human resources
department because now we're

436
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,040
going on vacation.
I'm like bingo.

437
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,520
I am going to learn all of the
different departments.

438
00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,960
I am so excited.
Meanwhile, they think I'm so

439
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:32,240
desperate.
Can you start Monday?

440
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,320
I'm like, no, I'll start
tomorrow.

441
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,840
Wait, tomorrow is Thursday?
I'm like, I don't do anything

442
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:38,400
during the day.
I work at nights.

443
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:43,000
I'm either home now or I'm going
to work for you guys.

444
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,320
I show up on a Thursday for a
second time at the same company,

445
00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:50,240
and by Monday of that week,
they're like, all right, she's

446
00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:51,320
back.
We're not going to let her go

447
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,840
this time.
Like we're going to keep her

448
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,360
now.
So here I am finding myself as a

449
00:26:56,360 --> 00:27:00,720
project manager for three
commercial buildings with 20

450
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,440
employees from a Thursday to a
Monday.

451
00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:08,360
I'm like, I don't know how to
supervise people.

452
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,320
I can't handle multi tenant
buildings.

453
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:15,600
I don't even know what multi
tenant means, for Christ's sake.

454
00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,000
I don't know what commercial
means.

455
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,920
I don't know exit.
I don't know.

456
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:24,040
Tag sales.
OK, Megana, you need to get out

457
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,320
of the restaurant business.
It's the same company.

458
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:29,640
They let you go once because it
was temporary.

459
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:31,920
Now it's permanent.
You don't know if you will be

460
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,200
good at this job.
You need that safety net.

461
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:38,360
Here we are now.
Megana wears a uniform every

462
00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:41,840
lunch at Milo's and wears a suit
every evening managing

463
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:43,520
buildings.
Insane, right?

464
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,840
Now that I'm talking about it,
I'm like, Jesus, what happened

465
00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:48,440
there?
Like, why would I do that to

466
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,640
myself?
Like, why did I do that to

467
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:55,400
myself?
But about a year later, managing

468
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,000
3 buildings learned the
business.

469
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,600
Mom is also in that business.
At the time I would call her,

470
00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,440
she would guide me when it came
to the union laws, rules,

471
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:10,200
employees.
I'm like mom, I'm here.

472
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,920
On my day one on the job, I
started crying because this

473
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,560
boiler started making this noise
as if the building was going to

474
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,760
explode.
I said I didn't come to this

475
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,400
country for this.
I would work in the restroom

476
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:22,760
business for the rest of my
life.

477
00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:24,880
I am not doing this.
Like this is day one.

478
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:26,960
It's dark.
I'm in the basement.

479
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:31,640
My office is the property
managers archives office.

480
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,840
I know I can go anywhere.
So literally I roll up my

481
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:37,600
sleeves, Arthur, I called some
of my employees.

482
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,240
I said, can I have some rags and
some stuff?

483
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,520
No, no, we'll clean.
I'm like, Nope, you do your job.

484
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,000
I'm cleaning my office.
Literally shift the whole thing,

485
00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,280
put the computer facing this
way.

486
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:50,360
So when the door opens, I see
people versus having my back on

487
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,320
the door like overnight.
Day one.

488
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:56,600
I am like fixing the office.
The client in the morning had

489
00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,720
called my boss, who did you
bring in my building because he

490
00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,840
hadn't met me yet.
And he goes, Oh my God, what did

491
00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:07,520
she do?
He said to her, he says to my

492
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,160
manager, well, she did a lot,
but let's, let's start with

493
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:15,560
this.
If she can train these employees

494
00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:20,560
to maintain my buildings, 5% of
what this office looks like,

495
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,080
we're going to be OK.
You'll never hear me complain

496
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:24,960
about anything.
He's like, Oh my God, thank God.

497
00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:26,600
He calls me.
He's like, what did you do to

498
00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:28,720
the office?
I said, what office?

499
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:31,040
My desk.
I mean, because I don't have an

500
00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,160
office, it's just a desk.
I said, well, I cleaned it.

501
00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:36,400
He's like, why are you crazy?
Employees clean.

502
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:37,400
I'm like, no, no, no.
I clean.

503
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,080
My employees don't clean.
I clean my office so literally

504
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:45,560
that was the beginning of me
being in this space while every

505
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:48,160
lunch I am waiting tables that
you don't want to give me lunch

506
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,840
shifts because I always work
dinners and I had to fight.

507
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,080
I had to fight to get this lunch
shifts even though I was a

508
00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:01,760
captain for years.
Finally they said, oh God, if we

509
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,200
don't say yes to this one,
she'll never, she's not going to

510
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,360
stop.
I was very persistent after a

511
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:11,040
year of doing this.
Multi tenant buildings, snow

512
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,880
removals, walking ten blocks
between buildings, checking on

513
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:18,360
the employees, converting this
building from a loss to half

514
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:22,600
$1,000,000 in revenue.
All Megan like my buildings

515
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,280
would always be examples at the
PNL meetings that this multi

516
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,480
billion dollar company that I
was working for had.

517
00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:33,360
I know not none of these, by the
way, I learned this years later.

518
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,560
I said, OK, I need more.
I I'm bored.

519
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:38,200
I'm bored.
I need to do more.

520
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:43,240
Bored with two jobs.
They're like, great, we'll we're

521
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:45,880
going to make you a project
manager at Goldman Sachs.

522
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:48,600
I'm like, what?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

523
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,000
I said promotion.
I didn't say demotion.

524
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,600
What is this?
I have 20 employees going to

525
00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:55,880
give me 150 overnight.
No.

526
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,880
Managing the the employee.
The day-to-day maintenance I

527
00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,640
said no.
They said, well, it's either

528
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,120
this or you're out.
What do you mean I'm out?

529
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:06,320
Yeah.
You either take this or you're

530
00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,760
leaving because we told the
client and you start Monday.

531
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:14,000
So I literally in many levels am
forced into going to Goldman

532
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:15,960
Sachs.
I didn't.

533
00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:21,520
Thank God I did.
I started there, end up

534
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,760
resigning.
Well, not even resigning Milos.

535
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:25,840
I stopped going there.
And there is a joke every time I

536
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:27,800
go to Milos.
Years later, the hey, when are

537
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,360
you coming back?
Because you left on a Friday and

538
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,120
you never shop for work on
Monday.

539
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:36,040
And I'm like, yeah, I think I
will at some point, but not yet.

540
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,200
Because I never quit Milos.
I could not quit Milos.

541
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:40,840
I could not resign the
restaurant.

542
00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:46,840
But I was now in this building
that's like a freaking city, 2.1

543
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,640
million square foot of space
here.

544
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,040
I have hundreds of employees.
I'm managing the 2nd and the 3rd

545
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,440
shift.
No interview with the clients,

546
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,440
just go to work.
I'm like, wow, like this is

547
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:02,800
incredible.
It's like in a machine.

548
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:07,320
I got the training of my life.
Yeah, it was baptism by fire.

549
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,600
You had to do it.
So you had to figure it out,

550
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,440
right?
There wasn't anybody here doing

551
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,720
an onboarding and teaching you
the ropes.

552
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:16,600
No, no, no, no.
Here like these are the

553
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,040
employees.
Figure it out.

554
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,760
I'm holding meetings, I'm
holding safety trainings.

555
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:26,400
I know all my employees by name.
I have 400 tickets every night

556
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,560
that's printed and I'm doing
these payrolls, but there is

557
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:31,800
this tickets that they all had
to be closed.

558
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:35,240
But no, no, no, I'm not going to
rely on someone says we did

559
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:36,720
this.
I'm actually going to take the

560
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,480
tickets that they did go back,
check, then do a second check,

561
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:44,240
then enter it in the system.
Do this three years Monday

562
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,920
through Sunday snow removals
cleanups for like the trading

563
00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:52,240
floors, which are like 60,000
square foot of space of 6

564
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:57,920
computers per per per Goldman
employee times 1000 people per

565
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,880
floor trading floors like
insane.

566
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,880
But that's where I, that's the
time where I really learned a

567
00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:08,480
lot more about management, a lot
more about who I was and how

568
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:15,240
much I loved being of service.
Now to the employees who I

569
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,600
absolutely did not allow to call
me a boss.

570
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,320
I said I am Ghana, I'm not the
boss.

571
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,240
I don't own the building.
You don't work for me.

572
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:27,680
I work for you because I was
hired to support you.

573
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,120
You don't work for me, I work.
For you.

574
00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,960
And literally everything you
need, you let me know because

575
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:37,880
I'm here for that.
That's my job.

576
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,240
That's my job.
You want a vacation in January,

577
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:42,600
you got it.
You want it in December, you got

578
00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:44,840
it.
There is no between this window

579
00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:48,200
or that window.
We work together and for the

580
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:52,560
next three years it was amazing.
I was then took over the entire

581
00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:54,960
operation when the day project
manager left.

582
00:33:54,960 --> 00:34:00,640
So there I am by myself running
this operation and literally I

583
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:02,920
was so tired.
Author of working nights and

584
00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:06,720
days and weekends, taking the
subway with my employees at 3:00

585
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,000
in the morning and the next day
again having a 9:00 meeting.

586
00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:11,880
That's rough.
Two trains.

587
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,679
And that's why now that I'm in
in the business I'm in, people

588
00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:18,239
are like, oh, but how do you do
this?

589
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:21,120
I'm like, bring it on.
Yeah, that's easy compared to

590
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:22,920
that.
You know, one of the things I

591
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:28,639
think that I people might take
away from this, especially early

592
00:34:28,639 --> 00:34:33,560
on, is that your level of
appreciation of having the

593
00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:36,960
opportunity to work at $7.00 an
hour and doing it.

594
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,520
Whereas there's so many people
that feel entitled to something

595
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:48,679
and if they're really not right,
But it's an especially the the

596
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,600
younger generations now see so
much of it, especially, you

597
00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:56,480
know, COVID was good and bad for
depending on where you sat at

598
00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:01,080
that point was fantastic for us
because we shifted our part of

599
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:04,840
our business to doing it online
and that's survived everything.

600
00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:10,040
But it also because we built so
many relationships in person

601
00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:13,240
that we're able to leverage
those without having to be in

602
00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:17,000
person.
I think that many of the people

603
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,480
in this younger generations that
are entering the job markets now

604
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:23,280
have it's not even fair to say
this.

605
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:26,360
But what I've some of my
experiences that people are just

606
00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:31,520
saying because they got money
for free during COVID and sat

607
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:35,240
home and did nothing that they
think that that it's somehow

608
00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:37,680
that money's continued to pour
into them.

609
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:39,880
And so they.
It's a source that you can rely

610
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:42,200
on long term, and that's not the
case.

611
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:48,840
It's not the case and I find
myself, Arthur, sharing a lot

612
00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,640
more about the beginning.
And I always wonder why I do

613
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:56,800
that because it never fails, no
matter who I speak with.

614
00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:04,600
That's my absolute favorite,
most important part for somebody

615
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:09,200
to know who Meganna is based on
what transpired.

616
00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:16,320
Because if I were to lead with,
let's say Fast forward, I say,

617
00:36:16,320 --> 00:36:18,720
hey, my name is Meganna, which
is, by the way, the absolute

618
00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:19,480
truth.
Even now.

619
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:21,720
I said my name is Meganna.
I live in New York City.

620
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,480
I speak 5 languages.
I have 3° now.

621
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:30,840
I am a 2X female business owner.
I own a publishing company and I

622
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,080
own a consulting company.
I'm a liaison between family

623
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:38,360
offices and opportunity.
So call me an opportunity

624
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,680
facilitator, call me a bridge,
call me a liaison, call me a

625
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:45,160
fractional growth officer, Chief
technology officer.

626
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,840
Maybe not, but I know how to use
a computer.

627
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:51,880
But I manage and handle so much
behind the scene.

628
00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:55,520
For so many business owners,
Founders become an extension of

629
00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:58,880
who they are.
I've done six book six books in

630
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,520
collaborations with hundreds of
women from all over the world.

631
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:05,880
Many are my own creations, many
are an invitation from others.

632
00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:09,880
And I have converted a lot of my
friends into first time authors

633
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:12,920
and what else?
I'm an associate producer for a

634
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,880
business competition TV show.
What else?

635
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:20,520
I participated at Miss New York
USA 2024 because why not?

636
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,480
I've always wanted to.
I kept checking off on all my

637
00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:24,920
dreams.
Check, check, check.

638
00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:32,760
And now someone will say, I
wonder how Like it's impossible.

639
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:36,600
It's impossible.
Like it's impossible for someone

640
00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:40,280
who is born in a different
country, being here for a short

641
00:37:40,280 --> 00:37:43,720
period of time, not knowing the
language, not knowing the system

642
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:48,680
and and going to college and
being forced to have an

643
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,120
economics degree because there
was nothing else that I wanted

644
00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:51,840
to do.
Really.

645
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:56,840
I had no idea.
And I felt so upset with myself

646
00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:01,200
that each and every time we were
supposed to declare our major, I

647
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:05,480
had no answer.
And I am literally facing myself

648
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:12,120
in the mirror, Arthur, and
crying, feeling so stupid that I

649
00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:15,120
could not figure out what I
wanted to do when I grew up.

650
00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:19,840
And now I'm like, thank God.
Because you're not supposed to

651
00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:20,920
know.
You're not.

652
00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:25,120
You're not supposed to.
Know that it can change so fast

653
00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:27,800
and just because, I mean, it's
one thing if you're going to

654
00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:31,240
decide to go become a doctor,
that's one path.

655
00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:34,920
That's one path.
Right, and but you can.

656
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:38,760
Not that I'm a good example, but
I've changed my mind a million

657
00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:39,520
times.
Right.

658
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,760
I mean, I can't even count how
many times I've changed and and

659
00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:45,440
I've gone down some path and
said, man, this is not going to

660
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:49,360
work next, right?
That's how I feel.

661
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:53,040
And I don't know if it's because
we're Albanians and Greeks and

662
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:57,680
we grew up having vineyards,
making our own wine and grappa

663
00:38:57,680 --> 00:39:02,760
and rakia and uzo and making our
own cheeses and yogurts exactly

664
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:05,040
like I.
I'm like I tell everybody I am.

665
00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:09,600
I'm a farm girl who lives in New
York City because I make my own

666
00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,360
bread, I make my own yogurt, we
make our own cheese, I make my

667
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,640
own jams.
I repurpose all the freaking

668
00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:17,520
fruits into the things that you
can drink, make cakes with,

669
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:22,040
preserve a gift to guests when
they come over because I love

670
00:39:22,040 --> 00:39:25,360
being this little mom for
everybody and feeding everybody.

671
00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,920
I'm like a walking snack.
A friend of mine laughs when I

672
00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:30,240
say that because you like, don't
say that because it's not good.

673
00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:32,800
I'm like literally anything you
want, I probably have it in my

674
00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:36,840
bag and I have a lemon in my bag
and some salt and oregano.

675
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,080
You never know when you're going
to need some lemon, so.

676
00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:42,200
Great.
And honey, please, let's not

677
00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:45,440
forget the honey.
My #1 Yeah, so.

678
00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,360
So we.
Have a We have a drink we bring

679
00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:53,200
to the gym everyday.
It's lemon, local honey, salt

680
00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:56,920
and water, filtered water and
it's like electrolytes.

681
00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:58,960
Magic.
Magic, and it's magic.

682
00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:02,560
And we take, we have when we
start feeling a little sick, we

683
00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:05,040
take oregano oil, lemon and
honey.

684
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:07,920
Anytime you have a sore throat,
it meets all the Yaya stuff

685
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:10,080
right.
All the yeah the Yaya stuff.

686
00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,280
You are not wrong.
So, yeah, so the journey

687
00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:17,760
backwards and then the journey
forward, it blends and it makes

688
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:22,080
up this dish with its own
essence and aromas.

689
00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:25,480
And sometimes the oven was not
the right temperature.

690
00:40:25,480 --> 00:40:29,000
It's part of life.
It's part of the of the process.

691
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:33,200
But there I am now I'm at
Goldman resigned Goldman end up

692
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:37,480
as an era director for another
trillion dollar company have 20

693
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,680
million of square foot of space
of managing now multiple

694
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:44,920
buildings, 5 buildings in the
city skyscrapers from Federal

695
00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:49,080
Reserves to Black Rock to the
IRSI was a project manager at

696
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:51,880
Hearst Corporation do all of
this for three years.

697
00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:55,880
Then I get a recruited by
another billion dollar San

698
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,880
Francisco company to be now the
director of business development

699
00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:03,120
to expand their business in the
tri-state area northeast.

700
00:41:03,120 --> 00:41:05,680
All that do that for another
three years.

701
00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:09,880
Always proud to say that as I've
worked for over a decade in that

702
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:13,400
industry, I've had 100% client
retention.

703
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,240
So I thrive on retention
expansion.

704
00:41:17,240 --> 00:41:22,440
In my opinion, from what I've
learned, it's organic.

705
00:41:23,520 --> 00:41:28,800
You can't force expansion.
You can't force a bird to come

706
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:32,480
out of the egg.
You can't force a flower to come

707
00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:34,520
out of the the thing.
What do you call it?

708
00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:36,280
The Bud.
Because I don't speak.

709
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:37,680
It's OK.
Yeah, Bud.

710
00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:40,880
Tree language, right?
Depending on the sun, depending

711
00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:44,160
on the soil, depending on the
nurturing, depending on the

712
00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:46,600
season, how the winter was, how
the summer was.

713
00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:50,480
It will happen when it's
supposed to happen.

714
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:56,920
You can be the force of that.
You are the contributor of the

715
00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:00,600
environment you create.
And I've come to this conclusion

716
00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:05,920
that when people in Business
Today ask me if I am a closer, I

717
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:07,520
said, no, I'm not.
I'm not a closer.

718
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:09,720
They're like, you know,
everybody in the world.

719
00:42:09,720 --> 00:42:13,720
I'm like, and I don't close.
I don't close.

720
00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:16,600
So, but what do you do?
I'm a nurturer.

721
00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:22,360
That's what I do.
The closing happens magically, I

722
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:24,880
promise you.
Oh, so you're telling me you're

723
00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:27,160
a closer but you're not a
closer, but you're the closer?

724
00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:31,960
I'm like, exactly.
I'm part of the process, but I'm

725
00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:38,000
not responsible for all of it.
Never ever, don't ever hire me

726
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:43,880
to be a closer, but I could be
beneficial to you if you are.

727
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:47,120
You're the.
Catalyst in in the human

728
00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:51,200
connection and the nurturing and
making sure that for what I'm

729
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,960
responsible for either being the
sun the water in that

730
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:57,120
relationship in that project
whatever it is and we can't be

731
00:42:57,120 --> 00:42:59,440
everything or the rain you're.
The Rainmaker.

732
00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:03,320
Or the rain or whatever, like
whatever it's needed, then

733
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:06,240
that's where I'm at.
So did that or I'm going.

734
00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:09,600
To interrupt you only because I
have to, I have a hard stop.

735
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:12,680
Yes.
And I apologize and it generally

736
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,800
leaves some room, but I wasn't
able to do it today.

737
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:20,080
No problem.
But I this is a good part to

738
00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:26,920
lure people in with intention to
part. 2 and be like, what do you

739
00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:28,200
think she's doing now?
How does she?

740
00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:30,160
Yeah, what exactly is she doing?
No.

741
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:32,040
How did you get from there?
Right.

742
00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:35,600
No, it's like she told us the
end, the beginning and the end.

743
00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:37,360
But what about the middle?
How did she get there?

744
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:38,840
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.

745
00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:42,080
But I am excited and thank you
for for this.

746
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:44,440
Thank you for the opportunity.
Thank you for sharing all this

747
00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:46,600
this fascinating story.
It's fun.

748
00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:49,480
I knew it right when we first
talked, right?

749
00:43:49,920 --> 00:43:54,680
I hope it's beneficial to the
audience and yes, excited for a

750
00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:57,840
part to some at some point down
the line.

751
00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:00,080
And I'm going to see you
tomorrow at the training, at the

752
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:01,760
presentation with the movie
people.

753
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:03,640
Yeah, it's so good, Yeah.
Thank you.

754
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:05,320
You're awesome.
You're a great interviewer

755
00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:07,800
because all you do is listen.
You're a great listener.

756
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,480
You're very, very kind.
And I and I talk your ears off.

757
00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:14,120
It's, you know what it is?
It's this in our DNA we talked

758
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:17,280
about before we got on the call.
It's the Socratic method.

759
00:44:17,720 --> 00:44:20,000
Facts.
Yeah, facts.

760
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,200
But again, I am so grateful.
Thank you so much.

761
00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:26,600
And if you don't think the
podcast was good, you know what?

762
00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:29,120
We can always do a Part 3.
No, no, we're going to do.

763
00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:31,680
We're going to do more.
No.

764
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:33,920
Meaning even this one.
If it wasn't good enough for

765
00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:35,760
you, no.
No, it's fantastic.

766
00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:37,760
It's you and I talk.
It's your friends.

767
00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:40,480
No, no, totally cool.
Thank you so much.

768
00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:44,200
F Caristo Parapoli, Nick that
Bye.