Aepiphanni Off the Cuff

Curious to know how a serial entrepreneur thinks?

Meet Hazel Haygood—Aepiphanni's own Project Manager. However, unbeknownst to a lot of people, Hazel is not just someone who leads the team to the finish line. In actuality, she's had a total of four businesses before she even reached the age of 24!

Hear more about her experiences as an Entrepreneurship major in college, how she started young, and how growing up in a family of business owners impacted her own entrepreneurial journey.

In this episode:

• Growing up among a family of entrepreneurs and how this led to Hazel handling four businesses
• The main reason why Hazel chose a degree in entrepreneurship
• Registering a business at age 18 and pivoting afterwards
• Starting multiple business while still in college
• Becoming an independent project manager and business consultant
• Networking and pitching in events and how this pushes you out of your comfort zone
• The main skills Hazel gained from being a serial entrepreneur
• The importance of being multi-skilled to boost your value
• What it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset for Hazel

"If you're not feeling that 100% YES then make it a solid NO because that means your intuition is telling you that it's not the right path."

"We need to start listening to our intuition and make it our compass."

"It's very important for us to constantly improve ourselves, constantly identify, acquire and refine our skills that would amplify our value."

"The beauty of having an entrepreneurial mindset is that it means constantly evolving and constantly improving yourself."

"One (business) challenge that I had to overcome is when I had to say no to someone."

As an entrepreneur, you're most likely making a hundred and one decisions on a daily basis. It's easy to get overwhelmed or to have that fear of making the wrong one. Another thing to factor in is the reality that choosing the next move is not as objective as one would like to think. What you want and what your instinct is telling you will also play a major role in the whole process.

How will you maintain a balance between data and emotions? Rick and Ingrid explore the answer to this question and the responsibilities of entrepreneurial decision-making in Off the Cuff's 5th episode.

In this episode:

• Making decisions and keeping yourself accountable as a leader
• The rewards of tough decisions
• Why you need to take care of yourself first as an entrepreneur
• The steps to take when making a decision
• Why you should factor in what you want when taking the next step
• Balancing gut instinct with data and statistics
• On risk aversion and getting the ball rolling

How does culture influence business? If you want to know the answer to this, then our guest for this week may be the woman to listen to. In this episode of Off the Cuff, we learn more about Ana Karina Lázaro, a bag business owner based in Colombia.

Her journey started when she was fresh out of college and dreaming to go to China for so long. She ended up staying in the country for 8 years and her time there taught her a lot about culture—not just about a country's culture but also the locals' business culture. This inspired her to establish her own venture, finding purpose in helping indigenous communities in her hometown with her handwoven bag business.

Learn more about her journey and see how a country's culture plays into how they do business, the ups and downs of working for different multinational and foreign countries from all over the world, and how experiences can shape an individual as an entrepreneur.

Coronavirus shook the way people live their lives. From businesses shutting down to social distancing, these changes prompt organizations in various industries to be flexible and to adapt fast.

In Episode 3, Rick and Ingrid talk to Off the Cuff's guest, Gregg Harden—the creator of the Harden Transformation Model. He recently launched his book, COVID Strategic Adoption Framework, where he talked about what schools must consider before reopening their programs for the new year, as well as recommendations to implement.

He expounds more on this framework in the newest podcast episode. Along with this, he also shares his thoughts on the most crucial factors businesses should consider and how doing so will help them stay in business, the positive and negative long-term impact of COVID, and why adaptability and having a people-first business mindset can help organizations thrive.

With opportunities waiting to be explored and the chance to be your own boss, the entrepreneurial journey can be a fun venture that is worth exploring.

But what does it really take for one to take the leap, to start on this path, and to maintain a sustainable business?

Following that entrepreneurial call is a road riddled with challenges but it's a fulfilling journey nonetheless—something that Ingrid and Rick will expound more on this in Aepiphanni's 2nd Off the Cuff podcast episode.

Listen to know more about the actions they took to get started in the industry, their good and bad experiences of running a company, and what helped them and their respective business ventures thrive over the last few years.

Aepiphanni Business Consulting's latest "Of the Cuff" Podcast will be an excellent resource for answers and perspectives on the most interesting questions business owners are asking answered by seasoned entrepreneurs.

With the mission of educating, equipping, and inspiring business leaders, through our episodes we will be meeting business owners and entrepreneurs where they are and talk about challenges and opportunities.

On this first episode, Rick Meekins, Aepiphanni's Director and Ingrid Ahumada, Aepiphanni's Business Consultant, open this savvy conversation about the world of business and entrepreneurship.