The Napa Vale Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Hey Belleza, I’ve been wanting to share with you for a long time Irma Robinson’s story on how she went from a full-time job to embarking on her entrepreneurial journey. HOW I MET IRMA? I met Irma winter of 2017, I vividly remember walking into her café that morning, Southside. I was blown away by …

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Hey Belleza,

I’ve been wanting to share with you for a long time Irma Robinson’s story on how she went from a full-time job to embarking on her entrepreneurial journey.

HOW I MET IRMA? I met Irma winter of 2017, I vividly remember walking into her café that morning, Southside. I was blown away by the attention to detail and their delicious chilaquiles. That’s right, you heard me right, their mouthwatering chilaquiles. That same year was when my hubby and I purchased our own business, Modern Endo of Napa. I knew how hard it is to get a business started and better yet to open up.

Irma and her team have the right formula. Great location, delicious menu, a very talented Chef (Morgan Robinson) and the right energy. The moment you walk into Southside you feel very welcome. I remember I just wanted to stay and work from there. The day that the Southside Yountville location opened up I noticed how hospitable Irma was with everyone that walked-in. I even told my hubby, she has to be the owner. I was right. A few minutes later I introduced myself to Irma and the rest is history. I mean HerStory.

HOW SHE GOT STARTED Irma shares with us how her passion for cuisine started at an early age. As a kid she identified her passion for food, Mexican and English cuisine.

Her preparation into starting her own business was developed from the skills she acquired while working at Quintessa Wines and at MS Office.

MAKE THE RIGHT MOVES It does not matter what business journey you are looking to embark on. What matters is the steps you take in your Entrepreneurial Journey.

In this episode Irma Robinson walks us through her journey as founder and owner of SMOKE Open Fire Cooking, a catering company focusing on exceptional food inspired by fire since 2007 and Southside a community- centered café in Napa Valley since 2016.

Here is a glance into this episode, EP2 Finding Your Entrepreneurial Journey:

[7:52] Develop a business that gives you flexibility with your family.

[9:57] Find your niche market and focus on location, location, location.

[11: :05] Identify those businesses that you can collaborate with to grow your own business.

[11:47]How applying certain corporate skills can help you build your business operations.

[13:16] The importance of networking and being involved in local events.

[15:16] How to manage fear when starting your own business.

And you must listen to this one…

TIPS FOR OPENING UP YOUR OWN BUSINESS Irma let us know that for her it was important to work within her own life schedule.

Belleza, do you know what business structure works with your life schedule?

I don’t think I ever thought of building a business around my life schedule. It was more like, let’s get going, build the business plan, create the branding, market research but it never occurred to me to think of the structure of the business that would work with my own personal life schedule.

Somethings to keep in mind as you are navigating your entrepreneurial journey.

• Know your long-term vision.
• Add some balance… this is very important!!
• Always have passion for what you are going to create.
• Prepare for challenges.
• Stay positive.
• Most importantly, surround yourself with positive people.

WHY I WANTED TO INTERVIEW IRMA? There were many reasons attracting me to learn Irma’s journey. I think the main one was her positive energy energy and how welcoming she is. I believe I am very good at capturing people’s energy. Call me crazy. My motto is to surround myself with as many positive people as possible. People that make me smile and support me.

I remember when I met Irma, was around the same time that my husband and I were working crazy long hours at our endodontic practice Modern Endo of Napa. We were working over 10-12 hours days and no weekends. This lasted for 9 months and it was until my interview with Irma that I decided to step back and put things into perspective. Thanks to her tips I decided to find the schedule that works for our life and to identify what is important for the success of our business and obviously happiness for our marriage.

ARE READY TO EMBARK ON YOUR OWN ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVENTURE?! The time will never be perfect. You just have to surround yourself with the right people and like Irma said stay positive because challenges will come.

Belleza, I hope this episode helped you. If you have any bestie that is looking to open their own business but just don’t know which steps to take, please share this episode. ¡Vale!

And until next time.

Recuerda. Let’s unleash our passions and toast to life. Porque la vida es demasiado corta.**

Descubre, saborea y brinda. ¡Vale!

Besos desde winecountry,

P.S. Please remember that The Napa Vale Show (podcast) is my labor of love . If you’d like to support me, so you can listen more episodes like this one, please know that this is possible thanks to the wine sales I make as an ambassador at https://my.boissetcollection.com/wendybarba/ . If you wish to support The Napa Vale Show and Napa Vale BLOG hop on over and buy some vinito… and next time you tune in have a vinito in your hand. ¡Vale!

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Hey Bella, Welcome to my first episode, Dreaming of Leaving Corporate World. Five years ago, this was exactly me. I wanted to start my own business, be more independent, run my own hours and work for something I was extremely passionate about. In this episode, I share with you 4 tips of how you can …

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Hey Bella,

Welcome to my first episode, Dreaming of Leaving Corporate World. Five years ago, this was exactly me. I wanted to start my own business, be more independent, run my own hours and work for something I was extremely passionate about. In this episode, I share with you 4 tips of how you can build a life beyond the corporate world.

Before I get started I want to share with you how it all began and the soul searching I did. In 2014, my hubby and I were given the opportunity to move to wine country, Napa Valley. We had been on a search for about two years for a place that we would both would be happy with our career path. At that time, I was working at Coca-Cola as the Regional Sales Manager for Hispanic Markets and my hubby was a traveling Endodontist in South Florida. Working at Coca-Cola was fun but it required a lot of my time, which meant many late nights and weekends. I remember when Friday came around I was so exhausted. I stopped doing the activities that I loved, like going to the gym, spending time with my loved ones, doing fun stuff after work, Netflix and chill nights or just hang out with my girlies. My days would start at 6am and nonstop until 7PM. I would get home to have dinner then back on the computer. It was definitely not what I had dreamed of.

Has this happened to you? Are you just so on-the-go that you stop doing the things you love? One weekend I did an exercise with my hubby (who was my boyfriend back then). This was an exercise I had learned during acting class. My best friend is an actress, so one day she dragged me to her acting classes. Taking acting classes was an impactful experience. It’s super therapeutic. We would start with a warm up exercise that I practice till this day when I am stuck in big decision making, this was the “I want”, “I love” and “I need” exercise. I don’t know if that is the name but it goes something like this—

I want, I love, I needFor two minutes you must say out loud what YOU want, what YOU love and what YOU need. I must warn you that the first time you may feel extremely odd. I felt super silly and super awkward but the more I did the exercise the more it helped me understand what I want, love and need. It’s like giving yourself an amazing therapy session.

This was an exercise I would do on my own when I felt I needed a change. Somewhere in between going up the corporate ladder and being too busy I just stop doing it… until that weekend, when I did the I want, I love and I need exercise with my hubby.

We then made our list of what we want, what we love and what we need. The one thing that was repetitive in our list was— quality of life, outdoor activities, own our business, travel, live in a small town close to family, pay my hubby’s student loans, invest and enjoy life more. As the type A personality that I am, I reacted to this quickly.

I decided to hunt for places for us to move the next day. I had been living in South Florida since I was ten (24 years to be exact) and it was time for a change. We first explore Maryland where my hubby is from, then Denver because we love the outdoors (ojo: I won’t camp but I will glamp LOL) and then we thought to explore west coast of Florida. But nothing came up. Until…

December 2013, we decided to spend Christmas holidays with my brother-in-law in Napa Valley. It was his first year living in Napa and so we decided to all spend the holidays there. While wine tasting, my hubby checks-in on Facebook at Ma(i)sonry, currently the RH wine vault in Yountville. Minutes after, one of his buddies from University of Pacific, let him know that if he is in Napa there is an office looking for a full-time endodontist. My hubby looks at the message and shows it to me.

My answer: ¡Que esperas babe! GO check it out. I’ll wait here with my vino. Two months later and 2 U-Haul trucks we were on our way to start our new adventure in wine country, Napa Valley. This was a hard decision at first because we didn’t want to be so far from our parents and also because it was the first time I moved from my hometown, Miami. But what helped us with the decision-making was going back to our list of what we: want, love and need.

The more we kept going to our list the clearer it was that we needed a change. We then worked on our personal mission in life and a SWOT analysis. This is when being in corporate for so long pays off. I will share more of how to build a mission and a SWOT analysis in other episodes. ¡Vale!

How crazy is it that the day we made a decision to move to the West Coast, we both receive an offer to stay in South Florida. Ryan received an offer to work as an endodontist in West Palm Beach and I to work from YUM brands out of Palm Beach. We had been on a job search mode for over a year and just when we are about to make a move we get an offer. Has this happened to you?

I call it fate. If you ask the universe when you are ready for a change the universe will deliver and you will start to find options you didn’t have before. Then you can determine which is the best one for you.

We choose Napa. Again, the I want, I love, I need exercise made the decision easier. In addition to the amazing wine and delicious food we will have 24/7 and not to mention outdoor activities.

So Bella, if you are in the midst of making that change I strongly suggest you do this exercise. I have provided a quick one pager for you to write it down and keep it at your fingertips as a reminder to ask the Universe.

These 4 Tips on How you can build a life beyond the corporate world. Whether you’ve been dreaming of leaving corporate world or if you just need a change I hope these tips will help you achieve what you most desire.

Tip 1. Listen to Your Inner Feelings and Follow Your Pasion I’ve done a lot of self-searching. Every year I would create and update my dream board. You may have heard of a dream board or a vision board like our dear Oprah calls it.

• Remember what 6-year-old you want and write I down.
• Rehearse daily what you love, want and need.
• Build your Vision Board or Dream Board.

“If you can Dream it, you can do it”

– Walt Disney

Turn the volume up to your inner voice. If you are feeling down at work or on your day to day then we must make a change to switch off that mood and turn on your passion vibes!

Tip 2. Manifest Your Dreams * Journal all the reasons why you need a change or to let go of corporate life and start your new passion. It can be a different career or the start of your new business. * Be comfortable with the fear of letting go and starting something new. * Go back to your Dream Board and Manifest it. Let your loved ones know that you are working on a change and say it to the Universe.

Tip 3. Time to Re-Brand you! We need to find you again. This is by far my favorite exercise. Make a list of—

• What drives you?
• What motivates you?
• What keeps you up at night?

I started with learning more about wine since I was moving to wine country and I had always had a passion for helping our Latina community grow. And boom this is when NapaVale.com was born; creating a fun place to learn about wine while showcasing compelling stories of wine country and what makes Napa Valley unique.

On upcoming episodes on The Napa Vale Show, you will learn more about branding from Founder and Owner of BACCA wines, Jennifer Brown. I had the honor to interview Jennifer. She shares with us her journey on releasing her wine and on branding. Stay tune.

TIP 4. Set a Plan. Be Persistent. Face the unknown with a smile. This is probably the hardest step to do but the most crucial and the one that has to be a habit. It all starts with motivation and passion, but what drives us is setting up the expectations and aligning the plan with your goals. Keep on moving forward, Bella. This will be hard since as an entrepreneur there are happy days and gray days. As long as you make it a habit to work on your passion is what will keep you going. Be sure to have your mentors, cheerleaders and surround yourself with people who want to see you grow and succeed. Asi que. Ni un paso atras, ni para tomar impulso.

Ready to draw your Road Map of Success! Let’s do this! I believe in you and I believe that life is just way too short. So let’s live our passions, let’s live what keeps us up at night.

Want to get more of the details on how to do this? I invite you to press play and replay on the episode above. I share with you all the tips and advice I’ve received and what has helped me moving forward.

Recuerda. Descubre, saborea y brinda. Porque la vida es demasiado corta. ¡Vale!

Cheers to new you,

P.S. See you in my next episode and my very first podcast interview. On episode #2, I interview Irma Robinson, owner and founder of SMOKE Open Fire Cooking and Southside community-centered coffee bar in Napa Valley. She shares with us her journey into entrepreneurship.

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