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Ian Pelham-Turner – ‘My journey as the Commissioned Royal Photographer’

Editor @ Global Man December 3, 2018 No Comments

 

By Fati Gorezi

Ian-Pelham Turner is a Presenter and Producer on ‘The Great British Good News Show’ on Sky Community Channels. 

He has spent​ the last fifty years in journalism, working with national and international newspapers and magazines. He is also a commissioned Royal photographer who has worked with five generations of the Royal family and won Royal awards for the first official Christmas photographs of Prince William with Prince Charles and Princess Diana at Kensington palace in 1982. This was the last private occasion for Princess Diana before her untimely death. Ian has also appeared on major television channels across the world giving his expert opinions on the Royal family. In this interview he shares with us some of the best moments of his career, his passion to support women’s empowerment and some tips for new aspirants to journalism.

Tell us a bit about more about your background and early career in journalism?

Journalism has been a career, a lifestyle and a best friend for the past 52 years, ever since I entered the profession as an apprentice photo-journalist in 1966, working for a local newspaper in my home town of Chatham, Kent. I often say I have loved every day of my working life and I still do at 67. I am still as ambitious as on my first day all those years ago. I feel the other great passion in my life is supporting womanhood because of the values and qualities that women offer. To this end, I am a great supporter of feminism and communities in Britain – my mantra being ‘I want everyone living in the country to be seen as a first-class citizen, to be honoured and respected for their skills and achievements and be seen as human beings’.

Thus, on every occasion when I am working for television broadcasters across the world, I beat the drum just as much about supporting people as much as discussing the latest issues relating to the British Royal family.

What was your first job in journalism and how did you get it? Share with us some sweet memories.

In that role, early on in my career, my first commissioned photograph of the Royals was to take images of Princess Margaret opening a new road bridge. I was just 16 and I thought I had made it in my career!

Over the years, since moving to London, I have worked with five generations of the Royal Family, including taking the first official Christmas shots of the then baby Prince William with Diana and Charles at Kensington Palace which won me a Royal ‘Photograph of the Year’ award the following year 1983. Then Digital photography came along and I found it difficult to technically continue at the time, and so, in 2009 I decided to leave newspapers and seek pastures new.

Who was the most-inspiring celebrity you have ever met?

During my career as a photo-journalist, and then an investigative journalist, I have seen the highs and lows of humanity; from working with major stars like John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Harrison Ford (freshly after the first Star Wars) to the killing fields in Bucharest, Romania, where children from the streets were permanently removed by killing squads – and also the effects on life during the troubles in Northern Ireland.

What has been your personal key to success?

Luck has played a hand all my life, and when it was announced that Prince William was going to marry Kate Middleton, I was asked to comment about it on ITN. Then CNN saw this interview and asked me to be an ‘anchor’ on one of their wedding shows. NBC, another massive USA channel, saw this and invited me on to their shows and, before I knew it, I was working with more and more channels – and I still am to this day. I have regularly appeared on TV shows across the world as a Royal commentator for the past nine years. A great friend – and working partner on a lot of the Royal projects, is Royal photographer and broadcaster Helena Chard. We have spent many a happy time working on Royal commissions. Five years ago, with my great friend William Kapuku Bwabwa, I started “Good News Britain” which seeks to support communities in the UK via television and I created a new career as a TV producer.

What is special about your lifestyle?

Recently, I have a regular spot on ‘Sky 585 Loveworld channel’ with Wilma Ezimako, which goes out to 360 million homes across the world. And my latest passion is to work with ‘ALB UK TV’ and its owner, Helidon Kastrani, promoting the wonderful Albanian community, the country of Mirela Sula, the founder of ‘Global Woman’.

What advice would you give to wannabe journalists wanting to break into this industry?

How you get into broadcasting, how you become a successful journalist, travelling the world seeing untold adventures, for me, is a simple answer, ‘just be yourself’. Work hard, be passionate about what you do, have ambition, drive and determination and a bit of luck helps too. This is what has given me the energy and pleasure of loving every day of my life.

 

THE TOP BUSINESS AND PR TRENDS FOR 2018

Editor @ Global Man July 9, 2018 No Comments

THE TOP BUSINESS AND PR TRENDS FOR 2018

By Kicki Pallin

What do you need to know as a business owner, to continue expanding in 2018? What pitfalls should you avoid, and which kind of knowledge is essential when growing your business?

We have asked four business owners in Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Poland about the future in business and PR. By knowing this you will be more prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, when this year moves into its second half.

As an introduction to their predictions, we’ll give you some facts about these four business specialists, who are more than happy to share some of their entrepreneurial wisdom.

The Swedish entrepreneur Robert Dragovic from Gothenburg says that, to do business and build values is the best thing he knows. He is not specialised in one single business, instead he walks in where he sees possibilities. He is the founder and owner of KappaBar, a chain of eSport restaurants.

Oliver Meier is an entrepreneur in Frankfurt, Germany, who after 20 years in sales and training and coaching some of the top sales people in the world, created a new business method. It shows how to get new customers, grow existing clients – and keep them forever.

Victor Fasahati is a business owner from Copenhagen, Denmark, who has bought and sold products, clothes or anything that could turn into some kind of profit, since he was 11 years old. As he couldn’t find any good accountants or advisors, he turned himself into one, and now runs Dansk Selskab.

Dr Mateusz Grzesiak is a Polish entrepreneur and lecturer from Warsaw. He graduated from Law and Psychology, and holds a Doctoral Degree in Economics in the specialisation of Management Science. He is the author of 14 books and has been providing training internationally for the same amount of years.

Robert Dragovic (Founder and Owner of Kappa Bar in Sweden)

The Power of Online Influencers and Company Ambassadors

Traditional media is going to become less and less relevant. In a world where people distrust institutions and phenomenons such as fake news, this will also become more relevant to the world of traditional marketing. Customer segmentation is also becoming of greater value. It is not enough to separate your customers into a couple of groups, instead we need to create micro groups. This will give us the ability to reach out to the customers that actually care. Marketing through influencers will become a lot more common. In a recent inquiry we could see that 88 % of the people participating trusted online influencers recommendations as much as they trust recommendations from close friends.

Social media is the reason to all of this change. Ordinary people have simply taken over the job from the advertising companies. It’s the feed that decides if you should be shared or killed. Companies today needs to stop using only traditional media and start creating entirely new content. This content needs to be worthy of noting, reading and spreading. You simply have to be so good that people turn into personal ambassadors for you. Companies also need to start understanding their customers better and then apply this to their marketing. As there might be hundreds of different reasons to why each specific client wants to buy from you in particular.

Oliver Meier (Founder and Owner of Get More Academy in Germany)
Be Authentic and Join Forces to Succeed

In 2018 it is no longer just a matter of your product or service and the customer service you provide. Customers want an experience and a “wow“-feeling when buying from you. It is all about emotion, not only specs and hard facts. Another big trend is co-working. But this is not just sharing an office. It’s more about a lifestyle and collaboration. The elbow mentality is finally gone, join forces to succeed, especially if you have a small or medium sized company. PR trend 2018 is live streaming video content. Research shows that 80% of audiences would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog.

The CEO 2018 should see oneself as a Chief Experience Officer. No matter, if you are selling B2B or B2C. Good product/service + excellent customer service + best possible customer experience = Success in 2018. Live streaming is growing as it’s easier to watch a video than reading an article. If the video is live. Everybody also knows that it might be planned, but not edited until perfect. So the truth of the story is much closer. Another thing is that our mobile data volumes increased over the last years. You no longer have to read a text because of limited data, you can watch a video, wherever and whenever.

Victor Fasahati (Partner of Dansk Selskab in Denmark)

Adapt and Change with New Technology and Engagement

AI and machine learning is definitely some of many business trends, that are going to have a radical impact on many businesses. Why wouldn’t a business implement AI and machine learning, if it could eliminate manual mistakes, save time and capital and memorise every action it engages with? Also, the company will get better the next time it faces a challenge, and thereby replacing the manual processes. Our jobs are going from “manual” work into “human” work. Small and medium sized businesses have a big chance getting ahead because they can adapt and change fast, while big corporations have a hard time adapting, because procedures and lack of hunger and innovation.

PR has far too long only been about press releases and media coverage, but it’s changing in 2018. It’s now about engaging, connecting and relating to people. Social media, events animation, blogging and vlogging, it’s about being much more visual and consumer engagement. People should not be connected through a PR agency and have the information handed to them in a newsletter – where is the engaging in that? The third party does not have to be a journalist anymore, it could be the carpenter, the pilot, the hairdresser or your grandmother, since we are all “citizen journalists” today on social media. More empathy, pathos and storytelling through people – and not actors – will create the engagement.

Dr Mateusz Grzesiak (CEO of Starway in Warsaw, Poland)

Outsource and Build Relationships –  Work Smarter Instead of Harder

This year looks very promising for small and medium businesses. It will offer them many modern solutions to minimize business expenses and maximize effectiveness of their employees work. Companies are suggested to outsource when needed, which means that some of the work will be distributed to other businesses. Although social media has already been exploited by many businesses in order to boost their marketing and sales, this year’s trends offer new ways of utilizing them to build stronger customer loyalty to a brand or product. On the rise this year will also be work from home, it’s an opportunity that minimizes office space while giving employees ability to cut their commute time and have work-life balance.

The main reason is that the global market as well as customers are emerging into new, more accessible and easy ways, of obtaining products. Clients have all the means necessary to evaluate a given product, company or brand before they even touch or see it at the retail store. Customer base their decisions on the opinions of others placed on social media, therefore a business should put a lot of attention on creating a strong relationship and loyalty bond with them through the use of new communication channels. The trends this year are followed by the doctrine that you should work smarter instead of harder. Listen to your client’s needs and focus on creating an emotion like experience that will be associated with your brand.

Luca Spaghetti- A name to remember

Editor @ Global Man April 30, 2018 33 Comments

Luca Spaghetti- A name to remember

 

By Fati Gorezi

Luca Spaghetti was born in Rome, Italy. His name, but above all his nice surname, has become famous thanks to his meeting with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the bestseller “Eat, Pray, Love”, which then became a film with Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem, in which Luca was present as a character because of his name. Being connected to a great book (and later a film)  brought  many changes  to his  life.  Now  Luca is a  completely charming writer too. His first book “Un romano per amico”, is published in thirteen countries.

 ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, The story of Elizabeth’s life, literally, became a sensation in many countries captivating millions of readers (and later viewers) All of the “characters” in her book are real people and you are one of them. How do you feel about that?

Well, first I have to say that I didn’t know I was going to be in the book. When in 2003 Liz explained to me her project she told me that her book was going to be a ‘sort of biography’ but I couldn’t imagine a “real” biography. When she sent me the draft of EPL and I read my name for the first time I fell down from my chair. Then I started to appreciate it and the book became a phenomenon and people began to search me out and asked me: “Are you the Luca Spaghetti of EPL? Do you really exist?”

Then the movie came out where I am depicted as being bald and fat – but the problem wasn’t that I’m bald and fat in the movie but that the production team tried to make me become a Roma fan!!! Probably you know that in Rome there are two soccer teams, Lazio (The Good) and Roma (The Evil). And when we went with Liz on the movie set in Rome one night to meet Julia Roberts I met “myself” for the first time and I saw the actor who played me (Giuseppe Gandini) coming with a yellow-and-red Roma’s scarf on his (my!) shoulder.

At that time I said laughing: “I need a lawyer! It’s okay being bald and it’s okay being fat – but I’ll never be a Roma fan!” So they took mercy on me and I returned to being a Lazio fan in the movie.

You became a tour guide/guardian angel to Liz (the protagonist) How would you describe your relationship and friendship with Elizabeth Gilbert?

A gift! When a common friend wrote to me to say she was coming to Rome for three months and asked me to take care of her I was scared. I knew she was a writer and I thought of her as a very boring, intellectual, snobbish and a sophisticated person. Then, day by day, after some “penne all’arrabbiata” and a few glasses of wine I discovered how wonderful she is. I learned from her how to stop hiding my feelings and now I’m not ashamed to say: “Leave your door open always and take care of those you love.”

And we also found out a lot of things that we have in common: we have the same way of protecting our friendship deeply and strongly and we have the same sense of humour and we love eating. Most of the people remind me how lucky Liz and I are to have such a great friendship. And I completely agree. Even after her great success she’s still the same girl I used to know.

Being a person in a great book (and later film) what changes have been brought to your life?

First of all, I am now at peace with my last name! When I was child I suffered a lot, then, on becoming an adult, I learned to laugh about myself and I started to think that it wasn’t such a giant problem, and now I am a good friend with my last name. My grandmother always used to tell me, “Your last name is going to bring you luck! When people meet you it will make them happy and a little bit hungry too.” Now I can say that is absolutely true!

It has brought me luck and a lot of new friends and experiences like becoming friends with my idol James Taylor, becoming a member of the ‘Carbonara Club’ as Ambassador, and it has given me a funnier and happier life.

The book marks a revolution for women. An uprising and a rare search by Elizabeth Gilbert about how women should rise again after every failure and seek success. In your opinion what are the biggest challenges that women face today?

Probably their equality with men based on all the recent stories about abuse in the media and economic factors in terms of pay and remuneration. In a civilized and equitable world women should be paid the same as a man but I’m afraid it still isn’t so. Economically there are some tasks that have different remunerations if the worker is a man or a woman. My wife, for example, is the Director of a chemical laboratory with two hundred people. She is the first woman trusted with this task and she’s happy and appreciated. But many of her colleagues are sure that if her job was done by a man he would have better pay. Personally, I prefer to work with women. I have two girls who work for me and I would never change them for men. Every day I work with clients who are women and every day I appreciate their skills. I’m happy that Liz is a fantastic living example of every positive thing a woman could dream or plan to be.

You are a completely charming writer too. How would you describe your experience of writing books?

Thank you. A fantastic experience and the realisation of a dream. When I was a kid I dreamed of becoming a soccer player, then a songwriter like James Taylor, and at 40 years old I discovered that writing was easy for me. This was, and still is, a great lesson to me. I tried and I loved it. I started just to tell the EPL phenomenon seen through my eyes – the story of an ordinary guy with a special last name, who was born and grew up in the most beautiful city in the world and how a friendship and a book changed his life. Then I found that writing is one the best ways for me to let my emotions come out and so I went on. I’d love to write more, but often my other work doesn’t leave me so much time to do it – so I try to exploit every free minute I have.

What we should know about Italian women and men?

You should know that Italian women are the most beautiful women in the world and that Italian men are the most charming men in the world (not me of course!) Italian women and men are the funniest creatures on the planet, the best cooks, the most elegantly dressed, the insuperable wine makers and of course, the most romantic lovers in the universe. Of course I’m kidding, but I can swear we all have a great sense of humour too.

Charles Ward- Great Ideas Work

Editor @ Global Man April 30, 2018 No Comments

Charles Ward- Great Ideas Work

 

By Gulia Lucci

Charles Ward is uniquely suited to his position at the helm of IWG. With a background in TV news, public relations and advertising in Texas, Ward founded “Idea Works Global” (IWG) in 1980. From then until now, here are a few of his notable accomplishments: He changed the marketing strategies of yachting after raising $16 million in sponsorships to help Skipper Dennis Conner win the ‘America’s Cup Yacht Race in 1987’, in Western Australia. He also executed a cross-marketing strategy that aligned ‘Bombardier Aerospace’ and luxury brands such as ‘Graff Diamonds’, ‘Cartier’, and ‘Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ to create an annual three-day party held in a hangar where private jets land to deliver business moguls and celebrities to the Super Bowl. He was also recently named the exclusive sponsorship agency for the ‘Federation of International Polo’ (FIP). Represented in 88 countries, FIP’s 19,000+ members include Royals, Generals, Business Executives, and some of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Idea Works Global is a marketing and brand-development firm focused on facilitating strategic partnerships between heritage brands to reach the most affluent connoisseurs of art, autos, fashion, travel, jewelry, spirits and sports.

Tell us about your business and why you started your business in Texas 38 years ago?

We were always interested in luxury products and services and decided to start a company that brings together the wealthiest families and unique luxury brands through strategic alliances. ‘Idea Works Global’ was born with creating corporate partnerships for America’s Cup Yacht Racing.

What has been the biggest challenge you faced as a businessman in Texas and how did you tackle that challenge?

Since we are involved in events around the world, from Australia to Sardinia, sometimes remote co-ordination is a huge challenge. We are constantly learning and improving in this regard.

Who has motivated and inspired you towards success?

I believe some of the entrepreneurs who are our clients continue to inspire me personally and I have learned so much from them in thousands of hours of meetings.

Can you tell us more about your marketing strategies and what is the formula for your international success?

We look for opportunities that are not crowded with competition already. For example, over the past two decades we have achieved an international reputation in marketing strategic alliances for the sport of polo, often overlooked by the major luxury brands. In fact, we’re told we are the only independent company in the USA with a specialty in polo branding. So, we found an incredible niche with practically no competition.

What is your experience of working with women? And what is your opinion about their talents and skills?

Our Houston office had 30 employees: 29 women and me as the only male. I find women more organised and often more creative in the fields of advertising and marketing. It has contributed to our success.

What is special about your lifestyle?

Ah, my lifestyle. It is incredible because our events are in the most desirable resorts of the world and our clients manufacture the largest private jets and most luxurious cars. And that makes up our world.

What ’motto’ in life do you live by?

Always stand for excellence and exceed client expectations and you’ll have business for life.

 

 

Ben Chai- The Success Magnet

Editor @ Global Man April 25, 2018 No Comments

Ben Chai

Sometimes enthusiastic extrovert but mostly thoughtful introvert

By Trevor Clarke

Ben Chai is a man of many parts, who has lived a full and varied life through an eclectic mix of activities, from IT to property, to acting, writing books, as a speaker sharing the stage with the biggest names, and more. Ben has achieved great success in many fields and has made his wealth through smart property investing and deserved good fortune in the beginning. He was featured recently in a BBC TV documentary about landlords living in one of their tenant’s properties, on a low budget. Yet, as you will read here, Ben’s early life was a less happy one because of bullying, something he has overcome to grow from a person of low self-esteem to be the outgoing and confident person he is today.

What was your childhood and upbringing like and how has that has influenced who and what you are today?

I grew up in London and was bullied a lot. Later, we moved to Singapore, but the bullying continued due to my being very tiny and very different from the rest of the children. At the time, I decided that the concept of race was very divisive and elected to be a citizen of this planet. Being bullied you learn a lot about people, about survival and develop a sense of when something is not quite right.

You also develop very low self-esteem, which results in a vicious cycle – the lower your self-esteem, the more you distance yourselves from others, the less you develop social skills and become a target for more bullying. Being bullied also taught me much about “isms” sexism, fatism, classism, ageism, and all varieties of exclusivism. My parents had their own challenges to deal with, which made it difficult to get much support in this area. Life was pretty dark in those days.

When I graduated, my parents did not feel I would amount to much due to my shyness and lack of confidence. At the time I had just scraped a degree, and my dad tried to get me a job in government through one of his contacts, where he thought I would be safe. I found the whole thing very disheartening and demeaning and said I would find my own way in the world. Today I realise that nobody was really taught about being good parents and he was only doing the best he could.

For the first few years I did not earn much. During that time, I cycled ten miles to work and slept on a friend’s floor with several other people. My diet consisted of porridge for lunch and corn flakes for dinner. For treats, I had a pot noodle and would suffer from pot noodle rage if someone had eaten one from my supplies.

Due to the bullying, I became mostly a recluse, or would only spend time with retired folk. The retired folk used to teach me to play games, shared their life stories with me, and educated me on how to avoid problems they faced when they were younger. Their life stories would later help me become successful in any venture.

As a young boy, playing games was a way to escape. I learned that if I helped the retired folk complete their chores faster, they would have more time to teach and play games with me.

At an unconscious level, winning at these games taught me how to be successful in life and business. For example, the Game of Diplomacy taught me that the only way to consistently win was to tell the truth without offending others. The game of chess taught me to think five, ten, twenty moves ahead of everyone else. Scrabble taught me how to maximise any situation no matter how bad.

You are a man of many parts and roles, and mystery. Your LinkedIn profile states: Actor; Author; Speaker; Business and IT strategist; Content creation specialist; Property specialist. Tell us more about these.

My very first acting role was as a baby in a James bond film. Since then I’ve been in media in most places I’ve lived either for technology, cyber security, gaming, dance, theatre or other television and films. My great aunt and uncle were members of an acting union and used to get me parts with famous people such as Madonna and John Cleese. We didn’t have selfies and the internet in those days, otherwise my celebrity album would be bursting!

After university, I managed to get a lowly paid position as an administrator in an IT company. My manager told me it would take two years to learn his position. Due to my early gaming days, I created a strategy to learn everything he knew within a month. The game of Diplomacy taught me not to demonstrate this accomplishment for another two months just in case he felt threatened. I soon took over purchasing and was able to get great deals due to collaborations with other IT companies. This joint purchasing put me in front of many CEOs of small to medium IT companies.

In the eighties, the phrase “knowledge is power” was rampant. The technical department would not tell me how to repair simple computer problems, such as the type of cable, because they felt their jobs were protected if people didn’t have their knowledge. The engineers blocking behaviour incensed me so much that I said to myself, one day I will share your entire knowledge with the world. I spent my evenings learning every single software the company was selling. After a while customers would call me for technical help.

One day the company trainer fell sick and I volunteered to train the course. They were surprised about my software knowledge but declined my offer and said they would get a freelancer. Unfortunately for them no freelancer was available and the customer had flown their executives in to learn the software and were threatening to sue the company. Opportunity met preparation and I got to give my first course. Afterwards, the customer requested that I be the only person to teach their entire organisation. This began my speaking career and since then I have spoken to audiences of up to 14,000 for Microsoft and large churches.

My degree is in mathematics and computer science. As a young boy, I was the only one in my class to beat the computer at chess. At the time, I had a much better understanding of computers than anyone else. A new manager was impressed with my ability to learn and train the software, and trained me in sales. Because my knowledge of computers was superior to the competitors and I was spending until 5:00am learning software and hardware, we were able to quickly grow the business. Another IT company headhunted me to run their entire sales and technical team. Being the CEO’s right-hand person taught me much about running a business. Later the CEO would ask me to run further businesses with him.

From there, I moved to a senior executive position at Kodak, in charge of the marketing and training of new IT products in EMEA. This position involved the creation of marketing strategies, educating and speaking to all Kodak sites, distributors and outlets on how to use and market the products. The role also involved authoring all their product and training manuals. Which is where I began a new skill in authoring. Later this content creation combined with my film, TV and radio experience would later blossom into a skill which would make me a seven-figure income as a content creation specialist.

As a systems and business speaker and educator for Microsoft and Learning Tree International, I’ve had the good fortune to rub shoulders with, teach, coach and mentor many diverse companies, from small single entrepreneur companies to global multi-nationals in banking, pharmaceutics and many more.

What drew you to such an eclectic mix of activities? Were they all part of your intention? In my twenties, I decided to be retired by my mid-thirties. To be retired you need ongoing income. At the time, I thought about what businesses would provide residual income or what is known today as passive income. These businesses included Rental properties, royalties from film and music, licenced intellectual property, network marketing, a great pension, royalties from books, royalties from games and merchandising. To make my plan fool-proof, I created several related businesses which would provide passive income.
Property was fantastic as there weren’t many property investors in those days. My parts in films with people like Madonna and John Cleese used to pay repeat cheques on every broadcast. My time at Kodak, taught me how to write books and create training manuals for technical educational companies. These training manuals were written about the most popular software of the day and provided me with a large amount of passive income whenever the training manuals were used.


How and why did you get into becoming a property landlord?

In the late eighties, there were hardly any property investors to learn from. My initial thought process, was if property prices always go up then all I needed was to buy four or five properties and create a strategy to hold all the properties as they appreciated in value.

Once they had appreciated, I would sell one to pay off all the others and so be financially free, by having incoming producing properties which fitted in my residual income model. At the time, I never thought to make income from rental. The rental would just pay for the mortgages. It is probably why I still have the lowest rentals in many of my investment areas.
When I graduated, I asked for a loan from my parents to buy an investment property. I was categorically told that property investment was a stupid idea as my parents had always lost money whenever they moved. I never got that loan. I was still too young and naïve to realise that my parents (and the rest of the world), didn’t really understand property.
In the late eighties, a couple in their mid-thirties knocked on my door and asked for a cup of tea. I thought they were the Mormons coming to convert me, but it turned out that they were the grandchildren of a dear old lady from next door. Apparently, their grandmother had passed away. She used to tell them many stories about how I used to mow her lawn, have cups of tea and do the odd handyman job when she needed someone. The grandchildren said that they would like to bless me for looking after their grandmother and asked if I would like the house at a price substantially below the estate’s valuation.
My reply was “no” because my parents told me investment property was not a good thing. They said it was my decision, but they would give me a week to think it over. At the time there was no concept of buy-to-let mortgages, so I could not get a mortgage on the property, however my brother agreed to take the mortgage and we had a signed agreement that the property belonged to me.
When my parents found out I’d bought the house next door, they were very angry with me as I had no knowledge what to do next. For a while, I just used the house as an extended house. I was so naïve at the time that I thought, if I bought several houses in a row I could convert them into a hotel.

You were featured recently on a BBC documentary, The Week the Landlords Moved In. What can you tell us about the experience overall and including the off-camera moments?

There are some things that I’m not allowed to talk about, but it was a fantastic experience.
My coaches advised me and many others not to do the show. There were many discussions in the property forums that said the show is designed to make landlords look bad. My attitude was that there is no such thing as bad publicity. If I was doing something wrong as a landlord I’d rather find out, plus I hoped it would put me in touch with some producers, as I’d like to resurrect my film and acting career from my early days.
According to the camera crew, I was one of the more authentic landlords they’d met but a conflict was required to make the episode watchable. There are many unpublished parts. One unpublished part was my reaction to the £47.00 they gave me to live on for the week. My response was to thank them for their generosity, I could live on less if they wanted. It turns out I was able to live on £14.47, so I was asked what I would do with the rest of the money.
My response was to invest the money. Either create a nest egg and invest the larger sum, or invest in a sponge and bucket and create more wealth by washing cars.

Who is the real person inside of Ben Chai?

Firstly, there is no real me. All of me is real and false at the same time. We grow, and we evolve. Who we are today is not necessarily who we are tomorrow. I am literally the person you see. Sometimes an enthusiastic extrovert but mostly a thoughtful introvert. As one person commented “Ben when I first met you, you were so quiet. I didn’t think much of you…but when you got on that stage you had so much energy and education, you blew every other speaker out of the water. How is this possible?!”

You have written a book called Social Magnetism. What are your top secrets for social success that you would care to share with Global Man readers?

No….but okay you twisted my arm. My top tips are:
-Don’t be boring – look at their eyes. The eyes glaze over when you are boring someone, or they begin to look away from you. You don’t need to explain everything because they aren’t listening anyway. Their heads are nodding but inside they are far away from the conversation.
-Add value and don’t be a douche bag. Being a douche bag worked when you were a kid but the older you get the more others want authenticity.
-Learn to walk from people who don’t care about you.
-Give so much value but don’t give to a level where people abuse your time or feel guilty because you won’t let them give back to you.
-Learn to receive.
-Understand that you are a wonderful person and learn to properly love that wonderful person. If you love yourself in a healthy manner you would treat everyone else in the same way.

Herman Chow – Helping Women Look and Feel Their Best

Editor @ Global Man April 20, 2018 No Comments

Herman Chow – Helping Women Look and Feel Their Best

 

By Gulia Lucci

Herman Chow was born and bred in Singapore, but now he lives in Amsterdam. He felt in love with photography about ten years ago and now he makes beautiful photos for social media. From the beginning of 2016 he started running his own portrait photography business

Your passion for photography seems to take up most of your time – how did you start your career?

Yes indeed – too much time! I fell in love with photography about ten years ago. At that time, I had a 9 to 5 full-time office job. I actually started with landscape photography as a hobby. One year later, I was drawn to fashion photography. That’s how I began working with model agencies, makeup artists, designers, stylists and models on fashion photography.

Having a full-time office job seemed like a career for me. I have never thought of running a business, let alone portrait photography.

At the end of 2015, I began to realise that I could bring this beauty to “everyday women (no-models)” because I felt that the whole fashion industry is a little too fake. So, I fired my boss in December 2015 and started running my own portrait photography business from the beginning of 2016.

 Please describe your earlier years before your career started.

Well, I’m not sure how you define “career.” When I had my full-time office job working for an employer, I thought that was my “career”. I was not an ambitious person. As long as I have a secure job, that will be my “career”. To be honest, it was really boring working for someone else. But I persevered because of the monthly income.

What are the main challenges that you have had to face during your personal and professional growth?

By nature, I am an extremely quiet and an anti-social person. Maybe I was allergic to people. It’s not my style to socialise with people anyway, especially strangers.

Ever since starting my photography business though, I have had to come out of my comfort zone to meet people. I have to admit it was very tough. “What do I say to people?” I thought.

I’ve learned that in order to bring my business to the next level I need to meet and network with people. So, I started going to network events. It’s still rather daunting to me, but I am slowly feeling more comfortable when ‘talking’ to people. Also, there’s a lot of struggle in running a business. And I really mean “a lot”.

After all, I have no clue or experience in running a business. So, I watched videos, talks, from successful gurus and learned from them.

What advice would you give to women looking to pursue a career similar to yours?

Ask yourself if that is what you really love and then, if it is, be prepared for some hard work.

You seem to have merged your love of photography with high achievement in business. What advice would you give to those trying to find their passion?

My advice is to never be afraid to ask, ask, ask, including asking for help if needed. There will be times when you just want to give up. You must learn to persevere and not give up. If you think of giving up, ask yourself why you started this journey in the first place.

Through many years of working, which are your ‘’sweet memories’’, the most incredible pictures that you have ever taken? It is about a man portrait or a woman portrait?

There were two memorable incidents with a female customer.

*One of them lost her father before the photoshoot and had a difficult time in life. After her photoshoot, she told me that she has now gained her confidence back because of the entire experience. Now, she puts on make-up every time she walks out of her house.

* The second one was a lady who has lost about 54kg of weight. She wanted to feel beautiful again. So, she convinced herself to do a photoshoot. She was over the moon with her images. One week after her photoshoot, I received a surprise note from her husband, thanking me for making his wife look beautiful again.

How can people use their passion for photography to build a photography business? What advice would you give to them? The first step is passion, but what is next?

  1. The first important step is always to find your “why”. Why do you want to do this?
  2. Knowing your ‘why” will help you find your purpose, cause or belief that inspires you.
  3. Once you know your “why”, you will also be able to figure out how to achieve the goals that excite you. You will also find the courage to take the risks needed to get ahead and stay motivated

What are three things that women need to know about the photography business?

  1. Again, know your “why” (why do you want to go into the photography business?)
  2. It’s not just about taking photos with your camera. It’s important to educate your customer (the subject) how they pose and connect with you to get the best out of them in a photo shoot.
  3. Also, how do you want your customers to see you as a photographer?

How do you see the role of women in business, now and in the future?

The roles of women are changing every day. From being a house-wife to getting out of their shell to run a business. Women are becoming more independent nowadays.

What are your plans for the future?

Herman – I want to help every woman on this planet to feel more comfortable in their own skin, especially with their body image and to believe that they are beautiful.  I want to educate them that it is essential to ‘exist’ in photos, not just for themselves but also for their family and children. I want to be their “go-to” photographer when someone needs a portrait photoshoot.

I want to open a huge and beautiful photo studio so that my customers can have an awesome experience during their photo session. My studio will have several departments which includes a video section to record my marketing stuff, a kitchen area to serve healthy food, a make-up room for make-up, a wardrobe changing area, a few photoshoot areas with different backdrop setups and a walk-in gallery displaying my beautiful art pieces. That’s my dream.

 

Richard Lukaj : Women need to invest in themselves to succeed

Editor @ Global Man April 20, 2018 No Comments

Richard Lukaj :

Women need to invest in themselves to succeed

By Fati Gorezi 

Richard  Lukaj has more than 20 years of investment banking experience having originated, structured and executed more than 200 deals totaling over $100 billion of transaction value. He is a founder of “Bank Street” and aspires with his partners to create a premier middle market investment banking franchise focused on growth sectors of the global economy. Mr. Lukaj has executed hundreds of transactions over the course of his successful investment banking career, ranging in variety from mergers and acquisitions, underwriting of debt, equity and derivative securities, restructurings, exclusive sales, and other financial advisory mandates. During his career at ‘Bear Stearns’, he contributed meaningfully to the development of one of the strongest investment banking franchises on Wall Street. Although heavily weighted towards the Media, Communications and Technology industries, he also has a very broad industry experience in Industrial, Consumer, Retailing, Energy, Aerospace, Specialty Finance, Real Estate and Natural Resources arenas.

 ‘’What’s wrong with men?‘’ seems an  important question for our times. Is it even controversial to say that there is a major problem with the men of the world? What is your opinion about that?

I feel the question is deliberately provocative and a bit amusing at some levels.  Despite some despicable headline making individuals, I believe there are many serious topics that warrant discussion about the evolution of relations between the genders, recognising that there isn’t one correct paradigm that solves problems for all cultures, geographies, etc.  Men and women are a by-product of their life experiences, gender role models and personal development.  As such, their gender expectations will vary but generally within socially acceptable norms in their environments.  While these norms may be very different in Japan, Nigeria or Brazil vs the UK, that’s not to suggest that adjudication is appropriate of one society upon another.  Each must approach the other with respect to find better understanding of the variances among these social norms.

Today the traditional and historical kind of masculinity is no longer necessary for a healthy and functioning society. What are the challenges for men in these modern times?

I am not sure how traditional masculinity is defined but I do believe there are, and will remain, beautiful differences between the sexes in every society.  However, there are some societies that still subjugate women, which the global community must do more to pressure progress towards affording greater protections and respect for the rights of women under generally accepted legal principles on the world stage.  The UN and other organisations can, and perhaps should, make an effort to create a more even handed legal standard for the well-being of women in less developed parts of the world.

What are three ‘hidden costs’ of being a man?

Not sure what that means exactly but I certainly believe that ‘life’, as a male or female in this modern society, is filled with blessings and we have much to celebrate in terms of progress in the evolution of relations between the genders. But that path remains still evolving and personal for all.

How can men and women have better communication between each other?

I think the communications between men and women have never been better for most societies on the world stage but much work is still needed in some areas.  I believe affording access to education for women and opportunities to contribute to theirs – and their family’s economic development – will continue to be a priority for the world to progress.  I am optimistic though, that many countries will no longer allow half their populations to be excluded from the collective desire for prosperity.

What advice would you give to women looking to pursue a career similar to yours?

The financial services sector has never been more available and receptive to women around the world.  I would highly encourage women to do so.

How do you think that we can get the best out of women in business?

People in competitive global industries generally apply best practices, which dictate that focus is increasingly on ability and performance, not gender, race, religion or anything else.

What is happening on a global scale with women in business and what does the future hold for women?

I tell my two daughters that theirs is the generation of women!  I look forward to the world with women as even more meaningful contributors to their societies.  We will all benefit from that.

Adam Markel – PIVOT Your Way To Success

Editor @ Global Man April 20, 2018 No Comments

Adam Markel  

PIVOT your way to success – reinventing your life and your business

By Gulia Lucci

Adam Markel is a speaker, author and entrepreneur who inspires, empowers and guides people to achieve massive and lasting personal and professional growth.

A recognised expert in the integration of business and personal development, Adam speaks and mentors around the globe in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and transformation. His latest book is the best selling “PIVOT: The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Career and Life”. Adam also hosts the ‘Conscious PIVOT’ podcast, where he shares his insights on pivoting in today’s fast paced market and interviews experts, innovators and influencers to share their stories and wisdom in the areas of business and life. Adam is the CEO of “More Love Media”, a Company dedicated to empowering individuals and businesses to re-imagine, refocus, and capitalise on change in order to thrive.

How would you describe your early life?

I grew up in Queens, a borough of the City of New York and I had a wonderful childhood. We didn’t have a lot of physical space or privacy in our little four room apartment (where my younger brother and I shared a converted dining room space as our bedroom), but we had lots of love, good food in ample supply, and encouragement to speak freely. I was sensitive to my surroundings and remember not wanting to step on the dandelions that stood between me and the grass field leading to Public School 169. That sensitivity could be sensed by other kids who were finding their way as well. It resulted in bullying and I was on the receiving end from time to time. Slowly I figured out the process of survival – fight or flight was not an abstract concept for me between age 6 and 14. I learned what it took to stand my ground and also how to avoid conflict. I loved my small world and the few friends that I could truly be myself around. Through sports and some pivotal moments of self-trust I developed self esteem and confidence to speak up and out and even defend others that were not ready to do so themselves.

 How did you go on to become a motivational speaker?

After spending a few years as a middle school English teacher I returned to school and studied to become a lawyer. I spent 18 years as a litigation attorney and represented the side of the underdog and disenfranchised many times. After several years of doing “ok” my practice became financially successful representing more businesses and banks. At a certain point though, I could sense that my enthusiasm was disappearing and in its place was anger and impatience. I would wake up in the morning feeling dread and anxiety about the day ahead and I felt out of control. At a certain point, when I could not stand those feelings any longer, I picked up a book called “The Road Less Travelled” by Dr. Scott Peck. When I was done reading that book my life was different. I could see options including not settling for the way I was feeling. I knew I had a chance. I knew I could make it to the next peak even though I didn’t know how. I devoured book after book and eventually invested in coaching and workshops to take my new energy to an even higher level. I had increasingly more frequent moments of clarity and eventually decided that what I was experiencing could also help others. I set a goal to become a transformational speaker and trainer and over the course of two years I reinvented my career and became a lead trainer and later CEO of a large personal development training company in San Diego. I wrote a book about the process of career transition called “Pivot: The Art & Science of Reinventing Your Career and Life”. The body of work that has been developed from Pivot has enabled me to speak all over the world.

What are your secrets in terms of motivating people?

I love people with all of my heart and soul. I tell them what most other people won’t say to them. I see them. I hear them. I respect them. And I don’t accept their limiting beliefs or limiting behaviors as the truth.

 What has helped you to become more effective in growing your business?

I have showed people how to create clarity and make better decisions, how to take baby steps so they can get into momentum and how to take better care of themselves so they can be resilient as they continue to pivot into a business and life they can love.

‘’The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Career and Life’’ is your latest book. Can you tell us more about it?

Pivot is remarkable in its usability. The book details the “process” of making small changes that lead to massive growth and even transformation over time. The book is foundational because it provides a detailed program to create clarity, take action, and plan for the road ahead. The book also helps people to create powerful new rituals or master habits to find greater self-love and self-trust. There is a 21 Pivot Plan to further support the process and provide continuity for the reader’s journey.

What are your three top tips for personal development?

My three top tips for personal development are (i) It is so important to both learn and practice unconditional Self-Acceptance and Self-Love. This means taking excellent care of your body, your mind and your spirit. Find fun and new ways to keep it exciting. When teaching about relationships we call it ‘FLY’ or ‘First Love Yourself’. (ii) We must all continue to develop master habits which include gratitude, presence and forgiveness. I personally have both a morning and an evening ritual, which I find are the keys to my Inner Peace.  (iii) To continue to be a constant and never ending learner we must make sure our minds are the fertile soil that we nurture and garden with tender loving care – everything grows from there.

What would be your four pieces of advice for women who want to start a career in business?

First, authenticity is key! Women must develop their business practices as authentic women, rather than ‘pretend men’ which can be pretty tricky in the business arena. I’ve found that it is necessary to conduct business in any way that is genuine and right in your heart and to share that message with others from a place of service.  Next, the most successful women entrepreneurs I have met, and many who I mentor, all are exceptional at conveying their message and enrolling others around them. My third piece of advice is that I always recommend that all business owners, men and women, learn the skills of pivoting because change is a constant in our world. Change and disruption are always taking place and the way we manage and make the most out of change is the difference between succeeding in the long run or not. Lastly, I also recommend finding mentors or coaches to work with since they have knowledge tools and experience that save us time and money – I still work with coaches and mentors to this day and they are worth their weight in platinum!

What is next for you?

Like most people, I am always pivoting in one way or another. I am always looking for creative opportunities, projects that inspire and challenge me and I make sure to tend to the garden of my mind.  I am excited to be working on my next book, “The Next Pivot” and seeing what gems I can share with others. I am also learning more and more what unconditional love really looks like, for myself and others, and embodying and sharing it with everyone I meet. Our company “More Love Media” holds the big vision of helping people actualise their dreams in their career, business and life through our ‘Pivot Incubator’ and ‘Speaker Mastery’ training.

Avni Dervishi- Be the change you want to see in the world

Editor @ Global Man April 19, 2018 No Comments

Avni Dervishi

Be the change you want to see in the world

By Fati Gorezi

Avni Dervishi holds a Master’s Degree in ‘Political Science-European Affairs/Politics 2001’and has studied in three European countries, in four various universities, and has been engaged to promote ‘Gender and Youth Empowerment’ in 83 countries in the world (including Europe, Asia and Africa).  He has experience both from the UN (United Nations – Mission in Kosovo) and the ‘Parliament of Sweden’ for six years, where he was a member of the ‘Diplomatic Club of Parliament’. Thereafter, he worked for the ‘Carter Center’ in Nepal, and UNDP  as a ‘Diaspora’ expert. His background is from communist East Europe but most of his life has been spent in Sweden. He is now invited to various countries to hold lectures on the ‘Empowerment of Women’ and the benefits this brings to the whole of society regardless of gender, age, religion or disability. His focus is on the obstacles facing women, youths, immigrants and people with disabilities and his unique approach has made him a very popular presenter.

You are Albanian by origin but you have also lived in a communist regime? How do you remember that time?

I was six years old when the communist regime jailed my older sister and my father. The reasoning behind this was that they were Albanians and they wanted something called ‘Freedom and Democracy’. The communists didn’t like people talking about freedom and democracy. At that time I remember my mother and I visiting several prisons, police stations and meeting communist political decision-makers. The way they treated my mother, because she was a woman with strong principles, became the starting point for my journey. She  opposed the Yugoslavian communist anti-Albanian regime and also the patriarchal way of thinking that dominated Society at that time (around 1981). That was the time when I saw with my own eyes how discrimination against women was used as a tool to break a woman’s spirit whether a mother, wife or sister. At that time I also understood what women’s empowerment really meant and I promised to myself that as long as I live I will promote gender empowerment – and I am proud that I have followed my promise all these years. After all, it is all about finding a win-win situation for all people on planet Earth. And for all those men that haven’t woken up and understood that yet, my message is – “Wake up and face reality”.

What have been the most difficult moments of your life as a migrant man?

It must be when I got discriminated against due to my name when I was applying for a position at a state authority here in Sweden. I was given the suggestion to change my name. They didn’t care about my education and experience. Thanks to a lot of campaigns from the media however that attitude is now changing though. So I did face discrimination due to my immigrant background but I never gave up though, and I am thankfull to the media and my own confidence for that. Stereotyping and prejudgment were the most difficult issues to tackle but I speak six languages so it eventually went better than I thought.

How would you describe your life now? Who is Avni Dervishi?

Good questions 🙂 Avni is firstly, a global human being. After promoting democracy and international cooperation (mainly through Gender and Youth Empowerment in more than 80 countries so far), I must say that my life is still being written as we speak – and there are still many pages left and a lot of colour is still needed to fill those pages. I always have one small bag standing near the front door in case I have to travel to other countries while looking for opportunities to promote Gender Empowerment and international cooperation worldwide. I have a Master’s degree in Political Science (European Affairs/Politics) so I know quite a lot about diplomacy and  European and global affairs.

What kept you believing in the vision of the world you wanted to create?

My own life experience and the belief that beside others, ONE person can also make a positive change in our world. I now understand how and why women are being discriminated against and also how and why young people were discriminated against. I also witnessed how people with disabilities have been discriminated against. My own brother is a deaf-mute and I have witnessed how society has discriminated against him. I have also experienced discrimination myself. So, to summarise the answer, my struggle is to unite all the powers that oppose  discrimination and convince them to cooperate. This is what is still driving me to believe change is possible and to aim the vision of the world towards bringing equality to all people, regardless of our human diversity.

The main reason that keeps me going is due to what my mother always told me when I was a child – that the best religion in the world is to follow the truth that by supporting people in need – we support ourselves in deed. You help people and you will get help back when you do not expect it. It does work. During my promotion for international cooperation I’ve been  to many post-conflict countries in various continents and very often my calm and open attitude has shone a light onto my path when I did not expect it at all. At one time I was in a post-war country in western Africa in order to convince them to involve women at the negotiation table just before I was due to meet the President of this country. But before that took place, and all of a sudden, our passports were seized by their authorities. But, being open minded and trusting I got them back within the same day without any bribes. I am convinced that one person can make a positive change.

You have worked in some countries helping women to become empowered. In your opinion what are the present obstacles facing women these days ?

I was, and I still am, trying to help more women in political decision-making. It is a necessity. When 50% of the inhabitants of any country are women, why shouldn’t they also form half of the political representatives in the Government at the national and local level? They should. There are several obstacles facing women these days. If nothing else the ongoing #MeToo campaign is a reminder for all men that we have to think and rethink the way we behave. We should treat others as we want to be treated ourselves. An adult woman just like an adult man and must be able to live her own life the way she wants. Gender is nothing other than something we tend to identify people by. In democracies we accept various cultures and belief systems  and that is great. However, the freedom of personal choice for an adult person – how she/he lives their life with other adults or alone, should not be an issue in a democracy regardless of our backgrounds.

Another obstacle is the fact that more men should understand the benefits of having more women in decision-making positions. In fact we get better economies, more sustainable families, lower crime rates among the young, improved health for all, better social care for children and the elderly and a much stronger economy (domestic and national). When both women and men work together they both pay taxes equally. Countries become stronger with stronger individuals. We will have more money for holidays and enjoying life when we have more gender equality. And any country that can achieve this will get a much stronger role on the international stage. So one of the obstacles is the low percentage of men who understand the benefits of women’s empowerment.  We men have to understand and accept these facts. It is never to late and I hope this will change soon.  I was ecently introduced to a network of men called MARC (Men Advocating Real Change) based in the USA and also another one called ‘Manproject’ that aims to talk freely about differences re the male gender culture and behaviours. We men should be better at talking about our feelings and skip the prestige and pride of being a MAN. That definition of a ‘classic man’ is gone for ever. We live in 2018 now and the living circumstances are different – and so are the possibilities. So we have to update our brain hardware. By doing that men will become much more aware about the necessity of women’s empowerment.

What do you think about the political participation of women in Kosovo and Sweden? What more could be done?

Yes, much more can be done. During the six years that I worked in the Parliament of Sweden, and the years I was working for the United Nations with the government of Kosovo, as well as my work as international officer for the young liberals of Sweden (where I represented 3500 young people on the European continent) etc, I was highly involved in increasing the political participation of women in Sweden, South East Europe and rest of the world. I was invited to hold lectures on Gender Empowerment and I advocated action plans to be established at local, regional and national levels, on how to increase the number of women in politics. (The international community, mainly through OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) recommends quotas which is good). However I do think that quotas should be seen as a temporary tool in order to increase the awareness of the people that they should not discriminate against women due to their gender. In the end, it is their competence and experience that should be decisive. But until that happens quotas should be an option. This goes for Kosovo, Albania and other countries of post-communist regimes and also post-conflict as well, regardless where in the world they are. Usually they are 30%, but I think they should be at least 40%. Every single political party should have their own system that ensures that women’s participation is essential. It should be part of their party ideological education and training. They should lift the benefits of society by increasing the number of women in politics.  Some countries do it anyway and the economic grown is tremendous. See how Rwanda is doing! 2018 they are expecting to have  8.7% economic growth. The political parties should have a general rule when deciding about election lists. Do they want votes? If yes, every second name should be a woman and every second a man. Simply as that.

Apart your career what else is important in your life?

Well, for me this is life and career all in one. Improving peoples’ lives through increased global cooperation and using my expertise as a Diaspora expert in order to built bridges of cooperation between the country of residence and the one of the origin. It is important in life to face challenges and learn from them. I love to mediate between people, organisations, states and other stake-holders and to find sustainable solutions for them. Another thing is that we have just one planet and it is us humans that have to save our planet – TOGETHER. Our resources are not endless. I was recently contacted by an organisation in the U.S. and another in New Zealand dealing with men involved in Gender Empowerment and I was very pleased about it. I strongly believe in cooperation and that nothing is impossible. But I am sometimes far too honest in what I say, and I know that being too honest might be an obstacle. But this is me, Avni.

 

Michael Mathews: Investing for success and investing in life

Editor @ Global Man April 16, 2018 No Comments

                     Michael Mathews:

   Investing for success and investing in life

 

Michael Mathews is the co-founder of “The Mathews Entrepreneur Group” (TMEG). He is dedicated and committed to providing Personal Financial Literacy education programs and one-on-one financial literacy guidance using books, workshops, online programs and one-on-one personal results coaching. Michael also provides his clients with entertaining and exciting books for pleasure reading. His wealth building portfolio also includes property investing and land banking.   

By Gulia Lucci

 How do you remember your life as a young boy, growing up in Chicago?

I grew up on the Southside of Chicago during the 1960’s and 70’s. Being in the baby boomer generation, I experienced my friends being drafted into the Vietnam War, the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy (when I was 8 years old), the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X (When I was 10 years old) and the 1968 assassination of Martin L. King Jr. (When I was 13 years old). Chicago was a racially-filled melting pot within the inner city. Segregation and racial tension ran rampant. I was the youngest of three children, having my older brother and sister as buffers while navigating the streets to and from home. My father and mother both worked, and I came from a loving working-class family, living in a working class neighbourhood, where our entire community was the village that raised me.

You have a passion for financial literacy education. Was it difficult to get into this industry?

The initial difficulty first came from me not knowing how money worked in terms of wealth building strategies. I did not come from generational wealth. I had to learn how money worked. How to save it, how to invest it, how to grow and maintain multiple streams of passive income. I made the decision to read financial books, listen to financial tapes, attend financial seminars, and associate with successful people whom I could learn financial literacy and wealth building principles from.

Fast forward to my marriage to Robbie, we believed that financially speaking, the best Improvement starts with Self-Improvement. We decided to be co-founders of the “Blessed to Invest Investment Club” along with several family members and friends. This is where we learned how to invest in the stock market using dollar cost averaging during both the ‘Bull’ and ‘Bear’ markets.

We took advantage of our employee sponsored investment options to begin our wealth building process. Next, we invested in income producing real estate, land banking in Palmdale-Lancaster California, commercial real estate development and mobile home investments along with a group of like-minded investors to further maximise our financial growth.

The ‘Mathews Entrepreneur Group (TMEG)’ was founded in 2007 by you and your wife. What can you tell us about your Company? What is the mission?

The Mathews Entrepreneur Group (TMEG) was initially founded as a self-publishing company. TMEG has evolved into a brand that’s committed to empowering people to both “hone” and “own” their personal and small business finances.

TMEG’s mission is to raise the awareness level of consciousness about the need for personal financial literacy education on a global scale. We can all agree that debt is a global problem. Bad money habits are destroying the dreams and futures of individuals and families across the globe. It doesn’t matter what country you live in or currency you use – US Dollar, South African Rand, Euro, or the British Pound, debt is the same in any language. We expanded our reach by speaking publicly in the United States and internationally about ‘Financial Literacy Education’ because “It’s not a priority in our educational systems. It’s important that the issue be addressed by all of us and at all levels of society.”

We are committed to giving our clients a comprehensive, easy to use, set of tools providing them with the knowledge, skills and support system needed to take control of their personal finances. In addition to speaking we provide one on one coaching, workshops, seminars, books and online programs.

What made you decide to start your own company?

Early in life we experienced financial struggles long before we knew one another. We did not know or understand how to build wealth.  We were taught, or at least told, that we should get a good education, get a good job and work the 40-40-40 plan, work for 40 hours per week, for 40 years of our lives, only to retire and live off of 40 percent of our income. That was not the American dream that we had in mind.

We decided to start TMEG because we learned how to make our money work for us on the passive income stream side of the spectrum. We saw first-hand the benefits of helping others improve their lives which inspired us to take up the mantle of financial education.

While my wife was on a business trip in London, I wrote our first book; “Financially speaking: The Best Improvement Starts with Self Improvement-Create Your Own Economic Stimulus Plan” in 2007, and the revised edition in 2016. Financially Speaking along with our 7 LIVE W.E.A.L.T.H.Y. principles became the cornerstone that formed our company’s financial education wings.

What is the one accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Unexpectedly, in July of 2017, I was nominated, and later received, the John H. Johnson “Business Man of the Year” award presented at the “We Dream in Colour” humanitarian celebration by Mr. Quinton de Alexander in Chicago.  In October of 2017, still unexpected, my wife was nominated and received a special “Inspirational Global Woman Award” in London.

What motivates you to succeed?

As a former basketball player, I was trained and motivated how to succeed in basketball and in the game of life off of the basketball court. I was taught to understand that with winning, you must also lose some games along the way. With every loss of a basketball game, it’s just like failing to achieve your business goals. In the game of basketball, like in the game of life, losing a few comes with winning the big deals, as long as you don’t keep on making the same business mistakes.

I am highly motivated more than ever because early in my adult life, before I met my wife, I enrolled in the so-called ‘University of Hard Knocks’. I spent my money on my life-style. I went broke, I drained my bank accounts, I maxed out all of my credit cards, I filed for bankruptcy, my car was repossessed, and I moved back in with my parents. I felt frustrated and I felt ashamed.

My financial situation did not change until I took control of how I was thinking about money, feeling about money and acting with money. I was able to move out of my parents’ home as I started to become the responsible man that I was meant to be. I graduated with my PhD from the University of Hard Knocks around the age of 40 because I took my personal financial literacy education seriously.

Both my wife and I are motivated and passionate about giving back to society. While working at the ‘Chicago Transit Authority’, I began giving back to the historically black colleges and universities to help encourage our young leaders not to make the same mistakes that I made. One of our investments ‘Even Stevens-fast casual sandwich shops’ mission is ‘Eat-To-Give’. For every sandwich that is purchased, one sandwich of equally nutritional value is donated back to the community. With 20 sandwich shops operational in the United States, together with our investors, we have donated 2.5 million sandwiches back to local charities who feed the many hungry men, women, children and babies in need of a hand up and not a hand out.

My wife grew up on the West Side of Chicago. She was a single teenage parent living on welfare, raising four children. She was a high school drop-out but she went back to school and received a certificate in ‘Computer Technology’.  She also attended night school and received her bachelor’s and Master’s degree. During her corporate career, Robbie donated financially to the ‘United Way’ on a regular basis as well as volunteering her time. She retired as a Vice-President and Technology Manager of that firm. Our story is that any excuse is a reason to fail, and If we can do it so can you.

What are three ways to obtain money for real estate investing?

  1. Personal Funds: You can use your retirement account by rolling over your traditional IRA or 401K, etc., to a self-directed IRA. Then purchase real estate through your self-directed IRA. You have all the risk and all the reward.
  2. Joint Ventures: Enter into joint ventures with other investors. Depending on how the deal is structured, you might not need to put up any money, if so the initial seed capital should be equally divided between all joint venture partners, thus offsetting your investment amount. Make sure your joint venture partners are people that you trust. You share the risk and you share reward.
  3. Lenders: Traditional or Hard money lenders (usually the loan will be backed by the real estate deal). If your credit is good enough use institutional loans. You can invest alone or also have a joint venture opportunity.

How is it in business working together with your life partner, and how do you balance personal and business life?

What matters most to me is that our business and personal relationships are balanced to our satisfaction. When my wife and I travel in the United States or Internationally Speaking, we take a few days off after business and become tourists. We understand that our life together is more about living in the moment because tomorrow is not promised. We are blessed to actually live some of our wildest-bucket list dreams.

Like when we were in the beautiful country of South Africa, on the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town. We also cuddled with some big baby lion cubs. In Dubai, on the 124th floor at the top of the Burj Kahalifa. Being on the French Riviera in Cannes France or eating dinner in Paris at the Eiffel Tower was another beautiful experience. Add Disneyland, Mickey Mouse, and having good meals with our global friends in California and London are memorable occasions.

I’m proud of the dream team that we make and the work that we do. I’m grateful to the universe that I was able to find my soulmate. Being able to love, work with, speak on the same stage with, travel the world on business and pleasure with, create products and services with, be of service to others with my best friend-my loving Wife-Robbie Mathews is priceless. We share the same goals, dreams and vision. Yes, sometimes we agree to disagree, however, I’ve learned that being in the same vortex with my wife, with our energy frequencies tuned in on the same dial tone, the airways of mutual respect and understanding are always on the same channel.

If you could give one piece of advice to all the women out there who want to start their own business, what would that be?

Begin with your idea, step out on faith and fulfill the vision that the universe has planted within your mind, body, soul, spirit and everyday thoughts. Then become a fearless-tigress, confident woman. Wear your crown! Don’t allow anyone, woman or man to get in your head with “you can’t” and allow them to steal your dream.

But do your due diligence, define your business model, develop your business plan, consult your mastermind group of professionals, develop your product or service, identify your target market and marketing plan, and know your numbers. Seek business coaching from a trusted source to guide you along the way.

 In your opinion what are three things that women need to know about finances?

  1. Get out and stay out of debt, unless it’s considered good debt that is making you money in the form of positive cash flow or positive interest payments instead of bad debt that is costing you money.
  2. Achieve, monitor and maintain good personal and business credit, by paying your bills on time and at least pay the required minimum. No need to pay late fees or have your interest rates increase. Keep your personal credit score at 770 or higher. This will stabilise your borrowing power with creditors.
  3. Have an emergency savings account of about 6 to 9 months of your total living expenses. Have a regular savings account that you can have available investment capital ready for investment opportunities. If you’re working, utilise your employer sponsored retirement plans, especially if your company gives you matching contributions at any percentage. Don’t leave free money on the table. Before investing, complete your due diligence. If you are still unsure, seek coaching from someone that you trust, or from someone who is highly recommended.

How do you see the role of women in business and as speakers on the big stages now and in the future?

Because of the historically male dominated glass ceiling way of doing things, the Global Woman is fighting a harder fight than her male counterparts in business, as well as big stage speaking opportunities. As a result, today and in the future, women will not be denied (I did not say it will be easy) their opportunity to shine as business leaders and speakers on the big stages in our global community. I know there are men who oppose my words, and I know there are men who agree with me! Men need not FEAR the rise of the global woman business leader and big stage speaker.

Just as women do when men are speaking, men should also sit down, pay attention, and take notes when the global woman is speaking in the board room or from the stage. Men might learn a thing or two, because women have a thing or two to say!

I’ve met some incredible global woman business leaders who are already speaking on the big stages of the world. Robbie Mathews, Randi Zuckerberg, Bethany Frankel, Christie Brinkley, Lisa Nichols, Dr. Kara Scott Dentley, Francie Baldwin, Joanna Mukoki, Mirela Sula, and other Global Woman Business Leaders.  As Les Brown’s say’s “that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

I wrote the following poem in dedication to my wife Robbie, Mirela Sula and the Global Woman Business Leaders around the world.

THE GLOBAL WOMAN BUSINESS LEADER ROCKS

She is a global woman leader with a new paradigm for changing the world

She helps the business woman, young ladies, and aspiring little girls

She is an empowering global woman leader, operating outside of the box

She is business savvy, and extremely smart like a fox

She is a global woman leader with foresight, because hindsight won’t do

She moves her agenda forward and her vision is true

She is a quick witted global woman leader with blood vessels of steel

She makes hard decision sometimes wearing high heels

She leads with her left, she leads with her right

She’s doubted in the board room, backing down from no fight

She’s in the 15th round and still stand strong

She has the right leadership skills so she can’t go wrong

She knowns the secret that makes her a global woman leader

She fully understands that the world really needs her

She has patience and understanding but will leave you in the dust

She is a symbol of integrity, and worthy of the worlds trust

She doesn’t sit around waiting for opportunity to knock, because

She is an empowering global woman leader, who definitely ROCKS!