On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…
SEGMENT 1 with Benajmin Alexander, starting at 0:00: Most of the medals for the Winter Olympics are won by Nordic countries or other wealthy nations. What is it like to compete in the Olympics where you have no realistic chance of winning a medal? We are speaking with two Olympic athletes that competed in the Beijing Winter Olympics from two unlikely countries, the first is Benjamin Alexander from Jamaica.
SEGMENT 2 with Carlos Maeder, starting at 16:30: We are continuing our story about talking to Olympic athletes that competed in the Beijing Winter Olympics but had no realistic chance of winning a medal. Next we’re speaking with Carlos Maeder from Ghana.
SEGMENT 3 with Stephanie Burks, starting at 36:45: We see a lot of initiatives where big brands partner with and support small businesses. Why do they do this? What do small businesses need to do to attract the attention of a big brand?
Sponsored by NiceJob and Truly Financial.
More on each segment below.
Segment 1: Benajmin Alexander is Jamaica’s first alpine skiing Olympian having just competed in the Beijing Winter Games. He is an unlikely Olympian since he started skiing at 32 and is from a country with no snow!
1:00 – How did you get started skiing at age 32 – about 6 years ago?
3:45 – How did you fund your training and Olympic journey?
5:15 – What made you think you should compete at the Olympics?
7:30 – What does it take to be fearless?
8:45 – What was your experience like at the Beijing Olympics? How did the elite athletes treat you?
12:15 – What events did you participate in? How did you do?
14:00 – What’s next?
Segment 2: Carlos Maeder represented Ghana at the Beijing Winter Olympics and at 43 was the oldest skier at this year’s Games. He is ranked 2,443rd in the world in giant slalom.
16:30 – How did you get interested in skiing?
18:30 – How did you qualify to represent Ghana at the Winter Olympics?
23:15 – How did it feel to be at the Olympics?
25:00 – How did you fund your training and Olympic journey?
26:45 – What events did you participate in? How did you do?
30:00 – How did the elite athletes treat you? How was the environment at the Olympic village?
32:00 – What’s next?
Segment 3: Stephanie Burks is the Marketing Director of Revlon’s Multi-Cultural division. A part of her work includes spearheading the company’s scholarship programing and business pitch competition for HBCU students across the U.S. She also works closely with Revlon’s retail partners to build programs that involve supporting small business brands so they can gain some much-needed exposure that they need to continue to prosper and grow.
36:45 – Why do large companies get involved with helping small businesses?
38:30 – How does Revlon/Creme of Nature help black-owned small businesses?
41:00 – Tell us about your scholarships.
43:15 – You’ve also partnered with Young Kings and Crayon Case. What was that like?
46:15 – What do small businesses need to have to attract the attention of a big brand like Revlon?
49:30 – Small businesses are the cornerstone of the community.
