In February 2015, Iskander and his Ecuadorian wife Tuky opened Cuba 512 as a manifestation of their own American Dream. Cuba512 is a place of discovery that serves traditional Cuban dishes. All dishes are freshly prepared with hand-picked ingredients and served alongside island fresh cocktails & tropical smoothies. Cuba512 promises you a highly authentic Cuban experience by catering to all your senses. Its talented staff, decor, music, food, and beverage bring the ambiance of Cuba directly to Austin with hand crafted, Caribbean mojitos. They have an extensive take out menu.
We were proud to have a conversation with Tuky about their entrepreneur journey, challenges during COVID-19, how EGBI has assisted them through coaching, and their delicious food. Cuba512 will be the provider of the Ropa Viaja (shredded beef slowly cooked in tomato base sauce, onion, bell peppers) for our annual fundraiser, Celebrating Success. All are invited to join us on September 9th, 2020 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM for our virtual fundraiser.
We are filled with sadness and frustration over the recent events against African Americans these past few months. We join the call to find ways to stop police brutality and heal our nation. These horrific acts have led to unrest across the country. We must come together to ensure all of our brothers and sisters are permitted the same opportunities and equal justice.
For the last fifteen years, EGBI has been working to help individuals achieve their entrepreneurial dreams. Along with our partners, we are working to break down the barriers many minorities in our communities face. By providing training, coaching and support services to small businesses, our clients are receiving the tools necessary to develop sustainable businesses. Businesses that are making a positive impact in our community.
Today, we proudly stand with our partners as we work to create a better nation. A nation where everyone, regardless of the color of their skin or where they were born, will be treated equally and be able to pursue their dreams. We mourn for these beautiful lives that were taken way too soon, but we must never forget and never stay silent.
Due to the current unprecedented events, many of us have been forced to move our work remotely or adjust to a new way of communicating from our homes. Now the questions is, where do I even start? Here is a quick go to list to begin.
DropBox Bring your files and cloud content together with the tools your team wants to use.
Free Conference Call provides HD audio conferencing, screen sharing and video conferencing with up to 1000 participants. Sign up for a free account.
Google Free access to Hangouts Meet, which allows up to 250 participants and live streaming up to 100,000 viewers per domain, and G-suite until July 1, 2020 .
Jamm Free platform for voice and video collaboration for teams working remotely (integrates with Slack) .
LoomVideo recording and sharing service offering boosts to free service plan, discounted prices on LoomPro, and free access for educational institutions through July 1, 2020 . There is no recording limit until July 1, 2020.
Microsoft 365Free 6 month trial of Microsoft 365 E1, with web-based Office apps and business services including email, file storage and sharing, meetings, and instant messaging
Webex– Video Conferencing, Online Meetings and Screen Share
f you ask entrepreneurs why they started their businesses, motives spread all over the place, from following passion and wanting to turn a hobby into a business; being personally unable to hold an office job and needing to be its own boss; all the way to just “I saw an opportunity”, “I saw a market”, “I saw room for improvement”. After this, conversations often go into the “I wish I knew” topic, and that’s where pain starts talking by itself. You will hear stories about sleepless nights trying to solve operational problems and lost business opportunities due to lack of experience or not knowing where to find an answer. Thus, it always helps to have resources to learn from and reach out to in times of trouble.
The learning chance that helps one become a better business owner often comes as a result of a previously failed business. When the business owner is busy putting out fires day and night, it is only after failure that one will take the time to do a postmortem and understand what went wrong. Thus, it is important to stay on your feet, listen to your business, and make timely changes if/when needed.
A quick google search will get you to hundreds of “10 things I wish I knew before starting a business”, “7 things to know before opening your business”, “5 things I learned from running a business” and similar results. Of course this experience will be very different for people running different businesses and with different lifestyles, but here is a list of selected quotes I found quite relevant for most entrepreneurs:
Running the business takes 24/7
The biggest difference between a 9-to-5 job and being a business owner is the total lack of a fixed schedule. There is always the possibility for your client to have an issue with your product at an inconvenient time, or a supplier to have trouble in the middle of the night. Consider these possibilities, have contingency plans to address your customer’s needs, and organize responsibilities among your employees to ensure resiliency.
Optimize, outsource and automate everything you can
We at EGBI take our time to explain “The Four Roles An Entrepreneur Must Take” (Product Manager, Organizer and Manager, Marketer and Salesperson, Financier), and we emphasize that the entrepreneur must focus on the roles he is best at. Start by wearing many hats, but as soon as you have some traction, consider the best use of your scarce time will rely on dedicating your full attention to what you’re best at and outsourcing or hiring for other activities.
A part-time gig gives peace of mind
Once you give up a regular full time job in place of a business, you will be subject to the whims of seasonality and economic ups and downs. You can plan for these risks either by building a strong savings lung, or having a part-time gig to supplement the varying income from the business. This resiliency will give you peace of mind.
At the beginning everyone is excited and ready to help. When help is needed, it’s hard to come by.
People want you to succeed, and as soon as you start will get excited for your success. However, not everyone is willing or available to help you when you’re in such need for help. What should you do? Find access to reliable resources to help you through the hard times, find mentors, find a business coach.
With all this in mind, you should now know that you will face unexpected challenges, and learn from every opportunity you have. These common challenges I mentioned are not the end of the world, and do not mean that running a business is impossible. Challenges and obstacles are there for you to improve yourself and your business, and once you get to such a point in your entrepreneurial adventure, you will be more than welcome at EGBI for training, coaching and support.
