From the sunny shores of West Palm Beach to the heart of Kansas, Michael Odupitan has journeyed far and wide, gathering experiences that shape his mission today. With the backdrop of personal tragedy and societal challenges, Michael is on a quest to rejuvenate communities. Our latest episode takes you through Michael's transformative path, fueled by his passion for collaboration and meaningful change, as he leads Omni Circle in Topeka.
Entrepreneurs with a spark but lacking the know-how to fan it into a flame will find Omni Circle's approach enlightening. In this session, we uncover how this dynamic organization aids individuals in transitioning from merely working in their businesses to strategically working on them. By providing a blend of resources and education, Omni Circle empowers locals to craft robust business plans and embrace opportunities, especially in a city known for its slower pace in adopting new ideas. Hear success stories that breathe life into Topeka's entrepreneurial spirit and learn how Michael's vision is helping to reshape the business landscape.
Personal growth isn't just a journey; it's a revolution of the mind and spirit. Our conversation with Michael touches on the significance of holistic development, emphasizing the spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional aspects that drive true fulfillment. As we explore the evolving fabric of Topeka, we delve into the Momentum 2027 initiative and local business triumphs illustrating a city on the brink of transformation. Listen to Michael's insights on expanding worldviews and fostering community-driven futures, and discover the plans OmniCircle harbors for the next decade. This episode wraps up with lighter moments, insights on navigating social media, and even a chat about favorite local eateries, ensuring you walk away both informed and entertained.
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Timestaps:
0:00 - Journey to Building Better Communities
14:17 - Business Development and Funding Opportunities
19:38 - Empowering Minds and Building Leaders
28:38 - Uncovering Opportunities for Personal Growth
35:04 - Building a Better Topeka Community
41:46 - Defining Success and Future Plans
52:18 - Online Presence and Social Media
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Speaker 1: After the loss of my mom, I was living in a little
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bit of depression.
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I didn't know what it was, but I kept saying like I got to get
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out of here.
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It's one thing to march in the street, but how do you actually
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improve communities?
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Sure, collaboratively, if we put our heads together, we get
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more done.
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Even though great things are happening in our community,
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people don't see it yet right.
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Speaker 2: Michael Odubatan.
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Absolutely, thanks for coming on, man, no problem, yeah, it's
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good to see you.
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Good to see you as well.
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Yeah, okay, so you are the owner, founder.
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You run OmniCircle Absolutely here in Topeka.
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A little bit of both.
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Yeah, man, that's awesome.
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So for people that may not be familiar, man, just give us a
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background, like who are?
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Speaker 1: you?
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How'd you get into business?
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What are you doing these days?
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Yeah, whole journey, no journey .
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So I'm originally from west palm beach, florida.
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Okay, I transitioned to topeka in 2002.
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Um, didn't know how I ended up here.
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I was supposed to go to marshall university on a
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football scholarship.
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Where's that in virginia?
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Speaker 3: you ever heard of marshall university?
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Right Made a whole movie about it.
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Speaker 2: Wait, oh, from the movie.
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Yeah, yeah, think about what really marks me.
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I know that I know the movie, but I'm not, you know, in real
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life.
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Right, it's familiar, yeah.
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Speaker 1: So I was supposed to go there.
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I was one of those young men that came't mean that you focus
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on your academics, and so really good at football and basketball
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coming out of high school, but I didn't have the grades, and so
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, going to Marshall, I couldn't get the scholarship that I
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deserved because I didn't have the proper SAT scores to go
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along with my GPA at the time.
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So I missed out on the opportunity to go to D1 college.
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After that I landed on another school, southern Illinois, and
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then when I got to Southern Illinois it was way too cold for
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a sophomore kid and I was like Coach, get me out of here.
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Yeah, yeah, I can't deal with the weather.
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So he ended up sending me back home.
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I sat there for a while.
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Summer came and then I was like Coach, is there anywhere that
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you can send me?
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Just anywhere, I'll go anywhere .
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And then he ended up telling me that Coach Shurick, who was
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currently at Pitt State, was coming to Washburn.
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No way, and so Pitt was out of their scholarships.
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But Coach Shurick was coming to Washburn for his first year
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here and there are scholarships, but Coach Shurick was coming to
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Washburn for his first year here.
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Speaker 2: And then they offered me a scholarship and the rest
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is history from there.
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So your coach knew Shurick and was able to connect to you guys.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, they actually coached together in Pitt State
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and then when he took the head coaching job at Southern
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Illinois, Coach Shurick was still at Pitt State but then
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Coach got the job here at Washburn and so they still had a
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connection there and that's how I ended up here in Topeka Wild.
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So that was 2002?
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So that was 2002.
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Came here on a football scholarship, Played four years
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of school here football here, Graduated with a degree in
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social work and criminal justice and then I kind of went into
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the field after sports and graduating and I spent about a
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good 10, 15 years here in Topeka .
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I would say Working in social services, doing everything from
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juvenile detention to working with foster kids.
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I became a foster parent for eight years, taking only teenage
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intensive boys.
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Wow, just the easy ones.
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Just the easy ones, right intensive boys.
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Speaker 2: Wow, just the easy ones.
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Just the easy ones, right no, far from these.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, um.
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And then I um, got into more of the mental health field.
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Um, working in that space, did everything working at kni,
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working at valeo, okay, yeah, and so that opened my world up
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to a lot of different things.
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It helped me also in that journey of like discovering what
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I wanted to do with my life.
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I was, I got to a point in my life where I felt like God was
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working and telling me something .
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I didn't know what it was, but I kept saying like I got to get
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out of here.
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But as I was doing all these things, it was showing me that
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something was preparing me, and I didn't know what it was, but
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2015, man, I felt like something was calling me to leave and I
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did, and so I went to Kansas city.
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Six months after getting to Kansas city, I ended up losing
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my mom to cancer.
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Yeah, man, and that was the turning point in my life, a
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little bit for me, where I was still discovering who I wanted
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to be as an adult Right, and a lot of things was happening.
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You know, we were dealing with the police shootings of the Eric
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Gardner's and Sandra Bland's Right that kind of sparked Black
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Lives Matter, and we saw a lot of rioting in the streets and
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all these different things.
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So my question was what are we going to do to rectify this
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issue?
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It's one thing to march in the street, but how do you actually
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improve communities?
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Sure, how do you actually help people?
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How do you actually help people , man?
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And so during that time I tried to start an organization called
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Community Connections.
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At the time, and I was still in Kansas City, I was in Kansas
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City, still, I was working at a PRTF, a residential treatment
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facility for kids, and from that point I just said, I can kind
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of do something myself and I want to figure out how to better
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build in communities.
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And then I was also after the loss of my mom.
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I was living in a little bit of depression.
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And so after that I did a bunch of reading man, trying to
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discover who I wanted to be self-help books, psychology
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books, history and in that journey I discovered Black Wall
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Street.
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Are you guys familiar with Black Wall Street?
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Sure, yeah.
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Speaker 3: I am not.
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Speaker 1: Okay, so Black Wall Street was one of the most
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prominent African-American communities in the country back
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in 1918.
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But around 1921, they had what they called the Tulsa Race
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Massacre.
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Where the story goes, there was a young man that made a pass
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african-american man that made a pass at a white woman and she
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informed her husband, and her husband informed law enforcement
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and they created a riot.
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They wanted to arrest the guy, but the community of the black
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tulsa and black wall street refused to give him up and then
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it created a whole right and they burned down the whole
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community and they lost all of their wealth and a lot of people
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died.
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So that was pretty traumatic to understand what happened to a
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community, but also understanding how did they build
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such a prominent community where they had everything from
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doctors, lawyers, grocery stores , movie theaters they had
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everything you can name some of the most wealthiest people in
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the country at the time and so I went down there.
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I ended up moving to Tulsa in 2018 because I wanted to learn
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more about how to establish community like that, and so I
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was committed to the thing right , wow.
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And so I was committed to the thing Right, yeah, and.
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And so I moved to Tulsa, kind of learned about what they were
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doing in Tulsa, not just in Black Wall Street, but Tulsa as
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a community at home and Tulsa is probably one of the most
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fastest growing communities in the country right now, with some
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of the things that they're building innovatively Is that
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where Matt Pivarnick was.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, he was in Tulsa before he came to Topeka.
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Speaker 1: So did you know him?
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I did not.
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I think when I moved to Topeka, Matt was already in.
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When I moved to Tulsa, Matt was already in Topeka.
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Oh, okay.
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So I think Matt came here around 2015.
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Right.
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Speaker 2: So I got there in 18.
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Speaker 1: So he was already gone, but Tulsa had already
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started their momentum.
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Speaker 2: Right.
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So you're seeing some of the results, maybe some of the
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things he was doing.
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Speaker 1: Probably if he was already a part of that right.
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Wow, yeah.
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And so when I got there, they had already started the
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gathering place.
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It was already open.
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They did a lot of construction.
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Speaker 2: Oh, someone else was just telling me about that.
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I've heard amazing things about it.
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Oh, that's the awesome part.
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Speaker 1: If you've never been there, I highly recommend it.
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Yeah so, yeah.
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So just learning and those type of things.
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And I discovered more of my path and decided that I was
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going to commit myself to a journey, and so I did, and then
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I had a calling that Topeka was the place that I needed to do it
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.
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I was actually on my way back to West Palm Beach.
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Speaker 2: And.
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Speaker 1: I was walking out of my church.
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At the time.
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I was attending a church called All Souls and my pastor had
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mentioned to me as I was walking out.
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He said sometimes God places you in places you don't know why
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you're there, but you're there to do God's work.
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And I had to sit on that a little bit.
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Right, right, what does that mean?
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But the entire time that I was here I was asking God why?
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Why am I in Topeka, out of all places in the country there's a
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lot of people asking that question sometimes here in
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Topeka.
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But I didn't discover why and honestly, I tell people whether
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they believe it or not.
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Topeka kind of saved my life a little bit, because growing up
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in the community that I was in, there was a lot going on.
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There was killings left and right.
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There was a little bit of a turf battle going on at the time
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that I came here.
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So I saw a lot of my friends, you know, passing away, going to
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jail, all those different things.
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So it kept me here because I knew if I went back home, it was
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going to be a tough situation, and so when I was preparing to
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go back home, I came back here to visit one more time and had a
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couple of friends that I played football with.
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It was like, hey, why don't you come back to Topeka and do that
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instead of going back to Florida ?
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Wow.
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And so I was like, all right, well, if I come back, would you
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guys help me?
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And they said, yes, I moved back in 2019.
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And then, kind of, the rest was history.
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We started OmniCircle August 25th 2019.
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Wow, and we've been building ever since.
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That's wild.
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Yeah, that's kind of where the journey.
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Speaker 2: Come on, what a story , man yeah seriously Omni Circle
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.
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Speaker 3: It's what you're doing now Full time owner
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operator, ceo.
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Break us down what's Omni Circle?
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Speaker 1: So Omni Circle is an organization really started with
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the grassroots focus.
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Our mission is to unite and strengthen communities by
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creating equitable opportunities for individuals to grow
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socially and economically.
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We do it in three pillars, so we have three phases of our
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organization where we say we connect, collaborate to create
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and it's a pathway to success.
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We typically say we focus on building people from survival to
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creation and so in that space my background being in social
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service, working with people, utilizing some of those
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philosophies and Maslow's hierarchy Sure Meeting the basic
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needs of people, providing them with education and then helping
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them achieve their purpose.
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And so in that connection phase, that's what we do.
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We volunteer in the community by offering the basic needs.
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We have a free mowing program, we do food distribution, we
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volunteer, and then we have a youth med social program.
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All of those services are free.
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Speaker 2: So who's volunteering ?
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You're recruiting volunteers from the community to join you,
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or do you have employees that are volunteering their time
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outside of work?
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Yeah, we have members of the community.
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So that first phase is what we serve in the community, and
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that's where we started, and then as we that was the first
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thing that Omni Circle was doing was just volunteering, just
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volunteering in the community.
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Speaker 1: We think about 2019, you had COVID and we wasn't
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really expecting COVID, but COVID came shortly after we
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started.
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And then the second phase of that you had George Floyd Right,
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and so when those two things happened, there was a lot of
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need in the community.
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So we were just trying to meet those basic needs of people.
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And then, when we were meeting those needs and we were finding
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people who wanted to help, we said, OK, what can we do for you
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to help?
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We said, okay, what can we do for you?
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And a lot of people say, well, I'm looking for further
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education, whether that be trying to improve my credit or
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trying to find a better job or how do I get my kids into
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college and prepare for financial aid and all these
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different things.
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So that was the education piece .
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So at Maslow's, after you meet the basic needs, you give people
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a sense of belonging and then you also educate them to become
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more confident right and so we said, okay, well, what can we do
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to meet the needs of these individuals?
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so we started a membership part of our organization.
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So that's that second phase, our collaboration phase, where
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we help people become more whole , and so we call it our whole
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person leadership.
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So in our whole person leadership, so in our whole
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person leadership.
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We provide community, we provide educational
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opportunities for growth and development, and then we also
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are trying to build a pipeline for leadership.
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And so we take those individuals as they become more leaders.
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We take those leaders and incorporate them back into the
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community for volunteers.
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And so now not only are they benefiting, but they're also
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have an opportunity to serve.
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And so when they get to a place where they are ready to become
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a leader and they say, man, I've discovered a thing that I want
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in my life, what I want to create, that's when we move into
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the third phase of our creation phase, which is our Topeka
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startup community, and we give them the opportunity to start a
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business if they want to and have a phase from early stage to
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mid stage to hopefully getting people access to capital right,
00:13:32
okay, so you know you walked in here.
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Speaker 2: You're on the phone doing some fundraising, that's
00:13:39
for that.
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Speaker 1: Oh so, yeah, so we, we work with entrepreneurs, um
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and so, oh, so, yeah, so we work with entrepreneurs and so we
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try to get access to resources.
00:13:48
Wow, and so, depending on where you are in your business, as we
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work with the entrepreneurs, we try to get them the access that
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we don't do everything, but there are resources that people
00:13:58
don't know about in our community that exist, right.
00:14:01
So, if you don't know about these resources, then they could
00:14:04
be the thing that blocks you or it could be the thing that
00:14:07
helps you sustain and grow, sure , so what we try to do is find
00:14:10
the resources and then get them access to the resources or the
00:14:13
opportunities to expand what they're doing, or their vision
00:14:17
or their dreams.
00:14:17
Speaker 2: So so you're not necessarily like doing just like
00:14:21
fundraising for like, if a guy comes through, your organization
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grows as a leader, like man, I have this, you know, business
00:14:27
idea or a need I want to meet through this business or
00:14:30
whatever are.
00:14:32
Are you like helping fundraise for that?
00:14:35
Or you're like like uncovering hey, I've discovered there's a
00:14:39
network of opportunities for you to go.
00:14:41
You know you can apply for this .
00:14:42
You can apply for this, or is?
00:14:43
Speaker 1: it a mixture of all, or is it a mixture of all of
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that?
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It's a little bit of both.
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So we don't.
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We don't do the funding ourselves.
00:14:48
Speaker 2: I mean okay, so you're not like calling guys
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like hey, man, I need you to donate 10 grand to this guy
00:14:52
starting a business.
00:14:53
You're like.
00:14:53
You're like, hey, if this guy applied here, is there an
00:14:56
opportunity there, or something like that.
00:14:59
Speaker 1: So, as we were learning and developing, like
00:15:01
you know, a lot of individuals that we were meeting with, they
00:15:03
said, hey, I want to start a business, but I can't find any
00:15:07
money to start a business, Right ?
00:15:08
So we said what is the problem?
00:15:10
Why aren't people being able to start a business?
00:15:12
So we started with the banks.
00:15:14
So we started asking certain banks and saying, hey, are you
00:15:18
not funding individuals who need to start a business?
00:15:21
And they were like well, we would love to fund, but if they
00:15:24
don't have the proper business plan or if they don't have the
00:15:27
financials, to run their business plan.
00:15:29
So then you come and help these guys like, hey, let's get the
00:15:31
basics of business plan, whatever else we help you
00:15:35
develop yourself in helping you learn how to put your business
00:15:39
plan together, write your financials, understand how
00:15:42
business works, and so we have an early stage cohort that we
00:15:47
call Fast Track through the Kauffman Foundation, and then we
00:15:49
have a mid-stage.
00:15:50
So, once you take yourself from ideal to concept, we go from
00:15:54
concept to launch, and so when you're ready to launch, then we
00:15:58
provide you with the resources that are beyond what we do that
00:16:02
can get you access to capital.
00:16:03
So, okay, working with the entity like shiny County
00:16:06
startups, or connecting you with the bank, or connecting you
00:16:10
with some type of other resource that you write.
00:16:13
Yeah, I was out there.
00:16:14
Speaker 3: right, I will pass you along so let me ask you this
00:16:16
on that same line to get a, is it a small business loan?
00:16:20
Is SBA loan, is that what?
00:16:21
Speaker 1: so there's the SBA loans, there's a, there's a
00:16:25
number of different opportunities.
00:16:27
Speaker 3: So to get a loan from a bank to start a business,
00:16:29
what sort of business plan do you have to have?
00:16:32
Like, what does that brief overview?
00:16:34
What does that look like?
00:16:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, so a business plan is basically your vision,
00:16:37
right?
00:16:37
And so how can you articulate your business vision to be able
00:16:42
to say is it going to be sustainable, is it going to be
00:16:45
impactful and will the banks get a return?
00:16:48
Right?
00:16:49
Speaker 2: Will it be profitable ?
00:16:51
Speaker 1: Right, yeah, you know so if I'm able to give you
00:16:53
$50, are you going to make $100 for me to get my money
00:16:57
back and for you to be able to make a profit Right?
00:16:59
And so I think the banks evaluate that in your business
00:17:03
plan, and then you also need financials to show that you're
00:17:07
going to see some growth in your business.
00:17:09
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:17:09
Speaker 1: And so a lot of entrepreneurs don't typically
00:17:12
know how to do that, unless you go to college or you take some
00:17:16
type of business course.
00:17:17
But if you're just saying, hey, I got a great deal and I want
00:17:20
to, you know, right now food trucks are booming.
00:17:22
I've been, I'm a great chef, I know how to cook.
00:17:24
I want to start know, right now food trucks are booming.
00:17:25
I've been, I'm a great chef, I know how to cook.
00:17:26
I want to start a truck, but I don't know how to sustain that.
00:17:29
On the business side, I can do the cooking, but I don't know
00:17:34
how to run a business.
00:17:35
Speaker 2: Yeah sure so what we?
00:17:36
Speaker 1: try to do is help them not just work in the
00:17:39
business, but work on the business.
00:17:40
That's so cool.
00:17:41
Speaker 3: I've always thought there's so many people out there
00:17:43
that have unique skills and could contribute to society, to
00:17:46
the city, in so many different ways.
00:17:48
They just they just don't know how to run a business exactly
00:17:50
it's just it's hard exactly you know what's the how many, what's
00:17:53
the percentage of businesses that fails like 80?
00:17:55
Speaker 2: 90 percent of them.
00:17:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, but that's the reason that a lot of businesses
00:17:59
fail because they don't have the the business business
00:18:02
understanding right, it's less to do about your product sucks
00:18:05
and it's more of you know.
00:18:06
Speaker 3: It's just hard to keep a business going doing all
00:18:08
the back end stuff makes sense.
00:18:10
Speaker 2: I mean, it's the, the thing that makes you a really
00:18:13
good.
00:18:13
You know, chef, for instance, does not make you a good
00:18:16
business person, Right, it makes you man.
00:18:17
You have a great product, but if you don't know how to run,
00:18:20
that's cool man, I like that so it's been.
00:18:23
2019 is when you first was kind of tip of the spear for you guys
00:18:26
.
00:18:26
So we're four to five years in what's been maybe the most
00:18:30
exciting part and then maybe the most challenging part of kind
00:18:35
of what you've been up to in the last five years.
00:18:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the exciting part is to see when you
00:18:41
have a couple of success journeys, right People who like
00:18:44
some people who are killing it, who has been through the journey
00:18:47
, who are doing the thing, that have changed their mindsets and
00:18:50
now are out there doing great things in the community, doing
00:18:52
their thing, that have changed their mindsets and then now are
00:18:54
out there doing great things in the community, and so the more
00:18:55
and more people that we can develop and we can push out into
00:18:57
the community and they're out doing their thing and sustaining
00:18:59
that's a success for us.
00:19:02
What's challenging is Topeka is a community that's a little
00:19:07
slower to move and I think we're trying to change that
00:19:09
collectively as a community.
00:19:11
But the things that you may see happening in a bigger city
00:19:15
right, sometimes, if it's happening in a bigger city and
00:19:19
you bring a speaker, it's unfamiliar to our community
00:19:23
because we're not accustomed to that lifestyle, and so, yes, it
00:19:27
may be great, it may be a great idea, but if we're not caught up
00:19:31
yet, then people don't.
00:19:32
It doesn't resonate the same.
00:19:34
Speaker 2: So you're talking about like types of businesses
00:19:37
that someone might start.
00:19:38
Maybe Topeka isn't ready for something, yeah.
00:19:41
Speaker 1: For example, is we opened our collaborative
00:19:43
workspace.
00:19:46
If you go to bigger cities and you have a shared workspace,
00:19:52
those workspaces are typically filled with people working
00:19:55
together, collaborating, building their businesses,
00:19:57
sharing ideas, supporting each other, taking advantage of the
00:20:01
resources which is what it's for .
00:20:05
But we've been a little slower in our workspace because a lot
00:20:08
of people don't know how to utilize it, and a little slower
00:20:12
because we're trying to get investment in it and then not
00:20:15
everybody understands how it's going to be beneficial for our
00:20:18
community.
00:20:18
But if they understood how that worked, then we would have more
00:20:23
opportunity to educate the community, provide these
00:20:27
resources and get people to where they want to be and then
00:20:30
getting them to collaborate.
00:20:31
So you may come in and you might say, hey, I have a
00:20:34
business idea and I think I want to start a cleaning company
00:20:40
Right.
00:20:40
Then you come to me and say, hey, I have a great idea for
00:20:45
this new carpet cleaning machine I've developed.
00:20:48
And then we might say, in bigger cities, I want you to
00:20:51
come together and build a business together.
00:20:53
Right, and now you are a multi-million dollar company
00:20:58
because you utilize the resources together.
00:21:01
Speaker 2: Right, let's go.
00:21:03
Speaker 1: But if you try to work individually then it's a
00:21:06
little harder to do Sure, Because you're trying to do
00:21:08
everything by yourself.
00:21:09
Speaker 3: You're trying to do everything by yourself.
00:21:10
Speaker 1: So collaboratively, if we put our heads together, we
00:21:21
get more done.
00:21:22
Wow, so is omni circle.
00:21:22
Then is it a non-profit absolutely, we are a non-profit.
00:21:24
Speaker 3: That I didn't know.
00:21:24
Yeah, which?
00:21:24
Speaker 2: yeah, I thought.
00:21:25
I thought omni circle was just the co-working space no, like
00:21:29
you drive by, you see the building I was like, oh, it's
00:21:31
co-working space, that makes sense.
00:21:32
So when you know coming like, yay, I'm trying to get funding
00:21:35
for this, and I was like, wait, what do you do?
00:21:36
Like that doesn't compute with the co-working space.
00:21:46
Speaker 1: So that's, that was more.
00:21:47
The co-working space is more of a side gig than to the heart of
00:21:50
what you Wow.
00:21:51
Okay, so once you start a business and you're needing a
00:21:54
place to incubate that business, or a place that you can't
00:21:57
afford a brick and mortar but you are somebody that needs
00:22:00
office space, then now you can use that shared space to work
00:22:04
together with other entrepreneurs.
00:22:05
Speaker 3: Yeah, so would you say.
00:22:07
Omnicircle is a good because we have a wide variety of people
00:22:10
who listen to this show, whether they're from Topeka or they
00:22:13
just like.
00:22:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, we have tens of listeners, tens that might see
00:22:17
this, tens, and we're looking at one, two, three and four of
00:22:20
them right here.
00:22:20
Speaker 3: That's right, someone who's thinking about starting a
00:22:23
business and you know it's conceptual at the moment.
00:22:25
Is this something that OmniCircle hey, we should reach
00:22:30
out and get involved on?
00:22:31
You know, we don't really know where to go or how to start.
00:22:32
That would be a good organization.
00:22:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, we currently right now probably um, and you
00:22:38
think about businesses in Topeka that offer business education.
00:22:40
There's a number of different platforms.
00:22:42
You can use um mentoring in school or you can um connect
00:22:47
with the SBDC, what through Washburn, and they'll help you,
00:22:51
like write a business plan and they'll help you put together
00:22:59
your financials.
00:22:59
But if you want to learn and go through a cohort of learning,
00:23:02
which is like without going back to college and you know
00:23:03
spending a ton of money, um, which it could be three, four
00:23:06
hundred dollars, or credit hour, which that works for you, yeah,
00:23:09
but our business cohorts start at three hundred dollars OK, you
00:23:15
know so.
00:23:16
Or even two fifty, so you can come and take an eight week to a
00:23:20
12 week course for less than five hundred dollars Wow, you
00:23:24
see, what does that look like?
00:23:25
Speaker 2: Is it?
00:23:25
It's so.
00:23:26
It's a cohort, so it's with other people.
00:23:28
Speaker 3: Could you give us the eight week breakdown here in
00:23:30
the next five minutes?
00:23:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I mean basically the eight weeks or the
00:23:33
12 weeks.
00:23:34
We have a series of trainings that we offer in particular
00:23:38
topics from you know, personal budget and credit, to marketing,
00:23:43
to legal, to P&Ls that you will take a 12-week course and every
00:23:49
week, once a week for 12 weeks, we'll cover a particular topic,
00:23:52
we'll bring in a speaker and then you get to work on your
00:23:55
business and you get to work on your business ideal.
00:23:57
So, if you have a business ideal, we will literally walk
00:23:59
you through the process of all those things of what it takes to
00:24:02
run a business, and then, when you're ready, like you said, we
00:24:05
have early stage ideal to concept and then concept to
00:24:09
launch, and so you can get a total of 20 weeks with us for
00:24:12
less than 800 wow wow, so what you meant.
00:24:18
Speaker 2: You used the phrase earlier of like, uh, you know
00:24:22
it's like, uh, you know potential leaders coming up
00:24:25
through it having to, like change their mindsets.
00:24:28
Have you found?
00:24:30
Um, you know, obviously, it's how it's important that you
00:24:35
learn.
00:24:35
Like educational, you're learning concepts.
00:24:38
You know how businesses work, how to put a business plan
00:24:41
together.
00:24:41
What about, like the deeper elements of just like how
00:24:45
someone sees the world?
00:24:46
Obviously, like it seems like you're wanting to help shape
00:24:52
people's not just education, but like their mind, the way they
00:24:56
see, so they can see opportunities and seize upon
00:24:59
them.
00:24:59
And even when there's challenges you're pushing
00:25:02
through, and I mean that's such a deeper level of seeing the
00:25:06
world than just, you know, kind of taking a class.
00:25:08
Like so, how, what has that been like?
00:25:10
Speaker 1: you know, yeah, so we've been developing.
00:25:12
So in that time, um, when I lost my mom, I went into this
00:25:16
deep dive of reading and I was reading like 400 page books in a
00:25:21
day you know, I was just kind of like immersing myself in
00:25:24
books so I've read a ton, so um.
00:25:27
In that, a lot of those books were like self-help, personal,
00:25:29
personal development, psychology , what was like, what were some
00:25:33
of the best ones.
00:25:35
Speaker 2: Like you, look back and man, that was helpful.
00:25:38
Speaker 1: It's a couple of them , man, I have a catalog, but I
00:25:40
think one of the books that I really I always recommend to
00:25:45
people is Breaking the Habit of being Yourself by Joe Dispenza.
00:25:48
Okay, then the Motivational Manifesto by Brittany Bouchard,
00:25:54
and then I'm a huge fan of Malcolm Gladwell and all of his
00:25:58
series of books.
00:25:59
Sure, sure and so these are things that kind of shape and
00:26:02
shift who you are.
00:26:03
So from that and then the Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
00:26:07
is another great book.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, I was just talking about that book
00:26:08
with somebody else.
00:26:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, and so I was diving into all of these
00:26:13
different books and I started to develop my own kind of
00:26:17
curriculum, and so now I have this curriculum that we train
00:26:21
and develop people on, called um brain of a body, and so what
00:26:25
that basically does is it teaches individuals how to be
00:26:29
the leader of themselves through the mind, versus being managed
00:26:34
through the emotions of the body .
00:26:35
It's so good.
00:26:37
Speaker 3: Say that again, say that again.
00:26:38
That's good.
00:26:39
Speaker 1: That's good, so it teaches people how to be the
00:26:42
leader of themselves through the development of the mind versus
00:26:46
being managed through the emotions of the body.
00:26:48
It's great, so, everything that we go through in life, if we
00:26:52
understand that we are spiritual beings living a human
00:26:57
experience through the physical and the consciousness of this
00:27:00
world, and so everything, if you're not intentional, then
00:27:05
this world can shape who you become through the outside
00:27:10
versus leading yourself from the inside out, right?
00:27:14
And so a lot of times, culture, society, all of those things
00:27:22
are what we are absorbing in this experience versus living in
00:27:24
the true nature of who we are, through our spiritual being
00:27:27
versus through our physical and feeling emotions, right.
00:27:33
Speaker 2: That's so good.
00:27:33
Physical and feeling emotions right, that's so good.
00:27:37
We have this phrase, uh, we like to use.
00:27:38
Uh, uh, emotions are great indicators, but terrible
00:27:40
dictators, like they're great at indicating hey, something's a
00:27:43
little off.
00:27:43
You should think about this, reflect on this.
00:27:45
You know, see what's up, you know you're sad or you're happy,
00:27:48
whatever, and it's good, because emotions aren't like bad
00:27:51
, right, but they're really bad at telling you what to do, right
00:27:54
?
00:27:54
You know, hey, I'm sad, go to mcdonald's.
00:27:56
You know, like that's not a good move.
00:27:57
You know, uh, you know, whatever, I love that man
00:28:01
because it's interesting.
00:28:03
You know, to me, just the whole philosophy of what you're doing
00:28:07
is it's it's obviously, it's obviously bigger than just a
00:28:11
business.
00:28:11
It's bigger than just like even a product of some kind.
00:28:13
It's really, it's obviously bigger than just a business.
00:28:14
It's bigger than just like even a product of some kind.
00:28:15
It's really about building people, absolutely.
00:28:17
And man, that's probably the thing I'm most passionate about
00:28:21
as well.
00:28:22
So it's just cool that, like you know, it really is all about
00:28:27
people.
00:28:28
It's all about building leaders , like the most successful
00:28:30
people are successful because they're successful, building
00:28:34
people, and so it seems like that's really what you're doing.
00:28:38
I'm curious, you know, uh, I'm sure you're, you have a, I'm
00:28:43
sure your schedule is very full, like overseeing all of these
00:28:45
things.
00:28:46
I'm curious if there are like a few of the people coming up
00:28:50
through this that you're like personally more invested in
00:28:54
personal, like you're spending time with, like man I want to
00:28:57
personally give some time, or no , it's not really.
00:29:00
Speaker 1: No, we don't give anybody a particular personal
00:29:03
time with.
00:29:03
I think, um, what we focus on because we are like you said, we
00:29:07
are people focused, um, right, people center.
00:29:10
And so what we try to do is we focus on the four dimensions of
00:29:15
a person, so where people focused, and that starts with
00:29:18
the spirit, and then we focus on the three dimensions outside of
00:29:22
that mental, physical and emotional.
00:29:24
And so everything starts with the inside of you, right?
00:29:29
So we say things start with you .
00:29:30
You, you stance for your own understanding.
00:29:32
The more you understand you, the better you maneuver
00:29:36
emotionally, physically and mentally in this society or in
00:29:40
this world.
00:29:41
So life is about choices, and so what we do is we say if people
00:29:46
desire our support and our help, then we will help.
00:29:49
We can't make anybody do anything that they don't want to
00:29:52
do.
00:29:53
Help, then we will help.
00:29:55
We can't make anybody do anything that they do they don't
00:29:57
want to do.
00:29:57
And so when people come to come to us, we have some successes
00:30:00
of individuals who have grown through the organization, but
00:30:01
it's really up to them to do the work once we provide them with
00:30:03
the framework right.
00:30:04
And so, um, because again, we can't make them do the work.
00:30:07
Like you know, if you play sports, no one can make you
00:30:10
right, go take the extra hundred shots, right, right, yeah, if
00:30:14
you have to want to get better, you gotta put in time and effort
00:30:16
, and so, um, if they desire again that additional coaching
00:30:22
or support, then we, we set time aside for them right, yeah, so
00:30:26
yeah, I guess that was.
00:30:26
Speaker 2: My question is more like like mentoring, like how
00:30:29
does mentoring fit in, you know, are there, is that something
00:30:33
that is a part of that or, yeah, the mentoring part?
00:30:35
Speaker 1: is not so much one-on-one, unless somebody
00:30:38
desires it, but within our program we offer the workshops
00:30:41
and the training.
00:30:42
So we have a men's group, we have a women's group.
00:30:44
We're constantly trying to provide some form of education
00:30:48
because we feel like in order for you to grow individually,
00:30:50
there has to be continuous development and so, as you are
00:30:54
growing and trying to get to that leadership, you have to
00:30:56
constantly be investing in some form of reading, some form of
00:31:00
education that is changing the way that you see the world,
00:31:03
right.
00:31:03
And so I often tell people um about the um plato's allegory of
00:31:06
the cave.
00:31:07
If you guys are familiar with play Plato's Allegory of the
00:31:10
Cave, if you guys are familiar with Plato's, yeah, bring it.
00:31:13
So Plato's.
00:31:14
Speaker 2: Allegory talks about Come on man.
00:31:16
Speaker 1: Hey, oh, I completely already know this, he's like I
00:31:21
need you to just talk about it.
00:31:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, this one's for the listeners, this one's not
00:31:26
for.
00:31:26
Speaker 1: Justin, yeah, right.
00:31:27
So Plato's Allegory talks about people being in a cave and not
00:31:31
knowing the light of the day, and so all they know is the cave
00:31:35
.
00:31:35
And then they have this fire in the cave and they just see
00:31:38
these shadows projected on the wall from the fire, and when
00:31:43
that's all that you know, then you're living by this somewhat
00:31:46
false illusion of reality, and so a lot of people, whether they
00:31:50
know it or not, sometimes, could be living by the false
00:31:53
illusion of what people typically give to them.
00:31:55
So I would say for myself, the false illusion for me was all my
00:31:59
life.
00:31:59
People told me, if you want to be successful, you got to play
00:32:01
football or basketball, right, but what's the percentage of
00:32:04
someone actually making it to the league?
00:32:06
It's like zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, like whatever and so
00:32:11
.
00:32:11
But there's other careers that you could be pursuing, and if no
00:32:14
one ever gives you the reality to those other careers, you have
00:32:18
no perception of that Right.
00:32:21
And so imagine one of these people that were in a cave
00:32:24
actually get out and they see the light for the first time.
00:32:26
You typically go to what they would typically call a culture
00:32:30
shock.
00:32:31
Me coming to Topeka, kansas was my culture shock, and so I got
00:32:35
here and you know it didn't look like what West Palm Beach
00:32:38
looked like, especially at Washburn, when you talk about it
00:32:40
only being 5% minority, right, right and so, or if not more now
00:32:47
.
00:32:48
And so when I got here, that was our struggle.
00:32:50
I had to go through the process of getting into the light of
00:32:53
seeing things that I never was exposed to, and so, now that I
00:32:57
had a broader vision of the world, I start to see things for
00:33:00
what they really could possibly be, and making shape of that,
00:33:04
then you know how to attack things differently, right.
00:33:07
So now, having a broader perspective, now that I
00:33:12
understand, now it's our responsibility to give it back,
00:33:15
to help someone else see that light, and so so that's what our
00:33:20
journey right now is like.
00:33:21
How do we expose more people, through this mentor, into this
00:33:24
education, to be able to say, oh , now I see what my potential
00:33:29
could potentially be, and then now I can go out to things that
00:33:32
are more real, right, and I can achieve more because I have a
00:33:36
realistic plan for how to go out to those things.
00:33:39
So that's what we try to do.
00:33:40
We try to provide that education, that awareness, those
00:33:43
understanding of what resources and opportunities exist, that
00:33:46
it's not just living by the illusion, but it's actually
00:33:50
things that are tangible.
00:33:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, wow.
00:33:51
So yeah, it's interesting, just kind of piecing some of your
00:33:55
story together, like you and I I'm I'm sure I'll get some of
00:34:00
the timeline wrong, but basically you had experience in
00:34:03
like the social services world with foster kids, had foster
00:34:07
kids.
00:34:08
I mean that's just a up close and personal experience with
00:34:12
brokenness and thinking that doesn't lead to success and you
00:34:16
know all kinds of things.
00:34:17
And then, and then covid and the blm riots and you're seeing,
00:34:23
okay, there's a need where people are not seeing
00:34:27
opportunities that are available to them to succeed in life, and
00:34:31
you're trying to piece all these things together.
00:34:33
And basically, where you land is I want to help build people
00:34:37
who can become leaders, and the solution to a lot of these
00:34:40
problems is is really helping people not just embrace
00:34:44
opportunities but become like leaders who can take advantage,
00:34:49
who can take a hold of opportunities, who can create
00:34:51
opportunities, who can, you know , build something that solves
00:34:55
problems in the city and all kinds of things.
00:34:57
It's amazing, I mean, it's just cool.
00:34:58
It's a really cool story.
00:35:00
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is.
00:35:01
It's really cool so now it's 2024.
00:35:04
Speaker 2: You're looking at the city of Topeka.
00:35:05
You've been back for five years or something and what?
00:35:09
What are some of the things that you're most excited about
00:35:15
in the city of Topeka?
00:35:16
Like, what?
00:35:16
What do you think is like?
00:35:17
Where is Topeka like winning as a city and where are the
00:35:22
opportunities that really Topeka hasn't quite laid a hold of yet
00:35:25
?
00:35:25
Like what are the challenges?
00:35:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think what the city has done so far with
00:35:31
the Momentum 2027, I think you know it's kind of like.
00:35:34
I feel like it's like a pot on the stove.
00:35:37
You know you can turn up the heat and it takes a while for
00:35:40
the water to start to bubble.
00:35:43
And I think that for a while, topeka couldn't see the value of
00:35:49
itself and it's.
00:35:51
Even though great things are happening in our community,
00:35:54
people don't see it yet Right, there's so many people working
00:35:57
behind the scenes to try to make this community a better place
00:36:00
and some of this stuff is starting to bubble Right and the
00:36:04
water is getting warmer and warmer and warmer in the bubble
00:36:08
right and the water is getting warmer and warmer and warmer.
00:36:09
But I think that our community can't see it because they don't
00:36:11
always, it's not always articulated on what's to come.
00:36:14
So I think what's exciting is that, uh, where this community
00:36:19
may be in the next 10 years will be a very different topeka and
00:36:24
um, you know, you look at all the things from what Advisors
00:36:26
Excel has been able to do with remodeling certain areas like
00:36:29
the Gage Center area You're talking about the mall.
00:36:32
You're talking about downtown.
00:36:34
You got businesses downtown, you got the energy classes.
00:36:37
This stuff was not happening when I left, right, and so if
00:36:41
people don't appreciate that you got the Viaduct coming, you got
00:36:46
Noto.
00:36:46
These things did not exist.
00:36:48
Now we have things to do in this community, so that's
00:36:51
exciting to know that we are on the right track.
00:36:54
It doesn't always feel like it.
00:36:56
It's not moving as fast as people want, but it is moving.
00:36:58
Challenges that I think that we can address is one of the
00:37:07
things I would love for Topeka to kind of think about is
00:37:10
embracing and supporting the things that are happening in
00:37:15
your community by the people from your community.
00:37:18
Right, so like, if we get like.
00:37:21
When Chipotle came to town, it went crazy for months and
00:37:26
whoever owned the Chipotle did really well.
00:37:27
Chick-fil-a came to town it went crazy for months, and
00:37:29
whoever owned the Chipotle did really well.
00:37:29
Chick-fil-a came to town, went crazy, still going crazy.
00:37:33
Every lunch period it's full of cars.
00:37:35
You get a local business open, a restaurant no one goes.
00:37:39
You know what I mean.
00:37:40
And these are the people that we need to be supporting as they
00:37:44
are building in the community and investing in the community,
00:37:46
not saying that the person who brought that Chick-fil-A or that
00:37:49
Chipotle to this community may not be maybe from here, and we
00:37:54
need to support them too.
00:37:54
But what about the local businesses?
00:37:56
If you become a small community that is driven by the local and
00:38:01
small, then that looks very different, because now you have
00:38:05
people succeeding out of your own community in an age away,
00:38:10
not the people who had the money to do it, but the people who
00:38:14
didn't have the money.
00:38:15
So if you, like you said, if you guys want to start a
00:38:17
business and you grew up and built millions of dollars
00:38:20
because this community supported you, that looks way different.
00:38:23
Right, but we're, we're, we're driven by.
00:38:27
Right now it feels like the chain restaurants, the
00:38:32
especially over on Wanamaker.
00:38:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know.
00:38:34
Speaker 1: So it's like why can't we support the tea boxes
00:38:38
or the food banks or, you know, some of the local nanny soul
00:38:43
foods or you know those people who are breaking their backs to
00:38:47
try to create something in this community, but it's hard for
00:38:50
them to do it, so they're in business for a few years and
00:38:53
then they go out of business because they don't have the
00:38:54
support we got to do a better job what are some examples of
00:38:59
businesses that have kind of gone through omni circle that
00:39:02
maybe are now rocking and rolling on their own or, you
00:39:05
know, maybe they're still part of the organization.
00:39:07
Speaker 3: But what are some businesses that have kind of
00:39:09
come through your organization that we would maybe know?
00:39:12
Speaker 1: yeah, I think that's some of this chick-fil-a.
00:39:14
I wish we would be in a very different place starbucks, I
00:39:20
know, man.
00:39:21
Um.
00:39:21
No, we got some.
00:39:22
We got some local people doing some things, um, and I think
00:39:26
they're really just starting to get off the ground.
00:39:28
Some of these individuals already had their ideas moving
00:39:31
and shaking but, I think, having that additional support to be
00:39:36
able to really take it to the next level.
00:39:38
And so our first business cohort we had, I say, danielle J
00:39:46
Martin.
00:39:46
I don't know if you guys familiar with her, but she used
00:39:48
to be the reporter on wivw okay um, but we can anchor.
00:39:52
But now she's uh, kind of went through our program, developed
00:39:55
herself in this community and then she just did a pretty
00:39:58
significant um event called the rise and thrive event.
00:40:02
Um, I think gabe did some of the recording Nice.
00:40:05
Speaker 2: Come on Gabe.
00:40:06
Come on Gabe.
00:40:08
Speaker 1: And so.
00:40:09
But she had over, she did a two-day conference.
00:40:12
She's been growing that in the last couple of years and this
00:40:15
last one she did.
00:40:16
I mean she had over 200 women show up to both.
00:40:19
Wow, that's cool this event, so that's pretty significant.
00:40:23
Speaker 2: And it's like a conference for women in the
00:40:26
community.
00:40:27
Speaker 1: Cool.
00:40:27
So she's been doing that and rocking that.
00:40:30
So that's pretty good to see.
00:40:31
You know, this is our third cohort and having somebody from
00:40:34
our first one out in the community doing some stuff we
00:40:37
had a couple of other entrepreneurs that are now
00:40:40
building, already had a platform , but building upon what they
00:40:43
had with some of our education, so that's going well.
00:40:47
I also like to highlight like we have a young man who Jarvis
00:40:54
Doe man, who came to us man and has elevated his career, going
00:40:56
from making a certain amount of money to almost doubling that,
00:41:01
you know, in the course of our organization, by finding a job,
00:41:04
that now he's leading in a space that can be impactful to our
00:41:09
community.
00:41:10
So it's just getting people from a point of where they
00:41:13
thought they were hitting a glass ceiling to breaking
00:41:17
through that ceiling and then living up to their potential is
00:41:20
what we really see.
00:41:22
Speaker 2: So would you describe OmniCircle like at the heart of
00:41:25
it is not just like a business engine, it's like just helping
00:41:32
people level up.
00:41:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a journey.
00:41:35
Speaker 2: It's a journey from, like we say, survival to
00:41:36
creation, right, so maybe someone doesn't start a business
00:41:39
, but there's still a success case because they leveled up and
00:41:43
are now have different opportunities they weren't aware
00:41:46
of before.
00:41:46
How do you define success?
00:41:47
Well, yeah, I mean, that's kind of what I'm asking.
00:41:50
It's a tough.
00:41:51
Success is driven by the individual Right, right, and so
00:41:54
which is what?
00:41:55
I'm saying yeah, because it'd be like, hey, this guy didn't
00:41:57
start a business, but he got a better job.
00:41:59
He didn't even know that maybe it was possible or something,
00:42:02
right.
00:42:03
Speaker 1: So success looks different for every individual.
00:42:05
So, as we talk about, success could be hey, I came to this
00:42:09
organization and I wanted to buy a house.
00:42:11
That's my success, and we provide you with the resources
00:42:14
to do that.
00:42:15
So we also have credit building , we have financial advising
00:42:22
properly save to do this way and we say, well, let's, let us
00:42:25
provide you with some training to help you do that, and then
00:42:28
that's your success because you bought the house, you know.
00:42:30
So we provide all of those different resources that will
00:42:33
help people achieve results that they want.
00:42:37
It's not more so just about the business success.
00:42:39
It's about the results that you desire.
00:42:41
Speaker 2: Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, that's cool.
00:42:43
Yeah, okay.
00:42:45
So I feel like maybe one last question and then rapid fire
00:42:49
yeah, let's do it.
00:42:49
Okay.
00:42:49
So where would you like to see OmniCircle go Like?
00:42:52
10 years from now, 20 years from now?
00:42:55
What's?
00:42:56
Speaker 1: the dream.
00:42:56
Our 10 year plan is that we definitely want to see the
00:43:00
organization be one that helps economic and social impact
00:43:06
throughout, not just Topeka, but throughout cities throughout
00:43:10
this country.
00:43:10
And so I would love to see, 10 years from now, to see Omni in
00:43:15
three different states.
00:43:16
I want to see Omni maybe implanted throughout a couple of
00:43:21
different communities throughout the state and I want
00:43:25
to make sure that we serve a large capacity of individuals to
00:43:28
be able to get to where they want to be.
00:43:29
And so, 10 years from now, that's kind of what we're
00:43:33
working on.
00:43:33
We want to be that entity that really drives social and
00:43:37
economic impact throughout multiple facets of communities,
00:43:40
and we'll see how far it goes.
00:43:42
Speaker 2: Love it, man.
00:43:43
Wow, and how would someone plug in with you guys?
00:43:48
Speaker 1: As a as an individual or as a investor, because those
00:43:52
look very different.
00:43:53
Speaker 2: I was thinking more as an individual.
00:43:55
Speaker 3: Right, yeah, individual than investor.
00:43:57
Speaker 2: Yeah To all of the billionaires watching this.
00:43:59
How would they plug in?
00:44:02
Speaker 1: No, as an individual, really man just reaching out to
00:44:05
us and through our social media platforms or through our
00:44:07
website, we say and I'll just be transparent on this Omni Circle
00:44:11
is an organization that serves pretty much everybody, but our
00:44:16
focus is on serving the most underserved and underrepresented
00:44:19
, and, as a black man, I will never go away from trying to
00:44:24
create opportunities for other Black individuals who have been
00:44:28
marginalized for a very long time, and so it doesn't mean
00:44:32
that we are stopping anybody from taking advantage of our
00:44:37
services, but we definitely want to make sure that we put a
00:44:40
focus on getting this information to those who
00:44:43
typically haven't had access to this information, to those who
00:44:46
typically haven't had access to this information, and so anybody
00:44:50
who is trying to grow, trying to develop, want to be in a
00:44:53
diverse group of individuals.
00:44:56
That's who we are.
00:44:57
So Omni Circle in itself, if you think about being present,
00:45:01
being Omni present is that we want to be in multiple places,
00:45:06
serving people in multiple facets and being a community
00:45:15
through what this circle is collaboration, unity and all of
00:45:17
those different things.
00:45:17
So we say we want to be the most diverse organization through
00:45:20
Topeka right now, serving multiple people, bringing people
00:45:24
together in ways that they normally haven't come together,
00:45:33
and then, taking advantage of these resources that we have as
00:45:36
an investor, they can always reach out as well.
00:45:37
Money is always good.
00:45:38
We're a nonprofit organization, so we don't make a lot of money
00:45:43
on the services that we provide , but also, if somebody wants to
00:45:46
be a partner in the space, or they may have a resource that
00:45:51
can benefit somebody, we also look for those partnerships as
00:45:55
well, because then that way we are furthering the access to
00:45:59
these resources that a lot of communities marginalized
00:46:03
communities haven't had the access to for a very long time.
00:46:06
So then, when we talk about growth in communities, you need
00:46:09
those resources, and so if we can get those resources, in the
00:46:12
hands of people who need it.
00:46:13
Then we can see ourselves become a better community overall.
00:46:18
Speaker 3: Awesome, cool.
00:46:19
All right, some rapid fire questions that we have.
00:46:21
How many potholes did you hit on your way over here?
00:46:27
Speaker 1: You know, I don't even count anymore.
00:46:29
Speaker 2: Yeah don't even count anymore.
00:46:31
Speaker 1: I'm not doing it.
00:46:31
I got a Jeep Rega, so we just bump around as we drive, that's
00:46:34
because we'll drive all the time now, right Having the runaway
00:46:38
favorite answer, I feel like All right.
00:46:40
Speaker 3: Have you ever been able to get to and from
00:46:42
somewhere in Topeka without hitting some sort of
00:46:44
construction?
00:46:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, I often do.
00:46:47
Yeah, I'm a backstreet driver, so I typically there you go.
00:46:50
Yeah, I avoid the main streets most of the time I feel like did
00:46:54
you come from Omni Circle today ?
00:46:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like you had to have hit construction
00:46:59
then on the way here.
00:47:01
Speaker 1: I don't think so I came, so I came.
00:47:03
So, like I said, I'm a backstreet driver, I came.
00:47:04
So I, like I said I'm a backstreet driver, I came up
00:47:06
13th street, okay.
00:47:07
Wow, I didn't hit a main road or 15.
00:47:09
Right, and I come up 15.
00:47:10
Then I I hit um Washburn.
00:47:14
What's this?
00:47:14
The McVicar?
00:47:15
Speaker 3: I came down McVicar, there we go.
00:47:20
Speaker 2: There you go, see it is possible.
00:47:20
But yeah, it's this, it's the Topeka 29th street.
00:47:22
Speaker 3: They just they blocked that off, and then they
00:47:32
blocked another one off they're just always improving, john,
00:47:33
we're always improving around here.
00:47:34
Speaker 1: All right, favorite local restaurant that topeka has
00:47:35
?
00:47:35
Um honestly, um, I like, because I come from west palm
00:47:36
beach.
00:47:37
I like the uniqueness of food and authentic food.
00:47:38
So, uh, one of my favorites right now is um monsoon grill.
00:47:43
Yeah, okay, yeah, I like it a little tuck away, I like some
00:47:46
indian food there you go.
00:47:47
Uh, favorite local coffee shop um local coffee shop um circle.
00:47:53
I'm not a coffee drinker so I don't really um frequent coffee
00:47:58
shops, but I do like the work that circle coffee is doing in
00:48:01
the community yep, we had david on earlier in the year.
00:48:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, uh we should get the monsoon grill guys on.
00:48:07
Yeah, sure that'd be good one, yeah are you a golfer?
00:48:10
Speaker 3: no, I'm not a golfer.
00:48:10
Speaker 1: Okay, favorite golf course but I do swing some clubs
00:48:13
at t-box.
00:48:14
Speaker 3: There you go, yeah you're talking about supporting
00:48:17
the t-box.
00:48:17
Oh, I support the t-box, that is for sure especially november
00:48:23
to february we are out there.
00:48:24
Speaker 2: it's actually driving a wedge between him and his
00:48:26
wife, can it's driving a wedge?
00:48:30
Speaker 3: Can you please stop?
00:48:30
You're at the tee box all the time.
00:48:31
Not even my wife loves to golf, so it's marriage bonding
00:48:35
actually.
00:48:37
Speaker 1: Local gym Koloff right now.
00:48:41
Speaker 2: I was excited when you told me you were an athlete
00:48:43
because I was like bro I got to figure out what gym you're
00:48:46
working out in.
00:48:48
Speaker 1: This is remnants of the football days You're just
00:48:50
holding on.
00:48:50
I'm trying to get it back.
00:48:52
Man From 2002.
00:48:53
Speaker 3: For real, You're doing a good job bro.
00:48:56
Speaker 1: A lot of people.
00:48:56
Speaker 2: It takes way shorter time to let go and you've held
00:48:59
on man.
00:49:00
Speaker 1: No, it's been a struggle, I'm telling you, in
00:49:02
the gym in the last two months.
00:49:03
So I haven't been in the gym in a while.
00:49:04
So when you're building a business, it's hard to maintain
00:49:08
all the things Right.
00:49:09
Speaker 3: And so this is the last two months.
00:49:11
Speaker 1: Man, you are seeing a reflection of what I've been in
00:49:13
the gym, but I think it's the muscle memory.
00:49:15
Speaker 3: That's what I tell myself when you're building the
00:49:16
business you just got to let some things go and the gym just
00:49:21
happens to Thank you for giving me permission.
00:49:23
Speaker 2: I would like to know how I can achieve these results
00:49:26
in two months you know, as you seem to have.
00:49:29
I'll tell you, it's muscle memory man.
00:49:31
Speaker 1: It'll take a long time for it to bounce back.
00:49:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right, there you go.
00:49:35
All right, You're doing a project around the house.
00:49:36
Lowe's Home Depot Menards.
00:49:39
What's your go-to Lowe's?
00:49:48
Speaker 1: Lowe's for sure.
00:49:49
Mind, just you know, it's just a feel.
00:49:49
Um, I think it's the gut.
00:49:50
Well, I just you know it's something.
00:49:51
Maybe I'm an aesthetic person and so you know you get
00:49:52
different feels when you work, walking to different places.
00:49:54
Oh yeah, lowes feels aesthetically my style I like it
00:49:58
.
00:49:58
Speaker 2: That's a good answer.
00:49:59
It does, it seems like more the most like clean cut of all
00:50:02
three.
00:50:02
I think that's probably the case.
00:50:03
Speaker 3: That's probably I'm a menards guy through and through
00:50:06
.
00:50:06
I walk in there, I just feel like I can do anything.
00:50:08
You know, I just look in there.
00:50:09
I can do anything from building something I have no business
00:50:12
building.
00:50:13
I could go grocery shopping.
00:50:15
Yeah, you almost forget about the grocery, yeah you buy some
00:50:19
socks.
00:50:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, I hate menards because I, like, I want to get
00:50:22
in and out and you're there.
00:50:23
You can't go in and out without spending three hours.
00:50:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can't do that in menard.
00:50:26
That takes forever.
00:50:27
Speaker 1: Menards is a journey you go in there to different
00:50:30
experience and then home depot is kind of like that too, like
00:50:32
if you were in the tools and things like that.
00:50:34
You want to shop around, I feel like loads.
00:50:36
I just go in there and get what I needed and I'm out right yeah
00:50:39
cool, yeah shunga trail or burnett's mound um, so I just
00:50:45
rode my bike for 13 miles.
00:50:47
Okay, let's go the trail, yeah, and so I would say sugar trail.
00:50:52
I appreciate, I appreciate it with some of the things that I
00:50:54
saw.
00:50:54
Speaker 2: Let's go nothing okay , are you into like biking,
00:50:58
cycling?
00:50:58
Speaker 1: no, so I bought this uh, bird bike, which is like a
00:51:02
electric bike oh, oh.
00:51:03
Speaker 2: Like bird scooter, they make bikes.
00:51:05
Now bikes okay cool.
00:51:06
Speaker 1: So I bought a bike and, um, I just kind of rode the
00:51:10
bike through and, um, not big on it because again I try to run
00:51:14
and then I can't run as much because my knee I had a mcl
00:51:17
surgery and so uh.
00:51:19
But on the 13 miles it was easier on the bird because I can
00:51:21
get my knee and break and, yeah , use the motor.
00:51:24
Speaker 3: So that's nice.
00:51:25
I can't run 13 miles just because I don't want to.
00:51:28
Speaker 1: I wouldn't even try to run 13 miles, but yeah, on
00:51:31
the bike it got me far, there you go, man.
00:51:33
Speaker 3: Last one Go-to date night spot in Topeka.
00:51:38
Speaker 1: In Topeka probably White Linen.
00:51:39
Yeah, if you want to go somewhere, nice, I mean you can
00:51:42
always go to the Cyrus Cyrus is cool.
00:51:43
I mean you can always go to the Cyrus, cyrus is cool.
00:51:49
And then I haven't.
00:51:52
Speaker 2: I'm interested about rural society right now.
00:51:53
Yeah, what is that?
00:51:54
I've seen it pop up recently.
00:51:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's like a and I don't want to
00:51:59
misquote what it is, but I think they have bourbon or a whiskey
00:52:02
bar, oh, and I think they may have some food in there.
00:52:05
But Okay, yeah, I think I haven have some food in there, but
00:52:10
yeah, I think I haven't.
00:52:10
I haven't fully went in there, but we stepped in just to kind
00:52:12
of check it out.
00:52:13
Is it open?
00:52:13
It's open, okay, awesome.
00:52:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, we just walked by.
00:52:14
I was like what is it?
00:52:15
I want to know what that place is, yeah.
00:52:17
Speaker 3: Cool.
00:52:17
Well, thank you for your time today, Michael.
00:52:23
Speaker 1: Appreciate it, thank you guys, where uh?
00:52:26
Speaker 2: just lastly, where can people find you online?
00:52:27
Are you on social media?
00:52:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm on Facebook mostly um LinkedIn, um main
00:52:34
places you can find me.
00:52:35
Speaker 2: You're not doing TikTok dances or anything I
00:52:37
don't.
00:52:38
Speaker 1: I guess at my age, maybe showing a little bit.
00:52:40
You know, I don't do the TikTok or the what's the other
00:52:43
Snapchat, or right, or the what's the other Snapchat, or
00:52:46
I'm not a Twitter or X, right, I don't do all those things.
00:52:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, man Appreciate you, absolutely
00:52:52
Appreciate you guys.
00:52:53
Bye.
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Step into the wild world of zoo management with our special guest, Shanna Simpson, the dedicated animal curator at the Topeka Zoo. Shanna's childhood v...
The Real Reason Soliloquy Closed Its Doors In Topeka | Aaron Zentner
Get ready to explore the exciting world of pop-up cocktail bars with Aaron Zentner, one of the creative forces behind Soliloquy. Picture this: a casual...