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A podcast that explores what it means to work with purpose by interviewing people who are working for more than just a paycheck.
Are you in corporate America grinding away the weeks as you watch the years fly by? Do you have that voice in your head that’s asking for something more? But you shouldn’t complain, right? You’ve got a good job, good pay, good benefits. There’s people out there that would kill for a job like that. But that little voice just won’t go away.
I’m your host Gino. And as an ex 9-5er I know that feeling all too well. I worked in corporate for 6 years before I finally decided to walk away, choosing to live my life a little differently. And since then, I’ve met some pretty amazing people who do work that positively impacts the people around them, their communities, and the world. This podcast exists to share their stories, and to help inspire you to do the same. Leave that job that you hate and to start working towards your purpose.
Welcome to working towards our purpose, a podcast that
offers a different perspective on what a job can be. For everyone
out there that's heard that voice in the back their head, asking for
something more. It's time to listen to it. I'm your host,
Gino, and join me as I interview people who have decided to
work in their own purpose. Together, we will learn, become
inspired, and hopefully find our own path towards working in our
purpose.
Kobe Smith is a certified meditation instructor, a mental health
advocate, founder of Kobe Enterprises, a company that introduces
mindfulness Brew Merchandise. He is also the small business support
specialist at the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, and he hosts the
podcast Chatting with Kobe, which is now in its 2nd season.
Kobe, welcome to Working Towards Our Purpose. How are you doing today? Blessed,
man. Thank thanks for having me. It's Long overdue, and I'm a big I'm a
big supporter of what you do as well with your platform, bringing on the
amazing people, and It's it's been respect and love since day 1, so I'm I'm
happy to be here. Absolutely. And and I've definitely always felt that
and appreciated it. So, yeah, why why don't we just get started by, you
kinda describing in your own words, like, what you do and who you are and
that sort of thing? Oh, I would say what I am,
definitely someone who helps people, cares about people using
my skill sets for the advancement of others, whether it's
Mental health, whether it's in their business. And just
my ultimate goal is really to live out my dream, of course, which
is Creating products, creating content,
but also inspire other people who are doers and people who wanna change their
lives, Whether that's people in the small business sector that are looking for
financial opportunities, collaborations, accelerated programs,
Purpose who are just looking for the wellness, whether that's in meditation,
listening to my podcast, getting inspiration from that, and the bracelets that I
create, Providing them with a sense of motivation and inspiration
throughout the day by wearing products. So there's a lot that I do, but I
definitely like helping people. That's where It brings me the most joy,
honestly. Yeah. I love that. It's all kinda centered
around helping people in different kinda aspects of the different things that you do because
you do do a lot of different things. Yeah.
So, also, I'm interested in, like, you know, a little bit about
your background and, like, you know, how you grew up, where you grew up, where
you went to school, that sort of thing, anything you're, comfortable with
sharing. Yeah. No problem. So I from Bloomfield,
Connecticut. It's a suburb right next to Hartford,
Connecticut. Been there my whole life, really, for the most part.
I stopped going to Bloomfield Public Schools after 5th
grade. I went to this magnet school, CREP magnet school, which
is capital region education council. And at the
time, the school was called Metropolitan Learning Center, and
their the main focus was on Bringing in students
from other parts of the Greater Hartford area
and exposing them to diversity. So I was
exposed to DEI super early in life. Like, from 6th to 12th grade,
when I went to school, we went on, well, school trips to
different cities. I think my 1st year, we went The Cape Cod. Next year,
we went to New York, DC. Then when you got to high school, you
had the opportunity to go out of the country. So I went
to a few countries. I went to, like, Albania, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, China, Iceland.
Feel like I'm forgetting 1. Oh, South Africa. And there was a lot going
on, but it it helped me out because I was exposed to
The world at such a early age. I was able to go to countries, and
I appreciate my mom for giving me this opportunity because Had I went to
Bloomfield Public Schools, it probably would have never happened for
me. And at MOC, it was
It it was tough. It was tough academically because they they were they want to
prepare people for college and life after high school, so they ingrained
us with A lot of academic rigor, and we had
some of the the best educators possible. Like, all of my teachers,
like, I really loved and respected because they pushed me. They saw something in
me. Even when I was acting like a knucklehead in school, they always they always
told me that, hey. You have something about you and follow the gift that you
have and See where it goes. So once I graduated
high school after the, the 5 or 6 years of
going to MOC, I went to Albertus Magnus College for 4
years. Got my bachelor's in graphic design, had a
internship with with the Entrepreneur Leadership Academy and Quinnipiac University.
That's where my love for entrepreneurship was born, and I remember creating an
idea for people who had For people who had,
arthritis, and I created an insole for that. So it was like an
adjustable insole. And from that experience, I said, I just wanna do
something Entrepreneurial. I stayed at Alberta's for
1 more year. I got my MBA in management, ran the entrepreneurship
center For about 2 years, and it's it's
just cool to see how everything, like, just happens. You know? You you start interacting
with people and seeing And seeing how all your influences
play a part in what you are today. Like, my mom was by far the
most influential person in my life and still is. Like, she always encouraged me.
She sacrificed for me to be the individual that I am
today. She always made sure to put me in situations where I was
challenged, But it helped me out today, whether it was doing
different kinds of sports, whether it was doing different programmings.
She always wanted me to be be an overall good person, and
I'm very appreciative of her. My grandparents, my my
godparents were always surrounding me With love, support, and encouragement
with everything I've done up to now. So it that that was a lot
to give out, but That's like a short version of the ways I am today
because I had so many people in my life who believed in me even
when I was borderline troublemaker. They always
steered me on the right path, and I'm forever grateful that their investment has
paid off. Mhmm. Yeah. That's awesome. And it's and it's really great to
hear you be grateful for that and to, you know, express it too because I
think that's also a a big piece of, like, who you are as, someone
who's very grateful for the people around and, and I I really like that
about you. So let's talk about a little bit more, like, meditation and
how you got into meditation. I know that's kinda like one of your big
pillars. And, yeah, tell me how you got into it and maybe a
little bit about mental health and, yeah. Yeah. So meditation,
I I've always been intrigued by it, but I never really had a chance
to try it growing up. I got introduced
to meditation in 2018. That was my sophomore year of college.
Had so many panic attacks that year. I was just like, 19 year old
Kobe was stressed out, man. It was it was bad. Like, there was so much
going on. Rule was stressing me out. Having a social life was stressing me out.
Working was stressing me out. And I just broke down one day. You know? I
just remember just breaking down. All I remember was waking up in the
hospital, honestly. I remember my friend had taken me there,
and I I forgot the doctor's name, but it was American
doctor, and he came back to me and said, hey. You have you have
severe anxiety. And I was like, woah. Like, I was like, what what are
you talking about? And he he broke it down for me. And
at that time, I didn't really think mental health Illness was a
thing. Honestly, I always I'm open to saying that at the time when if
someone said, hey. It's my mental health. I thought that was just an excuse For
someone to get out of doing something. Mhmm. I did.
True. And it wasn't until I got diagnosed, and I was like, oh, this is
real. And I told him I said, hey. How can I how can
I fight this? How can I combat this? And they were like, well, you
can either take these pills right here, Which were borderline
antidepressants. He said, or you can learn meditation.
And as a black man, he was saying that to me. I was like, Really?
I was like, come on, man. Like, what is meditation gonna do? He said, trust
me. Just do some research on it. I guarantee
it will help you. He said, I meditate. So I remember I went back
to school, and the nurse at Albertus at the time well, she's still
there. Her name was Elena Tamayo Heights. She was getting her
certification called Touro Mindfulness at the Duke
University, and it focused on meditation for
Individuals aged 18 to 29, emerging adults.
She ran a class, which was a 4 week class, and she was like, hey.
You should sign up and see. So I had a time slot available during
my days. At the time, she was teaching it. I registered for
it, took the 1st class, and I've been hooked ever since. Honestly,
like, I took that class. I think she ran it 2 or 3 times a
year until I graduated, and I kept taking it continuously because
it It helped me out so much, and I'm able to think a lot more
clearly. I'm able to appreciate life more, and it's been a blessing.
And meditation, Even if I don't, like, sit and close my
eyes, like, I listen to certain musics. I make bracelets. It's always been
something that's been very beneficial to me. So I definitely wanna give a shout out
to Elena for for making that possible for me and the doctor as
well because without them, I don't know where I would be. Yeah. That's awesome. Thanks
thanks for sharing that story and for being, vulnerable and and even, like,
admitting the fact that, like, beforehand, you kind of, you know, didn't really believe
in it or thought it was just an excuse or something. Because I think that's
a lot of people's experience with mental health or, you know,
anything that kinda has to do with something you can't physically see. It's, like, is
that real, or is it just something you're kinda making up? So I'm glad that,
like, you know, you've you've been in that one stage of life where
you maybe you didn't believe it, but now You you know, you've kinda experienced it
and can share that message with other people because I think that's helpful for other
people to, like, know that, like, you know, maybe one day they'll not think
of it like that. Because, yeah, I'm I'm also, like, a huge proponent of mental
health, and I've been going to therapy for a long time. And, like, I remember
my thoughts of therapy before I started going, and I was, like, that's just,
You know, wasting money or, like, you're just paying somebody to control your
mind or something. But, like, actually doing it and, like, seeing the
benefits of it, it's, like, oh, That's not that at all. It's, like, actually
really beneficial. Yeah. So yeah. So thanks for sharing all that.
So let's let's talk a little bit more about, like, meditation specifically
because I know, like, I've heard multiple people say, like, yeah.
That'd be great. I I I'd love to meditate, but, like, I just can't I
have too many thoughts in my head or, like, I can't do that or what's,
like, some advice you would give to somebody who, like, thinks that they can't?
Well, first, I would say is try, honestly. And meditation takes
forms in many different ways. Like, I think when people think of
meditation, they think of Sitting in namaste position, which is the
the crisscross applesauce with your hand to your chest, you
know, eyes closed, great posture, all of that. But no. It's
You could do it. You can literally just sit down the way I'm doing and
just breathe. Like, before every interview for a podcast or when I
record, I usually just sit there, and I just breathe in through my nose,
exhale through my mouth, things like that. You could lay down same time.
Exactly. You know, like, you you're someone who does it. You can Lay on your
back and just feel your belly rise or your chest rise
whether you're a natural belly breather or a natural chest breather,
things like that. You can listen to a song that you really like. You
know, you can I don't know? You can, like, run to purpose.
Like, Meditation looks like running for them. It's any way
where your mind isn't isn't too crowded with thoughts,
which is kind of crazy to say that because You can't calm your mind. Right?
Like, one of the things meditation teaches is that your thoughts are going to be
there. That's just how it is. But what you can do is
Assess how you're feeling and notice your thoughts. And
once you notice your thoughts, find some time to let them go, and
that's by using your breath. Really, when you're breathing, that's what
the meditation is because the breath is the anchor. Like and I
think what a lot of people take for granted is breathing, Because
it's so natural to us. Right? We don't realize that until, like, we're
underwater. Oh, we're, like, working out, and we're going too hard, and we're
like, oh, yeah. Let me breathe to get that extra energy. Meditation is really recognizing
the breath. Sometimes you have to
go outside without your phone, Drive without listening to
music to realize, wow, I'm breathing. Wow, the scenery is beautiful.
Things like that. You know, it gets tricky at times, but just start
small. There's so many different ways you could do it. Like, there's an eating
meditation. There's a breathing meditation. There's visualization.
There there's so many different tools that go with it. When people say there's
not one for me, I I'm just saying that you haven't tried anything.
And I think once people humble themselves and are open to trying something
new, that opens up a whole different aspect of wellness that people
don't understand. Like, it's not the stereotypical thing. What people need
to realize is you don't have to do a silent retreat for a whole weekend
to reach enlightenment. You know, to some people,
meditation is looking in the mirror and saying an affirmation. So I think
when the person finds out what works for them And you do it a
little bit over time, the compounding effect happens. You start building
that habit, and then it starts becoming a lifestyle. And you can miss a few
days every now and then, but as long as you know that that's where your
core is, that you're perfecting your wellness practice,
That's what meditation looks like. It's not the stereotypical looking like
a monk, the Buddhist statue. No. It's it's much broader than
that. And I I wish people would stop saying that because they're closing
their self off from opportunities that can definitely open their mind up. Yeah.
For sure. Thank thanks for breaking that down and, and kinda,
you know, getting outside of the stigma of of what it is because I think
it is very important and very useful to any aspects of your
life. And then I think part of that too is, like, setting time
aside, like, for yourself to do something like that. Yeah. And even if
it's not meditation, just some other sort of self care. And and I know you
work with a lot of entrepreneurs, and we'll get into that. But I'm I'm curious,
like, what the thought about, like, self care or meditation
is for a lot of people in the entrepreneur community because I know that there's,
like, the hustle aspect and, like, you know, work work work work
work. And especially when you're doing every if you're, you know, in a business
by yourself, you're doing all the different aspects of it. It can be hard to,
like, take time aside for yourself to do something that
may not seem beneficial, but, yeah, I'd curious to hear your thoughts about that.
Like, do you run into that issue talking to people who are entrepreneurs? Oh,
yeah. It it's so funny. Just Working with a lot of these people and
talking to them individually, they a lot of them just neglect
it completely, but they realize that it is necessary.
And I think they struggle with finding
time for themselves because, you know, like, starting a
company is it's hard. It's stressful. And
no matter how successful you get, if you don't have the right team around you,
if you're not taking time for yourself, you could burn out and crash. Like, I
see it all the time with people I used to vend with early on in
my entrepreneurial career. Like, they would just be at every single
event Every single event, doing something.
And then when you start to see them at all these events, they they've been
grinding so hard that they're not focused. Like, they're
Not displaying their products correctly. They're
not pitching their products correctly. They're forgetting the name of the company, the name
of themselves. And and it's scary to see that because it's like, wow.
Like, you're so ingrained in this, but
you're not taking time for the most valuable asset that you have,
Yourself. Like, you're the most valuable asset. Your mind is the most valuable
asset. You can always make other products, but people, they just
And I can't knock them. Right? Because the way the world is,
it's it's marked it to us very well. Social media, you got all these
Google saying, man, sleep is for the dead. Sleep is for broke people.
Rest is for weak people. That's what they say. Mhmm. And
I feel like when people see that a lot, They start to really internalize
that, and they have to grind and hustle and hustle, not realizing
that it's taking a wear and tear on their mind, but also
their body. So there's definitely a need for that, and there are there
are handful of entrepreneurs that I know personally who who implement
wellness into their business, and it's, like, really unique the way they do it.
But I wish more people were able to practice
the wellness aspect more because maybe if they take that time to
breathe, maybe that week off, That could reset them, and that
could help them launch a new product or a new marketing campaign. So it's
really tricky, but at the same time, I feel that and I've seen That
the people that really master hustle, hustle, hustle,
rest when necessary, rest when needed, their recovery time is
better, they're more focused, And, the business goes through the
roof. So it's it's tricky, but I can see how purpose,
when they implement the correct way, it helps out in the long term.
Mhmm. Yeah. For sure. I've noticed that with myself too. If I'm, like, trying to
do something too much, I usually end up getting stuck in some sort of rut
and then doing, like, all the stuff that doesn't even matter at the end of
the day. Whereas if I take a break or I rest or I even take
a day off or something like that, then I'll, like, reframe something, think about it
in a different way and be like, oh, wait. I don't need to do, like,
80% of what I was trying to do. I really only need to do this
20%. So for me, it helps me think clear On, like,
what I should or shouldn't be doing, I think. So I've definitely noticed that
benefit myself. And then that kinda, like, leads me to your business,
Cobay Enterprises. Tell us a little bit about that and how that got started and,
like, yeah, just everything you want to about that. No. Yeah.
So it definitely got started when I was working partnership center at
Albertus Magnus College. And I noticed that
engaging with the students there was really hard because
There wasn't really an entrepreneurial culture there. And
I realized that if I wanted to work with the students closely,
They would have to see me in action being an entrepreneur. Like, I could've talked
about my experience as an intern starting a company, but that wasn't a
company that I had still. You know, I just did it for that summer, and
I say, you know what? People have to see me in action. People have to
know that when I'm doing certain things, I'm trying. So it's
believable that I'm making it work. And I always want to
start a company. I didn't know exactly what I'd be doing, but I said,
hey. That's entrepreneurship. You start something. Hey.
You try it. You fail. You pivot. You do it
again. And, originally, I started out doing shirts. Hey. I think I showed
you a few of the shirts Mhmm. And the stickers, and they they
they sucked. Right? They they did. They did. The shirts were trash. They
were. I I would do pop up events. People weren't buying them.
I was doing I was doing ecommerce. People weren't buying
them. People thought they were good, but it just wasn't resonating. So I said,
okay. Let's pivot. And I got clowned about it, but the same
people who were clowning me were the same people who weren't trying it. Right? And
Then I said, okay. What else what else can I sell that's low
risk that can make money off of? Right? That's when the braces
started coming in. No. So I was like, okay. Let me just go to all
these craft stores, start creating bracelets, and
it had to be Relevance, what I was doing. Right? So
since my name is Kobe, and people don't know that Kobe actually is an
acronym for the pillars that I live by, which are karma,
Ownership, blessings, entrepreneurship, and Yahweh,
which is Hebrew for god. And I want to implement that into the
design, so With each color, with each affirmation
bracelet. Because early on, I was doing plastic bracelets with positive words on
them and charms. I would put those positive words on there. Like, I
would put hustle on the bracelet. I would put don't quit,
blessed, Pray. Yahweh. God, I would put all these positive
words that would get me through the day, words like faith. And
when I start selling them, people would resonate because they said, wow. I need
more faith in myself. People would say, you know what? When I feel like quitting,
I can look at this bracelet, and then I can push through that workout. I
can push through that study session at college. And then the students started
to gravitate toward that because they said, wow. This is someone who actually knows what
he's doing. He's not just going off the books. What a lot of people don't
realize is I had read all these books. I had done all these
accelerated programs, and nothing was coming from it. And I was just
waiting for the perfect time. But when I finally started to
create my products and actually start selling and put myself out
there, Even though I messed up and I'm messing up every day, that doesn't mean
that doesn't matter to me because I'm at least trying. And there are people that
I see that say, I see what you're doing. That's inspirational to me. Like, you
inspire me to do that. I wear this bracelet. It means something to me. There
are people who buy early shirts and said, wow. I wear this shirt whenever I'm
feeling down. And that means a lot to me because I'm still
figuring it out. I know I'm not where I'm going to be. I'm still heading
on that path, but What really inspired me was just hanging around
people that did it and seeing that there was a need for that. The same
way all the people who taught me entrepreneurship were entrepreneurs,
Like Caroline Smith who started Collab New Haven, one of my biggest
inspirations in this entrepreneurship space. Seeing her run the collab
program at that time And going through the pre accelerator with her, I
said, wow. If she can do it, I can do it. And I
don't think she had a business degree when she went to Yale. I think she
was I don't want I don't actually know what she majored in, but I know
it was something completely different. But she was an entrepreneur.
She put a risk. She Risked it all. She put herself out
there. Same thing with Carlton Highsmith and Eric Clemens. Like, what they
were doing, they put themselves out there. They were inspiration To me, they talked
to me and say, hey. If you have an idea and you feel that it's
good, put it out there. Fail. And seeing these people that
are far ahead of me Still grinding like during the startup
phase, that was inspirational to me. So I definitely took that
experience and implemented to what I was doing. But the most important
thing for me was to make sure that I had the wellness aspect and
mindset aspect as well because I noticed that A lot of
the people that I was selling products to or I wanted to, a
lot of them had low self esteem and weren't valuing their mental health Or
they felt negative about themselves, and that's where I put the bracelets and the
shirts into. So it was just about figuring that out, like, what the market
was And trying. Will I be doing this sometime in the next year or the
next 5 years? Who knows? But I I'm just trying. I just have an
entrepreneurial spirit, and I feel that as long as I'm here and I have ideas
and I have the willingness to try and put myself out there, I'm
gonna make it happen. So That's pretty much how it got started and
noticing what I've been able to do in the past 3
years has been amazing. Like, I didn't see myself doing half of the stuff I'm
doing now, and it just started with that one decision to start the company and
see where it went. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. I I love
the idea of, like, Not being specifically tied to,
like, one idea of what your business could or or you want it
to be and being just so open and flexible. It's like, yeah. I'm doing this.
I'm trying it. If it doesn't work, I'll try something else and try something else.
Like, I really that's something that, like, I've been really feeling a lot recently.
Because for the longest time, my business was, you know, in podcasting space, and I
wanted it to be helping podcasters and doing this and pivoted a
1000000 times within that confines, but now I'm starting to be like, okay. Well, let's
think a little bit bigger. Like, what can I do maybe outside of that, and
and how can I be of service to other people in different ways? So
I really like that idea of you saying, like, the one thing you said. I
don't know where I'll be in, like, 5 years, but if I just keep doing
what I'm doing. Like, you'll get you'll you'll reach stuff that you couldn't even thought
of couldn't even think of. And, yeah, I just really I really love that,
mentality For sure. And and then another note on, like,
the inspiration of the the products that you make. I think it was maybe it
was almost, like, A year or 2 ago, I bought a tote bag that you
had, and it's got some affirmations on it. That's right. I still used it.
Oh my god. I guess I gotta bring them back then. Okay. Yeah. I still
use the tote bag, and it's got a couple affirmations on it. And every time
I pick it up, I let I glance at them, and it is it's a,
you know, a little bit of an energy booster. And, I've even had people comment
on it and be like, hey. I like your tote bag. It's I like I
like the affirmations on it. So just just wanna say that about about
your products as well. Thank you, man. I definitely have to get back to him
then. For sure.
So transitioning a little bit into I wanna talk about, like, what you do with
the Chamber of Commerce. And I know you also again, everything
you kinda do is with entrepreneurs, but tell me about, what you do at the
Chamber and even, like, what the Chamber of Commerce is. Because I think, at least
for me, like, before I became part of the community
that was associated with the chamber, I didn't even really know what the Chamber of
Commerce did. So, like, maybe start with, like, telling us what the Chamber does
for businesses and then get into, like, what you do. Yeah. So
I I work at the the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, And almost every
town, city in America, region in
America, they have the Chamber of Commerce, and What they focus on
is the business community. So it's a way where you can
you pay for your for membership Usually on, like, a
yearly basis, and it's where you can advertise.
You can working events. We do a lot of networking. You
can do marketing on the website, sponsorships,
and it's a great way for you to grow your company. So it depends on
what exactly your goals are. So let's say you're let's say you're an
advertising firm and you're looking to get more customers that way. Join the
chamber. You meet people who are doing that, and that's just
a great way to build connections. And it's all about the businesses at the end
of the day. You really want to make sure that Economy is growing.
We put on a lot of events where we award business
owners. We help out with getting businesses funding, whether it's
grants, Whether it's loans, we have relationships with accelerator
programs. So if you do certain accelerators through the chamber,
like, If you go through KNOWN, Collab, Concorde,
City Seed, do these programs, you get a membership for a year. It just
depends on what you're what you're looking for. Like, If you're a small business
owner, solopreneur, maybe the the
largest membership isn't what you're looking for, But maybe you just wanna
get your your feet wet. Maybe you just wanna meet certain people to build your
clientele up. It's really just a tool for networking. It started, like,
back in the the pilgrimage where all these business owners, they
want to come together. They want to come together and keep the economy
of businesses afloat. Because when you're an entrepreneur, a business
owner, or a big organization, the only people that can relate to
what you're doing are the same people that do what you do, Weather industry
they're in. So it's kinda cool working within that world because I
there's a lot of access to people I had never thought I'd meet, people I
never thought I'd interact with, and you learn so much on the fly.
Now as for the work that I do there, I do small business support.
So I help the small business communities, solopreneurs,
startup companies. And I really like to say that I build
connections, And I have relationships with some of the resources and the people that help
these small businesses. So what what that looks like is helping out
with the new NH e three grant, which is the New Haven equitable
entrepreneurial ecosystem grant. And that is where
small businesses throughout the the state of Connecticut, really, but with focus in
Greater New Haven. They can get up to $10,000
and a small business grant to help them grow their business
operations. So we do partnerships with that. In addition to that, like I
was saying before, building relationships with the accelerator programs like
NODE, Collab, Concorde, CitySeed, all the
other ones. Helping the people that we meet if they need
help with starting a company or Growing their
company. Refer them to these accelerated programs because a lot
of the times, these business owners, they have great ideas,
but What's failing them and where they need some work
on is the implementation, the finance,
writing a business plan, how do they go for funding, Learning to
hire people, expanding their operations, contracting,
building relationships with those people, finding out what the small businesses need, and
then referring them to these programs Because that's going to help the
economy. And just going to all these events, like, when the business opens
or they have a ribbon cutting, I'm there introducing myself. What do you
need? What can I help you with? Who can I connect you with? Do you
need SBA funding? Do you need a mentor from small business
development center? What exactly can the chamber do? Are you looking for
membership? Are you just looking for the grant? And I just try to figure
out what they need. Right? Because When you're a small business, there's so much
that you have going on. And people in the early stage, they don't really feel
that the Chamber of Commerce can help them. It can. Depends on what your
goals are. But if you're looking for networking, that's great. If you're looking for more
clients, it's great. But what I really try to do And
what I've been doing is just building relationships and connecting people to the
right resources. And the next step of that is just building relationships with
the colleges and universities because they wanna help the small
business community with classes, with programs, more
accelerators, And that will and that helps out the city and the universities as
well because on the workforce development side, you have students that
can work for these companies as interns. That's real
life working experience. And if they're good enough and if that company's hiring,
that then leads to employment opportunities, them taking over the
business in some few years. So So there's a lot that I do within the
chamber, but what I really like to say my main goal is just connecting
people to resources and building the relationships outside of that. And
it's it's been fun. It's challenging. But when you really get those people that
are passionate about what they do and they work hard, it it's worth it, and
you're helping people at the end of the day. Mhmm. Yeah. Definitely. And
that's that's one of the biggest things that I've noticed. I was a part of
the chamber for a year, and and the networking and the meeting people for me
was the biggest helpful thing. And and I know I'm still on the email list.
Actually, I know by the time this airs, it'll be gone. But there's an event
that you guys have tonight that I got the email for, and it just reminds
me that, like, you're always there, kinda putting on events, connecting purpose. Yeah.
That's a a nice kinda support thing because, you know, whenever it is that I
feel like I need to get out there and and meet some more people, usually,
I'll just go back to my inbox, and there'd be something there that I can,
like, you know, go and and attend. So that's that's been a really good benefit
of the chamber. Yeah. So next, I wanna talk about
your podcast. And tell me how that got started and, like,
you know, what what made you wanna start that and and what it what it's
all about. Yeah. So I I started chatting with
Kobe just because I listen to a lot of podcasts. I've
been inspired by them. I I was just a fan of so
many purpose, and some podcasts I would listen to, I would
say, they're not really A lot of them are just nonsense, honestly.
There's a lot of nonsense podcasts out there, and I feel like I have I
have a perspective. And I really wanted to I like the
the amazing people that I knew in my life, whether they were business
owners, whether they were wellness practitioners, whether they were
students. Like, season 1, I didn't really have any direction. Like, I didn't know what
I was doing. I just remember purchasing a mic, setting up
a The camera on my laptop and just recording and freestyling most of
the episodes. But then midway through season 1, I said, you know what?
Let's let's change the direction of where I wanna go. Let's actually highlight
people who are well who are in the wellness space That have overcome
adversity. Let's talk to the entrepreneurs, the small business
owners. Let's talk to movers and shakers in the community, and let's build
that out. And season 2 has been That way. And it's
unique because I'm still figuring it out. Right? I'm still figuring out what
exactly my audience is. I'm super early stage in the startup phase of it,
But it's been fun, and I'm not afraid to to
try new things. Like season 1, I interviewed some amazing people. I
interviewed 2 friends from college, Anna Marie DeLucia and Rock
Charles who are now MBA students at Albertus Magnus College,
and they were telling me Stories about themselves. Like, Anna was an
amazing student, out of North Haven. She went through a lot in
college that she opened up about on the podcast. My guy, Rock,
He's from Haiti. He was talking about getting his American
citizenship. He was talking about how he had to learn
English, coming to America, living in New London. And
there's so many perspectives. And the thing that I noticed about
everyone that I've interviewed in season 1 was that They
all overcame adversity some way, and it didn't
quit. And that's what I want the podcast to be. We're
going to be the inspiration for the doers, the people who have adversity in their
life, but aren't afraid to keep pushing forth because that's a representation
of my life, not quitting, Always trying new things. Even with
season 2, some of the guests that I have right now have been amazing.
These are people that are doing things, man, when and I'm inspired by them
Because when I see them grind and hustle and achieve their dreams, that only just
puts the battery in my back to do that. And that's what the whole purpose
of the podcast is, to get different perspectives To not quit.
Everyone has a unique story. And I talk about my story at
times, but I don't wanna make it all about me. Like, at the end of
the day, we're chatting with Cobay. So I want you to tell your
perspective on what you've done and how you've gotten here. So it's been It's
been fun so far, and I'm very honored about the episodes I have
coming out. The episodes I recorded for season 1 that I felt didn't
fit, That might fit in season 2 or season 3, but I have a lot
of great content, and I'm just excited. And I'm growing it gradually the same way
you're growing yours. And I look at you as a source of inspiration because when
I saw you doing your podcast, I said, you know what? If Gino does it,
I can do mine. Here I am. I must've been doing something right because now
I'm on your platform. So I I look at inspiration in all different
forms, and I'm a student. And that's all I want my podcast to be, just
like a source of education, inspiration and uplifting
people who are the doers in the world. Yeah. I love that. That's,
again, so many different things I could I could touch on what you just shared,
but, like, 1, a piece of it, like, always growing and figuring out
what it is. I think a lot of times like, when I started my podcast,
I I thought It was something that I wanted, and then it just kinda changed
through. And I was, like, okay. Maybe it's not specifically about this one thing. It's
about this other thing, and here's this overarching theme that's now emerging and,
like, now leaning into that. And I think it it's a gradual process,
and I don't have mine all the way figured out yet either. But, like, I
think it's cool to, like, beyond that learning path and to keep
continuing to change with how you see things. Wherever it is that you're
interested in, whatever in is, like, working, you follow that. And, and, again, kind of
the entrepreneurial mindset of just, like, evolving and getting better. So I really
like that. Thanks, man. Yes. I I I did wanna ask you
too about, like, you know, what what was the the hardest part of starting your
own podcast? Because I know, you mentioned, like, you kinda just,
like, getting the stuff and getting started. And, you know, I think that's kind of
the hardest hurdle for people is to just, like, get one out there and just
do it. Because, like, it's not gonna be perfect, but you gotta just, like, get
one out there. So what was, like, the hardest thing for you? Oh, man.
So many hard things. I think,
Honestly, I would say the consistency of recording and posting.
But on a deeper level, I think was just being my true authentic self,
honestly. Like, There's some episodes I listen to now
that are out there, and the ones that I haven't released yet, sometimes I'm just
like, oh my god. That is so not me. Right? Because
to a certain extent, I felt like I had to hide who I truly was.
Honestly, I did. Because I was like, man, are people ready for the
The funny the the nerdy side of Kobe. Like, there's
certain things that I'm now referencing in podcast that
I feel are my true authentic self because people see me in such a professional
light, which is good. Right? When you see me at the chamber, you see me
doing my business, Of course. But there's a time and a place for that. But
when you listen to the podcast, you're gonna get the the real Kobe. You're gonna
get the the Harry Potter nerd. You're gonna get The
basketball fanatic. You're gonna get the the hip hop
historian side of me, and I'm figuring that out right now.
So There are episodes that I have in the chamber that are
that are me referencing rap lyrics that influenced
me, rap albums that influenced me. I'm referencing Harry Potter
characters, you know, things like that. I'm talking about what I've learned from
watching some of my favorite basketball players like LeBron James or Kobe
Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant.
That's coming out. And even though it's entrepreneurship, I
try not to talk too much On that side, I try to put
it in terms that people can understand. Like, you can learn from other things. Like,
I've learned as much from business from the classroom as I have from
basketball. So just trying to figure out that means of
communication to the audience. And who knows? And some people have been
receptive to it. Other people are saying, oh, I tuned out Because I don't like
basketball, but what I would say to that person who might not
like sports or Harry Potter or hip hop is you're closing
off of information. And I remember I told someone that recently. I say, hey.
Listen. I don't like all the articles that you write, but when
you release them, I read them because I'm like, wow. I can learn something from
that. And I think that kinda changed our relationship because they saw me as
someone who's not afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Mhmm. So it's
things like that. And I think just once you start to figure out who you
are truly and I'm evolving over time, people are gonna
be receptive to that. So And I think the
the authenticity of it is me just saying what
I feel, But also not being afraid to stumble over
words, pausing, losing my train of thought. And I don't edit
that because I don't want people to look at me and say, oh, this guy's
he's so Hollywood. He's so perfect. No. Like, I mess up just
like I mess up just as much as anyone, But I'm
not afraid to I'm not afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to try new
things and make it work. So that's really been the hardest part was just
being my true authentic self, and It's starting to come out with every episode,
and I'm I'm enjoying it, though. You know? I just love when people say, hey.
I listened to the episode, and that resonated with me because you're being
yourself. That's all I wanted to do. That's been the hardest part really is just
being myself and having people recognize that.
Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. That That, definitely rings true with me too.
Last few years, I've been having, like, words that kinda, like, inspire my year. And
and for this year, it's It is that. It's like being your authentic self, being
more of my authentic self and showing people who that is. And I think that's
like, podcasting is such an amazing platform to be able to do that.
And, yeah, I definitely, agree with you with, like, some of my earlier episodes and,
like, me trying to be this quote unquote podcast or whatever. But now it's just,
like, trying to have real conversations with people and not be, like, nervous
or just, like, you know, asking people about the things that are you know, that
they're interested in and the things that I'm interested in. And, yeah, Yeah. It's just
like 1 big learning experience. But, but, yeah, I really resonated with the,
trying to be more your authentic self. And, I think that's, you know,
almost a a pull away from, like, the societal thing of,
be supposed to be a certain person in a job or in school or in
your your community growing up. Like, you were painted to be this
person and and being okay with being like, hey. I'm changing now. You know, I
I'm not that person anymore, or or here's a piece of me that maybe
I thought you wouldn't enjoy, but I'm gonna say it anyways because that's who I
am. And and I think what ends up happening is you'll connect with the people
that you're supposed to connect with instead of just the greater good. Because you
don't wanna appeal to everybody. Right? You wanna be yourself, and you wanna find your
own tribe. So yeah. I I really resonate with that. I like that a lot.
So, yes, we're we're kinda coming to the end of our time here. I did
wanna ask you 1 question that I like to ask everybody. And the word purpose
is a big part of this podcast, and, I'd like to get everybody's
definition of purpose and what purpose means to them. So if you will
define purpose for us and, and, you know, give us any thoughts on that
word. Yeah. Purpose to me is, like, it's a layered answer. So
for me, it's One, doing what I like to do, which
is create. Whether it's creating the bracelets, whether it's creating
content, But I also want to to
help people at the same time because there's so many people that help me. Like,
my mother, I referenced in the beginning. She's been such an inspiration and still
is. To me, my grandparents, inspiration. I have cousins,
my godparents. They they've all inspired me so
much, so it's really giving everything that they gave to me
back to other people. So I just I just wanna
see people succeed and help because it's hard out here in the world. Like, we
live in a world of abundance, but so many people have a
scarcity mindset. And I've gotten as far as I've gotten
because people have encouraged me. People have encouraged me. They
put me in rooms I never thought I'd be in. They've prayed for me.
They've connected me with people who've changed my life. And and
now that I'm in a situation, I'm in a position where I have some
influence and some power to do that for other people. That's what I wanna do.
I want people to be their true authentic selves. I know that
sometimes we work at jobs and sometimes they try to stifle our
creativity, but Who you are, what you value should
never you should never have to hide that.
That's what purpose is to me. Being your authentic self, Helping
people, changing lives, building this world because we are a
world that thrives off of controversy, Negativity
and chaos, and that's awful because that's
what harms everyone the most. We criticize people
for for caring. Isn't that crazy? Like, the people who get criticized the
most are the people who care, people who want to make change.
And I'm okay with being called crazy because I know at the end of the
day, the people that are going to listen to this interview and see
the work that we're doing And see, the lives that we're changing are gonna be
the same people that said, damn. We should've we we should've invested
into them. We should've talked to them. We should've tuned into that episode.
We should have been around them because they really care. My I think
my biggest flaw in life is that I care too much sometimes, and I wanna
help people. But I do that because I know
that there's potential in everyone. And whether and whether
you buy a bracelet from me, A tote bag for me. You listen to
the podcast. You start subscribing. You share. I help you out with your business any
other way. I know That at the end of the day, if you have
interacted with me and I'm my true authentic self, that's gonna inspire
you. And it might not happen right then. It might happen 10 years
down the line. It might happen your last year in life, but my goal is
to help you. I don't know what that looks like. It could be in different
forms, but As long as you're evolving into the the best kind
of person that you can be, that's what my purpose is, to help people.
And the the more I start doing that, the the better I feel about myself.
And it's it's just unique. It's a tricky way to answer this, but I really
just wanna help people. And this is the only way that I know how to
do it. Like, I'm I'm not a doctor or anything. Like, I know how to
help people by being a creative, being a content creator,
having products, and And inspiring you any way that I can.
Mhmm. Yeah. That was a beautiful answer. I I love the aspect of
of you wanting to pass down and to share what people have poured into
you. And that that's, I think, a really, grateful way
to to look at, like, the knowledge that purpose have given you, and then
just always wanting to help people, I think, is is amazing too. And, I
think that's a a really good aspect of purpose is, like,
you helping other people gives you a sense of purpose because you're seeing them
grow, or you're seeing how you can change somebody's life just by, you know, the
little things that you do. And and then also the next thought that I was
thinking about too is, like, as you're talking about, yes, there's so much negativity in
the world and that sort of thing, but I too am also somebody who likes
to pour into the positive side of things and, like, not try not
to focus any energies in the negative stuff even though it's there and you can
acknowledge it. I think spending more time and, like, talking about the positive
things, doing things that help other purpose. You know, conversations like this, I
think that's where my, at least, best use of energy can
go. So so yeah. Thanks thanks for sharing all that, and thanks for being so
open and honest and, sharing all your knowledge with us. And,
you know, I'm I'm really grateful to have you here and to interview you. And,
the last question would be, like, what's next for you? And, you know, if people
resonated with this, where can they find you? Oh, so what's next? We'll see. Right?
You know? I I I don't know what's next. You know? I
just know that I'm moving I'm moving with faith. I'm moving with God, leading my
life. As long as he guides me in the right direction, I know the
opportunities are gonna come the way they have been coming because I'm living a life
that I never thought I would live, so I'm just gonna follow God and see
where he takes me. But where people could find me, if you're interested
in the podcast, you can follow the podcast On Instagram,
which is Passion, c h a t t I
n, underscore, with Underscore k
o b e y, and you could follow the channel with Kobay podcast on
Spotify, Apple podcast, Google podcast, YouTube
channel coming soon, c h a t t I n
with k o b e y. If you wanna follow my personal Instagram, I
guess that's okay too. It's KOBE y s
m I t h. So follow me through there and just reach out to me.
Like, DM me if you have any ideas of people you think I should
interview, any topics, any podcasts, just reach
out. You know, I'm still growing the brand. Website's coming soon,
but I'm just figuring it out. And if you're and, again,
if you wanna reach out to me on LinkedIn, like, I'm active on that, you
can just connect with me, k o b e y s m I t h
on LinkedIn. Connect with me. I'll accept your connection.
I have a lot of connections on it. I anyone as long as they're being
appropriate. So, yeah, I'm I'm a big I'm big on community
and building bridges and relationships with people because I
I learned from hanging around people who are smarter than me and passing that
off the information to the people who need it. So I love connecting with
people. I like learning from people. I'm what I'm gonna grow the podcast. I'm
gonna get Gina on my episode soon, and we're just gonna build it
together. And that's how people could connect with me. If it takes me a while
to get to you, I'm sorry. There's a lot going on, but I always make
sure that I respond to people because I know what it feels like to to
be ignored. And I never wanna do that to someone because it is hard. So
just be patient with me. Follow me. Let's let's grow this community
together, and let's All growing to being the the best people that we can possibly
be. Awesome. Thanks, man. Well, that's much appreciated, and
I will definitely put the links in the show notes. Thank you so much for
for being on today, and, I appreciate all your words of wisdom
and all your support. You know, we've known each other for maybe what was
it? Like, 2 years in the Navy. Yeah. Yeah. Met at known where I met
a lot of people. Right. And, yeah, every time we see each other, it's always
like, I'm excited to see you and you're excited RC Me, and and we're always
supporting the things that we do. So, I appreciate that relationship for sure.
And, yeah. Wish you the best in the future, and, hope hope everything
goes, you know, the way that you want it. No. Thank you, man. And I
appreciate your platform as well. You know, we you've always been supportive. Even when
I started, My podcast pod casting journey. You were like, hey, man. Just
just put it out there. Just try it and see where it goes. And seeing
you has definitely been one of the blueprints for me, so it's very
inspirational. I'm proud of all you're doing. And any way I can support and get
the word out for your podcast, just let me know. Like, I'm always a A
text or a message away, bro. You already know. Mhmm. Thank you, man. Appreciate
it. Thank you. Thank you for
listening to working towards our If you liked today's episode and
are interested in more, you can sign up for my Substack newsletter with the link
in the show notes where I share thoughts, tips, and ideas that
I'm learning along my journey to help inspire you. The show was
produced by Pleasant Podcast at pleasant podcast.com.