Most successful business owners take great pride in being their own bosses, creating something of value, and having control over how much money they make. The ability to be self-fulfilled by “doing your own thing” is one of the traits that drive many towards business ownership.
In this episode, Mervin will speak with Ashley Rhaburn and Jose Collado two Belizean entrepreneurs who are making big moves in fulfilling their dreams.
Listen to the audio:
KEY POINTS FROM THIS EPISODE
- Ashley Rhaburn shares her journey to becoming owner of Dotbox Donuts
- How her business course exposed her to entrepreneurship
- More about Dotbox products and how you can contact them
- Ashley shares the story behind her logo and brand
- Mastering time management
- Jose Collado talks about all he does in media and how his journey to entrepreneurship began
- He highlights how gaming impacted him in a positive way
- How his father impacted his career choice
- Jose’s go to for solving problems
- More about the services available through his business
- International business opportunities
- Pricing your services
TWEETABLE MOMENTS
“Technically food is science” (14:16-14:18)
“I felt more comfortable doing my own thing, developing my own brand and just creating like a legacy for myself.” (15:58 – 16:04)
“Really capturing culture through food, like appreciating the history of Belize.” (20:35 – 20:40)
“We grew up around bakers.” (26:04 – 26:06)
“It’s already within you whatever you need to know is within you and then it just comes out.” (26:21 – 26:27)
“I just manage my time properly.” (31:05 – 31:08)
“I found what I was really interested in and just followed that path and it has led me up to now.” (36:02 – 36:09)
“ The interest is like a whole world in itself.” (37:10 -37:13)
“I was more interested in the recording and how to mix and how to levels, and how to get to this.” ( 40:44 – 40:50)
“It’s very important to teach yourself to have the responsibility to teach yourself to go and take your time to research on something that interests you; something you feel passionate about.” (43:14 – 43:28)
“Every day is research, every day you learn something new.” (44:18 – 44: 20)
“The most important thing I think is the way you approach the work, how you feel about doing this. The positivity that you bring into the project.” ( 48:58 – 49:10)
“Your attitude has to be right.” (49:35 – 49:36)
“Find a way to learn new skills so in the future you can use those to your advantage.” (51:22 – 51:30)
“ We now have the opportunity to put our music out there globally.” (57:22 – 57:26)
About Ashley Rhaburn
Ahsley Rhaburn is the owner of two small businesses, Creole Mix and Dotbox Donut. Creole Mix was her first start-up. It offers pre-mixed packages of Belizean staples, such as powder bun, fry jacks, and tortillas. Each package’s label includes a watermark of a Belizean monument. Ashely is passionate about this business because she believes it is preserving the Belizean culture through food. While she had started the business on a very small scale she was unable to fund the continuation of the business. She then decided on an overnight whim to start her other business, Dotbox Donuts. Her inspiration for her second business came from childhood experiences and paying attention to the trends in the market. The business was well received and soon her orders increased. This moved Ashley to begin experimenting with flavors and later creating a full menu of classic and gourmet flavors.
Ashley remains excited about her business and looks forward to expanding it and increasing her product reach. She is indebted to her mother and grandmother who has always encouraged her to do her best. Ashley has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and is currently pursuing her master’s in marketing.
About Jose Collado
Jose Collado is a native of Benque Veijo Town and a recognized artist, musically known as Ralfy El Phantom. He was groomed into the art world through his Father, Pablo Collado, an International renowned artist. Jose’s musical career started in 2014 when he won first place in a musical competition during the Benque Centennial Celebrations for his hit song Benque Centenario. This win fuelled his energies and led him to form, in partnership with Ivan Salazar, “Bass Impact”. The duo had a successful thirteen years creating hit songs and classics that could be heard on the local radio stations. Jose “Ralfy” went on to win more awards including the 2017 National September Celebration’s video competition for the hit song “Bandera al Aire” featuring Negro Loco. He has collaborated with many local artists and welcomes them at the musical hub in Benque, Bamboo Studio. This powerful space is the home of many young and renowned artists in the community.
Jose is also a film producer, working on both local and international productions. He has received multiple nominations for the Belize Film Festival awards and in 2006 won the video of the Year award. Professionally he has played an integral part in the Belize National Channel.
He now focuses his energies on developing and embracing his path as an entrepreneur as a producer, composer, entertainer, and designer of his small business, Bamboo Studios. He is considered a true inspiration for many young musicians and artists who believe in the power of music and hopes to create a pathway for other artists to join in the movement to place Belize on the International Stage.
