Think Digital, Go Global: The Islandpreneur Mindset for Sustainable Growth With Ife Badejo

Speaker A: You may know you're listening to this show along the Marketing Podcast Network, but did you know there are other great shows on MPN to help your business? John Kass hosts a great podcast called Deep Dive into Agile Marketing. John, tell listeners what to expect from the show.

Speaker B: The Deep Dive into Agile Marketing is an exploration of how marketers use agile marketing at brands in North America and beyond. I interview marketers at brands and explore how those companies use agile marketing. Agile marketing is the use of agile methods for managing the marketing process.

Speaker A: Interesting. Where can people subscribe?

Speaker B: Find the show@ah, marketingpodcast.net or search for Deep Dive into Agile Marketing wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker A: You heard him. Go subscribe. You may know you're listening to this show along the Marketing Podcast Network. But did you know there are other great shows on MPN to help your business? Sarah Panouse hosts a great podcast called Marketing with Empathy. Sarah, tell us what these fine folks will get when they listen.

Speaker C: Marketing with Empathy is a weekly podcast and it's designed for brand content marketers who want to connect with their audiences through storytelling and are looking for help to do it better. Plus, like enjoy that recognition, growth and just joy that comes from creating great work.

Speaker A: Awesome. Where can people subscribe?

Speaker C: Yeah, head on over to marketing podcast.net and you will see the Marketing with Empathy show there. Otherwise, wherever you listen to podcasts, you'll find Marketing with Empathy.

Speaker A: You heard her, go subscribe. Mhm.

Speaker D: Foreign. This episode of the Entrepreneurial you

Speaker E: success is a team sport. There's no I in success. And I think the earlier you understand that, the more you start to look for who can you partner with that can help you scale your ideas, scale your business, scale the opportunities to grow your business. It is important right now for Islandpreneurs to be empowered so that they can make progress so that they can live in paradise.

Speaker F: Hey, it's John Lee Dumas of EO Fire and it's the Entrepreneurial you the show for dedicated and passionate Caribbean entrepreneurs seeking daily inspiration brought to you by author, speaker and award winning entrepreneur Henneka Wakis Porter. You must be prepared to ignite.

Speaker D: I am, um, beyond excited today. Beyond excited because it is time for another episode of the Entrepreneur you podcast. And I'm your host, Anika Watkins Porter. And you know, I'm super excited because today we're spotlighting a visionary reshaping Caribbean entrepreneurship. She's the founder of Islandpreneur International, among, um, several other things. And we're going to be talking about the several other things, right. Her Mission is clear. Help island based entrepreneurs embrace digital transformation, think globally and thrive sustainably. With a decade of ecosystem building and innovation work behind her, she's leading a movement that blends purpose, technology and community. I speak of none other than the amazing, the awesome, the beautiful, the wonderful Ife Badajo. Hello, Ife and welcome.

Speaker E: Oh my goodness, that's such an amazing intro. Thank you so much for having me. It's so humbling to be here and I'm super excited to be with you as well.

Speaker D: Listen, ah, you know, I hope my other guests listening, they are not jealous right now because we go way back, right? We go way back.

Speaker E: We do.

Speaker D: And, um, yeah, but before we get into all of that because, man, I'm excited. Let me tell the listeners or pick performance community what it is that we're talking about today. So we're talking. Our topic is Think digital, Go global, the islandpreneur mindset for sustainable growth. And this is against the backdrop that we live in small islands, but there are big ideas here. IFA believes the Caribbean can be a global powerhouse of innovation if entrepreneurs harness digital tools fearlessly. So in this episode, we're going to be exploring digital readiness, connecting, uh, leadership networks and what it takes to scale bold ideas from small markets to big stages. But before we go into the thick of things, the nitty gritty ife, here's your icebreaker question. What's one belief about small island entrepreneurship? You love proving wrong.

Speaker E: That we're small, that we produce small, that we're doing a small little thing, that, um, when we show up, we show up small. That we are insignificant and don't have much to contribute to the world. That particular paradigm is what I believe is a core part of my purpose, to completely obliterate it. And so, um, I show up big even though I'm from a small island, um, and I don't always feel big. Truth be told, sometimes when I show up big, I feel like an imposter, imposter syndrome type of a thing. But I show up big, I challenge myself to be big, I challenge myself to produce big, I challenge myself to embrace big. And to do so, that's an internal work that's required. And it's a real, I'm happy that you coined it the islandpreneurial mindset, because it's not that I'm trying to copy big. I'm not trying to copy what I see out there. I'm just trying to amplify what I believe the islands have to offer to the world.

Speaker D: And where's the lie. I mean, you don't think big at all. Uh, you don't think small. You're always thinking big. You're always doing big things. You're always doing amazing things. And that is what I love about. You know, I must let our audience know that we were scheduled for, um, to start our conversation on the hour, and we didn't start until about 17 minutes after the hour because, my gosh, we were just catching up. And it was just also amazing talking about the different things that we're doing and we're excited about. And if you're hearing noise, my listeners, it's the beauty of the raindrops on the trees on the outside. So embrace it. Okay. Hope it, you know, provides a calming effect for you. All right, So I am glad you've been doing all of that to, you know, obliterate, as you say, and, you know, debunk the myth about islandpreneurship, um, and, you know, being on an island and how we operate and all of that. Now we are going to dive deeper. And what I want to get from you, ife, is what was it that inspired the creation of Islandpreneur International? I mean, that sounds almost like an oxymoron, right? Islandpreneur International, right?

Speaker E: It does. It does. I think I live a very oxymoronic life, for lack of a better term. Um, so islandpreneur actually has phased into a business. It started out with, um, me being frustrated, um, about payment options a few years ago and went online on Facebook and said, confessions of an Islandpreneur. Because I'm always making up words. It's what Caribbean people do, right? We have a thing for creation of things, including words. And so, um, I said that. And then a friend of mine messaged me privately. He said, if you don't use it, I will. And I said, don't you dare touch it back up. Um, and then after that, we had a, um, an event with Leslie Samuel. Um, top 40 Islandpreneurs under 40.

Speaker D: Love me some Leslie, by the way. Let's put that on. We love

Speaker E: Leslie. Yes, we love Leslie. And then, um, and he's been part of the islandpreneur journey also. Um, and then when I wanted to do an event in person, um, it was 2020, and the world shut down. And same Leslie said, go live. And I said, what do you mean I can't go live? Everything is shut down. How am I? And it didn't click, because at that time is when live, Facebook Live had just come out instagram Live was shortly thereafter. So it was only when he said it about three, four times is when I, what he was trying to communicate with me that I could do this virtually and it'd still be live. And so, um, I partnered with the Central bank for Curacao and St. Martin, as well as the telecommunications company Telem on St. Martin and did a three day virtual event that had over 600 people registered, uh, from 35 different countries. Um, we had all kinds of speakers on there from all over the world. Focus on Islandpreneurship. Right? What businesses need to know, uh, to be more global, to, to grow to scale and all of that. That was in 2020. And so we had an event series called Islandpreneur. And then we landed in 2023. I said, this thing is not going anywhere, it's not moving anything. And so we launched islandpreneur soft launch islandpreneur International llc. So we have a US based, um, business that also allows us to have the international Payment railways because remember the frustration was getting paid online. And so, um, we're very excited about how it's grown over the years. And now we're producing different kinds of events like AI island, powered by IslandPreneur. So we've done quite a few things. We've been able to be a partner with the government of St. Martin for over three years, doing a, uh, national youth pitch competition which was focused on entrepreneurship, development, financial literacy and uh, innovation development among the youth. Um, and then we've also done the Samarta Financial Literacy Month and launched that also. Because quite honestly, Henneka, if you're going to be an IslandPreneur, there are three things that actually spell my name because I'm very much about pointing things. So there's three things that you actually really need. You need to be, um, innovative, right? You need to have your eye on what's happening innovation wise. Because innovation is a powerhouse that allows us to scale. It's a leveling field. We're going to talk a little bit more about that later in this podcast. The transformative power that you get from innovation. You need to be financially literate because it's actually about the money at the end of the day. Like, you need to be able to reinvest not just in your business and in yourself, but in your community and things of that nature. You want to live a paradisical life, which means that you have some freedom and that includes financial freedom. And then you need to be entrepreneurial. How do you change those innovative ideas and how do you ensure that you have a system that allows you to be building wealth for yourself and for your families? And so that's really I, F, E, it spells ife. Um, but those are the things that I'm very much committed to through Islandpreneur International.

Speaker D: I love that. And you alluded to something which I am here sitting in my seat and I, I observe you all the time online and I see all these amazing fantabulous, making up words, um, partners that you have on board with everything that you're doing. Tell us how.

Speaker E: She said tell us how. Um, success is not. Success is a team sport. There's no I in success. And I think the earlier you understand that, the more you start to look for who can you partner with that can help you scale your ideas, scale your business, scale the opportunities to grow your business? And so, um, one of the things that how is literally just being present. Um, making sure that you're in the room, but not that you're just in the room, making sure that you say something in the room, making sure that you're at the table, making sure that you're engaging with people. Um, you'd be surprised how presence is a present. And the more presence you are or present you are, um, you give people the gift of the opportunity to work with you. Right? Um, that's one, two. As a small, as people coming from smaller islands or smaller countries, oftentimes we feel like the bigger opportunities are for the big country people, right? For the U.S. for Europe, for African countries. That goes to them and then we get the crumbs. And so Islandpreneur is also very much about valuing the gift of the islands. We bring creativity, we bring color, we bring, um, collaboration, we bring community. We are master relationship builders. We know how to engage with anyone, anywhere anyhow. We know how to switch from speaking with a particular accent to another accent flawlessly. We know how to connect, but we don't see that as a superpower. And that's actually what the world wants. The world wants to connect. That's why you have so much social media out there. That's why events are still going. People want to connect. And so the how is to be present and to be open to the opportunity and to value what you bring to the table and not shrink, but just show others who you are.

Speaker D: Listen, you said something and I, and I just had to pull from my notebook, okay? Give people the gift of the opportunity to work with you and in the end value, you know, place a value on yourself that speaks of um, the kind of mindset that you need to have. Because oftentimes we are approaching partners and we approach it in a tone that lets it appear as though they are the one giving us something.

Speaker E: You are so right.

Speaker D: And it's not a mutual exchange.

Speaker E: You're so right. So one of the decisions I made early on is that whenever I reach out to a partner, notice I've never said sponsor.

Speaker D: Uh,

Speaker E: I don't have sponsors. I don't know what that is like now. Maybe for them in their paperwork they have to put sponsor, but when we're having the conversation, they're a partner. Because I've all. I'm also adding something to them as well as they are adding something to me. So if they're giving me finances, for example. Right. And that's not the only kind of partnership that I've had. We spoke earlier, before we went live about the different kinds of partnerships that I've had. So since if they're giving me finance, financial, um, commitment, I'm giving them a stage, I'm giving them access to an audience that they may not typically get access to. I'm giving them the kind of marketing that is authentic and real and not just an ad. So more of a relationship marketing style. So I'm bringing something to the table and the more we look at it as a mutual exchange of value, that's when we can have the real conversation of partnership.

Speaker D: Mhm. I like that. I like that a lot. And those persons who are at the back of the class, please come up because oftentimes, you know, we, we hear the complaints, you know, I can't, I can't get the partners, they won't partner with me, they won't sponsor my event, all of these things. Right. And could it be, including, note to self, Heniko, could it be that our mindset is wrong? Right. And so from this conversation, I want us to shift our thinking. And whenever we're approaching a prospect, somebody to partner with us, the conversation, the positioning ought to be the gift of the opportunity to work with us. Not

Speaker E: to, not that

Speaker D: we're not that we're trying to get something from them, we're trying to have them part of their money or whatever it is, whether it's an in kind or in cash partnership relationship. Right. So that I believe is something very, very poignant. And I want our listeners to take that to heart.

Speaker E: And if I can just double down on this for a little bit, many of those bigger organizations, they are exhausted from the number of requests that they get for sponsorship or Giving or whatever the case is. So you have to offer them something different. You have to offer them a unique opportunity. Um, it can't just be, oh, I take your money and you get good advertising. It needs to be something that speaks to them. My dad always says that everyone on the planet listens to one radio station, wiifm.

Speaker D: What's in it

Speaker E: for

Speaker D: me? Ah.

Speaker E: And so when you're showing up in those rooms and you're being present, part of being present is listening, asking questions, getting to know these people for real. Not just making it transactional, but like I said, true relationship building. So tell me about what you do. Tell me about what are some of the concerns that you have within your organization. Is there a way for us to be able to work together? Is there a project that you have a particular eye on? Is there a particular sector that you have priorities in? Those are the kinds of questions that are going to lead you now to the strategy. So we talked about the mindset, but those are the kinds of questions that are going to lead you to the strategy that's going to make it more likely than not that they want to actually work with you.

Speaker D: Absolutely. Let's move on to the idea of you empowering entrepreneurs effect to transition from local markets to the global stages. How do you do that? I mean, just by being you, I'm sure that happens. But in your interaction, how do you empower entrepreneurs to make that transition?

Speaker E: A lot of it is mindset, A lot of it is confidence coaching. A lot of it is, um, having a global mindset. A lot of it is, are you really ready for the global stage? Um, because you can want it and not be ready for it. Right. So you have to make sure that you are positioning yourself. A lot of it also is, what does your online presence look like? Like you have entrepreneurial, you, you have a strong digital footprint. When I search for you, I can find you on the different key platforms and you show up in a particular way. Your pictures are a particular quality, your audio is a particular quality. Those things actually matter. People notice when you invest in what you do and then you become more investable in their eyes. Right. So, um, if you're going to want to be on the global stage, but still act as if you're local or small island, there's a mismatch, you're incongruent. And so what I encourage is that from a strategic perspective, we've done what they call subnational diplomatic initiatives. And so we've engaged with the U.S. consulate, the U.S. mission to the Dutch Caribbean. Specifically we've engaged with the Dutch Council based in Atlanta. I just had a, ah, I was just on a call today, a meeting, uh, with the Dutch Council based in Miami. And so I'm looking forward to meeting with them before I leave Miami. Um, and so we have those strategic conversations with governments and different people of that nature to see, okay, what kinds of projects or what kinds of railways can we support and help to co create to ensure that these entrepreneurs have access to these markets, access to these resources, access to these opportunities. And so, um, two years running with the National Youth Pitch Competition, we piloted a program where we brought our young entrepreneurs, submerged them into the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Atlanta. Uh, they were connected to all of the major incubators, accelerators, universities, everything in about seven days. And fast forward today, our pilot program has now expanded where another island got a similar opportunity and they used our playbook for it. Right. So we're very excited about what's happening with um, how we are creating these opportunities. Uh, we're doing accelerator programs starting back in 2026. And so those accelerator programs are also connecting our global network to our local, uh, environment and supporting them. And at the end they will be able to showcase internationally. So those are some of the things that we have been working on and we're very proud to see things develop. It's taken some time, Henneka. I'm not going to l. This, this has not been a, um, 1, 2, 3 type of a thing. This has been years and years of doing the reps, but nothing before it's time. So now's the time.

Speaker D: Yeah. And an overnight success, as they say, is usually 10 years or more in the. Yes. Don't we know that. Right. Or entrepreneurial path is never linear. It's always like, you know, I was watching a sermon by some Stephen Fertick of Elevation Church recently and he had an illustration of um, the, you know, the, the heart, the flat line. When you're in the hospital and you're having a, a heart problem, for example, and there's a flat line just going across. Clearly there's a problem when you begin to realize that, you know, activities are happening and the heart is working is when you see those peaks and valleys.

Speaker E: Mhm.

Speaker D: And that, my friend, is akin to life, particularly the life of, of an entrepreneur. So

Speaker E: yes,

Speaker D: when you talk about it's not a 1, 2, 3, don't I know it? Don't we all entrepreneurs know?

Speaker E: Yes.

Speaker D: And as you talk about empowering entrepreneurs, I am thinking to myself, here I am going back to mindset, because it's one thing to empower, um, but it's also one thing to take that empowerment and do something with it right now. What are some of the ways in which, uh, small island mentality, quote unquote, show up as you see it?

Speaker E: First thing. Um, yeah, you know, I start in a small little business. First thing.

Speaker D: First

Speaker E: thing.

Speaker D: I hate that

Speaker E: first thing. And then a little thing. Just a small little thing. First thing. Um, I cannot. If I had to count how much times I heard that, I would be a billionaire.

Speaker D: Ah.

Speaker E: Um, I just. Doing a little thing, you know, just, I just started small. And first and foremost, every business starts small. Let's, let's just demystify how businesses started. Every big business that you've seen, the Microsoft's of the world, the Facebooks of the world, the uh, Toyota company of the world, whatever you've seen. You

Speaker D: mean, you mean they didn't like blow up over, like they didn't start away? Oh my gosh,

Speaker E: they started small. Okay, so small is the starting point for everybody. Everybody starts small. That's number one. Number two, I always say this language is not just there to communicate. The core purpose of language is to create. So if you start a small little business, you're going to forever have a

Speaker D: small

Speaker E: little.

Speaker D: Oh my gosh, I must behave. If you're bringing. You're drawing me out, man. You're drawing me out.

Speaker E: That is the truth. And so I'm very intentional about language. I'm very intentional also about. Even when I mess up, my team calls me up. They're like, but wait a minute, that's not the language we use for this. Because language creates. And so you're starting a business clean. How big or small, full stop. How big or small is entirely up to you. But you're starting a business. And if you're starting a business, then there is first and foremost a mindset that's required and then after that a work ethic that's required to ensure that you build the kind of business that you actually want. I am not interested, Henaka, to be honest, in creating the business that has me a slave to my business for the rest of my life. I'm not interested in that type of a business. Other people, that gives them power, that gives them purpose, that gives them energy. I'm not that chick. I want to be able to build this business and then live a particular life based on the business that I've built. And so, um, whether that is I sell it or I hire management to be able to Run it in a particular way. And at every growth outspurt of my business, I'm learning more and more about the style of business I prefer. Um, I have worked 100 hour weeks, we've talked about burnouts and things of that nature. It is not worth it to me to be able to build a business that I cannot enjoy life from. I want to enjoy life. The last time I checked, life was meant to be lived and lived abundantly. And so I want to live and live abundantly. And so I'm building my business according to that particular kind of pattern. Um, but that, it doesn't mean that I don't have challenges and it doesn't mean that there aren't limitations or different resource allocation challenges that makes, um, me make certain decisions. Please, guys, if you hear my voice and you from a small little island, even that if you're from an island, please don't start telling people you start in a small little business. Because this is another thing that I've learned. We talked about mindset, we talked about language, being a creator. But also this is what I learned from one of my mentors, Dr. Will Moreland. He told me that ife big vision attracts big money, small vision attracts no money. If, uh, you don't have a big vision, it's not going to attract the bigger money. And so in some, instead of playing small. We have access to 44 million people within the Caribbean region. We have at least four different languages. Many islands are multilingual, particularly in the Dutch Caribbean. We speak on average three to four languages. We have access to a whole bunch of people and cultures. If we came together and collaborated more efficiently and effectively, we would be unstoppable.

Speaker D: Um, amazing, Amazing. We're going to go into digital entrepreneurship and particularly want to touch, uh, how can we have a conversation and not talk about AI? Right. So we're going to talk about AI and how you have just entered, um, the realm of AI and you are just running with it, as they say. Let's talk about that. I am so, so excited to get into it with your effect.

Speaker E: Okay, so let's track back. Yes, let's take one step back before we jump right into AI. I have always been an innovator. I have always been someone who is keen on technology and technological tools because as a small business, that is what I have seen that has allowed me to ramp with the big boys, as they would say. Right. And so, um, I have always been passionate about digital tools and the digital economy and the digital world. Because if you are small that is a, uh, a lever that you can use to do really amazing things. Now enters AI, where it becomes cheaper, it is faster, it is at times even better. It can predict trends, it is accessible. Um, every tool that I have has an AI built into it. Samsung just released Galaxy AI. Microsoft has Copilot. Google has Gemini. So even if I didn't want to use ChatGPT, which is an external platform, everything else has it. WhatsApp has Meta AI, although they don't have it for WhatsApp business. Hello, Meta. Can we have it for WhatsApp business too, please? And I have embraced this world. One of the key reasons why I've embraced it is for the same reason why I love the digital realm any which way is because it has such a transformative power for us to truly scale our businesses. Now let me give you a anecdote. Hanukkah. I don't code. I don't know a liquor code. Okay, um, in my coding days, coding days, when I went to CXC way back when, in another lifetime, um, it was Ms. Dos, which anybody who knows anything about coding, they would consider that the dinosaur of coding. Okay? It's outdated. And I have created apps, I've created websites, I have created mobile apps for myself for clients using AI tools. And then whenever I get stuck, I go to the same AI and say, can you help me do this? And then I would also tell me how to do it cheap. So, okay, you could use this because this is a free cloudblaze open source, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and just enter this code here and boom, you have your app. Um, I love it. If you are really serious about building your business, you can provide such extraordinary, superior customer service, um, service delivery websites, things of that nature that for the digital world is really critical for your success. Lead generators. Um, I mean, you could do anything right now with AI. And so, yes, I'm very passionate about it to the point that we created a whole event called AI Islands, which we launched in Curacao this year. Um, when ChatGPT came out, we were the first on St. Martin to include AI workshops within our events. So we did it for Islandpreneur Live in 2022 or no, 2023. Then we did it again in 2024 and in Curacao in 2024. And then now AI Islands was born in 2025, uh, just to give you a little bit of the timeline. And ChatGPT came out in November of 22. So in the past three years, our lives have all changed, um, with AI and then to the point that the government of Saint Martin has named me as one of Saint Martin's AI ambassadors to the world. So I am now tasked with the job to. To promote AI and also to see how we can really leverage it from a smaller business or emerging business perspective. Um, it is a leveling tool.

Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. Leveling the playing field. I love it. And I love what you're doing with it. I love what I see going on on socials. I'm going to pause here. Ife to do the Community Connection segment when we come back. Here's what I want to talk to. Think about it some more. We touched on it a little bit, but I want to bring it home, and it's, how can Caribbean, uh, innovators attract investment and build global partnerships? So we are going to talk a little bit about that, but before that, let's dive into the community connection. So this is absolutely one of my favorite parts as, you know, or peak performers. And it's the Community Connection segment. This is where I get to hear from you. You get to share your feedback on some of the episodes. You share your stories, you ask your questions, the lesson learned, all of that stuff. Right? It's why we have Community now. I've been sharing since, uh, the past two weeks or so, I've been sharing feedback from the Grace to Go graduation, the Grace to Go mentorship and training graduation, which was held as part of our leadercast conference. So that was a gift to our mentors, our mentees rather, and they were able to experience leadercast with their, um, their family members and with our community. And our team were able to experience leadercast in addition to the graduation portion. And here is what Tione Waters has to say about it. This program is such a gem, and it's truly what God wants you to be doing. Ms. Hennekel, I was literally in the audience, and tears came to my eyes. I love everyone in this program so much, even the ones I haven't met as yet. I'm so happy to be part of such a movement and sisterhood. Just continue to shine, Mrs. Porter, and lead with Grace. Tioni Walters. Thank you so much, Tioni. Thank you for sharing in our community connection. I'm so grateful that I'm able to touch lives in the way that I do. I thank God for this opportunity every single day. And I now come back to my conversation with Ife Badajo. And Aoife is no stranger to Grace To Grow. She's actually been a supporter, um, of Grace to Grow. I remember when we were having our tea party, like, hey, wait up. I want to, I want to buy a ticket to send somebody. And she did that and I'm so, so super grateful. So, yeah, Back to you, Ms. Ife. No,

Speaker E: of course. When you see people doing great things and you're inspired, whatever little way that you can help them is how I think everyone should act. And so I have been blessed where people have poured into me and supported my events whether they could have attended or not. And so I wanted to do the same because I wasn't able to make it there personally. And so I really wanted to, to show support for you, my sister. So definitely, absolutely. You know, whatever I can do to support, I will.

Speaker D: Absolutely. Um, one, one cocoa, full basket, right? Yes. Jamaica.

Speaker E: Yeah, Absolutely.

Speaker D: Yes. Um, let's get to the question, right?

Speaker E: Mhm. The question is, are you investable?

Speaker D: Ouch. Oh

Speaker E: man. Oh man. Okay. Oh, and amen. Amen. The question is truly, are you investable? Do you have a very clear value proposition? Do you have a track record? Do you have the paperwork that showcases all of that? Do you have your financials in order? Uh, whether it's an international investor or local investor, the question is, are you investable? We want to attract investors, but we're not having the real conversation. If we are investment ready and if we are investment ready, are we still investable? Uh, do we have a scalable mark? Ah, a scalable model, business model. Many of our businesses are not scalable. They don't have tech enablement or digital tools to help them scale. Um, and so if it's going to cost me more money to scale and it's uh, going to take a long time for me to recoup my money, then I'm not investable. And the other thing is, why do you need the investment? Because I think sometimes we look outside when the answer is inside. If you fix your business, if you fix your value proposition, if you focus on your sales and making sure that you have premium quality product or services in the combination of the two, you may not necessarily need an investor. You will just get more clients and then your investors become your clients by way of revenue. You know what I mean? Really being critical about your business, are you building the right kind of business? Is really important. That's number one. So are you investable? If you are investible, what kind of investors are you attracting? Are you attracting those who are impact investors? So you have a category of investors, businesses that want to invest in social, environmental type businesses that are doing good and doing well and they See the upside of that and you've built a really good solid business model. That's impact investment. Are you attracting angel investors? So these are usually for early, early stage startups that they just, you know, they like what you're doing, they see that you can do something and they want to invest and support you along the way. Uh, but the reality is that every investor is going to be interested in something called the return on investment. Do you have roi? And that's a real conversation that you have to have that answers the question about are you investable? Are you investment ready? If you can't have those numbers and you can't talk about those numbers very like real, what's the cost of acquiring a customer? Um, what are the churn rates? If you have a digital uh, business or not, what are some of these key measurements, metrics, then there's no reason why we have to talk about an investor. Then the focus is on making sure that you have a solid house, that you have everything in the house that would make it investable. And so there's a book called Build to Sell which I would recommend that people read because that would be a real good resource as to how you need to structure your business for investment. Because if somebody's willing to buy it, they're also willing to invest in it.

Speaker D: Absolutely. All right, uh, time has been well spent. You've dropped so many gems. And now as it relates to the topic effect that we came on board with and we told our audience that this is what we're talking about. Think global, think digital, go global. The island mindset for sustainable goal. Along that backdrop, I'm going to ask you to give your final thoughts and let our community of PE performers know exactly where they can find you to get more gems and to see you shine like you've always been doing. And if you have a giveaway, if there is something you want to lead our um, community to then share that as well.

Speaker E: Okay, so um, what, I'll start with the last part first. So we have a list of over 125 AI tools for different parts of your business. Finance, operations, marketing, sales, um, and then we also have efe's favorites. Some of efe's favorites on there. It is a free resource that we're giving away to anyone. So what I will do is I'll just send it to you Henneke and then you can just share it with your um, entire network. And then to find out more about us, they can go to islandpreneur.com right. Um, so I will go ahead and give you that gift so that you can give to your entire community. Um, it's 125 plus. It's now getting into 150 different tools. Yes. And then also it showcases what the best uses are, how much it costs in what ways that you can use it and why it's good to use. So you get, you don't just get the links, you get all of this other information that's attached to it that can support you. Last final words about thinking global, um, and operating in the digital space from paradise, we've kind of coined it to this. It is important right now for islandpreneurs to be empowered so that they can make progress, so that they can live in paradise. Too often the cost of living in paradise for us, the ones that come from paradise, is way too high. And that is because we import everything, we export very little and we don't. And the one thing that we get to export that is very affordable to export is our talent, our gifting, our expertise, our knowledge, um, all of that other thing that we get to do. Right. And so I think it's important for us to be empowered through digital tools, through global mindset, in order to be able to make progress and also to, uh, therefore afford to live in paradise. That's one. Number two is we are, I believe, with a firm conviction that the next big innovation is going to come from the Caribbean. And I want to be a part of it. So I am there as a cheerleader, but I'm also there as a coach. Coach. I'm there as a supporter. Um, me and my team are there to support as best as we can in our entire network because I truly believe that the next innovation, it's not coming from the us, it's not coming from Europe, it's not coming from Africa, it's not coming from Asia. Everybody got their part. It's time for us in the Caribbean region specifically. And so I'm very excited about that and to be a part of that. And I look forward to all of the amazing things that are coming out of the Caribbean. Uh, there is also talking about investment that the Inter American Development bank is making a list and doing some research on investment, railways and investment opportunities. As soon as that is finished, I will share that with you, Hanneken. Then you can also share that with your community. Um, I stay as plugged into different networks as possible so I know what's going on in the region. And so that is happening. That has been happening for some time. Uh, but the one thing that I know to be true is that if you build your business right, uh, you will have the right kinds of customers. And the right kinds of customers come from everywhere. Okay? If the customer can come from Pluto and pay you, take that customer. They come from everywhere. You just have to make sure that you're creating something of value that helps them solve a problem, a pain point for them, and be very intentional about building a business. Not just building a hobby or a hustle, not just producing services and products. But like I said earlier on today, the three secrets to building an, uh, online business is mindset, tools, and automation. You need to have the right mindset move from products and services to building systems that do that for you. You need to have the right tools, affordable tools that allow you to engage in the different areas of your business. And you need to have automation so that these tools talk to each other and truly serve as your digital team so that you can have the time, freedom to do what you do best. And so that's what I would say to your audience.

Speaker D: Oh, uh, fantastic. Fantastic. What a privilege. What a pleasure it has been to host you today. Ife. I'm gonna go into the trending now section, and when that is over, then I'll come right back and I'll do the wrap. And now for trending Now Digital First. Companies in developing regions are growing 60% F faster than traditional models. And that's according to the WEF, uh, 2025. Yet fewer than 30% of small island businesses have adopted scalable digital systems, proving Eife's mission is both timely and transformational. And that's what's trending now. So now it is my, uh, pleasure to say thank you. A big, huge thank you to efe. You have showed us ife how innovation can rise from anywhere, especially from islands that dream big. You know, it's not about starting a little thing with a little thing. You know, um, it's about thinking big. Even though you may be on an island. Right? There is no limit. The only limit that you put that you have is the one that you set for yourself. And so we ask you to remove those limits. All right, so find out from more from IFE on LinkedIn. You can go to LinkedIn, and of course, she's IFE Badejo on LinkedIn and Islandpreneur. CO. That's CO, right? So Islandpreneur CO. Thank you, Ife.

Speaker E: Oh, my goodness. This has been such a joy and pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for doing the work as well, and thank you for being a true example of what an islandpreneur is that you embrace, uh, all of your island ness and at the same time, that you hold space in a global stage in such a way that you are one of the top podcasts that people listen to and they want to hear about entrepreneurs. Um, and so I'm so proud of you and proud of the work that you've done. It has been such an honor to be here with you. So God bless.

Speaker D: God bless you, too, and thank you. Thank you. And to you, our community of peak performers. If you loved this conversation, please, I ask, if you haven't yet already done so, why haven't you subscribed? Leave a review and share it with a, uh, visionary entrepreneur ready to expand and extend their reach. Affirm with me, I think global lead digital and create impact beyond borders. A very special thank you to our sponsors, of course, the Jamaica Stock Exchange, um, and hanikawatkissporter.com.

Speaker A: You may know you're listening to this show along the Marketing Podcast Network, but did you know there are other great shows on MPN to help your business? Seth Goldstein hosts a great podcast called Entrepreneurs Enigma. Seth, tell us what these fine folks will get when they listen.

Speaker G: They will get me introducing them, um, to some great entrepreneurs who have either found their way through the journey of entrepreneurship or who are entering entrepreneurship and can share their experiences.

Speaker A: Amazing. Where can people subscribe?

Speaker G: They can subscribe over@, uh, entrepreneursenigma.com they can go over to Marketing Podcast. Net, or they can just go to their directory of choice. I'm in there, and if I'm not, email me.

Speaker A: Awesome. You heard them, folks. Go subscribe. This podcast is heard along the Marketing Podcast Network. For more great marketing Podcasts, visit Marketing podcasts dot net.