The Art Of Business
Army veteran Niurka Castenada becomes the first repeat guest for the Battle Buddy Podcast. We discuss some of her amazing projects and accomplishments over the past year. Niurka hosts a television shows on Legrity Media called Umbrellas of Hope which highlights non profits working to assist veterans in various ways. She also hosted the Business and Art Infusion summit earlier in 2022 to highlight the fact that business and art are intertwined and is full of great information for everyone. With 31 guests and numerous topics everyone is sure to learn something from the speakers at her summit. Niurka also drops some tips on how to succeed with building and hosting large events like her summit.
Battle Buddy Podcast Guest Links:
https://amorumbrella.com/business-books/
Transcript from Episode 70 with Niurka Castaneda:
Keith McKeever
Welcome to the battle buddy podcast with Keith McKeever. Welcome back to another episode today I've got a great guest with me. If you've been paying attention to my podcast from day one, you'll probably recognize this name. This is the first repeat guests of the battle buddy podcast. I couldn't be more excited to bring my friend your cast tonight up here. Before we do though, just from remind you go make sure you like and follow subscribe. No matter where you're watching this podcast or listening to it, make sure you like and subscribe, follow, share it with your friends, that's that's really important. And if you feel feel like it, leave a review that really helps you. I really, really appreciate that. Without further ado, neroca Welcome back to the battle buddy podcast, you hold the distinction of the first repeat guest.
Niurka Castaneda
Thank you so much for having me. And forgive me that honor.
Keith McKeever
I'm always excited to talk to you. I mean, we talked so frequently in different different chats and stuff like that I've known you for gosh, what, two years now, something like that. So it's always fun and exciting. And I figured, you know, hey, it's about time, you know, it's approaching 70 episodes, it's about time I bring back some of the early guests and you know, get that, where's New York and now moment trying to think of the TV show where they do that we're gonna bring back so and so see where they're at it a life update. But you've got to you got like a million different things that have been going on over the last? Gosh, a year and a half or so however long has been since I had John, I think you were episode six if I remember. Right. So with with that, give us a little update on who is neroca your background, your military story. Share that with us again, if you can,
Niurka Castaneda
I bet right in your bathroom that turn into intrapreneur and found that umbrella. The I gotta tell you it was in an easiest most recession in ever it is. It was a day to day because I said almost serving almost 2020 plus years on the military one way or another not all active duty. That was my home. So I turned into civilian I did this school and ended up making a class project into a business umbrella. That's our funder umbrella. And US has grown. Because that was that wasn't a venture for me. Full of danger of falling Merson adventures. And everyday I wake up thinking, What can I do? What can I add to provide a holistic solution to all the problems that we continue and you know, I tried to serve the military, under better community as much as I can. And there's more than one way that we can do that. So yeah,
Keith McKeever
that's why I guess, I guess I didn't realize that the your umbrellas was a was a school project. So I mean, I need to go back to school. So you check that box, right? That's, that's like to do checkbox item, when you transition. Get out. Go to the VA, figure out where you're gonna live and register for school. I think that's like, everybody's transition. First Four step, right. Something like that.
Niurka Castaneda
Yes, it was a big decision. Like, you know, they, of course, I did what everybody does, I went home. And, you know, I figured out real quick that might not be the quick solution. You know, it's a job is trying to find a job and not use a job, but the job that actually fulfill you in a job that you can even tolerate, because that's still serving in the military. Being stuck in four walls with civilians that don't understand you. It's not as easy. You know, it depends how many years you serve in the military how used you get to, to that life, but the up probably a year, you got pretty used to it. You got to before maybe, you know, it was an easier transition. So I did get a couple jobs being out and they use them fit. It wasn't the same thing. You know, I work for the military, as a civilian, as a government contractor, and as a federal government. I didn't wear the uniform, but I was still serving with the same people. The same soldiers wearing the uniform right next to me. So yeah, I still feel like I was in even when I was a civilian technically But when you completely out now, you know, when the uniform man, you know, half the people surrendered to you that were in that same uniform with the same values. It's not the uniform set values, the structure, the mission driven people that's around you is quite different. So that's why, you know, I ended up choosing a school, and they have expiration date. So I definitely had to choose that. Because after a pay all that money, I didn't want it to go to waste.
Keith McKeever
Yeah, how smart. I mean, it's kind of like my story, I realized I had a couple of years left to use my GI Bill. And I'm like, Well, I gotta go back to school, get my degree, like, I would never be able to live with that decision of not going back to do that.
Niurka Castaneda
Yeah, that'd be why why would you pay all that money, put all that time, because that's not something that everybody can do, you have to do it because of your service. And let it go to waste. Either use it for you don't want to go get a high career for your job, because you want intrapreneur use that to build your business. That's what I did. Every class I took from that class project on it was to build my business. You know, and I still I still go to school, and film, TV and video production now. Because I continue to use it as another resource to build my business.
Keith McKeever
That's natural transition, or natural education playing for you. I don't know that there's another program out there to fix you. Like, you know, film and media production and stuff like that. Because you've you've done some some pretty cool stuff over the last couple of years. Well, ever since we interviewed less, you put together a TV show that's on Liberty Media. And you traveled around the world around the country. I don't know if you went internationally on that one. But you traveled all around. I know, you were all over the place there for a little while, interviewing veteran nonprofits and people that are just doing things to, you know, for the veteran community. So tell us a little bit about your show. And when all that was about that was aimed for?
Niurka Castaneda
Well, that, you know, that was my favorite. Because when I when I started, when COVID thing started, it make us kind of reanalyze everything we're doing right. And I know a lot of people were buying umbrellas. And that was my whole business when I started. So I kind of decided to focus on what I actually mean, what was the purpose of the mission I had behind the whole umbrella project and us become a project. So I decided to turn it into a TV show, and it was called umbrella. TV at a time now it's called umbrella. So hope is to make it more clear to what it's about. And that's what my purpose is, is to provide hope by connecting you to the resources that you need. And you know, information, education entertainment. Big because there's a huge, huge misinformation gap and the military community, we have so many people going through so many different problems. And there's so like less than he was like 75,000 nonprofits alone. But people don't know about it. They don't know where to turn when they need help. You know, so that's what I tried to focus on what my job is to highlight those resources, those organizations, nonprofit and for profit, because the you don't have to be a nonprofit to do good. You gotta be a for profit. And the good, you know, the pen is the pencils behind the driver wheel, right.
Keith McKeever
So I just interviewed a civilian a few weeks ago, who created a sock company socks made out of boom bamboo, which were actually really comfortable. But it's a for profit company by civilian. But 30% of his proceeds go back to veteran community project and mission 22. Exactly. And it's like, oh, that was really cool. I never thought I was having a conversation about socks on a podcast but but it is a perfect example of somebody who's just trying to feel like hey, look, I can make some profit, run a profitable business and give back to the veteran community even though he's not a veteran, which is awesome.
Niurka Castaneda
And that's my point. And I try to highlight stories like that. You know, and founders, including better founders that they use certainly is a idea in turn something extraordinary. So I think it will have friends we have a Robert, Stephen Lang already on the show. And that's just the beginning. And now we're coming out with the business and Art series and the better focus miniseries where I hang on to be tacking creativity, and only talking business solutions or solutions, and even more resources by highlighting the organizations that provide the solutions, but also showing what the problem is. Because you only focus on the problem, but you don't provide the solutions. How are you helping?
Keith McKeever
Target Point, it starts you got to start with fixing the fixing the problem, right? You know, get water in your basement? Well, mopping up the water is just going to be more water comes back in if you don't address the issues on the outside where it's coming in. Right. But yeah, that was that was great. I have some questions on that business and art infusion here in a minute. But for the show, we are recording that. I'm very curious. What you found to be the most surprising nonprofit that you interviewed, Was there somebody that you knew a little bit about, but when you met him, and you found out what they were really doing, you're like, Wow, this is so much cooler, bigger, whatever, than then you thought.
Niurka Castaneda
There's so many and try to go meeting in person. So that kind of limit my scope. So I'm trying to find alternative solutions, and meeting a person because there's something different about actually see then do the job that the same than they used to telling you and showcasing that as well. There, there are a lot of thing out there. I did featuring one American Finance, they take solders and kind of Walmart, one of my first episodes actually started with that was they take veterans to go fishing on the Everglades. And a lot of people say what the Everglades carries is covered houses.
Keith McKeever
Fish efficient for alligators. But
Niurka Castaneda
oh my god, it's mind blowing. You know, I did that trip. And the first thing I went use was just a fishing trip, right? I got a book, I wrote a book about it. I made an episode. That's what kind of my first episode on the TV show. And I got together better moment with a veteran soldiers. The initiative was born out of there. Because we there in nature, in a place that kind of engage all my my senses, give me the creative space to keep multiplying my ideas. You know, I started one idea. And then I keep a person that idea and keep making it bigger and bigger. And that was juice. Because it took people and efficient but it's not use a fishing trip. The last thing I did was fishing, to be honest.
Keith McKeever
That's not where the real value in it is. Fishing, but that's not what you should be getting out of it.
Niurka Castaneda
Yeah, I have a proof, I've got a fish, I gotta get a picture.
Niurka Castaneda
We put it back in the water. So we got the one that you put on the hook doesn't count.
Niurka Castaneda
You know, it's kind of a catch and release. But that real magic, or was it doing a lot of other organizations are doing in their own locations is his building community. He's, and he was really as a Cattaneo was, you know, telling stories, the whole trip, and you know, and you can see the move, improve. We had like two boats full of people. And they weren't chasing us with a camera. And you can see the like, you know, they came, they were with the families. They were moody. And some of them were arguing with the kids for a little bit. And then while two, three hours later, they were laughing relationships were made. It was beautiful, you know, and one of the best, nicely behalf during a long time, you know, bought me like a week or restful sleep. Because that sense of business, that sense of community is stay with me for a while. You know, and and that's eternity through me. I know the solution to the problem, right? Because who made the besides people that have PTSD, besides people that have anxiety, be site people that maybe don't have they can talk To the families. Because whatever trauma they have, and they don't know how to communicate, be fine people that are just overwhelmed with all the busyness of civilian life, traffic and all the different wrong, but that take you away completely. In the wild, there's now I think, there's this one of the widest plays in the United States, the Everglades. And you see bird flying, you can take pictures, you can rest and you can see the water is Miko.
Keith McKeever
Channel like owl, you know, a lot of people think back to their times being deployed, being overseas, you know, as, as good times in some ways, where you have less to worry about, you know, really work, you're not thinking about the bills, you're not thinking about all this other stuff in life, you're just in a different environment, where you have less to think about, and you can just kind of let your let your mind just go, you know, and you're around other people, and you just talk and converse. And next thing, you're not worried about that meeting that you haven't three days, or the problem that happened last week, or whatever the case may be.
Niurka Castaneda
And it gives you the space to come up with the solutions. Maybe you weren't, were you still worried about that meeting. But now you have a solution. Now you have a space to deal with it in a more relaxed way, where you're not, Oh, my God, you know, I got to take a gun and whatever thing ends up being overwhelmed. So yeah, that's one of the nonprofit's one of my favorites. So far, there's a lot more to me.
Keith McKeever
Oh, yeah, a little something,
Niurka Castaneda
it doesn't matter where they are, because I love to travel, that's, that's part of the deal is going there. And showing the community showing the environments on what they actually do in person. Because that engage people and you also tell them, Okay, I in Canada, or in Washington, I cannot really go fishing in the Everglades. But maybe you can go to your National Park is right there. And have the kind of the same effect. Because you that's why you're going to be close to nature. You can go do painting, you can do photography, you can do filming, there's so many different ways to do it, you don't like that. There's other alternatives. There's also solutions. My my friend does flowers, flower arrangement. And she used the aka vana flower arrangements as their flowers. She turned it into flowers aroma is pretty unique is is actually our is soothing our Japanese soothing art. So the possibilities are endless. It's us finding that scene that works for you. I think in California, there's organization that let you talk to parents.
Keith McKeever
I guess in some cases, the parents won't talk back. But one of the things I love about fact that you're making that into a TV show you're highlighting of that way, is like you said, you know, there's 75,000 nonprofits out there. I mean, there are so many nonprofits, and they do things at different scales, you have little ones that like nobody's ever heard of, yeah, you got Wounded Warrior Project and Blue Star families. And just first two names that popped in my head. They're big ones, everybody knows about him. But then you got all these little small ones that have little adventures here or art stuff. I know my area, there's a guy, just 22 Va, and it's all about art, art, music, stuff like that. They just get together. And they just create stuff. And that's just, you know, for them the part of of healing, being together, doing creative stuff. And we're, you know, we're just around other veterans. And they do it on a relatively small scale. I mean, they're not national, they're not really statewide, but they have a huge impact, you know, on the people that they touch, which is awesome. And it kind of vets some of that stuff out by having it on video, which is even better. Because it's hard to be like, is this a legit nonprofit or not? Because let's face the reality, you know, as well as I do, there are some bad nonprofits out there. There are people there are organizations out there that will take advantage of you. And they'll promise you this than the other and they're not going to deliver on it. And but there are people out there with a heart of gold, who will do anything to help somebody just escaped for a weekend.
Niurka Castaneda
Exactly. And that's and that's part of my way, I also want to go meeting in person and see what they do, because that's my own betting process, right. I want to make sure that who I put in there and highlighting isn't really doing they have the true intentions. And it's not only about serving it's kind of building also connecting map of resource says and find ways for them to collaborate with each other. Because you're solving homelessness and this country and the state on this county. But there's a potential solution in another county, why are they not working together? What they're not referring to each other. You know, and now you call or more people know about competition, right? It's collaboration is
Keith McKeever
collaboration. Yeah. I mean, you could be doing outdoor activities in Illinois, right? When you say Illinois, but you only service I say, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri. Well, it makes sense to find another nonprofit that's really doing a good job. And I don't know, Indiana and Ohio and Kentucky, right? Where if somebody reaches out to you and say, hey, I want to go on an adventure. But I live in Eastern Kentucky, we're like, hey, you know, we'll take you here or there's, there's a location closer to you. Let's get you in touch with those people. You know, just it makes sense. I know that, you know, I'm involved with otter flight. And you know, we do that with the Chicago hub. Sometimes they have people that they can't send, so they send them down to us. And we're like, Okay, we'll do our best to get them on a flight. You know, like, it's about just making it happen one way or another.
Niurka Castaneda
Yeah. And that's a sad feeling. What I mean is definitely go to sample on a fly. And that's one of the ones that need to go, oh,
Keith McKeever
anybody listening or watching. If you don't know what Honor Flight is, I'm gonna just I'd have to just say this for a minute. You have to find your local hub, find out when they fly. And first of all, go to the welcome home. Go go to wherever their welcome home is. I might be biased that ours here greater Peoria, we do it really well. We have a small airport, and we packed that place with two to 3000 people for the welcome home. It is incredibly powerful. But go to it. If you are a veteran, Vietnam Korea veteran, or if there happens to be a world war two veteran and he or somebody knows when it hasn't gone, contact a local hub and get those guys signed up. It is a trip of a lifetime. They get to go to Washington DC for free. See, the memorials have one heck of a day. Unless you're in Alaska is like a three day trip. But, you know, it's an absolute blast, it's a great chance for guys to heal, especially the Vietnam veterans. I've seen a lot of Vietnam veterans break down and cry. And I've heard the stories afterwards that they are changed individuals. Their outlook on life changes, they finally get the welcome home they deserve. But anyway, that is an organization New Yorker, you definitely need to get to highlighting
Niurka Castaneda
it sound like it. Yeah, that's definitely. That's definitely needed. You know, we all need to feel welcome.
Keith McKeever
Yep, absolutely. So your business of art and fusion Summit. Thank you, once again, for letting me speak in there. I talked about time management stuff, but you had a lot of great guests. So tell us a little bit about you kind of alluded to it a little bit earlier. But tell us a little bit more about what that was and the inspiration behind it.
Niurka Castaneda
So that was my way of bringing what together, I seemed we have so many dividing lines everywhere betters military, civilians, children, business art. And instead of having so many lines divided how, why we don't infuse it together, why don't we enrich your life, you know, because how many business can get Engrish by applying a little bit of our creativity to it, how many, our business and creative people can read then empower yourself, but adding the structure from business, the fundamentals that you need, right, and bring it together. And he also goes to the point of me providing solutions. Because coming from the military, there's a lot of people that are artistic, I like to consider myself artistic. That, you know, once you let the leader off, you cannot put a back and you need to find a way to be creative. And it's kind of set away from those, the structure that we get embedded on us by the military. Right and it kind of a different mindset. Intrapreneurs do that a lot. Because you have to think outside the box. In order to be an entrepreneur. There's a difference between a businessman and entrepreneur. And that's it. You have to think outside the box and you have to be creative. And you have to come up with solutions all the time to problems that keep arising. So when you add Oh Our art leads to creativity and creativity. That's what you need. And we all are capable. You know, that's something that was given to us from the moment we're born. But we forget.
Keith McKeever
Yeah. And I was just gonna say that there's different levels, you know, everybody needs to assess their self, right? I consider myself an entrepreneur. But I'm a very logical person. Everything has to be neat and orderly, logical, has to make sense. But I can also get creative on my thoughts. Sometimes, my creative lacking is more of like, creating digital images and stuff like that, right? Like, I don't get that creative. I don't, I don't have an eye for that. I can get creative with some of the loose solutions and stuff. But it is interesting. And I've met a lot of artists who their their life, you know, they can't manage their time. They just everything just just flows through life, there's no structure and no order. And I sit back and look at it like, how, like, how do you not have a schedule? How do you not have things organized, whatever, you know, it's like, I can't understand it so fundamentally different from me. So we can all use like, a little something. And I think that's what was brilliant about what you put together. You know, because I was able to share time management, you know, mine was called The Art of time, you know, and I just, it was basically a top 10 list of, here's things you can do to take back control of your time and manage it more efficiently. Which face it, I mean, we could all use help with that. Even some of the examples I gave, sometimes I even struggle with being consistent on. But they help they work. But
Niurka Castaneda
and that's the same, like, we only have 24 hours in a day. So how do you make that less? And it's not? But no, everyone's 24 hours? I feel the same way. Because what are you what are you getting? Are those 24 hours? Are you binge watching on Netflix? That's probably enjoyable, but you probably know,
Keith McKeever
quality of lifetime, right? It's okay to do that once, but maybe not six days a week.
Niurka Castaneda
Yeah, you probably enjoy the show. But you know, you do it every day, your hours are going away. And maybe the stuff that we're proud of this never get that. And so, yeah, that was what I strive to do. And I believe and I'm a firm believer, that when you create it, you know, when you are creating, you're being innovative, you're inventing something, and we all can be creative, you know that there's, that's another misinformation, we see that we're not creative, but us having the ability to coming up with solutions, that means you're creative.
Keith McKeever
Like I could come up with solutions, but I can't like actual artwork, like painting, drawing, that's not my creative kind of thing. I can sit there creative think creative solutions. I'm just not a great artist when it comes to, to those things. You know,
Niurka Castaneda
I get this, I get this. And you don't have to like every single art form. You don't have to practice every single art form. I think Miami they, they had a situation in the museum and museum quality museum piece of bananas would take in the wall. That was hard. And so yours is thinking outside the box. That's what creativity is. That's what art is. You know, it doesn't have to be pretty doesn't have to be there's, there's some are, they're amazing. And it's pretty scary, but in size and filling. And that's what it is. You know, whatever you call it. Innovative invention is identical today, it's all the same thing. We are being creative alone. Wait. We don't have to be the same because then we end up being very monotonous, right? Yeah.
Keith McKeever
Well, Mona Lisa would look that great if everybody could paint her. Right.
Niurka Castaneda
Right. So the Mona Lisa is it took 60 years to get done, by the way.
Keith McKeever
Yeah, yeah. Talking about patients Oh, man.
Niurka Castaneda
Yeah, I used to feel like a failure all the time. You used to feel like he wasn't good enough.
Keith McKeever
Well, I mean, if it takes you 60 years to paint something how could you not feel like a failure at some point? 16 Okay, yeah, I mean, either way, like it's crazy. So what we're you are uniquely suited, suited to answer this question. Since you put on the summit and you listen to everybody speak each. So I'm real curious, what were your key takeaways that impacted you?
Niurka Castaneda
So many. And I invite you to watch them because I'm actually talking about them. The episodes are coming up really soon. I think. And as part of the post production, I get to rewatch every single presentation. And oh, my god, the impacts are even bigger. Because we all need time management, we only to protect our ideas, we need to find the space to create, we need to have so many topics, you know, the meaning of colors like us, surrounding ourselves by colors, we can make make our environments, we can allow the space to be more creative, to be peaceful to, you know, to be restful, when you need it, it can change your mood drastically. So I think every one of the presentations were unique in their own way. And they were powerful. They were very powerful. So I invite everybody to watch it, because using caching on the summit, I definitely cache it now. Those extra shares I think there was another one I'm trying to remember, like it was because
Keith McKeever
there was a lot of a lot it
Niurka Castaneda
was a lot Oh, neuroscience, the power neuroscience, Ivana and a big fan, my friend speak about both. Who also right is flower arrangements. And the being artistic is let's look at that, using a flower arrangement, how many flower run we see all the time. And then beautiful flowers, so many shapes, so many different, but tip found a way to make that unique, because she doesn't do any regular flower arrangement. See, use that flowers and that material, right materials to make flower arrangements and beautiful you know, so even when you're applying creativity to something that's creative, you can be out of the box. You know, it depends on you and your staff. Many people use junk that recycle and they turn into art. Because remember, somebody else joke somebody else.
Keith McKeever
That's your boy, I mean, there's a lot of guys out there that that are into welding and cutting metal and they just take all kinds of scrap stuff and build it into sculptures and dinosaurs and bicycles and whatever else you know, dinosaurs riding bicycles. Yeah, so we haven't done yet they should
Niurka Castaneda
and can be and it doesn't have to be used at testing it doesn't have to be used. beautiful to look at. It can be useful. Like night there, they're they you know, you can donate your tennis shoes, your broken tennis shoes to like any tennis shoes that don't have to be used, like, you know, like, they grab that soul or the tennis shoes and the Ripper person and then turn it into their phone that they use of the playgrounds.
Keith McKeever
Oh okay.
Niurka Castaneda
They turn that into fun and they sell that as a brand new product you know, I especially and they using recycled materials so you think how useful that is just applying that creativity in your business because it can make you come up with resourceful and come up with solutions to problems and lower your costs of doing business you know, there was somebody else that I know that she started doing friends we set our sheep he got back from the little bits that were left behind from furniture it was selling these friends make I'm really good word to put it together in a tasty way. And people were buying it for like 40 $60 Yeah, that's something that was throwing away
Keith McKeever
just literally making something out of nothing right? what was gonna happen to landfill sees it for landfill, repurpose it and allow somebody to create a business off of it and
Niurka Castaneda
create a create a way life creates a sustainable solution. Because harmony, Harmony Malika Right, how many bachelors are struggling financially? Well, we
Keith McKeever
all we definitely personally know that our troops aren't paid enough. There's a few issues there we go down that rabbit hole for for an hour. But yeah, you have a good point,
Niurka Castaneda
it is not a good pay enough hourly is that they're not tough financial fundamentals aren't saying almost anybody in the society is taught any good enough financial fundamentals. So you end up with a lot of high depths, and not a way to sustain it.
Keith McKeever
I think personally, a part of the problem is you bring in people who are, you know, 1819 20 years old, who haven't lived in the real world, don't know, 1819 20 year old really is a subject matter expert on personal finance. But when they're not, when they're NCOs. Also went through that, and don't know the basics of personal finance, they can't communicate what to do to those young troops. And that cycle just continues. Without somebody stepping in and say, Hey, I know how much you make. Let's come up with a plan to put something in your Thrift Savings Plan. Here's how much you need to live off of, here's how much you know, you can save. Let's not buy that Mustang at 37% interest. You know, like, let's be smart with the money. Because those that are smart with their money can can actually get out at 20 years and have a pretty nice little nest egg if you're smart with it.
Niurka Castaneda
I said used to give it a point. I was one of those, like two years old. That's how I was when I joined. And I went out to lunch with my friend. When she went to the bathroom, I came out with a car. Because it was that easy to get a car. I only had to tell them active duty. I got three more years ago. I don't even have insurance, I had a call the insurance call USA. And they gave me the insurance but having had my car and I left a lot with a car. I drove it. I kind of was graduated on the way. And I gotta check, you know, before they even pay my first payment of credit. Because it was that easy. To get a car. I crashed it a year later, I got another one. Try to do that while you are on. You're out of the military. How many knows you got to get and then most soldiers sometimes they don't have one card they have to
Keith McKeever
work hard for the exchange? Yeah, oh, my bike
Niurka Castaneda
for the You're right.
Keith McKeever
Then you gotta get a credit card for the the Harley store to buy all the equipment, the the pants and the helmet and all that stuff that you have to have to get on base.
Niurka Castaneda
Yeah. And then you get out and you still have to continue paying those cars, you have a feeling that most people did. And
Keith McKeever
I mean, I'll even admit when I was a supervisor, I had troops, I had some financial issues that came up every now and then. And I felt like I had a pretty good handle on financial literacy. I mean, even I was stumped of like, how did you get in this position? You know? Because by the time it comes to the supervisor, or the first sergeant, right, you know, it's probably gotten to be a problem. It's, it's, it's like, Hey, we're in the 11th hour and they're going to repossess my car, or they're going to take my house or I got $20 to my name and I you know, can't even buy groceries this week.
Niurka Castaneda
It can become a problem so easily use make a late payment, and then try to catch up. Next thing you know, you're three, six months behind.
Keith McKeever
Yeah, that's why I'm glad the years ago I don't know when exactly it was but they outlined the title loan places. You know, get cash now. Paycheck advance those voices that charged 300% interest. Yeah. Oh, that is like highway robbery. It is isn't funny how they haven't just outside of every base. But the military members not allowed to use them. But does it mean the spouse isn't allowed? Because I think that happens. They go get their pay, pay advance. And now they get their 300,300% It's a mess. Those companies shouldn't exist, but it's a soapbox.
Niurka Castaneda
But the solution is litigation. Like prevent the problem from happening in the first place. Before it become a problem. We got that lead to something else. Now you might not be able to pay your rent or your mortgage. So you end up being on the street or in situations where they're hostile because you have your Running out of choices.
Keith McKeever
So, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So where can you said you're working on the episodes now? So where can people watch these when they come out? Is it all gonna be on Liberty Media on your show there?
Niurka Castaneda
Yes, it's gonna be on legacy media. You can use wise, look for umbrella hope and the legacy media website. And you got watching any app and your TV as well. You just download the app from legacy and you can watch it there. So you don't have to go to the website?
Keith McKeever
Absolutely. I do know they have it on Roku. I know a lot of people use roku. I've got it in my house and got it downloaded. So that's a good, good place to catch it. Well, I know I'm looking forward to catching some of those because I, you know, when you were having it on, I was catching what I could where I could but busy life schedule. I couldn't sit watch all of them. So I'm excited to watch this. You see what that well, by now just get a refresher of what all those topics were, but just sit down and watch them.
Niurka Castaneda
And yes, I definitely invite you everybody that's watching to watch. And, you know, to contribute coming years? Because at the end of the day, that's what is. That's the solutions. Keep being creative. Keep being negative. Find solutions to the Bronx.
Keith McKeever
Absolutely. Well, you definitely, definitely had a lot of guests, come on, have some loot some solutions. But I wanted to ask you about actually hosting the summit. Because I know there's a lot of people that host different events, and there might be people out there thinking, hey, I'm gonna host an event for whatever, whatever topic, what stumbling blocks, did you run into trying to host this and you hosted it digitally? So just kind of curious, you know, what were some of the roadblocks that you might be would give some advice for people to maybe bypass to make their path a little easier to host their summit, or their event?
Niurka Castaneda
Planning? Because, and preparing them sped things to go wrong. Because the way you pre plan, there's always something that goes on guarantee. I will say it's better to have 31 guests, but it came up beautiful. And I was glad that I did. I asked a couple people, most of them say yes or no, how is anyone like, Okay, welcome. But that that kind of took some rearrangement of what they have planned in the beginning, and a powder form and you're like, Okay, this is beautiful, this is going to work. So pre plan, have helped, you can get it at actually travel to Boston to meet my friend. And she helped me host a couple other sessions. I did run in a dedicated space in over there. So I was kind of away from the distractions at home, because trying to do that at home wasn't going to be easy. And I also have some other guests dropping in life. And then it was a combination, I had some people pre planned send me the pictures and end up being live. So it was kind of a mix. And the topics was very relevant. Right? All of them. Not all of them were the same they. So it kind of worked with the theme. So pre planning works. There's no you can do a lot, you can do enough or getting help. And making sure that the technology works. So because it's analogies a huge element, make sure that you have all that settle before you start. And I think that max that I had, he helped me a lot with that. Because it prevents a lot of those things happening. Does that glitch? I had a couple of glitches going on. And I had to deal with it. I had to deal with it at the time. So you have to be all the time prepared to use come up with solutions.
Keith McKeever
Yeah, well, you know, no doubt about it. You try and put something on with 31 speakers and online and scheduling and you're gonna have problems. You know, that's where you learn from all right, that's where you make round two better. So is there a round two?
Niurka Castaneda
Oh, yes. And, and you know, and you're gonna be in the mega bursts event coming up and October 1. So, of course, I'm really thinking I'm going to apply that to my next event. So the next event is not just going to be about ideas or being creative. That's one of my favorite topics. But yeah, you're going to be able to Be in the mega verse. You say, you know, so awesome.
Keith McKeever
Awesome, let's let's, you have so many things going on in your car. So many cool things, the TV show, The Art infusion that you're turning into, you know, many series for the TV show your books, I've lost track, I know you've got at least three books out.
Niurka Castaneda
And there's more coming, actually, if I had to series, the one is Business Solutions, because I think that's another problem we have. The business world can be completely confusing, no one warming. So I attack every problem I face as a problem I need to solve. And sometimes I use write down everything, I write down everything, and come up with the resources and come up with the solutions. So and that turned into a book. So again, number three, right now working in two more books coming up, and it's all going to be part of a series how to forgive me right now, how to build the business that fit your lifestyle. Because we all want to have different lifestyles, as there's some fundamentals of business are pretty much the same. Your ideas might be different, the way you apply, your ideas might be different, but the fundamentals are pretty much the same. So and give me those fundamentals that gives us the resources. So you can be as creative and build something that you're proud of. Because that's the cool. I think intrapreneurship is empowering, because you get to build something out of scratch, or you can buy a business and kind of fit and make it fit into your needs, that's wrong with that you that's what fits you then go Go for it. So that's coming up. And then also had the other series that started with venture in the Everglades and the highlights organizations. But in a venture kind of way. So I went on a fishing trip, inspire me to write about it, I did a collaboration with a friend of mine, that's a licensed therapist, because she highlights the benefits. So it's medically proven. There's health benefits, and go in this kind of adventure zone kind of escapes. So that's also turning into a series actually talking to my friend, and we're going to be writing about the ARoid cabana. So that's therapeutic as well use 1000s of years because it was something was invented by the Japanese for high priestess, the Emperor hulls and the samurais. And they use that as a way to deal with all the PTSD of the world wars and war and stuff like that. Was very soothing. Right? And that's the point. So, yeah, I'm going to be riding with her that story. And then you know, it goes from there. Something strike me I go with,
Keith McKeever
I know, that you do. And that's why I said, you know, you, you are into a lot of different things, but they all do kind of, there's a lot of overlap, there's a lot of connections. And you know, why not write a book, if you're writing down all kinds of notes on things anyway, you already got half the work done, right. But maybe a half an hour, but you know, you know what I mean?
Niurka Castaneda
And it's a way to utilize your ideas where maybe you can put this idea in practice right away, but you write down the book, you kind of did. Right? You can utilize the same idea in so many different ways. So if that's what is, you know, whatever capacity you have to do it, then sometimes you need help. Another number myself, I'm partnering with the people that are the experts of this virus. So it's actually kind of annoying interview in a book format.
Keith McKeever
Yeah, just I mean, just like, you know, partnering with a therapist, that's not your cup of tea, right. So what that expert collaborate and do those critical times in that book, to highlight what the the importance is. So that makes perfect sense, in a partnership like that, so you're definitely wanting to collaborate, that's for sure. So
Niurka Castaneda
I think that's one of the scenes that we did the best in the military, so why not keep doing it. You know, use your strengths, your skills, the military is invest 1000s of dollars in your education. So don't let it go to waste. Don't let the year bill go to waste. Use it in some kind of way that is useful for you.
Keith McKeever
When you can't do it all alone, right? That's that's one thing that people need to remember going into transitions. You can't do it all. Whether it's business or art or anything in life. You have to have your people. Right, you have to have those people that are in Your Corner see things in a very similar way that you do that want to just collaborate and do something good together. I mean, we're both in the winter council together, the intrapreneur tribe together, we've talked on. I think we've talked over the years on just about every topic there is possibly talked about. But there's other word council members that I've had on this podcast that I've collaborated with in different ways outside of that, for the podcast for my business and stuff like that. And it's just amazing. When two people or three people have similar ideas, and you could just create something out of that. It's awesome.
Niurka Castaneda
You had to find your battle buddies.
Keith McKeever
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for the time. And I appreciate that.
Niurka Castaneda
Yeah, you have to find your tribe, you have to find those people that are going to have your back, and they got to help you enhance your ideas. And good, I come up with so many ideas, but sometimes that need to be polished a lot. So I surround myself with those people that can help me do that. You know, I don't have to be perfect. I need to have the idea. You have to have the vision. And then it's finding those people that can make that vision a reality.
Keith McKeever
Such as you need a person who says no to right. Yeah, no, it's happened to both of us. We've been we've been in meetings together and you pitch an idea, or you got your thought process and somebody else in the room or on Zoom anyway, just says something like, Are you sure? You know, I don't, I don't know that that sounds like the best way to go about this or, or that or, or just plain I don't think your idea is going to work. You know, and here's why. You know, sometimes it's a tough pill to swallow. I've been the recipient of that a few times. And it's like, oh, okay, I value this person's opinion and their expertise. And it, you know, makes you step back and think about things and look at it from a different perspective and see if they're right, at the end of the day, it's your choice to move forward. But it's a hard pill to swallow, but something you know, you can't surround yourself with, whether they call it the Yes, men, you know what I mean? That there's gonna be like, oh, yeah, sounds like a brilliant idea to go with it.
Niurka Castaneda
Well, and that does seem How was a spared for your plans to go? Right, we have to do the planning that's important, is kind of kind of brainstorming that part of your of brainstorming and how to make this thing that you want to make it happen. Right, but there are scenes that, you know, foreseen that gonna come up. And there's a reason for it. I think I started writing that book. On my own. I came back from the fishing trip. I was 100% inspired. I love it took so many pictures. So I like okay, I need to write about it. So I use wrote that wrote, wrote, like, it was a whole day writing. And guy story. It was a mess. But it was a beautiful mess. You know, I edited this story so many times. Almost two years later, I went with my friend, she finally ran to the store, like, Okay, well, we need to do some days. And we can add this and we can put this here. And I got all those pictures that I took, like I make it part of the narrative. Because that's what the piece that was missing. Right? It was her input her tweaking them make it into a bigger idea of what I had to empower my idea 100% You know, sometimes the problems, all this obstacles that we come across, there's many, it's just part of the solution is what make you think, Oh, my God, what's going on? You know, I don't get upset anymore. Like, everything I've planned something says Go 100% Totally different. But that's okay. I like okay, well, what's trying to teach me now? What amazing? You know? I can tell you so many stories like that. But it's your mindset, your attitude. Are you going to solve?
Keith McKeever
Yes, because you just can't solve yourself. That's the power of entrepreneurship and collaboration. They're, you know, bringing other people in to just have expertise or a different view than you do and working together and achieving the goal. That is it. Like I said, That's it in a nutshell right there. You know, that's, that's just that's That's what entrepreneurs do.
Niurka Castaneda
Miss This is not a one person job. You have to surround yourself with. Lots of people you're going to have to even use to get if you have a product. You have to find where to sell your product. You have to deal with customers. You have to deal with the suppliers and like there's so many things you have to you You have to deal with the people that are providing the service that you need to sell that product. So you need to surround yourself with the right people that make you are the right services and the right organizations that make you successful in selling that product. nutshell, I mean, that's applies to everything. You know, you don't have to be a problem. It can be a service, it can be whatever you want to be in business about.
Keith McKeever
Yeah, sounds like a great topic for for another episode. They're finding the right partnerships, I think so. We have to do some creative stuff and maybe have some do something special, a special show or something about that. Because that's, that's a good one. I like that New Yorker. That's a good, that's a good nugget of information there. We might have to brainstorm on that. But it is important, though, it's about finding that right person, right? It's about trust, can they do the job? Well, a lot of it's about trust, right? Do you trust this person and their ability to do what's right? Are they you know, do they fit what you're looking for whatever, whatever is you're trying to do? So anyway, not going down that rabbit hole, New York, I just want to say I appreciate you coming back on being the first repeat guest again on the show. So it was great to catch up and hear and share with the world all the different things that you've done over this last year, year and a half. People really need to hop on like our new media. And check it out. I like to say I really can't wait to watch watch some of those, it'd be a lot easier to watch them one or two a night than it was to, to sit down and watch all of them as you had the summit going on. So that's incredible to be able to go back and revisit some of those. So New York, I appreciate you stopping on the on the podcast again and sharing an update with us.
Niurka Castaneda
Thank you, I appreciate you for having me here and give me the honor of being the first repeat guest and I really encourage every viewer to watch the episodes because he might be the golden nugget that you need. And that's what it's all about. There's there's not many,
Keith McKeever
there's a lot of different topics there is there's I think something for everybody every there's at least one in there that everybody can get something to take away but I know if it's your your website's scrolling at the bottom here, a more umbrella.com Anything you want to know about New York is on that website. It's all on there, the umbrellas if you'd like to buy wall, books, podcasts, all the different things that you've got going on, it's all there. But have no fear. It will be in the show notes for anybody who's watching or listening and wants to find it. I will put Liberty Media in there as well. In case you're interested, it is a lot of positive programming on there. There's a handful of shows on various different topics, so people need to check that out too. So Yorker once again, I appreciate you being here.
Niurka Castaneda
Thank you. Always a pleasure. Optimistic
Keith McKeever
There you go, folks, I hope you enjoyed that episode. And if first catch up with a past guest go to my website bandwidth, the podcast.net to find resources and information once again if you always find something that's not honored, it should please reach out to me and let me know so we can try to get that added on there. And if you're struggling right now, remember the National Suicide Hotline is 988 Press one where you can text 838255
