Ever wondered what it takes to transition from employee to a self-made business owner? Rosa Garcia, the heart and soul behind Rosa Parks, offers an inside look into her inspiring journey. She takes us through her humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic to her fierce entry into the world of entrepreneurship. Rosa's trials and tribulations, whether it's dealing with tough landlords or managing day-to-day tasks like liquor orders and hosting, paints a vivid picture of the challenges she overcame on her way to success.
Hyper-focused on her goals, Rosa also shares the beautiful balance she maintains between motherhood and her demanding work schedule. Her fascinating immigration journey from the Dominican Republic to the US is a testament to her resilience. Rosa's firm belief in doing what you love brings a wave of positivity that can motivate anyone looking to strike that elusive work-life balance while pursuing their dreams.
But there's more. Rosa's endurance as a marathoner mirrors her entrepreneurial journey, reflecting her limitless potential and the mental grit it takes. Her involvement in community services like the annual turkey drive that feeds over 2000 families illustrates her softer side, highlighting the importance of giving back. Our conversation culminates as Rosa talks about building a strong foundation for the next generation, urging us all to be relentless in pursuing our goals. So, come along, get inspired and let Rosa's entrepreneurial journey fuel your own dreams.
Ever wondered what it takes to transition from employee to a self-made business owner? Rosa Garcia, the heart and soul behind Rosa Parks, offers an inside look into her inspiring journey. She takes us through her humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic to her fierce entry into the world of entrepreneurship. Rosa's trials and tribulations, whether it's dealing with tough landlords or managing day-to-day tasks like liquor orders and hosting, paints a vivid picture of the challenges she overcame on her way to success.
Hyper-focused on her goals, Rosa also shares the beautiful balance she maintains between motherhood and her demanding work schedule. Her fascinating immigration journey from the Dominican Republic to the US is a testament to her resilience. Rosa's firm belief in doing what you love brings a wave of positivity that can motivate anyone looking to strike that elusive work-life balance while pursuing their dreams.
But there's more. Rosa's endurance as a marathoner mirrors her entrepreneurial journey, reflecting her limitless potential and the mental grit it takes. Her involvement in community services like the annual turkey drive that feeds over 2000 families illustrates her softer side, highlighting the importance of giving back. Our conversation culminates as Rosa talks about building a strong foundation for the next generation, urging us all to be relentless in pursuing our goals. So, come along, get inspired and let Rosa's entrepreneurial journey fuel your own dreams.
Music. My king, you're the best in the world. Oh yeah, we got another episode of the innovator is done here, with a special guest, rosa at. Park Rosa at Park. Was that I started again?
Speaker 2:No, no, no, it's good bloopers, right? No, it's Rosa Garcia, Okay so that's how we say.
Speaker 1:But we are our roses. Oh, we are Rosa Park yeah what's going on.
Speaker 3:Y'all, welcome back to the innovators that I am.
Speaker 1:I'm here with formerly known as hashtag. That's me. No, that's what I'm saying. And you go with Steve old business. And we got a special guest, rosa, at Park. Rosa Garcia, I told you bloopers are funny though. Do it again, do it again, do it again. This would be the intro to it.
Speaker 2:That would be the dope intro.
Speaker 3:I think we should probably just keep it.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you. So we here at Rosa Parks it's a beautiful location, by the way look at the aesthetics the pink umbrellas, what. What inspired this?
Speaker 2:branding, the branding. I'm all about women, empowerment, so why not go pink? You know it has nothing to do with the Barbie movie. I have not even watched that movie. It just has to do with just the idea that myself and my business partner had in mind.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's beautiful. I think it's very artistic. It brines up the community. Yeah, that was a good outlet. You took a place that maybe others would it be like I wouldn't do a business here and you maximize they like, you gave it beauty, the community.
Speaker 2:I like a challenge. Compared to my other business that I had, it was already given to me. This was a blank canvas, so I was able to design it the best way that I wanted to, and it's me. It represents who I am right where before I just happened to just start managing and running it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this took a lot of, but you started your own entrepreneurship, so you wanted to your woman and you wanted to be a business.
Speaker 2:I was at the right place at the right time. I started as a employee at my Haven Bar and Grill in 2007 after having my first order. I found the job on Craigslist because I don't like being home and doing nothing two weeks after giving birth to her. I found the job three weeks after I started working and since March of 2007 I was an employee and then I became an employer. After Hurricane Sandy took down my what used to be Brockville restaurant, I opened the doors in 2013 as a sole owner. I was ready for the challenge. I was pretty much running the business for the owners Without the title. The only thing that changed was the title, but the responsibilities were the same.
Speaker 3:Set challenges. Can you speak on those challenges of like opening this location and challenges in broken?
Speaker 2:the challenges. Yeah, yeah, that's. I had a little trademark loss to there, okay, which I don't care. I won the. When I started at Brockville rail in 2007, I was just the employee and I always give a hundred percent of myself. Even if it's not my business, I treated like it is mine and I think, after working five years with no complaints and just running it for other people Without the income, I was honored to take the, the challenge upon myself.
Speaker 2:I asked my landlord at that time, who was my boss hey, would you like, can you give me an offer on? I'm lend me, get me a loan? And he lend me a hundred and ten thousand. I believe it was because I created a business proposal, first business proposal of my life. I don't know why the heck it is YouTube. University is the best way to go. I created a business plan. I did my numbers based on what I think needed to be repaired right away, to open it, plus having at least six months of income in my checking account. And, yeah, he lent me the money. Three years later, I finished paying him off.
Speaker 2:Then, 2019, he decided that he wanted me to keep giving him money. He decided to terminate my lease and when you do that, you're your hoarder. So those are the challenges. If you don't own a, if you don't own the building where your business is, it could be a challenge with your landlord. You know everybody's up for themselves. So I should have taken the opportunity, yeah, to buy the building, because I had the support and I had the money. But I didn't. He pretty much took my haven out of my hands and but.
Speaker 2:But I always say every you have to let certain doors Close when they need to. Because he terminated my lease in 2019, I was asked to open this restaurant in 2019. So I always say when God closes a door, he's gonna oh, he's opening another one, so you have to let it go. And Then the pandemic happened in 2020. Guess what? All the courts were closed so he couldn't kick me out, oh yeah. And then that's when, like, the best two years of my life financially came in and I was able to stack up and that helped me support myself during comes. When you open a business, you can't really, you don't have income for a couple of months, so the business makes money. So Rosa Park came in June of 2021 and my haven closed in June of 2021.
Speaker 1:So perfect timing. Yeah, perfect, perfect time. And so you from the R.
Speaker 2:Yes, from the R, proud to be Dominican 100%, I'm not mixed. Okay, people see me and they like I didn't know you speak Spanish. I'm like you don't hear my accent. Like.
Speaker 2:And you also you from the Bronx man. So like every Dominican, you know, you go straight to the Heights when you come here. And I was raised in a hundred ninety second between St Nickners and Autobahn. Then, at the age of 18, I have always been very independent. I moved to the Bronx, I moved out of my house and I've been on my own since 18. Wow, yeah, so I've been in the Bronx since 18, so it's more than half of my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm a bronzer. I love it here and I've been in this area of my haven, but this is a growing 16 years.
Speaker 1:Right now you got skyscrapers, everything growing in this new community, I mean you can see it in a good and a bad way.
Speaker 2:You know. I see it as is beautifying the Bronx, because you know just like people nowadays getting, you know, little makeovers, but areas in the Bronx and everywhere we need to uplift, because sometimes we do get comfortable in situations and we just let it be. So I do like that is it looks better. What I don't like is that it's not allowing the people that are already there to stay and enjoy that, the fruits of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that growth yeah, the growth and the change and evolution of the area. Instead they're making it to the point where it's too expensive. So now they have no choice but to leave or get terminated, like me so, through all your experiences, you know now understanding you.
Speaker 1:You're, you're building a new business when you're doing a more like a life coach yes motivational. You doing like this wake-up calls with some girls. How was what's that experience?
Speaker 2:well, my support of women started at my haven. I've always believed that you have to use the platform that you're in to bring others and to encourage other people, to allow them to see that it is possible. Right, you know, I did it. I'm a girl who came from the art, didn't speak the English language and now look at me. So, with my haven, I started with pop-ups. Then I started doing what's called women's circles, because we all need a safe circle to just vent.
Speaker 2:I think life be lifeing. Sometimes we need that support and I like to create a small community of women where we could come together, cry, laugh, share moments. So all my events are like how can we get better? How can we remind ourselves of our own strength that we have? And it went from doing pop-ups to doing women's circles to doing now I'm waking up with 5 am with women. I've been doing that now for over two years. These women will always come to me for advice, but I would never feel right charging them for my time. So I say you know what? Let me become a life coach. If I tell you all the certifications that I got in my life, you probably laugh. But I even have my own tax company. This is not my first rodeo but, yeah, I want to be a life coach, not just for the money, it's because it's something that I'm already doing. But I don't feel right charging someone unless I have the right certifications and credentials yeah, but you got like this accountability thing I found in the morning yes a few girls.
Speaker 1:How many like 10 girls? I?
Speaker 2:try to keep a small. When I started, I was having 25 women and it was just to. I always have to cut it and with me I don't know how to say no.
Speaker 1:I'm always like, oh, actually questions, or it's more like a it's a thing of the moment it's a thing of a moment.
Speaker 2:Mondays we do what's called like we. What are we doing? What are we holding each other accountable? And then this year I paired them up with somebody else, so you are my accountability partner.
Speaker 3:So if I say how, would you hold someone else well?
Speaker 2:I create a group chat on Instagram and then you have to follow up with me, I have to follow up with you and every day I'm like hey, so how's it going? How's your accountability partner? Where are we like? Today is midweek, so we did a check-in at one girls on her Peloton. As we're doing it, another girl is exercising or cleaning her kitchen or organizing her room. So it's like what things can you do that first hour for yourself before you become a mom, before you go work for somebody else?
Speaker 1:natural ambience.
Speaker 2:I know, right, this is the bronze. Okay, yeah, but yeah, it's just taking that first hour because I feel like we get lost once you cut, once you step out of your house, you become an entrepreneur, you become a dad, you become a friend. Traffic gets in the way of your mental state of mind. You know you want to curse somebody else, so just stay calm and organize your day before you even get started yes and I didn't charge those ladies.
Speaker 2:That's like I feel like that's my pay it forward. Yeah, they support me in many other ways, like if I tell you, if I call somebody, like, hey, I have an event, everyone is volunteering speak about the restaurant, like what kind of co-scenes?
Speaker 3:like what is the restaurant about?
Speaker 2:this one. Well, my business partner and I, we both Dominican. So him and I, we. He's like the world traveler and he's never here. You're not gonna see him, it's always me, but it's Latin fusion. It has a little bit of Dominican. All of my catering menu, my entire catering menu, it's Dominican food. We call it a cocina de Maria because my mom's name is Maria, so more than one. Do the arroblanco be day Benel, and so that papa any. Every dish you could think of a caridad restaurant anywhere is in my catering menu and if it's not, I'll put it there for you. Right, yeah, but most of our popular dishes here are a rabo comodo and do lens. We plantains the salmon or the garlic shrimp pasta what I like is how you guys played it.
Speaker 1:It's like the whole design yeah so it's like gastronomy yes, you know also.
Speaker 3:So you guys have chicken and waffles, which?
Speaker 2:is oh, it's a chicken waffle sandwich. Okay. So it's almost like why have a regular chicken sandwich when you could just have it with the waffle? It's really good and sweet, so, but I get feeling we just have right yeah, don't worry, they're not gonna fall.
Speaker 1:Also, from what I'm understanding, you created, like, besides the restaurant, you created a personal brand, yes, and now you know, not only you helping women, but also you created a brand that can can highlight you and anything you're doing. So, now that you have this brand, you're looking now into fashion, right? I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've been having my clothing line since 2017 and I self-taught myself. I took some cricket classes. I always feel like the, the mine, is a tool that you have to constantly keep feeding it, so I always want to learn. I'm always eager to learn and I he pressed my own merch and I make my own vinyls. I design them, sometimes on Canva, and then I send them to get done. And, yeah, most of my clothes if I show your camo jacket that I made, it's one of a kind, but it's mine. I don't sell it, that's what makes it unique?
Speaker 2:Yes, Well, maybe I'll make you guys something one day.
Speaker 1:That would be awesome.
Speaker 3:You definitely got to come in and enjoy the ambience like on its full. Like you know, like effect in the week.
Speaker 2:Yes, you guys should come.
Speaker 3:I've seen the, the reels. How do you guys keep up with like marketing yourselves, and I'm doing like this? You have great marketing.
Speaker 2:so far, well, thank you, I do it myself.
Speaker 3:I am.
Speaker 2:I'm like a jack-of-all-trades. I did have somebody handling my social media. I kind of have a vision. Once I have something in my mind of how I see it and when I think it should be done and it doesn't get done, and I communicate it one time. There's not gonna be a second. I just like, okay, never mind, I'll do it myself.
Speaker 1:I'll do it, but I think throughout your journey you've mastered the art of delegating. Yes, and delegating is very important when you're an entrepreneur and as a woman I know sometimes you gotta tell men, women, everybody what to do, or at least show them how to do it, of course, or your point of view, so that that's a very good trade to have all of us. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:No, 100%. I like to leave by example. But I always encourage my staff, you know, to do more outside of here. You know I tell them like they have talents. One of my staff, he does events and I'm always telling him, like you know, get out there and promote yourself. If you do resumes, do resumes like if I, if I want five sources of income, I want you to have five sources of income right you know, and I'm always and I'm kind of like seeing what you're good at and I try to encourage you to also do that yourself.
Speaker 1:Right. You see greatness in the people you work with.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but sometimes what stops people is just fear, like I don't. I don't fear it not working, I rather go for it than live where we're at right yeah, I have no regrets because I go for it. I have no fear.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly that's how we got here.
Speaker 2:We feel through to get here, yeah you know how much money like I have to go through and that I had, that I lost, that I had to like put it back in my savings or live out of my savings.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:People really see just the picture of like, oh, you own roses at park, but you don't know how.
Speaker 1:What it took me to get what it took there. Yeah, they just see the tip of the iceberg, but they don't see that they see the end result, but they don't see the process the curating of the space is curating of your team. Yes, and also the quality of the content that you put out. Yeah, how?
Speaker 3:was that like how, was like hiring, because hiring is really important for a place like this.
Speaker 2:Hiring is important. Your HR right. I do everything I mean over here. I do the liquor order, the food order, I hire fire train. If the hostess is not here, I'm the hostess, I'm the bartender, I'm the server. The only thing I haven't done is the grill, but I've even done dishes.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 2:I believe in being a team player.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And I like to be a leader where I lead by example. I've never, since I was little, I don't allow a title to get to my head just because I'm the owner. Yes, but I wouldn't be here without my team, right? So I like to remind them that you know if you're busy, I got you.
Speaker 1:Rosa, what inspires you Life? You're going Like you already you did it. You're successful and I'm sure that you feel like you still got so much to do. That's human nature.
Speaker 2:That's human nature.
Speaker 1:Yeah, keeps you going, every day that you're like, you know what this is. What keeps me going?
Speaker 3:When you don't want to get up, like what makes you get up?
Speaker 2:No, that's never happened to me. What keeps me going is I'm very grateful I was. I've been in this world. I came to New York when I was nine. I've come from, I've from nothing. I used to be in the plantation in the R carrying water from the well. Like I know what it is to have nothing. So the fact that I have what I have now, it's an honor and a privilege. But I don't take it for granted, you know, because it could be taken away from me.
Speaker 2:And if it is, I know that I have the mental capacity to get back on my feet and get back get it again and I will get it again.
Speaker 3:And how do you balance, like you mentioned that you're a mom how do you balance being a mom and a full-time schedule, like?
Speaker 2:I wake up at 4 30, so I take advantage of my 24 hours. I always feel like, if you feel like you don't have enough time for the day, just act yourself. How many hours are you spending in bed? How many hours are you sitting and watching TV? You know I feel guilty sitting down watching TV. I'm not a big TV person, but I'm learning to take Monday, take Mondays, to do nothing. I don't touch my computer, I don't do nothing. But Tuesday through Sunday I'm at a hundred.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's good, though you need that break from time to time.
Speaker 2:I don't need a break. I can say I'll rest when I die.
Speaker 1:That's a good attitude.
Speaker 3:I like working.
Speaker 1:That's how you get things done, though.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, if you enjoy what you do, like that that's a no anyway.
Speaker 2:I was raised by a single mom, so seeing her like my mom is a hustler. She came here from the R&D not knowing the English language, working in the factory. You know, making meals and lunches for people to make a little bit of extra money is like, come on, I've been working since I was 12, so I don't know what it is to not work and I like working, so it's not like if you enjoy, you're doing like, it doesn't even feel like work.
Speaker 2:You know it is. Some people just feel like work is a chore, that they have to do. But just remember when that picture come. That shouldn't be the only time you're happy. If you don't have the job, then how are you gonna survive? How you gonna pay bills? So I know that is a privilege and I know that it is a requirement To be here and to be stress-free. So if I have to work three jobs I was even a tour collector one time like come on.
Speaker 1:Well, like what at the top?
Speaker 2:and see at the top and see, yep, I will work. I will work a full 40 hours in Long Island City and then from there I will go and do a tour collector and then on the week Is I was a waitress.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I work, so I got me. I even do something right now online.
Speaker 3:I'm always looking for money. I'm getting antsy right now.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. And it's like I want to make sure that I'm I'm always busy, my mind is always Evolving, but I also want to like encourage other people to do the same and you're also setting up like a foundation for your, for your kid.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know. So you wish it is not cheating by example.
Speaker 3:Tell me about it. I have a 15 year old, they have a 16.
Speaker 1:That example that you put in in front of, like I Don't come from this and you're lucky to be to have access to what I didn't have.
Speaker 2:Actually, yeah, 100, you know. And.
Speaker 1:I have to keep working. Yeah, you know, and that's, that's very powerful. Yeah, I saw my mother do that and my sisters, you know they always plowed through and kept working. You know, just to be themselves and to be mothers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just want, I just want to make, I Just want to make my family proud.
Speaker 3:You know that all the sacrifices they did have not gone, you know, in vain, right yeah so it's like the one thing that you tell your child every day that you want to inculcate her.
Speaker 2:My kid. I always, I always tell him to be kind. I want them to not be a follower. That's my one thing. I don't ever want my kids to follow trends. I don't follow trends. I Don't like it. I like to be, I like to think outside the box, I like to remain unique because I was made unique and I want my kids to always know that, like there is a lot of value within Yourself, you just being you, that you don't have to fit in with the rest of the crowd. You know it's better to stand out than to fit in.
Speaker 3:That's awesome, yes.
Speaker 2:But I mean, these kids are spoiled now. They're not like us. Yeah, right now.
Speaker 3:Social means.
Speaker 1:You know, everything is at your fingertips from your phone. So what you want, well, you don't want it right on your phone and you just check one and then you see it.
Speaker 3:I Was thinking about was like with AI, like how do you do homework?
Speaker 2:Oh my god.
Speaker 3:Like I had to like really pull out a calculator and tell the thing is stuff out, now you can just go to chat.
Speaker 2:There was no Google when I was doing.
Speaker 1:Get chat GBT to get it done. So there's one thing is you want we on a podcast we're on the innovators then podcast, but you have a podcast coming soon.
Speaker 2:I already wrote seven episodes.
Speaker 1:Wow, Wow.
Speaker 2:I again me, you know, take making sure my time is being used, but I wrote my episodes. I have my, my little blue Yeti, mike. I got some headphones yesterday, but I'm a perfectionist. Right and I'm learning to just yeah, I don't like to do things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like half-assed, but yeah but we've learned that we try to do perfect and it's like every episode we feel like, oh, we could have did this better.
Speaker 2:Oh, we're gonna do that, no, and then?
Speaker 1:just in the next episode.
Speaker 2:We probably don't like somebody else my right. Oh, they might not notice what we see, you know.
Speaker 1:It could be the simplest thing like the name of it.
Speaker 2:So I have my logo and it's like I do my reels on the morning on Instagram so I'm always snapping like top of the morning, so it's called top of the morning. I've been having this logo, yeah, for like Seven years. That's a good one, that's a good brand name. Yeah, and it has my finger like this, like top of the morning wake up, come on, that's a good name. Thank you, yeah, it's got. I'm gonna do it no later than October.
Speaker 3:You're gonna shoot it about the topics on the part of my first episode that I wrote.
Speaker 2:It's about mindset. It's all about empowering when there is, about being, you know, having gratitude. One is about mindset. The first, I would say season one is gonna be just me. Season two, I would like to bring people about, you know, just kind of connecting everything that I do, entrepreneur and also my life coach, and they just asking you like, how are you as an individual? You know, but sometimes nobody. If I say hey, how are you? You're gonna say good, how are you really?
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm great.
Speaker 2:You know what? I'm saying Like if you really want to go into detail, but the thing is like we always are good.
Speaker 1:Well, sometimes you don't want to tell people because you don't know where they feel it, so you don't want to feel like it's not your job, to figure out, to worry about what I know, but you have to be honest with us, though.
Speaker 2:That's that's really how it is, but that's what.
Speaker 1:I want, I want to go in. You were like, well, I'm feeling good and.
Speaker 2:I'm getting better. No, we need to dissect dissect like I'm, like, what was the last time you cried?
Speaker 1:I have a kid so Okay, I really cried with those.
Speaker 3:Watch a movie with my kid Energy.
Speaker 1:Because I was sad. Most of the time I cry because I'm happy.
Speaker 2:It's okay to be sad and it's okay to cry out of happiness and that's a thing like some people feel like when you're, when you cry, is like you being fragile. Sometimes it's good to be fragile. Being fragile is not a bad thing, actually.
Speaker 1:More energy when you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because you're holding that in like parts of your body.
Speaker 1:Now, you see, when people like you get cold up, when like you feel like you have to say something, when you cry, that really, yeah, that's crazy, yeah, that's like scientifically.
Speaker 2:So that's what my podcast is gonna mama get in, I'm gonna get everybody out, we're gonna be crying. Yeah, and men too, I think. Mental health, especially with that pandemic and everything is just. It's always good to just let everything out right.
Speaker 3:Mental health is real in our last episode we had a Mute, a movie director, and he was talking about like, how and how anxious he got during the pandemic and all that stuff. And we're speaking about anxiety, how like prevalent it is now like it's still happening.
Speaker 2:Yes, I still not over what happened.
Speaker 3:And I don't think we ever get over what and I don't think it's over either.
Speaker 1:Like yeah, yeah, just put the volume down. Oh yeah news, but it's still happening, it's happening.
Speaker 2:Those are still yet 1000% we just not.
Speaker 1:it's not on the media the way we, because they're always throwing other things to distract you.
Speaker 3:And how did that affect your business? Because a lot of businesses.
Speaker 2:They're doing the pandemic.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:I made the most money I've ever made in my 13 years of entrepreneurship.
Speaker 2:All takeout or no. So me already putting my thinking cap. I closed my business in March. April I was called to work with World Central Kitchen and I was making over 3,000 meals a week and I was like what else can I do? I was even hand delivering groceries in my car in Brooklyn. I was going to all the seniors. I couldn't go. I'm like what other contracts do you have? You want me to give food out of my restaurant? Give me a table here, potatoes, here's groceries. I was doing anything and everything possible. I was signing whatever contract. I work with Chef Kwame, the guy from Top Chef, and we work together. We got more.
Speaker 3:He has a restaurant, yeah in the city On the side right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, tatiana or something. Yeah, tatiana, it's really good.
Speaker 2:I haven't been there, though, I went to the one he had in DC. But yeah, I was working, and when I told you that I was working from 4 am, so I don't know what time at night, and yeah, I was smart, though I couldn't go out, couldn't spend, so I saved all my money. And I wasn't paying rent because my landlord had to cancel my lease, so I saved all my money.
Speaker 3:That's a sign, but yeah.
Speaker 1:That's like a gift that occurs Like you see the opportunity in a horrible situation. Yes, yeah, and sometimes as an entrepreneur, you're always left with that. There's a problem, what's the solution? And that could be the opportunity.
Speaker 2:That is my motto. I'm like there's a problem, there's a solution. I don't focus so much on the problem Because if not, it's just going to keep me in a corner Right. So I'm always. I always say every problem has a solution. It's just up to you to figure that out and to see it in that way.
Speaker 1:See it in that way. There are any projects that you want to highlight. I mean that we might not know that you, or something that you want to mention, that we don't know at all.
Speaker 2:Ah well, let's see, I have this restaurant. We mentioned my podcast that's coming soon. The fashion brand, my fashion brand, the podcast, my coaching that I'm doing, the life coaching, my 5am, my women's circle. I'm also a marathoner. I run Nice, yeah, I'm a runner, that's how I keep. Wait the 5K, no, no the marathon, the 5K, come on. What's a marathon? It's 26.2. 26.2. Okay, don't forget that. I was like who cares about the point too? Why don't you run you?
Speaker 3:understand what the point is. I ran the 2020 virtual one and I felt it.
Speaker 2:No, I have ran four New York City twice, chicago once and London. I did it.
Speaker 3:That's your heart. This year, I'm still feeling my knees.
Speaker 1:No, so you actually train prior to, or you just no, no, no. That's your lifestyle. You just working out for that.
Speaker 2:Right now, honestly, my mind is so trained before my body that I could run 26 miles and I will finish and I could bet whatever you want. Yeah, but if I train, I do a better timing yeah.
Speaker 3:But I crawled my way to like.
Speaker 2:Listen, running is more mental than physical. Yeah, no, it's definitely, but I always look for challenges Like I want to challenge myself.
Speaker 3:I think a lot of things are like that, though, yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't like the fact that I have limitations, like why I can't run a marathon. Who said I can't run?
Speaker 1:We limitless.
Speaker 2:No, I'm not limitless. Come on, guys, maybe we could run next year.
Speaker 3:Who? We? Yeah, we three. I'll run it. See, I'll start it.
Speaker 1:Come on, I'll start it, I'll go through it, I'll stay outside all day.
Speaker 2:We'll put parkas everywhere Like you're running. Oh, what did you say? The innovator's on the run there.
Speaker 1:You go On the run.
Speaker 2:At the marathon At the New York City With Rosa, with Rosa, let's go, we'll have Wally burning us from the car.
Speaker 3:You have a drone over our heads. He's driving next to us.
Speaker 2:No, but it's.
Speaker 1:Those are things that we can do actually to like inspire our community.
Speaker 2:You have to and show that, and even your kids. They just had a baby. Lead by example.
Speaker 3:That was one of the things I think I mentioned in a previous episode. I did it. I have a 15 year old so, I wanted to kind of teach her like I don't like running, like I don't enjoy it. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean Exactly, so it doesn't mean that I don't have to do it. Yeah, just because you don't like something doesn't mean that you don't have to get up and get it done. So you know, it's kind of trying to teach her that lesson.
Speaker 2:Did it work? It worked Okay, good. I tried it on mine. Mine was like oh no, why didn't you have to do it? You just do that mom.
Speaker 3:I mean in the sense of like she understands that there's things that she oh, no, of course, oh, like she still has to do it. But you still have to do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh wait another thing that I'm doing. So every year I do a turkey drive and I get the community together and we raise funds. For the last eight years I've been feeding over 2,000 families.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 2:So I get food from Laigoya, I get stuff from Jetro, restra, ndipo, a lot of the developers in the area. Today I'm sending them email and I ask them for, you know, a check, and the same way they support, they also come and they help me with the distribution. The goal is to, you know, do a little bit more than 2,000 this year. That's dope. You should document it. I do Well at the end process.
Speaker 1:You know when it's happening.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, the day off I always ask people they want a volunteer, but I guess so many volunteers that I can't say yes to everybody. I go with whoever contributed. I allowed them to come first, and then my friends and my women, all circles they come.
Speaker 1:That's dope, that's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you guys could come hello and we could bring you know him, so you could.
Speaker 1:And we could set up shop. Yeah, yeah. No, you're going to be giving us stuff. We're going to give it to the Turkish.
Speaker 2:We're giving it out, but we're doing it. I need manpower for all those Turkey boxes.
Speaker 1:Well, definitely could. I'll have you at least that.
Speaker 3:That's going to be another challenge.
Speaker 2:It's easier than the 26 miles that you did, Are you fine?
Speaker 1:No, I can't do the 26 miles, but yes you can. I can no limit.
Speaker 2:How do you have a limited podcast and you have limitations in your mind?
Speaker 1:Not 26 miles Mental.
Speaker 2:It's mental. You're saying it before you even experience it.
Speaker 3:So I'm going to be honest, my legs were gone by mile 14. So I popped like two tannins. You're supposed to pop before you start, and I rubbed a whole bunch of it like that.
Speaker 2:Bengay, oh, I know which one.
Speaker 3:I've got the spray. Yeah, yeah, I know which one. I spray it everywhere you supposed to.
Speaker 2:So you prepare yourself. You supposed to pop two titles before you start. Oh yeah, Do you have the gummies, the chewables?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I had some.
Speaker 2:Okay, you're supposed to take them like every two miles and then saw pills and then you got to get water and get away at every station, so you see it's not saying, hey, I'm gonna run 26 miles.
Speaker 1:She prepared herself.
Speaker 3:No, you have to be, you have to.
Speaker 1:And the strategy is to go through it. Yeah, no so you see, that's different. No, I know, I have to prepare myself to run.
Speaker 3:It's definitely like.
Speaker 2:It's when you finish. It's like what you feel when you're done the accomplishment yeah, you might. You feel like you're saying I ain't doing this again. Trust me, you're gonna do it again. That's what I said on my first.
Speaker 1:So right now we've been blessed. We got over like 400,000 views all our episodes. There's women looking and I want you to give them at least a couple tips on. If they was to start their entrepreneurship journey as a woman, what would you recommend them do?
Speaker 2:I think if you have an idea in mind of starting a business, just do it. If you take too long just thinking about it, you're going to stop yourself. Fear is going to crawl up inside of you and you're going to find every negative situation of why it cannot happen or why it's not going to happen. And if you speak to the wrong people about your business idea, they're definitely going to say, oh, I don't think you should take that risk. I think working in silence is better. Showing them your success is much better than talking about it. So, more action. Let's talk and just surround yourself with positive mind individuals that are going to encourage you and not disable you to just stay the way that you are. Amen, that's perfect.
Speaker 3:What's next for Rosa at Park?
Speaker 2:What's next for me, other than my to-do list that keeps getting longer and longer? I would like to finish the last three marathons that I'm missing, which is Tokyo, berlin and Chicago. I mean Boston. I'm sorry, but for my business I mean. Sometimes it's like do I want to open another restaurant? I have gotten approached several times.
Speaker 1:But with the same branding. Like you can franchise, yeah that's a great idea.
Speaker 2:I like to stay within the Bronx, but I used to have a coffee shop but I had to close it. So I want a coffee shop. It's going to happen because I already have my my convention oven that I have from my coffee shop. So that's manifestation. I'm going to get a coffee shop.
Speaker 1:And just the way you have it is like more of a boutique brand type of thing.
Speaker 2:So that's so cool. Yeah, it's going to happen. Rosa Park, maybe a little speakeasy. You go in the back have a little whisk.
Speaker 1:Nice and maybe has a back outdoor, like you got here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a little patio, something small yeah.
Speaker 1:Now, but I think you took advantage of the space and you maximized it. Good job, Thank you. You took something nothing and you made it into something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have pictures of how I was and I still can't believe it. Like I just come here and I just can't believe that it's mine. But again, I also say that it's not mine. I'm giving the opportunity to run it because, just like my haven, it could be taken away at any given point.
Speaker 1:Right For many angle.
Speaker 2:Look at how the pandemic just wiped out everyone, exactly Like you know everywhere, but I count my blessings and I'm saving more than I did before.
Speaker 1:That's amazing, best. Well, I think this was a good segment. We appreciate you bringing us to your spot.
Speaker 3:I think it's amazing.
Speaker 1:You have inspired a lot of women and you know we want to use this opportunity to ignite any woman who's like looking through the cameras like you can do it too. You know, it's just a mindset and surrounding yourself, even if it's not around, like you don't know them. But you could search for online mentors that you could read their books, watch their podcast.
Speaker 2:Yes, yourself, yeah, Well, that could reach out to me. I like helping women. I've helped girls do their own liquor license. I did it myself. I never hire a lawyer for my liquor license when it comes to the health department and all the permits that you need. I hope so, anyone watching, if you guys are really serious about starting a business. If you have any questions, you guys could just Send the email. To Send me an email to rosaapark, spelled out r-o-s-a-a-t-p-a-r-k. At gmailcom, or my Instagram, which is rosaapark, or my personal Instagram, which is iam-on-the-score-rosa-garcia. There you go, that's it, god.
Speaker 3:Yes, amazing. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Thank you guys, Thank you so much. This was fun. This is like talking in the Sara that you know. Yeah, that's what it's supposed to do. Pretty much your liver.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's nice we talk to innovators, right, and people from our community that are doing road things that they might not have been highlighted yet. Yeah, and we want to highlight you and give you your flowers now. Yes, and we appreciate everything you're doing for us.
Speaker 3:Also get your story out there to maybe like sparkle the brain of someone. Come on the ghost inspires somebody who's watching.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, male or female, whatever, just be inspired by Rosa.
Speaker 2:I just want to be, I don't know, kind of like just show you that if I could do it, you guys can do it too.
Speaker 3:Yes, Well, thank you so much, You're welcome.
Speaker 2:Oh, we got and to the next generation, like our kids and stuff, like you know.
Speaker 1:That's a fact.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to.
Speaker 1:You got to create that foundation for them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you have to show them. You know like, yeah, someone that just came from the art could make it. Or anywhere, yeah, or anywhere, from anywhere in the world or from any background, you know whether you're poor or homeless, whatever. It's all about mindset. You just have to want it, and then you figure out a solution for it, you become it.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm all about action. I don't talk too much.
Speaker 1:Action takers, yes, beautiful. So that's another episode on the innovators. Then we hear it with Go ahead.
Speaker 3:No, I was going to say make sure you guys follow us on YouTube All the time.
Speaker 1:Make sure you follow hit the subscribe button hit the like button share Like. Click on that. Make sure to follow Rosa and take so much Rosa at the park.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's a wrap Innovators done.