00:00:00:00 - 00:00:05:04 Unknown People. Welcome to the sun side. Kingdom show. 00:00:05:04 - 00:00:11:19 Unknown the place where we highlight successful individuals with roots and or associations from the Dutch Caribbean islands. 00:00:11:23 - 00:00:14:06 Unknown AKA the Dutch Kingdom, 00:00:14:06 - 00:00:24:02 Unknown These accomplished individuals are prime role models and examples of what can be achieved when you combine hard work, perseverance and mighty focus. 00:00:24:02 - 00:00:36:07 Unknown I'm your host, John Sandiford, a.k.a. Jam Sandiford, and today we are getting into our very, our very first episode. Guys, I am super, super excited. 00:00:36:07 - 00:00:43:05 Unknown We recorded this back in San Martin when I was there last year for the smile event, 00:00:43:05 - 00:00:47:20 Unknown which is coming up again with the wonderful effort by the Joe. 00:00:47:20 - 00:00:54:05 Unknown shout out to Divi hotel, because they gave us this beautiful location 00:00:54:05 - 00:00:57:04 Unknown Again, thank you guys for tuning in. 00:00:57:06 - 00:01:10:05 Unknown Please subscribe and stay up to date with all that's coming, because we have a lot in store for season one of the Sun Side Kingdom Show. Let's get into today's episode. 00:01:10:11 - 00:01:11:21 00:01:11:21 - 00:01:12:16 00:01:13:22 - 00:01:14:18 00:01:14:18 - 00:01:15:23 00:01:15:23 - 00:01:16:08 00:01:16:08 - 00:01:16:14 00:01:16:24 - 00:01:17:20 00:01:17:20 - 00:01:20:14 00:01:20:18 - 00:01:35:20 Unknown right now I have with me for the very first episode, one of my favorite island partners, one of my favorite, persons on the island when it comes to the entrepreneurial spirit, fully embodies it from head to toe. 00:01:36:00 - 00:01:54:16 Unknown Always does it. Amazingly beautiful. So, you see, I had to repeat that whole thing to give it a better intro. Miss Eve invited you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I need you on the road with me everywhere I go. I need you to do that over and over and over again. Now, it is a true honor to be here. 00:01:54:18 - 00:02:16:18 Unknown Congratulations. With sunside kingdom. It's really important that we continue to do these kinds of things and be in this kind of a space where, we reach millions of people around the world and letting them know about islands and about the sun side of life and about the kingdom and our allies and our friends. And, I'm just honored to be here and to be your first interviewee like that. 00:02:16:24 - 00:02:20:14 Unknown Like, I'm still I'm still in shock. 00:02:20:14 - 00:02:28:12 Unknown So for the folks that may not know you, since it's the sunny side of the kingdom, there's also listeners, hopefully from Curacao. 00:02:28:14 - 00:02:50:16 Unknown Aruba. Bonaire will even invite, the guys from Surinam and definitely the whole diaspora that, lives in the Netherlands and in the US. We have guys who are all over the world, over the world, also in the US, England. Yes. Wherever you are tuning, listening, it's going down. So please introduce yourselves. So what do you do? 00:02:50:16 - 00:03:15:08 Unknown And, what really keeps you busy on a daily basis? That's a very good question, John. Who am I? I am if anybody to, born and raised on the beautiful island of Saint Martin. I went to school for a little period in the US, and then after that in the Netherlands. I have an honorary PhD in humanities for the work that I do when it comes to island entrepreneurship. 00:03:15:10 - 00:03:39:12 Unknown And so I've coined that phrase island preneur, which seems to roll off everybody's tongue. So basically I get excited about it. And, I'm passionate about helping people fulfill purpose through entrepreneurship and innovation. And on a bigger scale, I believe that I can impact social change and have an impact on economic growth, through entrepreneurship and innovation development. 00:03:39:18 - 00:04:02:05 Unknown So I work both on a macro level as well as micro level. And I love the word that you use purpose in there because it's, it's it is one of our favorite words. Yes. And, as, as we're interviewing persons from the sunny side of the kingdom, we also really want to know, how far along are you in connecting to purpose? 00:04:02:07 - 00:04:24:14 Unknown When you're looking specifically at your own purpose. Who? John, are you going deep with? You just. They're supposed to call Seaside Kingdom. You. You just dove deep into the waters. Everything I do is about purpose. I believe in a higher power. I believe in a more divine power. And I believe that that power has created me. 00:04:24:14 - 00:04:43:22 Unknown You, everything in between. And that our job is to express that divine, that divinity in the highest self, in a way that we make life easier for people, in the way that we help people to go through life and find their own purpose in a way that we make a difference and leave the world in a better place than we met it. 00:04:43:24 - 00:05:04:06 Unknown And so purpose is inextricable to everything that I do. How close am I in fulfilling it? I try to do it every day, and some days I'm better than, like if someone is also familiar. On some days I'm knocking it out of the park. On some days or weeks I'm like, oh my goodness, what am I even doing? 00:05:04:08 - 00:05:22:01 Unknown But I'm grateful for the people around me that help me to stay focused on purpose. You're one of them, you know, you you've challenged me as well. But people like doctor Lee say Liverpool and my mom. My dad. Leslie. Samuel, these are some people that are in my 00:05:22:01 - 00:05:26:17 Unknown circle, that make me realize that it's really not about the money. 00:05:26:17 - 00:05:44:16 Unknown At the end of the day. Yeah, it's not about the material things in the nice car, in a nice house. I mean, I'm a little spoiled. I live on Saint Martin, you know, and I'm sure you're going to show that what it looks like. Exactly. Every day. I could see that already. My mom is the key to be I know, right? 00:05:44:18 - 00:06:05:13 Unknown My mom is usually swimming here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. And so I'm a bit spoiled in that way, and I understand that. But to your point about purpose, and how close am I to it? Everything that I do, I try to make sure that I'm staying as close to fulfilling purpose as possible, because that's the way that you get to all of the wonderful things. 00:06:05:13 - 00:06:31:01 Unknown Yeah. And it's it's so funny that, Yeah, the years we built a certain connection and I'm even seeing it in my questions because I have to ask you one question, then you're already key enough. Part of the next question, because my next question is actually if money wasn't an issue. Yeah. So if you did not have to worry about money at all, what would you be doing specifically? 00:06:31:04 - 00:06:52:11 Unknown So get into a bit of those details. And if you need to take a moment and reason and think about it, process it, and then let it go. I would be doing a lot of what I'm doing now. I kind of purposely threw myself into the deep end. Yeah, because I know, I know who I am in the way that I know. 00:06:52:11 - 00:07:18:21 Unknown If I focus on money and make that the top priority, then I will negate relationships and I didn't want. And it doesn't mean that I haven't messed up on relationships or made some mistakes. But, for me, it's important that that is not the goal, right? But what I would be doing more of is more things like this. 00:07:18:23 - 00:07:51:04 Unknown I'm a media junkie. I would be doing more YouTube videos and more podcasting, and I would be building out this media, studio thing, and I'd be doing more media type stuff. And so even with Island Preneur, I made a decision early on this year or late last year that that is what I'm so passionate about and I'm so attracted to to dive deeper into that with an island preneur and make it more like a media sassy type of expression. 00:07:51:06 - 00:08:14:00 Unknown But yet definitely I would be doing more of what I'm doing now. That includes coaching, training, organizing events, but also a lot more of the media stuff and that also include speaking gigs and different things like that. I'm just if it has to do with media, I'm there. Yeah, yeah. Awesome. Amazing. Does that surprise you? 00:08:14:02 - 00:08:34:04 Unknown No, not at all. Okay, okay. Just kick it. No it doesn't. I didn't mean to flip the interview, but. Yeah, but, it's also for those out there that haven't had those deep one on one conversations with you. And that's why I feel like, now we need to have one of those conversations, with the cameras. 00:08:34:07 - 00:08:57:04 Unknown Yeah, a bit of the, like, just, you know, have them invited into our conversation. Right? Not exactly. So being an islander, an island preneur. Yes, sir. How does your Caribbean background influence your way of doing business? That's a brilliant question. And I'll tell you why. A few years ago, I brought you down. Doctor who? 00:08:57:06 - 00:09:22:05 Unknown Moreland, Doctor Violette Joseph, Anika Watkins, Porter, and a few others for your dominate 360 and great event, by the way. Thank you. And that year we also internal gala because it was during Global Entrepreneurship Week and we did some things in Anguilla and I was so nervous to be on the same stage with doctor Will Moreland and Doctor Roulette. 00:09:22:05 - 00:09:49:10 Unknown Joseph, because I'm looking at these American powerhouses, just deliver and knock it out the park. And they're so amazing in their own right. And I felt like, yo, how do I add value? Right? I just said, Island girl, what are you doing here? And they told me, no, Britain bring you, you know boo. And you've told me that too. 00:09:49:12 - 00:10:12:24 Unknown And so when I started to do more of my Caribbean flavor, when I started to bring them Caribbean style to things, that's when it was out of the park. That's when people were like, yo, what is this. We need more of this in our lives. That's when I started to attract so many different people from all over the world because they were like, what? 00:10:12:24 - 00:10:40:13 Unknown Is it different? It's different. And and so my job now is to be different, do different, speak different, and just embrace my difference and my difference. Even though we're both from the island, my different is still different. And you're different. Yeah, right. So my difference has a little better African in it, like my father's from Nigeria. My difference has Latino in it. 00:10:40:13 - 00:11:03:16 Unknown My grandfather's from Dominican Republic. Oh, wow. My difference has didn't know daddy. Yeah, my difference has French and Dutch. And it has, I learned, is a potpourri of different things. And so when I started to embrace that, like rock and shot here or, you know, like different things, little things, then it changed the game. And that's actually where I learned Preneur was born an island. 00:11:03:16 - 00:11:34:03 Unknown Preneur is my greatest accomplishment. And baby, it's thank you. In the future, I might have the sound effects, the bus rapid like. All right, we working on that one still, right? We'll do it in post. You remember Sherry? You had to get a clap. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, amazing. So iffy. Imagine on that chair right there. 00:11:34:03 - 00:12:03:14 Unknown Probably the viewers at home can't see it. Yeah. But on that chair is 18 year old iffy sitting down listening to present day. Iffy. And she's pretty amazing. She's she's in awe. And at the same time she's like I don't see how I would become her. What advice would you give 18 year old iffy. 00:12:03:16 - 00:12:29:12 Unknown That's a good question. Can I flip that a little bit? Go ahead. When I was 18, I got certified as a youth entrepreneurship trainer in Miami, Florida, and I sat I did this whole intensively training, and at the end of it, this eight year old walks in with a suit and two, young ladies, seven and six with the uniforms, and he does a pitch of 90s. 00:12:29:12 - 00:12:55:09 Unknown Exactly. He shows his advertisement. He's talking about his lemonade stand franchise, that he wants to be out in Florida, and he's talking about everything the supply chain, profit margins, like everything. Eight year old, eight year old tasting it out. I'm not making up this story. This is a true thing. Okay? I have witnesses and they're still alive. So it's a sure thing. 00:12:55:11 - 00:13:12:17 Unknown And I looked at that eight year old and thought to myself, what in the world have I been doing for the past ten years of my life? Because this, this eight year old is killing it. And so every now and then I think about my 18 year old self, and she reminds me why I do what it is that I do. 00:13:12:17 - 00:13:41:16 Unknown And so she oftentimes gives me advice. She oftentimes tells me to stay true to who I am. And that that's where I started and that's what I want to accomplish. What I would tell her, though, is it's okay not only to dream, but it's okay to do it. Afraid. Yeah. I would let fear talk me out of many things that Faith was trying to talk me into. 00:13:41:18 - 00:14:00:03 Unknown And so I know, right? And so I would tell her it's okay to do it, afraid that it's, that no matter how I feel, I can do it. And often times I have to remind myself, no matter how I feel. Yeah, I could be tired. I could be depressed. I could be angry. I could be emotional. 00:14:00:03 - 00:14:15:21 Unknown I could be happy. Yeah. And just think, oh, this is a day off. Nobody. We're not there yet. It's time to work. It's still time to work. And, on the times where I have messed up or dropped the ball and I have to pick myself back up again, I still need to remind myself that I can do it. 00:14:15:23 - 00:14:45:16 Unknown And so I would tell her that no matter how you feel, you could do it. But she often reminds me that of why I'm doing it. Yeah. That's beautiful. Yeah. That's beautiful. Yeah. So, if we segue into, into that theme of the sun, sunny side of the Kingdom. And it's a topic that, I'm not sure exactly how I want to tread with this. 00:14:45:18 - 00:15:21:18 Unknown I thought you went deep. No, no, this is this look like shark waters. We got some sharks in the water. Some barracudas should have chum. So the chum. But in order for those island partners out there to, really be able to be successful and flourish to the best of their abilities. What are some of the challenges that you see in on this Pacific island of the sunny side of the kingdom that, you would love to be, you would love to see solved within the next five years. 00:15:21:20 - 00:15:46:09 Unknown And the list might be long, so let's just pick two. First thing that comes to mind that needed to be saw five years ago would be digital payments. We live in the 21st century. Five years ago, in January, I said, if small businesses don't have access to digital payments, they would die. There was a big news article that was 20 17th January, I remember actually. 00:15:46:09 - 00:16:14:19 Unknown Right. Yeah. 20 17th September Saint Martin encountered Hurricane Irma with more than $2.86 billion of damage and 95% plus of damages and losses. Wow. I lost my home. I had to leave the island. My father lost his home. It's still not rebuilt. When you look at things eye level, everything looks good. But if you go up on a on a hill, you're going to start to see more tarpaulins. 00:16:14:19 - 00:16:38:20 Unknown And you thought would still be there. Yeah, right. And it's been a process. And as we were cleaning up and moving forward and, and you know, our brothers and sisters over on the other side of the pond, they they rallied. You rallied, several people rallied to help support. I remember when I went to The Hague a few years ago, there was a big sign at the Knox Central saying 300km plus. 00:16:38:22 - 00:17:10:04 Unknown That was the speed of Hurricane Irma. Yeah. And so a few years as we're as we're getting back on track and everybody feels like, oh, okay, we we come through that. Then, of course, you know, in true historic fashion, there's a global pandemic that happens every 100 years or so, but it happens two years after the most devastating hurricane in history of similar things that. 00:17:10:06 - 00:17:35:19 Unknown Exactly. And in those two instances, what I saw was the struggle to survive, because the market is so small. Yeah, because your brothers and sisters are also hurting and they don't have the resources to pay for your services or for your goods. But at the same time, people wanting to support, they wanted to buy, they wanted to and they couldn't. 00:17:35:19 - 00:17:58:16 Unknown Yeah. Because we don't have online payments. We don't. Infrastructure. The infrastructure is not there. Has there been progress? Yes. Central Bank has put together some legislation. Instant payments are now, in operation, although not all banks are fully signed on to it. Okay, so we've made some progress. But when I say online payments, I'm talking about what the world is accustomed to. 00:17:58:16 - 00:18:27:06 Unknown Things like people, things like stripe, things like Cash App, Venmo, numerous. Yeah. For for those in Holland, it would be like, something similar to our idea. Exactly to, what's the WhatsApp ticky? Yes. And there's a whole long list of them coming from Europe, coming from Asia, coming from Africa. Yeah. I mean, there's a whole long list and I've tested actually more than 100 payment processors. 00:18:27:06 - 00:18:58:20 Unknown And I encountered the same problem over and over and over again over the years. And what's at the core of that problem? Two fold. One is similar. Martin needs to look like an attractive, market. Okay. For many of these payment processors, I think it is because of the number of transactions that just happen in this place. It's a $2 billion economy. 00:18:58:20 - 00:19:25:06 Unknown That's the GDP. Yeah, roughly. It's now about 1.7. Okay. Yeah. But in addition to that, though, the central bank has helped to move things along, I think a lot of banks see at least, and this is my analysis, just based on the way that they operate. I think a lot of banks see payment processes as either competition or only for big companies. 00:19:25:08 - 00:19:53:07 Unknown But when your economy is 89.8% small businesses. Yeah. And when small businesses can make millions online. Yeah. The online, the digital economy has grown from a 2.9 trillion U.S. dollar economy in 2019 to in the first quarter of 2020, a 14 no, $11.9 trillion economy. Well, since you when I looked at the stats, it was 14 trillion. 00:19:53:07 - 00:20:22:07 Unknown That's 12 zeros after that. 14 yep. I don't need I don't even need 1%. Yeah. You understand what I'm saying. 0.1 percent is also fine. 0.1% will do just fine. And so I think essentially once you don't have those, payment rails and infrastructure in place and you can't even play the game. No. And then when we look at some Martin and some of the other islands, also in the Dutch, kingdom, they say, yeah, but we're a tourist economy. 00:20:22:09 - 00:20:39:13 Unknown But how does the tourism, how does a tourist shop. Yeah. Who is the who is the new tourist? What are they looking for? How do they want to engage? They don't want to walk around with cash. Definitely. They they don't want to have to deal with exorbitant bank transfer fees. Nope. They want to be able to tap and go. 00:20:39:18 - 00:20:59:07 Unknown They want to pay in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Many also those that are staying here for a week or two maybe may not be the right kind of, tourists to throw our investments in. I mean, we appreciate every tourist that comes to the island, but there's the digital nomads and the remote workers that want to live in this sun. 00:20:59:07 - 00:21:20:03 Unknown Sea. Yeah, on the sunny side of the kingdom. Right. And they just don't have the infrastructure, internet wise, payment wise and also tax wise, because for many of them, there's a tax implication as well for staying long periods away. Yeah. So, digital payment is numero uno. And I have been talking about that for the past five years. 00:21:20:03 - 00:21:39:23 Unknown I'm not done yet. I'm going to solve that problem. I found some loopholes in the system. Right. And they're also things like Bitcoin cash, which I see popping up more and more on the island. Yeah. So there is a movement towards it. People see the importance, but I think that we need to work more collectively. 00:21:40:00 - 00:22:03:07 Unknown And I think that also includes having the discussion with those, because the Netherlands is a very advanced technological country, for sure. And so having the conversation with them on how we can foster this in a way that is compliant in a way that, makes it safe financially, in a way that we're not attracting, you know, terrorists and pedophiles. 00:22:03:09 - 00:22:28:13 Unknown They've gone through that. Yeah. And so we could we could leapfrog and learn from them. So numero uno problem is that and connected to that would be shipping. But shipping right now is a global problem. Yeah that's a global problem. Shipping right now is a real global problem. So I can't even touch shipping. Yeah that maybe used to be a tad bit of a local problem when it comes to the smaller items, because I think the larger items, the bulk. 00:22:28:13 - 00:22:50:07 Unknown Yeah. Always went pretty well. And when I say shipping, I'm talking about export. Okay. Oh yeah. Yeah yeah, yeah. We are good at bringing in everything. Yeah. Shipping it out is another story. Yeah. So, because if you're looking at e-commerce, if you're looking at digital economy, how do you ship out your shirt, your art piece, your, you know, music stuff? 00:22:50:07 - 00:23:13:19 Unknown I mean, for digital, products and services that might be simpler, simpler, but still and even that is not always, the simplest. No, no, not at all. I was looking at something from my company. It. And they were looking at business models and, and the kind of stuff they were talking about. I'm like, oh, we don't we don't have no kind of infrastructure compared to this. 00:23:13:21 - 00:23:38:08 Unknown But what I appreciate the of my island preneur is and I see it especially Alex and Martin, but throughout the region is that we are relentless. Oh yeah. And that is the magic sauce. Yeah. We will find a way and make. Oh, we. Yeah. And so I see a lot more businesses on Instagram, on Facebook, on TikTok. 00:23:38:10 - 00:24:12:06 Unknown There's a girl that I know who was at one of my micro entrepreneurship programs. She had 15,000 viewers on TikTok, and she's like, yeah, how do I monetize? Because yes, I'm baking cakes. But this is her exact. And so for those people being able to have an opportunity to get paid in a very simple way. Yeah, makes the difference for them, for, for those that are have a different skill set or have more advanced skill sets, then they can have the conversation with bigger companies on how to get the wire transfer. 00:24:12:11 - 00:24:47:06 Unknown Right. Yeah. But if the cost of, sending money and transfer money is $20 on my side and $20 on your side, yeah, then the product has to be at least $50. Who's paying $50 for a T-shirt? Unless you have the kind of brand that commands that. Yeah. So those are some of the challenges right there. And I went on a rampage, but I know I think it's, I think it's definitely good for us to, also put those things on the table and for maybe some of the viewers that aren't really aware of what those challenges are. 00:24:47:06 - 00:25:11:06 Unknown This is my camera here, right? Yeah. That's okay. So yeah, if you are a fintech specialist and you want to dive in on this problem, please contact me. I've been working with some of the payment processors in the region. But it is a problem to be solved, so please contact me and her contact info will be down in the description below. 00:25:11:07 - 00:25:36:02 Unknown Yes, definitely. If once again, I would like to thank you very, very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule for moving some things around to fit me in at, at this last minute. Since I got to fly back on that bluebird, to the not so sunny side of the kingdom. So every time you do a Sunny Side podcast Q&A. 00:25:36:04 - 00:25:59:08 Unknown Well, not every time, not every time, but, definitely for that first time. Yeah, it had to be something special. Yeah. And, I think that we definitely accomplished it, here today. Yeah. Do you have any final thoughts for, yeah, for the viewers at home or those listening in on their phone, tablets? Laptops, TVs? 00:25:59:10 - 00:26:24:13 Unknown What else are we listening to on? Well, since it's audio, you probably could even listen on your watch. Are you on metaverse? On us? Yeah. Okay. I like, I know, right. I know I do. Yes, I do metaphors podcast. Guys, if anybody does this and it doesn't exist, it's my idea. 00:26:24:15 - 00:26:39:17 Unknown No. First and foremost, thank you so much for this honor. You I truly appreciate all the amazing things that you're doing, both professionally and personally. Thank you. You are doing epic. 00:26:40:05 - 00:27:00:10 Unknown You are living up to that. And, it's just I'm just happy to be a part of it. And for those that are listening, if you're an entrepreneur, if you're an innovator, if you are just somebody who wants to make a difference, try to support the entrepreneurs. 00:27:00:12 - 00:27:30:07 Unknown Yeah, really try it. It takes a special kind of characteristic to build something from nothing. Yeah. And, so support them, find a way to support them. If you can't financially, see if you can give them advice if you're a professional, for sure. If you have their services and maybe they're not doing it to the best that you would expect, give them the feedback in a constructive way so that they can improve the constructive criticism and constructive criticism. 00:27:30:09 - 00:28:05:08 Unknown Not, you know, not the other, not the rough and no, no, no constructive criticism. Support them. Entrepreneurs need the support. Yeah. It's, it's, it's spiritually, emotionally, mentally, financially and physically taxing to be an entrepreneur. And many times that can be a very, lonely journey. Yeah. So any support that you that you can get along the way that, also brings along that constructive criticism is always very, very well appreciated. 00:28:05:08 - 00:28:31:10 Unknown Yeah, sometimes may be in the moment. It may seem a bit off because the emotions are high when something's just totally got screwed up. Yeah. But, yeah, the any good entrepreneurial art to take the time to reflect and think back on, okay, how can I improve and, take that constructive criticism? Absolutely. And the other thing I want to let people know is that I know it's, you know, it's like the world is going to hell in a handbasket. 00:28:31:12 - 00:29:02:12 Unknown Between for us, when the islands hurricane Curacao, it was the, refinery closing down. Yeah. Covid, pandemic war. All of those things are real. However, it is the moment where superheroes. Right? And make a difference. And, then, that might be copyrighted. It's, won't continue the rest of it. But with that being said, 00:29:02:12 - 00:29:19:19 Unknown I think that's a wrap. Thank you very much, miss. If I Joe. Thank you. It's been amazing. Sunset Kingdom episode one is a wrap. Once again, I would like to thank the Divi Hotel in Saint Martin for hooking us up with this amazing spot. 00:29:19:21 - 00:29:39:07 Unknown Definitely got to get some B-roll outside. So you guys at home can see what you're missing out here. And come down. Whatever you visit. San Martin. Because after this, you definitely will want to, come and check it out. This is an amazing hotel with a beautiful beach. Great food here. I remember having breakfast when we had our mastermind session here. 00:29:39:07 - 00:29:54:22 Unknown That was amazing. And outside in the cabana, we had a really good session back then. So, it's definitely one of the great, one of my favorite places on the island. All right, that's it. It's a wrap. Thank you.