Meet Ismael Voltaire | University Professor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ismael Voltaire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ismael, do you have a budget?
I believe having a structured budget is imperative to a well-balanced life. Money is factored into almost everything we do. So it only makes sense that we know and control how it is coming in and out of our lives. The purpose of a budget is to tell our money what to do, not the other way around. If you are not actively pointing each of your dollars to where they should be going you will often find that you run out of money without knowing where it all went. I personally plan my budget for the upcoming month at the end of the prior month. My budget includes food, savings, bills, and spending money (among other categories). It’s very important that you are realistic with yourself and your spending habits or it just won’t work. If you know you like to eat out frequently it makes sense to add more of your dollars towards food. However, that would mean taking some dollars away from other areas like spending. Once you’ve established a proven budget, then you focus on sticking to it. At first, like anything, it is hard to get yourself to cut back on certain pleasures in order to not overspend, but in the long run you will see that you have less financial worry, higher confidence, and no guilt when you want to go out for a summer getaway.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Getting to where I am today was definitely not easy. Before earning my MBA, I endured years of constantly learning, failing, evolving, and winning to gain the knowledge I have today. In fact, it took years of failing at business ventures until I finally gained the skills and knowledge to win the first of many business plan competitions. Today, I have taken that knowledge to establish my company, Voltaire Consulting Group, where we help entrepreneurs start their first business the right way.

We take the dreams and ideas of everyday people and create a long-term and strategic business out of it. Our goal is to change lives. We’re able to do this by writing a strategic business plan for our clients and offering monthly growth services. This is how it works. A client would come to us with a business idea that they are passionate about. We work with our team of MBA consultants and grant writers to draft a thorough business plan, go-to-market strategy, and a three-year financial forecast. We then help our clients every month by offering an evolving marketing plan to help outperform their competitors and be in front of market changes and new trends. After a year or two of us helping our clients’ business thrive, we connect them to one of our many angel investors for funding to the next level.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a friend of mine came to visit me down in Miami first of all I would warn them that they would not be doing much sleeping! At the beginning of the week we would spend our days outdoors to enjoy the sun. This would consist of taking a boat ride down millionaires row, taking bike rides down Biscayne boulevard, and going shopping in midtown. At night we would have to go down to South Beach or Wynwood to bar hop and chill in one of the many lounges in the area. Towards the end of the week and the weekend we would try out at least 3-4 beaches down the coast. Finally on that last Sunday we would rent out a yacht, wait until the sun is hitting just right, and relax on the water as we sailed through Downtown Miami.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shoutout Lisa Peddy! Lisa is a well respected member of the South Florida community. I have had the pleasure of meeting Lisa through The Strategic Forum, which is an organization of industry leaders from diverse backgrounds dedicated to the exchange of ideas and the promotion of business opportunities. Since starting my consulting firm, Voltaire Consulting Group, Lisa has played an integral role in helping our company launch the right way. As a seasoned angel investor, Lisa has helped guide numerous early ventures and transformed them into profitable and reputable companies. With our advisory board led by Jonathan Fishbeck and valuable insights offered by Lisa Peddy, we continue to expand our startup services throughout the South Florida community.

Website: Www.voltaireconsultants.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vbcgroup

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoltBiz/