Meet Vimari Roman | Career Strategist and Executive Coach

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

Hi Vimari, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I realize now that there’s no such thing as work/life balance. We are one person and have one life which includes so many different aspects and pieces and work is just one of those pieces. It’s a lot more like work/life integration and I seek life balance. I also teach my clients to do the same. For example, there may be times our priority has to be our work and then there are other times when our home may be a priority and we need to be able to balance that. We need to stop seeking something impossible. There will never be a time when we are balanced in all areas however if we integrate our life and realize that as the goal, we will feel less stress and prevent burnout.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the founder and CEO of Be Productive Coaching. We are a boutique coaching firm based out of Miami and we help mid-senior leaders transition to the next step of their careers with purpose. Our clients are feeling lost, frustrated, stressed, and unsure of the next step in their careers. They need a strategy to move their careers forward and reduce the impact this has had on their personal lives. At Be Productive Coaching, we have developed a proven process to maximize their personal and professional potential through mental fitness, high-performance coaching, career strategies, and professional branding. Our competitive advantage is that I am not only the founder but also my first client. I’ve been there. I’ve walked this path of growth. We are a one-stop shop for career growth and productivity. We lead our clients through a step-by-step process that meets them where they are. After working with us, our clients feel more confident and can maximize their potential while achieving work/life integration, career advancement, and a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Was it easy? Not! Nothing in life worth having is easy. This didn’t happen overnight. As a Certified Leadership Coach, it took me from 2014 to 2017 to figure out my niche. Then once I finally found my niche, it took me from 2017 to 2019 to get some traction to rebrand Be Productive Coaching to what it is today. And even after the traction and rebranding, you still have to continue working and adding tools to scale as an entrepreneur and business owner. In 2021, I became certified as a Positive Intelligence (PQ) Coach. I feel that PQ was the missing piece to completing our process. Now we can actually get to the root cause of our client’s limiting beliefs and self-doubt to help them overcome self-sabotaging to accelerate their results. It’s been life-changing for us and our clients.

PQ has also helped me push out of my comfort zone and I’ve taken this work on the road speaking at conferences throughout North America. I am extremely proud of being a Certified Positive Intelligence Coach and the lives that I am changing because of this tool.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Thanks to my hospitality background, I happen to be a great host, and if I had a client or great friend visiting Miami for one week, I would create the following itinerary: Day 1: Let’s chill and catch up, spending the day at the Standard Spa, followed by dinner at my new favorite restaurant Tablé by Antonio Bachour, in the Miami Design District.
Day 2: I’d invite them for breakfast at my place as I love to cook and I make great coffee. We would then drive around mid-town and Wynwood before going to the Rubbell Museum or The Margulies Collection at the WAREhOUSE, followed by lunch at The Taco Stand and a stroll around Wynwood. Then I would probably have them over for my hubby’s homemade dinner or a night off.
Day 3: If they’ve never been to Miami, we will go for an Everglades Airboat Tour. I think this is a must-do at least once. After that, I would probably Google or Yelp to find a new great restaurant nearby for lunch. I love discovering new places. For dinner, I would want to take them to Mandolin Aegean Bistro, a local favorite.
Day 4: We would have a beach day or enjoy their Miami Beach hotel pool, and maybe check out South Pointe Park with appetizers at Smith and Wollensky for the view, and later have dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant in Miami Beach, Macchialina.
Day 5: I’d probably drive them to Key Biscayne to see the Bill Baggs lighthouse and then some lunch at the Rusty Pelican, followed by an afternoon in Calle 8 and dinner at Cafe La Trova.
Day 6 & 7: I’d leave it open to whatever they want to do and eat with many suggestions if needed.

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?
Oh wow, there are so many people that I can name in my story. My shoutouts would start with my parents. My mother for teaching me values, independence, and responsibility. My father for offering me my first job opportunity and teaching me that we must put in the work, not be afraid to take risks, and advocate for ourselves to rise within our careers. Oh, and before I go on, I must mention my grandmother Virginia because she instilled my faith, and God knows I would not be where I am today without my faith. Then came Helene Wein, my very first boss after my father, and she gave me the opportunity at my first luxury hotel in Manhattan and has been my cheerleader as I’ve grown in my career. After Helene came Karen Whiting, the Rooms Division Director at Sonesta Beach Resort Key Biscayne, my first hotel in Miami. Karen gave me great feedback on how I came across to my colleagues in other departments and truly helped me become a better and more emotionally intelligent leader in my mid-twenty. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I had not welcomed harsh and constructive feedback. Then there is Alan Sonnabend and he was General Manager at Sonesta KB, and because of him, I transitioned my career from operations to sales. After working as the Assistant Front Office Manager for a couple of years, I went to him and talked about my desire to do something different and he suggested sales and had me think about it. After that, they created a position for me. I had to apply and prove that I was the best candidate but that’s how I got started in sales. Once I was in sales, I had several colleagues that, without them knowing, I looked up to and learned from. I would observe and apply what I thought were the best practices or successful traits in sales. After Sonesta, I was very strategic about the next step and was hired to work at LXR by Mary Jobb, she was my Director at the time and I learned the most from her. She was sharp. She was highly supportive and took me under her wing. I could step into her role when she was promoted to VP. The one thing she taught me I’d never forget is to speak up and find my voice to celebrate my success and my team’s success in meetings with the higher-level leadership. At the time, I just figured that the numbers would speak for themselves but they didn’t and I needed to give them a voice. I thank her for teaching me executive presence. After 22 years in my career, I learned that sometimes the most challenging people can be our best teachers. I came across a leader I was reporting to whose leadership style was to intimidate others and apparently, it was okay in that culture. I’ve always been an independent thinker and this was the first time I came across someone who wanted me to say “yes, sir” and that didn’t work well for my personality. But unfortunately, I didn’t see that coming during the interview. Once there, I didn’t want to quit, so I stayed and had a miserable year where I was pushed the hardest and disrespected, but looking back, that opportunity is where the entrepreneur in me came out. I felt alone and didnt have many resources, but I was determined to succeed, so I had to become highly resourceful and I did. Looking back, I have to say that I probably would have handled it differently today, but maybe I wouldn’t be where I am today. So no regrets, just many lessons. Lastly, looking at my life as an entrepreneur, I have been encouraged by others that I see putting in the work to serve others through their talents and passion. I’ve had several coaches that I’ve hired during different times that have been instrumental in my growth and where I am today. I also have two men that are mentors without them knowing…one is Tony Robbins, and the other is Matthew Kelly. Both are very different and I look up to them and follow their work closely.

Website: https://beproductivecoaching.com/

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