We asked experts from a broad range of industries to open up to us about things they know about their industry but that we probably don’t and we’ve shared some of those responses below.

Simone Brown | Licensed Esthetician & CEO

Art has always been my thing. I just had a hard time figuring out in what form should I pursue it. In school art was always my favorite class. I can’t draw, like at all so that was out of the question. lol One thing I do love is beauty. I would join things like modeling school, beauty pageants etc just to have an excuse to do my make-up and dress up. At one point I was in the back of the beauty pageant , that I was participating in, doing the other girls makeup as well. I strayed away from becoming a makeup artist for a while because I was told many times its “not a real job”. I attended Beauty Schools of America. Read more>>

Jamie Chang | Luxury Real Estate Advisor

People think we get into the business to “work less” and that couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality I work far more hours than I did when I punched a time clock and I would not change it for anything! Working for myself or I should say for my customers is the most rewarding decision I have made in my career. If I am am not actively working with customers I am “working on” my business. There is so much behind the scenes work that goes into building a true brand in the real estate industry. Read more>>

Mike Berg | Founder of MiamiMusicMGMT, Co-Founder of 808 Club

The current music industry is changing quickly, especially as it relates to the different ways an artist can monetize their content. However, the overall structure and standards of the same are inefficient, centralized, and full of red tape that is incredibly counterproductive and frustrating for independent artists. More so for producers, a forgotten group within the industry, who, on average, stand to gain between 1-3% on the master points on a completed record and may not even be compensated publishing side if their work is not properly protected and/or negotiated before the record is released. Read more>>

Rafael Alvarez-Mairanda | Founder & CEO of Miami Bums

To have a successful clothing company it is absolutely vital to stand out, be unique, and be as niche as possible, most people don’t realize how competitive the industry is. Most clothing companies have to trade quality for quantity to be sustainable. From the conception of our brand this was something we were aware of and did not want to wager. We wanted to be proud of the quality of clothing and went through a great deal of work to make sure the little things, like the tags, designs, and prints were as perfect as we could possibly make them. Read more>>

Matteo Papa | Professional boxer

Most people don’t imagine that behind a 36 minutes boxing world title performance there is countless sacrifices, hard work, dedication and discipline. The most difficult thing in this sport is not the 30 miles a week runs, it’s not the 25-30 hours spent training at the gym weekly, it’s not even the blood, the sweat and the tears; it’s actually making sure that you arrive the day before the fight on weight. Making the weight in a healthy and functional way so that you keep strength and speed while avoiding to be “weight drained” it’s actually not a diet that you do just a few weeks before the fight, it’s a lifestyle. Read more>>

David Phoenix | Interior Designer

From a very young age I have had an attraction to beautiful objects and furniture as well as architecture. I would buy magazines that contained floor plans after my paper route and then re-create them on my own. I would read shelter magazines and fantasize about designing my own place some day. From a young age I was drawn to being creative and thinking outside the box. Read more>>

Carla Erskine | Business and Real Estate Attorney & Hospitality CEO

I have always been self-motivated, purpose driven and very much a people-person with a business and entrepreneurial mindset. In that light, I have always found happiness and fulfillment in setting goals (often assessing practicality and feasibility) and achieving them, particularly when those goals serve a bigger purpose, and 2) can uplift my circle and community. Read more>>