Alright – so today we have the honor of introducing you to Maxine Gomez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Maxine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?
We currently focus on where a child is failing rather than where they could be thriving. By getting to know a person, what motivates them, and their core values allows us to place an individual in a role where they will be fulfilled and productive because they can do what they are good at. It is like our team, initially we hired people to fill a role, now we nurture the strengths of our team members and grow with them in the roles they excel. One good change that came about during the last few years was that you did not have to wait to learn a new skill, more classes became available online so no matter where you are, you can learn about a skill or about yourself. That is not to say that we neglect where a person needs growth but instead nurture their weakness and enhance their strengths. The practical aspects of life is a given, like banking and paying taxes, but that leads to whole other conversation.
Maxine, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I discovered through my pre-med academic journey studying neuro science that I am actually a visionary entrepreneur. My first company, Swipes Lovin Wipes, was a retail product launch, I then ran a specialty demolition mold remediation construction company for almost ten years, where I discovered my passion… teaching. My first employee in the construction industry was a ward of the state, his foster family abandoned him when he did not make a pro football team and he was living out of his car but showed up for work every day. It was there that I realized we had a huge gap between kids aging out of programs and getting them into opportunities in the work force. Which led me to bridging the gap between underprivileged youth and refugees and finding them opportunities in the work force. We started on-boarding our team members with Strength Finders, where each person could learn about their own core values and we could place them in their strengths in the company into a more fulfilling role. Understanding someone’s nature not only gives them self actualization but it allows for others to recognize their skills and creates a culture where people can thrive because they are doing what they are good at, rather than putting them in a role just to fill a space. Today I not only teach companies how to properly do a mold remediation project, I also consult for them on business development, customer service, retention, sales, and culture. I personally do assessments for indoor air quality issues, peer reviews, and serve as a subject matter expert and provide one on one coaching for people and businesses and humble serve as a motivational speaker. But my true driver is bringing educational resources to the under served to place them in jobs and create on the job paid training opportunities.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
My first company was a retail product launch, I knew Nothing about manufacturing. But something I learned about business and life was that you do not have to re-invent the wheel. Whatever it is you want to do find someone that is doing it the best, and model your project after them and then figure out how to do it better. I had just finished my degree in neuroscience when I was at a fork in the road where I would continue my career in medicine or start my first company, Swipes Lovin Wipes was born. It is an all-natural wipe for adults to use before and after intimate moments. We found paper trade shows, found out where and how wipes were made, why it made a difference if they were manufactured here or another country and the costs associated. We looked at how they were marketed and who was buying them. We found a company that was in that space and doing it well. We followed in their footsteps, and then improved it.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I was raised by parents that came to America to pursue the American Dream, they came here with no money, no family, an no support. They went through all the proper channels to establish their life here in the USA. They rented a room and worked in a grocery store while finishing their degrees so they could afford food. Burgers were .25 and frequently could only afford that for dinner. I watched them work really hard, it was not uncommon to see books on our dining room table or meals prepped in advance so they could work more than one job to provide for us. They worked so hard. But one day as I was working two jobs, and volunteering at the local hospital while doing 27 credits in Neuroscience my dad said to me, If you do what you love, someone will pay you to do it. I had to un learn to work hard and learned hard to work smart by working in my passion.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mitchik.com
- Instagram: @justaddmax
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustAddMaxx
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxine-gomez-0687b825/
- Twitter: @justaddmax