Miami has emerged as a leading US tech hub, which has become a destination for business expansion and investment, with companies like Oracle, Palantir, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise relocating from major cities like San Francisco or New York since the COVID-19 pandemic.
6th & 7th of March 2024 – Miami Beach Convention Center The world’s largest business show is back for 2024, expanding into the US and arriving at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The 2024 edition takes place on the 6th & 7th of March and is set to be an unmissable event with 300 exhibitors, live panel debates, speed networking and over 150 seminars and interactive masterclasses covering everything you need to know to start or grow your business! Hear from experts from some of the biggest companies in the world who will be offering you the best tips, tricks, and advice to get yourself off the ground and running a profitable business. The Business Show hosts keynotes from thriving entrepreneurs and industry giants; you won’t get this experience anywhere else. This year, Netflix’s star of Selling Sunset and Realtor, Maya Vander, keynotes and shares her success story. You can also expect to attend sessions hosted by experts at Google, IBM, and PepsiCo. Make the most of this incredible opportunity to find out first-hand how to drive your organisation’s growth. The insightful seminars also cover a range of topics and industries so you will no doubt find something of relevance to your career goals and needs. Spanning two days, The Business Show is a buzzing hub with an electric and entrepreneurial atmosphere. The event provides you with a wealth of information, contacts, and resources. You won’t find the same opportunities for your business anywhere else, so make sure you get involved, meet the exhibitors, listen to the speakers, build relationships with fellow entrepreneurs, and revolutionise the way you do business! There is also a series of interactive masterclasses taking place at the Miami event from such organisations as The Leadership & Growth Hub, DREAMS Business Resources, Circle Strategies, and Kevin Anderson & Associates. You can access all of them for free with your ticket, you just need to ensure that you sign up for your spot on the website. This will provide participants with an incredible opportunity to hear from experts about industry insights in a close-quarters environment. At The Leadership & Growth Hub masterclass, you will find a sanctuary for visionaries committed to innovation and accelerating their business growth. The DREAMS Business Resources masterclass will help you with your business finances, saving you time and money while also eliminating risks. The Circle Strategies sessions will help you become a balanced leader and manage your relationships, health, hobbies, and business growth. Finally, the Kevin Anderson & Associates masterclass will help you learn insider secrets and powerful strategies to boost visibility, authority, and brand recognition. You won’t want to miss out on these incredibly insightful sessions. Sign up today to avoid disappointment! One of the most popular show features across the globe is the speed networking area. This is a corporate take on speed dating where you can have one-minute mini-meetings with a partner. This is a chance to practice and perfect your elevator pitch. After one minute, your time is up and you move on to the next partner. Offering you a great opportunity to form lucrative new business connections and grow your contact list, you can sign up for masterclasses via the event website. When you visit The Business Show, your free ticket also gives you access to co-located shows The B2B Marketing Expo, The Sales Innovation Expo, and Going Global Live. The B2B Marketing Expo is the leading event for marketing solutions and innovation, providing business, sales, and marketing professionals with everything they need to thrive.Going Global Live helps you to expand your business, set up overseas operations, and make your brand a world-renowned name. So what are you waiting for? You will have unlimited access to The Business Show and co-located events with your completely FREE ticket. To register and guarantee your place, simply head over to The Business Show now. Follow us on social media! Twitter: @TBS_US Instagram: @thebusinessshowus Facebook: The Business Show US LinkedIn: @The Business Show US Marketing & Press Enquiries: Marketing@thebusinessshow.co.uk
Interview by Nadja Atwal Stephanie Saunders’ calendar is full. Business meetings, speaking engagements, her own podcast, Charity board Zoom calls, photo shoots and being hands-on with her multiple businesses, of which she runs some together with her husband. It was not the fact that she has been doing so many things and well, but the way she communicates her philosophies and goals on social media that grabbed the attention of Forbes magazine. The result? She was named among the top 10 influencers of 2020 – above, yes, you read correctly – Elon Musk. We met Stephanie for an exclusive interview and picked up some influencer tips while learning more about her. First of all congratulations on being named as one of the top influencers by Forbes magazine! What do you think made you stand out from so many other successful Influencers? To be honest being named on a list of the top 10 influencers for 2020 was a shocking and humbling moment. I really feel the contributor’s message was about using influence for good and that’s what I try to do. You know when an influencer is just selling a product or service or truly trying to help solve a problem by giving you a solution. You are very strong on LinkedIn, but you also take great care of your instagram and lately have been moderating lots of rooms on Clubhouse. Tell us about your social media strategy. LinkedIn has been a massive resource for me and my businesses as well as supporting my sales team. The reason LinkedIn has been such a prevalent space for everyday contact and endgame to growth has been so fast for us is because you can literally filter your target audiences by business category and find those that will resonate most with your business tips – and that is a huge when it comes to social media marketing and influence. What I’ve realized since utilizing social media for influencer style marketing though is that – you just be on all platforms. With that said each platform has its own voice. For me LinkedIn is the best over all for our style of business education content related to property, investing, non-profits, and personal business success. But Instagram is wonderful for a visual portrayal of your life where people can find out more about you personally, your interests, your travel spots and of course what you eat – which are important for people to feel more connected to you on a different level. Clubhouse has been a great place to start relationships in real time and then bring these people into your sphere after making connections on a new level with this audio only playground. What do you say to people who feel social media is not getting them desired results? I’m quite literally “mind blown” when I hear people speak poorly about those successfully utilizing social media for marketing themselves and their brands. And by brands I’m not referring to products – I’m referring to business empires. People who are unable to understand the importance of having a digital footprint on social media platforms will get left behind as we move into more and more technology friendly lifestyles.. When I changed from consumer to creator I immediately had been doors opening for me and my businesses. If you’re already utilizing social media and not having success, my best recommendation would be to access the platform you’re using and its preferred content style. It’s very possible you’re speaking the wrong content style language and just need to add a layer in the correct direction. You have several businesses. Tell us about them and how a typical business day in your life looks like: Yes! I am constantly trying to grow and each business venture is a new layer to my entrepreneurial life. When I was in corporate I represented banks and funds during the foreclosure crisis – at the time consumers were certainly in the loosing seat & investors gained in their positioning. When I left I started an investment fund of my own where I buy and manage Multifamily properties but I also teamed up with a public adjusting firm, United claims specialists, where we help property owners large and small protect their investments – I also married the founder so this will be my life’s passion. I am a real estate fanatic, but my work is deeply routed in servant leadership – I like to help people, which is why I started the Suskind foundation – where we are focused on supporting people and communities who have been affected by natural disasters and economic hardship. I also have a marketing firm founded in 2020 called S2 Marketing where we support founders who are looking to get online to utilize social media marketing the way I do. It is a very straight forward approach of dissecting the brands mission and directive. My days consist of lots of managing my wonderful leaders and Sale’s team’s at United claims specialists and S2 Marketing. Overseeing their community outreach and marketing strategy and continuing Ed program we offer and hosting the s2 show while always looking for places the Suskind foundation can contribute. It can be difficult to wear so many hats. Philanthropy plays a vital role in your life. Tell us about the charity you are involved in: In addition to my foundation I am also a Trustee at JWF Broward, which is a Jewish Woman’s Foundation focused on supporting Women and girls in Israel. I’m very passionate about supporting Israel in any way I can. I am also on the broad of directors at Miami Girls foundation – where successful women have a place to support each other and show other women they can achieve anything they desire through the powerful circles available to them. What new ways of fundraising are you exploring ? Clubhouse has been a really amazing place to ignite new forms of recognition. For fundraising we are looking to bring JWF on to the
By Nadja Atwal / Photography by Alessandra Fiorini Sometimes we just need an inspirational story that reassures us that the American dream is still alive. We would rather work smart than too hard, since in the end we work in order to live and – especially in a place like Miami that needs to be enjoyed all year around. Armando Soto shows us that is no problem at all and we do not have to wait until we qualify for a senior pass to get there. The 32 year old investment banker and start-up-company genius left his home country of Guatemala at age 15 to live with his American mother. He struggled with learning English and getting into college he became a plumber by trade. After refusing to let go of his dream of working in the business world he would read the Wall Street Journal out loud in front of a camera and play back the tape to improve his pronunciations; signed up for college at age 24 at The City University of New York and jumped into the finance industry. Today he handles billionaire clients and has transacted over 500 million in Leveraged Buy Outs. He currently finances and restructures client investments while building new companies like kids build sandcastles in Miami beach. A frequent guest commentator on national business TV shows, he recently started to make waves across the country as a motivational speaker in front of large audiences especially young people turning up in great numbers to hear his speeches in search of smart guidance with both IQ and EQ. NA: Your story is fascinating and unique and attracts thousands of people to events when you appear as a motivational speaker. Tell us about your early years when you arrived in the US? AS: The early years were very difficult, simply because I was starting my sophomore year in a suburban high school in the middle of nowhere New Jersey. Between the language barrier and the culture shock, school was difficult and making friends in a new country was not simple either. I was bullied by many people including my mother’s brother in law. I remember an instance where I was helping him take out a bag full of garbage and he said to me “practice your new profession”. I could not believe my ears but in hindsight I believe many people discriminate or are racist because they feel threatened in one way or another. I was fortunate enough to have my neighbor Louie who had moved into town from Brooklyn; he was new in school as well so we became good friends and his size deterred many people from bullying me in my junior year. I learned a lot from him in regards to becoming more confident and not taking any abuse from people. Academically with English as a second language it was very tough for me. I was able to learn to speak English fluently by the time I graduated High School and my prospects looked a bit dim for college. I didn’t get accepted into any Universities so I turned to the plumbing trade and went through a four year program. By the time I graduated from Plumbing school I realized it was not my passion at least I learned trigonometry in-depth. NA: Did you have anything like a big American dream? AS: As a child I would watch the movie Trading Places with Eddie Murphy. I asked my father what the World Trade Center was and why the buildings in New York City were so tall. He would tell me all the big business in the world happened there. As a child I would day dream about walking in the streets of New York and working in the trading pits, there was something about the motion creating emotion. When I moved to the United States I mentioned my dreams to friends and they would laugh at me. NA: How did the switch happen from plumbing business to the finance world? AS: When I was 22 years old I realized being an engineer by trade was not my passion and I felt that I had an untapped potential. The construction markets were starting to show signs of distress right before the great recession. I asked Phillip, a family friend who is a very successful investment banker for a dinner meeting and after eight months of coordinating with his assistant he had some time to meet with me. I had three hours to absorb as much information about investment banking as possible and I told him my plan of going back to school to break into finance. After looking back and thinking about our meeting, I really got key parts of “the recipe” that night. I started commuting to CUNY from New Jersey. It was a rough start but mentally, there was nothing that would stop me and this was just the start of climbing a mountain that would only get steeper with time. NA: Why did you decide not to finish university? AS: I began to look at everything from a finance perspective and I did not have enough money to finish school without falling very deep into debt. I was offered a great job opportunity in finance and asked my Economics professor for advice on whether to take the offer or continue school. He said to me “opportunity knocks…” I answered “once” and he said “well there you go, I wish you the best of luck. Although it seems like you don’t need it”. I base my decisions based on facts but that day it was based on intuition. NA: Tell us how exactly how you managed to lose your Spanish accent and what motivated you to do this? AS: I used a camera to record myself reading the Wall Street Journal and played the tape back to focus on my mispronunciation. Practice certainly helps. In business being clear and concise when you speak is one of the most important qualities you need to have. The motivator was to fit into America, I came to this country and from day one I