Impact Conversations - Cynthia Del'Aria

I'm the host of On the Schmooze, a weekly podcast that features interviews with talented professionals who have achieved success in their field or industry. I ask probing questions to get them to share untold stories about their leadership journey and how they built and sustained their professional network.

Put insights from me and my guests into action this week and you’ll benefit from for years to come.

OTS 226: Impact Conversations - Cynthia Del'Aria

Today’s guest helps business owners and stakeholders make wise decisions.

As a savvy entrepreneur, she started her first company at the young age of 15 and sold it to a major competitor just four years later.

She started her programming journey very early and quickly discovered her love for tech and a knack for building tech businesses. Her passion extends to changing the conversation in the tech world for women and gender minorities by helping more people get into and stay in tech. The more gender minorities are represented in tech over a longer period of time, the more the conversation will shift for future generations.

She developed the curriculum for the Raika Technologies and GotAnAppIdea.com Startup Program to help new app and tech entrepreneurs spend as little time and money as possible evaluating their idea, helping them get to a go-no-go decision quickly and efficiently.

Please join me in welcoming Cynthia Del'Aria.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is when you can step into your purpose and go boldly from that space.”
• her journey from coding when she was 8 years old and started her company at the age of 15.
• how watching her mother love her work and pour herself into her business inspired her as a child.
• how a prestigious deal at 18 caused a bidding war for her company by two of her competitors.
• how she earned and lost 7 figures and ended up living in her car.
• how she rebuilt, moving to Denver and developing download technology for the internet in it’s early days.
• how she discovered the missing link for more women to be hired in the technology field.
• her KPI consists of impact conversations to help people get over a hump, referrals, and sharing her story.

What were the key takeaways you plan to put into practice this week and benefit from for years to come? Post about them in the show notes.

Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OntheSchmooze.com - go directly to episode 226.

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About Robbie:

Robbie Samuels is a keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, and relationship-based business strategy coach who has been recognized as a “networking expert” by Harvard Business Review Ascend, Forbes, Lifehacker, and Inc and as an “industry expert in the field of digital event design” by JDC Events. He is a Certified Virtual Convener and Certified Virtual Presenter.

He created The 5% Advantage Program, a four-week certification program that helps presenters grow in their confidence with Zoom, online facilitation, and virtual event design so they can reduce their tech angst and host more engaging online experiences. Presenters have the opportunity to be "Certified Virtual Event Professional #NoMoreBadZoom." 

He is the host of #NoMoreBadZoom Virtual Happy Hour, a popular weekly virtual event that explores new ways to design engaging virtual experiences. This event attracts 50-60 participants each week, 50% of them have attended 8 or more times, 20% say they lost track and plan their week around this event.

As a Virtual Event Design Consultant and Executive Zoom Producer, he assists organizations with bringing their in-person events strategically online. He provides virtual event design strategy, emceeing, production (managing the tech, including chat and breakout rooms), and training/supporting presenters. His clients include California WIC, Feeding America, Association of Talent & Development chapter, The National At-Home Dad Network, and the California Notary Symposium.

He is the author of the best-selling business book Croissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferences and has been profiled in the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Fast Company. He writes for Harvard Business Review Ascend. His clients include associations, women’s leadership summits, and corporations including Marriott, AmeriCorps, Hostelling International, and General Assembly.

He has been featured in several books including Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It by Dorie Clark and The Connector’s Advantage: 7 Mindsets to Grow Your Influence and Impact by Michelle Tillis Lederman. He has guest lectured at many leading educational institutions including Harvard University, Brown University, Cornell University, and Northeastern University.

Robbie is the host of On the Schmooze podcast which features his networking strategies and talented professionals sharing untold stories of leadership and networking.

READ his "9 Ways to Network in a Pandemic" - www.robbiesamuels.com/9ways

Sign up for his free weekly Virtual Happy Hours at www.NoMoreBadZoom.com.

The 5% Advantage Program - Get Certified #NoMoreBadZoom

Right now, everyone is being pretty forgiving when it comes to poorly executed virtual events, but that's not likely to last much longer. If virtual events are part of your business plan you need to get better. We all do.

• You need the confidence and skills to up your game. The problem is that there are so many new pieces of technology to master quickly that you can feel stuck, overwhelmed, and like you're running out of time.
• The reason options are overwhelming is that you're trying to go from zero to 100 immediately, when -- to make the most of your time -- continuously getting 5% better would allow you to focus on the most important and highest-impact options.
• Why? Because you know it's true that if you try to do everything, you will accomplish nothing. This means, to achieve your goal, you have to invest in a strategy to put time on your side.
• How? The 5% Advantage Program teaches online facilitation and virtual event design, but even more so, give you the tools for reflection and continuous improvement.
• Through this interactive and experiential 4-week program you will get 5% better now, will know how to keep learning so you are far ahead of your peers in a few months, and will be leading your industry 5-10 years from now.
• The time to get 5% better is now because soon you will be sought out, not just for your expertise, but for your ability to deliver that expertise on an interactive virtual platform.
• Interested to learn more about this program and get on the waitlist? Send Robbie an email: [email protected]

Relationship-Based Business Strategist & Business Coach

Are you ready to create a Relationship-Based Business Plan that will help you achieve greater impact (and income)?

• You want to have a greater impact and increased income. The problem is that there are so many options for how to build your business that you can feel stuck, overwhelmed, and like you’re running out of time.
• The reason options are overwhelming is that you’re looking at them as a series of disconnected steps when — to make the most of your time — you need a strategy that connects only the most important and highest impact ones.
• Why? Because you know it’s true that if you try to do everything, you will accomplish nothing. This means, to achieve your goal, you have to invest in a strategy to put time on your side.
• How? This program will help you find the clarity to determine what is the right next step for your business. A book? A podcast? An online course? Masterminds? Speaking on bigger stages?
• Together we will design a Relationship-Based Business Plan that will allow you to stack your successes to create momentum and leverage your limited time.
• Robbie believes that networking is a marketing strategy and coaches “expert entrepreneurs” to grow to the next level through relationship-based business strategies and hands-on support. Interested to learn more about private coaching packages? Send Robbie an email: robbie @ robbiesamuels . com

Keynote Speaker

Interested in booking Robbie to speak? At www.robbiesamuels.com/speaking you'll find video clips and a description of his signature session, Art of the Schmooze.

Watch his TEDx talk "Hate networking? Stop bageling and be the croissant!" at www.robbiesamuels.com/TEDx.

Stay Connected:

• Connect with Robbie on LinkedIn
• @RobbieSamuels on Twitter and Instagram
• New to his website? Start here
• On the Schmooze podcast archive - over 200 episodes!