Not as Planned: Pivoting to a New Dream & Business
Hi, everyone! 👋🏽👋🏿👋 Change happens. Count on it. You can also learn to make the best of it. Miren Oca, the founder and director of the Ocaquatics Swim School, is the perfect example on how to do it. She started her business. It wasn’t her dream career. But it became that.
In today’s Generation Si! newsletter, you’ll find out the following:
🌴How Miren Oca turned an unexpected life change into a career change - with even better results.
🌴 A real-life example of how not having money can inspire creative solutions.
🌴 A free webinar to help you find funding for your business or business idea.
🌴 This is the journey of Miren Oca, the entrepreneur behind the Ocaquatics Swim School…
YOUR LIFE CAN CHANGE SUDDENLY - JUST PIVOT
Teaching swimming lessons was something Miren Oca enjoyed doing in her teens. She was really good at it.
Little did she know it would become not just a livelihood but a successful business.
“My entire journey after 20, when I had my son, was shaped by my son. I needed to work to provide for him.”
THE TIP JAR (Tips provided courtesy of Miren Oca)
STARTING OUT: “You have to be exposed to learning, whatever way that’s best for you. Some people read books. Some people do podcasts. Some people listen to… audiobooks.”
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “I hate to say the same thing, but it is the same. It’s just… you’re reading different books. You’re reading and learning different things. You have to keep growing. If you don’t keep growing, you’re going to get stale. You’re going to get bored. You’re going to get burned out.”
STARTING OVER: “It’s keep reading. Keep learning. Keep going… because you’re just in a different path, in a different place, in your journey.”
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: “Hiring quickly. You know, I, at one point, thought I had met someone and thought, ‘Okay, you’re the person. Let’s go!’ Now we hire pretty slowly. And we have a pretty thorough interview process so they come to see us several times… I don’t want to ever bring somebody in who’s going to affect our culture negatively.”
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: “I think my parents had this immigrant mentality… It was always about, you know, coming in, working hard and being grateful for what you had.”
OPPORTUNITIES PRESENT THEMSELVES; SEIZE ON THEM
Oca had planned to become a doctor.
She was 19 years old and in college when she found out she was pregnant.
She had to pivot.
Her big opportunity came when Richard and Patty Cahalan decided to move to Australia.
The Cahalans were a swim coach and his wife whom she had worked for at the University of Miami. They were also Oca’s mentors.
“I probably would’ve never opened the swim school, if it had not been for them leaving.”
Oca started by giving private swim lessons at home.
She remembers going to Toys “R” Us back then and buying toys for the pool.
A LACK OF MONEY FORCES YOU TO THINK CREATIVELY
“And then I just started getting little pools. Like a hotel pool. And then a country club pool.”
She would give hotel or country club guests free lessons in exchange for using the hotel or country club’s pools for her clients.
I wondered where she came up with the idea to do this kind of trade.
“I’ve always heard that lack of funds builds creativity. And I believe that still. I didn’t have money. You know, I had a child that I had to feed… It wasn’t about me.”
Oca eventually ended up renting space or renting lanes in 17 different pools throughout Miami.
But having to drive all over town constantly became grueling.
GOT A PROBLEM? COME UP WITH AN IDEA TO SOLVE IT
So she came up with another idea.
She’d build her own swim facility.
That was in 2009.
At first, Oca says she was not taken seriously.
“I remember subcontractors coming to the location to meet me and then asking, ‘Who’s the man who’s going to be making the decision?’”
She thought to herself, “Well, I’m not going to hire you.”
That subcontractor missed out - and then some.
Over the next 10 years, Oca ended up building a total of five swim facilities.
NO MATTER WHAT, YOU WILL BE OKAY
The road was difficult. But Oca didn’t just survive. She thrived.
The advice she gives for a young pregnant woman in a similar situation could apply to anyone who faces an uncertain future.
“I would tell her to keep going. Keep going. Life goes on. And it gets better. It really gets better. It was hard. It was so incredibly hard. But I would just say, ‘Keep going. You’re going to be okay.’”
In Part Two, you’ll find out how Miren Oca focused her business on not just turning a profit, but also having a purpose.
Plus, I’ll share the books she recommends that really helped her grow her business.
INDUSTRY: Swim
STARTED BUSINESS: 1994
LATINO CONNECTION:
Father was born in Spain
Mother was born in Cuba
EDUCATION: University of Miami – Bachelor’s degree in Biology
DREAM JOB AS A KID: “Orthopedic surgeon. I used to babysit for an orthopedic surgeon… I would go into their office… And I loved it.”
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “My goals now are all around continuing to grow our people so that we can grow the business. Now, my purpose in life is to spread the spirit of positive leadership and create opportunities for others.”
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
Funding for Your Business
Have an idea for a business but need to know about sources of funding? Maybe you have a business and are just trying to find ways to grow it. In either case, this webinar is designed to guide you with solid info on how to gain access to business capital. There’s also a Q&A. It’s a 2-day event. No registration is necessary, so just tune in:
SBA (Small Business Administration)/NFDO (North Florida District Office)
“Sources of Capital for Small Businesses in Underserved Markets”
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023
1:00 p.m. EST – 2:30 p.m. EST
Virtual Webinar
FREE
https://www.sba.gov/event/9456
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
Get Inspired!
Sometimes, it’s a psychological thing; we just need to hear an inspiring story to motivate us to take a big step, like starting a business. I know how much it can help. So I found this recorded webinar for you.
Click on the link to learn about Nilson Goes. He’s the founder of Infinite Energy Construction, a successful entrepreneur who is sure to inspire you to go after your business dream or motivate you to keep going.
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
“Lessons Learned About a Business Journey - The Story of a Minority Entrepreneur”
Recorded Webinar
1 hour
FREE
https://www.score.org/event/lessons-learned-about-business-journey-story-minority-entrepreneur
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
Success is such a strange mix of factors.
There are definitely certain aspects that have been proven to increase your chances of success (hard work, a solid business plan, a product or service that people are willing to pay for, etc.).
That’s why I share the key ingredients of what successful entrepreneurs have learned and want to convey to you to help you.
But there’s certainly no standard recipe that works for everyone.
And don’t forget the role of luck.
Sometimes, the stars line up just right and things fall into place.
Miren Oca says she likely wouldn’t have started a business if her mentors hadn’t decided to move to another continent, opening up an opportunity for her to try her hand at starting a swim school.
A golden opportunity materialized.
I’ll take luck any day.
But we shouldn’t rely on just luck.
We should be able to recognize it and see how we can capitalize on it.
The quote from Seneca, the philosopher, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” gives us the ideal way to approach luck.
Keep getting ready for it.
Whether it arrives or not, or even in the form you think, you’ll be that much better off as you try to achieve your goal.
You’ll be ready.
And that’s what I call creating your own luck.
So good luck! #theskyisNOTthelimit
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🌴 A heartfelt thank you for supporting Generation Si! 😺
Great article. Life throws you curve balls. “Pivot”. Adversity builds character. Thanks for sharing Miren’s entrepreneurial journey.