Warsha 00:01
Welcome to the Dare to Scale Show with me Warsha.

Evan 00:04

And me Evan.

Warsha 00:05

So, what is Dare to Scale, over the years that we’ve been coaching founders and business owners, much like yourselves. We’ve worked through a framework called Dare to Scale.

Evan 00:18
Dare to Scale indeed. That framework has helped loads of business owners. That is what this show is all about. So, put on your big picture thinking hat. 

Warsha 00:28
Oh and your headphones, and come join us and enjoy the ride.

Warsha 00:39
Hey, glad you joined us this episode. You know how technology usually is, well, it is thing with us this time. Low Wi Fi signal meant a little bit of distortion in the voice, bear with us through that, because this is one inspiring episode. Amanda Perry remains my personal inspiration, and I know she will become yours as well after this one. So, let’s get straight down to it.

Warsha 1:08
Hello. And here we are starting a brand-new episode which is a conversation with the absolutely dynamic Amanda Perry, the founder of Vitality.

Evan 1:19
Hi Amanda, Welcome.

Amanda 1:20

Thank you very much for having me both of you I’m very excited to be here.

Warsha 1:24
Pleasure is ours Amanda.

Amanda 1:26

Thank you.

Warsha 1:28

So, to start us off, Amanda tell us a little bit about yourself, because our listeners want to hear what your story is so just tell us a little bit about yourself first.

Evan 1:36

Yeah, and a little bit about the company as well.

Amanda 1:38

Yeah absolutely. So, Amanda Perry, I was born and raised in small island, of the Channel Islands called Guernsey.

Evan 1:47
Oh nice.

Amanda 1:48

I don’t know whether you know, the place is set in the English Channel in between England and France and is widely regarded as one of these offshore financial centers. Growing up, can you are surrounded either by tourism, tomatoes, or trusts. I chose trusts, I can grow tomatoes now but it’s been a late to life skill. I didn’t quite get its tourism, but trust and estate planning wealth management was my go to industry. When I embarked on my career in Guernsey is one of the largest segments of the economy based and I learned a tremendous deal I mean Guernsey is probably one of the most widely regarded reputable offshore financial centers, and I was blessed to work in organizations such as EY and Fortis.

Evan 2:39

Fantastic

Amanda 2:40

Yeah, it was a wonderful experience you know to be able to work in a place where people call it day is really quite special. And it got better from there I moved to the Cayman Islands which another offshore jurisdiction again very widely and highly regarded of the legislation that put in place to enable families to build wealth, wealth creation, asset protection, setting up trusts and foundations that like, so I got a lot of experience working there that took me to the Bahamas, they’re back to the Cayman Islands. As you can see a bit of an island theme happening here. Good to see good sunny islands great cocktails, great life, it was wonderful and it still is. I then decided that I wanted to branch out and learn something new and it’s always been in my mind that I wanted to set up my business. I’ve grown up with an entrepreneurial mother and watched her building a business. My grandmother ran a business, and I got to witness her firsthand doing that my great grandmother as well was an entrepreneur her husband had a tailoring shop on Savile Row.

Warsha 3:51

Oh wow

Amanda 3:52

And they were both co-owners and when you think of my great grandmother and how long ago that would have been to witness a woman doing that in that industry in that location, that was really quite groundbreaking. It’s only now I’m doing what I’m doing that I reflect back on what my family had done, and I’ve realized, oh my god, they’ve broken the mold in amazing and that’s what set the tone for me to be able to do it but at the time, it was just like watching my dad go to a nine to five job it was wonderful that I was surrounded by that and it always gave me the belief that I could do the same thing it just didn’t occur to me that I could.

Evan 4:27

Wow

Amanda 4:28

So, I moved over here. Oh! my goodness, we’re coming up for 14 years now 2007 I moved to Dubai. I was headhunted to set up the world’s first Islamic Trust Company within the DIFC which ticked the last few boxes that I was looking to take before I embarked on setting up my own business, I really wanted to set up my own business, in an emerging market and 14 years ago Dubai was that place when it came to corporate structuring, asset protection wealth management, you know, previous to that, as you know, it was all in gas, and it’s a wonderful environment and ecosystem to be in because we’re all sustaining each other. And I love my work. That’s where we are today.

Warsha 5:15

That is absolutely fabulous. And thank you for walking us through this, this massive journey of life, and your physical moves to these gorgeous islands that you’re talking about, and also to where you are today. It really is so fascinating to hear your story. Now there is something that you said earlier Amanda that I want to pick up on the groundbreaking experiences that you were talking about earlier, you, your mom and your great grand mom and her husband, you know, we all learn lessons from something that happens within our family. What do you take away that you apply even today or just having tucked away in your brain somewhere?

Amanda 5:58

Good question. I mean yeah it was my mother, my grandmother and my great grandmother and potentially there might have been even a few more generations living that life as well. They were the ones that paved the way for future generations.

Weren’t they? I think probably the biggest takeaway and biggest learning for me is resilience and look at my mom and I look at my grandmother. I was only blessed with a few years with my great grandmother, she passed away when I was about six or seven. I’ve heard her stories, you know they have been repeated over and over. It’s fascinating, but there was one thing in common with all of them. And that was sheer resilience as a woman. Back in my great grandmother’s generation and even my grandmother’s generation. If there weren’t jobs around, you had to create your own. And I think as women, we’re very good at that and we do it because we have more than one job, you know, our job isn’t just to bring home, and contribute to the household income. Our job is to run the household. So, we need to create an environment where we can do both, without draining on the other. And as women, I think we’re very very good at recognizing how to do that. When I look at the way my great grandmother, ran her business, from what I understand from my grandmother and my mom. She did it in such a way that she was able to balance everything beautifully, and she was highly regarded on Savile Row being the brains behind the business it was my great grandfather who was the master tailor, but she was the one that built it. She was the one that ran it and she was the one that had the relationships with the client base, that ultimately led to their growth. My grandmother the same, her husband who was my step grandfather was even in those days, the technological mind behind what they were doing. But it was my grandmother’s sheer tenacity, attitude and belief that built the businesses that they had.

Warsha 8:06
Yeah.

Amanda 8:07

And then when I look at my mom and what she’s been through, how her careers have shaped and then her entrepreneurial journey, and the knock backs and the other bits and pieces. Talk about resilience, and I think every entrepreneur needs resilience, because you’re gonna get knocked down, and you’re going to fall over. And then that’s okay, it doesn’t hurt. It might pinch or sting for a moment, but you get up and you carry on because that’s what you do is not an option to stop.

Warsha 8:40

It’s not an option to stop.

Amanda 8:41

It’s resilience and quit, and I’m not gonna quit. It is resilience

Warsha 8:48

Yes, oh wow this is amazing. Just before we started recording we were talking about it so I want to talk about that again just to say, this is exactly what I learned from my mom as well, resilience, and knowing that you will fall be prepared for the fall, because then you know how to get up, because falling, and staying fallen isn’t an option. You’ve got to get up, dust yourself, and move on, because that’s what success really is.

Amanda 9:14

It is. I mean, there’s some brilliant quotes out there but Richard Branson says it best when you’re learning to walk and you keep falling over that you don’t turn around and say oh this isn’t for me. And you quit, you don’t do it. You’re surrounded by people who are walking so you believe that you can do the same.

Warsha 9:30
Yeah

Amanda 9:31
For me as an entrepreneur I’m surrounded by, and continue to surround myself with people, you included who are making the success of their business, so it doesn’t even enter into my mind that this isn’t a possibility.

Warsha 9:44

Never

Amanda 9:45

And that’s what we mean. We need more people talking about this, we need more people showing that there is a path, and you can do this.

Warsha 9:52
Very much so. And thank you for saying this because so few people actually say this, for a lot of entrepreneurs, it’s not by choice, only because they are put in that position where entrepreneurship seems like a very arduous journey. And that’s what becomes a focus of attention. And yet, what you’re saying is so important that you don’t just give up because you’ve fallen a few times, you don’t stop walking because you’re learning to walk and you’ve fallen a few times, you continue doing it because eventually you will get better, you surround yourself with great people and you surround yourself with your support network and allow yourself to be helped, because for a lot of entrepreneurs, that’s a big thing. They don’t open themselves up yet, even to be helped. Have you come across this your interactions?

Amanda 10:40

A lot I found that people nowadays are a lot more accustomed to asking for help, which is wonderful because it would be heartbreaking. I remember a few years ago I was on a Facebook group, and a woman was on there posting how she was going to be closing down a business and getting rid of her stock.

Warsha 10:57
Oh wow

Amanda 10:58

Hundreds and hundreds, I mean, this was a Facebook group several 1000 people, hundreds of people they all turned around and said, you can’t lose your business, your business you sell amazing products I love coming into your store. There was a theme. Hundreds of people were saying this, one poster said, if you’re actually walking that talk, she will be closing her business. It’s wonderful that you’re coming here to support her here on this Facebook group and say don’t close your business and that your loyal customers, but she’s closing a business, because she was not getting business in. And there was a lesson learned there because someone ended up in a conversation, and people turned around and the takeaway was ask for help. Don’t wait until it’s too late, that support can no longer help you, instead, reach out sooner because the chances are people do want to help, it’s in our human nature.

Warsha 11:53

Yes.

Amanda 11:54
It doesn’t have to be a one-sided relationship. We can all support each other; we just have to be open about what it is that we need.

Warsha 12:02

That is absolutely true. So, again, as you said, it’s in the human nature to help, just ask for it, because that is so true, and really not talked enough about that is brilliant, thank you for that.

Amanda 12:16         

I think to allow yourself to be helped, to allow yourself to be vulnerable and say this is what I need. For me that is more of a strength than a weakness. And we were talking about tears the other who was a little bit sad and you have to feel tears planning. It’s okay, it’s the angels taking away the pain, shedding a tear for me is a sign of strength, it’s a release of emotion something that your body has been holding on to and storing, and when you release it, it empowers you and allows you to move on. Same way asking for help. It’s a tool that you have to use it to your advantage, particularly when running a business.

Warsha 12:56

So true. Thank you for that. Amanda, you know, when we all go through our own entrepreneurial journeys, we come from, perhaps, different backgrounds, I know you and I both come from very strong entrepreneurial backgrounds but then not everybody has that stage set for them if you will. And yet, as we continue with our own journeys, there are some things that we, we sometimes have to unlearn and relearn. Not a lot of people actually take that as a learning experience, and I choose to take this as a, as an unlearned something to learn something new. What was your experience in that, what did you have to unlearn?

Amanda 13:36

Oh! my goodness, probably so many things. I’ve always worked in very very large corporates so organizations like Ewhy, you know, then global organizations with hundreds of 1000s of employees, and everyone’s got a role, and your role is very specific.

Warsha 13:55

Yeah

Amanda 13:56
You are trained to be niche in your specialist area, and you become that go to person for your job and your job in an organization that size is probably in less than 1% of the contributing overall business. So, when you become an entrepreneur, all of a sudden, it’s not even a midway point you go from like zero to 5000, in terms of how many hats you wear, all of a sudden, you are now the HR director, you are the finance director, you’re the Business Development Director, you are the driver, you are the cook, you’re the cleaner. I mean my goodness; it doesn’t stop so learning so to unlearn your patterns of behavior. Learning to unlearn hierarchical chain. Learning to unlearn preciousness.

Warsha 14:53

That’s a big one.

Amanda 14:55

Yes, you can’t be precious anymore when you running business.

Warsha 14:59

No, you know you can’t, And I come back to that in a minute but please continue.

Amanda 15:06

Just that really just learning to have a thicker skin as well. Oh, I’ve got another good one, taking no.

Warsha 15:12

Yes

Amanda 15:13

Accepting a no, I’m not taking it as a personal rejection because you will get turned over a lot. And that’s okay, it’s not personal. It’s just not the right fit, and potentially that more than likely if I don’t know this for sure that’s the universe telling you that no, we agree. It’s not the path for you, there’s something else that’s better around the corner waiting for you and when you have that mindset. It changes fundamentally, your beliefs about how you can run your own business, and the success that you can achieve, because no can knock you down, and I’m very strong on looking at something that might be perceived as a negative and turning into a positive and using it to empower myself. So, my no’s are actually not for you. It’s a business for you instead.

Warsha 15:58
Yes. And as you said earlier, a no can knock you down. And yet, just take it as a sign that it’s not a hard No, it just is not this turn it’s the other turn.

Amanda 16:08

Exactly, exactly.

Warsha 16:10
So true. Learn to take a note that is so important because you’ve said no a lot, and it’s so true. And it’s never personal.

Amanda 16:18

No, it’s not that it really isn’t. And you might need to write it on the wall a few times or on your mirror just to get it cemented in but once you have that belief it can really really change things for the better.

Warsha 16:32

Yeah. That is true. So, I was talking to somebody who was just starting on a brand-new entrepreneurial journey. And one of the things I said to her was, everything that you do, everything that you plan including the name of the business, everything that you do, needs to be about the business, needs to be about what the customer is perceiving about this and not so much. Yes, your passion, your dreams, it is your dream that you’re building at the same time, what needs to happen is everything that you now do for the business needs to be about the business, and that’s when your ability to letting go, needs to be much stronger than your drive to grow the business because the more you let go, the more you make it about the business, the better your chances are of turning this into a successful venture. So, I love what you said earlier, your ability to let go, and stopping being precious.

Evan 17:31

I mean I remember coming out with the corporate world it was the same thing where you no longer as expression goes covering your ass, right, you’re actually taking responsibility for everything you do. And that’s a huge mindset shift, incredibly powerful and liberating.

Amanda 17:45

It is and two things tend to happen when you’re in that environment, all of a sudden, you’re now responsible for so many elements of the business, you’ve got to come up with this thick skin resilience to be able to get through. You’ve also got to be able to compartmentalizing your brain, because there are a lot of things running through your head at any given moment. So, to be able to park many of those thoughts because you have ideas, but at the same time, you’ve got your To Do lists. You’ve got your fears, you’ve got your successes and your go to wins. You know all of this is going on, and you need to be able to separate each one so that you can focus because when you need to be creative, especially when you’re scaling, people don’t think that scaling is about being creative, they think it’s just purely just business acumen. It’s not. You need to have that creative mindset, start looking at different avenues that’s what scaling is, is doing something that you’ve not done before that’s going to grow your business. And for that you need that creative mind and for your mind to be creative, it needs to be free from the clutter and it’s so, so important to be able to do that, and there are so many tools that you can use and you find what works for you. For me meditation works. I’m also a great list taker, I mean I keep a list on how many lists I’ve got, And I like to tick things off and I like to, if I found that there was something extra I didn’t it wasn’t on the list or write it on the list just to get rid of because again it’s mindset when you feel that you’re achieving and taking steps forward you keep going a mindset, it’s just, it’s exactly what it says on the tin you’d need to set your mind to be where it needs to be in for where you want to go. That’s a big part of entrepreneurship. If you believe you can, you will.

Warsha 19:41
There’s quotable quote right there.

Evan 19:43
I think something interesting the other day, confidence is working outside your comfort zone, because you get confidence in working outside your comfort zone and everything you’ve just said and setting your mind is absolutely 100%.

Amanda 19:54

Yeah, I saw a similar thing actually the other day as well. If you could imagine a circle within that circle is your comfort zone. You’ve got a larger circle around that smaller circle. And it says, not your comfort zone, with an arrow pointing at it saying, this is where the magic happens.

Evan 20:14
Totally.

Warsha 20:15
That is where the magic happens. Absolutely, and combine that magic circle, I have a word for it. Now I’m going to start using it Amanda stealing it from you magic circle, because that’s true, and you combine that magic circle with the creativity that you were talking about earlier. And that’s it, that’s essentially what an entrepreneur’s life is that where you actually create that magic.

Amanda 20:38

We can now pattern to our formula. Magic Circle, plus mindset

Warsha 20:45

There it is, success formula. You bet. So, Amanda, I wanted to take you to what you do today, as your professional experiences is about business setup so what are some of the experiences that you have gone through when helping these entrepreneurs do what they do, and what have been some of those massive shifting moments if you will, which have turned out to be a great learning experience.

Amanda 21:14

Yeah, good question Warsha. So, we have great region’s first female focused business accelerator and the reason why we are female focused, is because we genuinely believe that women do business differently. We speak a different language, we build our businesses with a different mindset we build our businesses with a different goal in mind. You know I was talking about my great grandmother, my grandmother and my mother before me, building businesses that needed to encompass and support everything else that was going on in their business. And that’s why we’ve developed the methodology and the business model that we have so that we can support women in the way that they need to be supported in building those businesses. For some of them that is starting from scratch, they’re coming to us with an idea that idea needs to be validated. We then need to build out a business model and launch that business and get that traction. And those are the setup for other clients they have an established business that got traction they’ve got success. Now they want to take it to a whole new level. But there is always a common theme with all of these clients, and that is that there is not enough support available to them. Typically, we talked about asking for help. That’s great, but who do you ask for help from. It’s not as easy as people think, to find the right support for you, for your right stage, you have to look around. And that’s what I see in many of our clients is that they’re coming to us when they’ve exhausted so many other possibilities, and spent an awful lot of money doing so, either carrying the wrong advice someone trying to fit a square peg into a round hole as it were, which seems to happen an awful lot or people, imparting their own experience and knowledge thinking that that’s the one size fits all formula when natural fat. It’s not every business is unique, every founder is unique, every growth journey is unique, every goal is unique. And it’s so important to look at that. When consulting with an entrepreneur and her business or his business is to understand that they are on their own unique journey and what got you from where you are to where you are now is not going to be the same recipe for somebody else. So, it’s a case of unlearning again you know back to the point you made earlier. What else have you have unlearned Amanda. Well, what I have unlearned, is that people will not run their business the same way I run my business, I don’t run my business the same way that Ewhy run their business. So, take everything on its merits, review what those merits are what are your resources, what are your goals, what’s your skill set, what’s your mindset, what’s your attitude, what’s your belief system, and build your business around that. Yes, you’ve got a problem to solve. Yes, you’ve got a client to serve. But if you’re not doing this authentic way, in a way that supports your own style, it’s not going to be sustainable.

Warsha 24:24
That was amazing. And it is so true, find your own style. That is such a great message right there, absolutely phenomenal. Could you also tell us about this wonderful support system that you nurture, for women entrepreneurs?

Amanda 24:40
Yeah, I mean, we have mentioned this earlier on in the conversation that you need to surround yourself by people who empower you and inspire you. For us, the biggest support system has been our network and the biggest support that we can lend to our clients is to allow our clients to join that network and leverage on the support that we have, and create this ecosystem and I know it’s a word that’s being used an awful lot at the moment when it comes to entrepreneurship that this is an ecosystem at its best when you have a group of people who are all looking to lend, and receive support in an authentic way. You have an incredibly powerful, strong support system. We have been blessed to be able to build that over 14 years here in the UAE to much larger network as well through our global work because we’re a team. We all come from different backgrounds we all come from different parts of the world so we’ve combined those networks, and it goes back to saying, asking for help, you know, within our network we do that we say what we need. And we’re not afraid to ask for it. And we ask, and encourage people in our network to ask us to do the same thing. So, to build a network with that you can rely on and call it a support system, and be able to share that support system with our clients has enabled all of us to strengthen, because you’re stronger in group collectively we are stronger and you don’t have to do it on your own anymore. There is a support system out there just find the one that works for you and ask about.

Warsha 26:19

So wonderful, everything that you said is so true for whatever role we play in our life, whether you’re an entrepreneur, you’re a mom, you’re a student of whoever. So, having that trusted support system around you is so important and as humans, that’s what we gravitate towards anyways in it, and what you’re doing is you’re actually bringing together all these wonderful women who are there for each other. How brilliant is that.

Amanda 26:49
And it works beautifully because within our human nature when we know we’ve got a safety net below us, we’re willing to walk along that high tightrope. We know the net is going to catch us and that’s what your support system is.

Warsha 27:01
Yes

Amanda 27:02
It’s not doing things for you. It’s just providing you with that comfort that you need to be able to take those bold steps you’re going to be caught someone’s going to catch you.

Warsha 27:12
Someone’s going to catch you. That’s amazing. And that’s what support networks are all about.

Amanda 27:17

Yeah

Evan 27:18

They actually help you get your balance before you fall.

Amanda 27:21

That’s a really good point, yeah I like that, I’m gonna steal that one of you.

Warsha 27:25

Amanda, thank you, because so far there have been so many great tips that you’ve been giving our listeners, what would be your top tip one top tip before I hand over the mic to Evan what would be your one top tip?

Amanda 27:36
Trust your instinct.

Warsha 27:38
Beautiful.

Evan 27:39
Nailed it

Amanda 27:40

It’s as simple as that is as simple as that. I’ve got goosebumps just saying words when your soul speaks the truth, you get goosebumps. And I have learned the hard way over the years, to listen to my intuition. And when I do I get the same goosebumps and an alignment with where I’m supposed to be going. Intuition is there for a reason. Have you ever ever heard anyone say, I wish I’d ignored my instinct? Never.

Warsha 28:09
Never.

Amanda 28:10
So it’s there for a reason. It’s there for a reason trust it. Like I say, I learned the hard way, not the worst way, I learnt a hard way, meaning that I did ignore my instinct, earlier on in my entrepreneurial journey, and I learned a very, very valuable lesson. If I had listened to my intuition. Yes, I would have realized that listening was the best course of action, but I wouldn’t have learned the consequences of not. So, every day I’m reminded of that when my intuition tells me something, I take it every time. I don’t always act immediately on it, but I use it as a tool to evaluate.

Warsha 28:56
Nice

Amanda 28:57
It brought me to that point to look at something with a fresh mindset and a fresh compass, and with that when you double that with believing in yourself, self-belief, those are two of the most powerful tools that not just an entrepreneur needs is it gets you through life your intuition and your belief, bring you to the result that you get.

Warsha 29:20
How do you follow that up with anything that is amazing, absolutely fabulous. And on that note, I’m going to hand over the mic to Evan because I know he has been itching to ask a couple of questions, Evan.

Evan 29:30
Amanda you’re doing absolutely amazing things in Dubai and beyond.

Amanda 29:33

Thank you

Evan 29:35

What can we expect from you in the next couple of years?

Amanda 29:37
I’m really glad you asked me that because it gives me a moment so shameless. Shameless promotion. One of the biggest challenges that we witnessed, not just during the pandemic of the last 12 months, but beyond to before is that women do not have as much free access to investment capital as their male counterparts. And there are many different reasons for this and it could be a whole other podcast episode, but in a nutshell one of the biggest problems is that there are more male investors than there are women. Therefore, a woman pitching her business is more relatable to another woman because nine times out of 10 she’s creating a product or service that suits her demographic, so a woman pitching to a man has to go through the education process before she even gets the opportunity to pitch a business that’s one of the big things, and it’s chicken and egg right what comes first, the investor to invest in startup or the startup that’s going to become the investor so you know we need more women, we need more women making investment decisions. That’s probably one of the biggest aspects of the problem. There are many others in terms of the different languages that men and women use when they talk about their business and the way that they pitch. There is unconscious bias there’s conscious bias. There are a lot of things that could be better in that space that will get more investment for women and commercially, there’s no reason why you should not invest in women led businesses. They are typically outperforming their male counterparts. This is not a man bash is just a study that’s been done, because we’re gonna apply emotional intelligence when it comes to scaling their business and they’re better at listening to their intuition, and it just gives them that edge above their male competitors. So, on that note, there is no commercial reason not to invest in female led businesses, sadly not enough money is going to those females led businesses. So, this is what has led us to build our own fund, because there is not enough capital going to female led startups, particularly those in that early-stage phase, when that early-stage phase has been crossed, then there is a lot more investor confidence. So, it’s really that starting point, there needs to be a fund dedicated to women, dedicated to that stage, so that they can become those much larger startups that are hitting the news for raising 20 million, 50 million, 100 million. We’re not seeing those numbers for women, because they’re not being given the opportunity to get on that ladder. So, the purpose of the fund the objective of the fund is to invest in those early days, stage startups that are women led or co-led.

Evan 32:18
Sounds, absolutely amazing. And this is more on the equity side so like venture capitalism.

Amanda 32:23
Yes, absolutely. And we’ve entered into a partnership with a fund manager based here in the UAE based out of ADGM, who specializes in investing in groups such as demographic that we’ve chosen because these know the economic impact that has. So, to partner with a firm like that you asked the same ethos as us, is incredibly powerful. We’re so excited so that fund will be launched, third quarter of this year, second quarter we’re ready third quarter will deploy.

Evan 32:55
That’s incredibly good news and it’s such a leadership position that you’re taking. Incredible, well done, kudos.

Amanda 33:01

Thank you, it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, I think, for me this is my intuition and my belief have brought me to this point, in respect to building the fund. It was interesting, I last year sort of October, November time within the team, we’re looking at the challenges that women were facing in terms of raising funds we were looking at the type of setbacks that they were getting unnecessary setbacks, and we were looking at ways that we could solve this, how can we change it trying all sorts of different things where our minds. I like kept dreaming about building our own fund. We must have happened four nights in a row. Right, this is silly, I can’t, I can’t ignore this anymore, but it’s never been something that I thought about, so we made the decision that we would explore it, and by having that belief that we were on the right path, and trusting our intuition. We’ve been very fortunate that all the puzzle pieces that were required to build this fund have fallen into place and again it’s the when you know you’re on the right path and you believe that you’re on the right path. Things happen that’s where the magic happens outside of my comfort zone. This fund is completely outside of my comfort zone but it’s where the magic is happening.

Warsha 34:13
It’s that goosebump moment. Wow so inspired.

Evan 34:18
Amazing stuff, totally amazing. Well done.

Amanda 34:19

Thank you. You know my belief has been bolstered by the fact that we’ve got the most amazing partners in our support network that are helping us get this off the ground. You know they are established fund managers were able to umbrella underneath and we’re not going through the 12 18-month laborious process of getting set up the fund managers that we’re working with have built a model specifically for organizations like mine to come in and umbrella underneath. So, you know that it’s given me more confidence that we can do this, and we are, we’re doing it, so watch this space.

Warsha 34:52
Watch this space indeed. Wow, I’m so glad Evan you asked this question because this has opened up. As you earlier said Amanda, this is a topic that would, in it was time, somebody dealt with this took this head on and took that leadership position that you have. And again, hats off to you. Thank you very much for standing up on everybody’s behalf and saying, we’re here, and really walking the talk, not only you, nurturing a wonderful support system, you’re taking this a few steps further and saying well, come see me there. How brilliant is this.

Amanda 35:28

Thank you. Those words are so encouraging. Really, it’s very easy to sit here and be confident on a podcast and speak my mind. The reality is is my, my mom jokes like darling, she speaks very much like me darling you know on the surface, it’s like a duck, you’re gliding along but the reality is I know full well that underneath your legs are going like. It’s true all looks good on the surface and on this podcast, it sounds absolutely wonderful and we are owning it, and we know what we’re doing. And to the extent of it we do, but to hear words from our peers, people that we respect, it means the world to us, and it fuels us and energizes us and we keep going and it reinforces our belief that we’re going in the right direction.

Warsha 36:20
You bet, and I will go back to your mum’s words, everything is fine in the surface and you’re paddling away like crazy like a duck, who doesn’t. Half of us actually most of us live a life like that, to be perfectly honest, anybody who says who hasn’t ever been in that stage in their life is lying. So be proud of the fact that you are at least smooth sailing while you’re paddling like crazy under the surface you are actually moving ahead.

Evan 36:48
And also because, do you remember that a duck can fly. Paddle fast enough to spread your wings and you take off.

Amanda 36:54
Ooooh Good one Evan. I like that.

Evan 36:57
That’s enough out of me.

Amanda 36:59
Its good I said duck and not chicken then listen to.

Warsha 37:04

Going back to what you were saying, it really is so inspiring to hear this. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, because, of course I’m sure you would eventually get to that stage where you would make those announcements but thank you so much for actually talking about this, and giving us those goosebump moments, this whole conversation has been goosebump moments so thank you, that has been completely amazing.

Amanda 37:27
Thank you. I’ve really enjoyed it.

Warsha 37:30
Amanda, as part of our conversation. We ask our guests for a specific statement. Now, at Dare to Scale, we believe that we all have a, I dare to statement. We all do. everybody in the world, and very rarely do we actually articulate it, we usually show it in, in our actions, and yet we very rarely say it. There’s a great deal of power in the words that we say. So, we would love to hear what your, I dare to statement is?

Amanda 38:02
I dare to believe in myself.

Warsha 38:04
No words to follow that

Amanda 38:06
It’s worked well for me so far.

Evan 38:08
It goes with your intuition with your confidence and everything, believe in yourself. Amazing. Love it.

Amanda 38:13
And that’s the journey we’re all on. You know what we believe, becomes our reality.

Warsha 38:19
Yes, what we believe, becomes a reality because what we believe is something that we bring to fruition, we will make it a reality. Only when we believe in something strongly do we work towards turning it doesn’t just remain a dream, it actually becomes a reality so brilliant. We love that.

Amanda 38:36
There’s a great quote from Henry Ford, and it says, whether you believe you can or you can’t, either way you write.

Evan 38:46
Every time.

Warsha 38:48
Very nice.

Amanda 38:49
It’s on my wall. It’s written in my notebooks, it’s jotted in my mind, it’s something that I ground myself with every single day.

Warsha 38:58
On that note, a huge thank you for sharing with us your journey, your thoughts, your beliefs, so generously. This has been such an inspiring conversation Amanda, thank you very much for taking the time.


Amanda 39:15
Absolute pleasure thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story I don’t need much encouragement to talk as you can tell, I just need an outlet. So, I do appreciate, I really do appreciate you inviting me here today. I really enjoyed talking about this and if it goes some way to inspire someone to follow their dream and believe in themselves, you know, well, we’ve all done something wonderful today.

Evan 39:38
Amanda it’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the show.

Amanda 39:41
Thank you.

Warsha 39:42
Before we sign off, Amanda, I know there will be people who will be wanting to get in touch with you which is the best way to get in touch with you, whether through social media channel or your website, could you share some avenue to get in touch with you please.

Amanda 39:56
Yeah, we are average users of LinkedIn so you can find and connect to me on LinkedIn, Amanda Perry, website is, wearevitality.com. And that same wearevitality is our Instagram. Our Facebook what else we’re using; I think there’s the typical ones we’re about to join clubhouse actually everyone’s raving about clubhouse at the moment. So, that will be the next thing. Watch this space you’ll see us there, where I’m probably continually talk.

Warsha 40:28
Clubhouse I know I’ve been hearing so much about it, I’m not on that platform yet. Yes, that’s something we need to be looking at as well. So, I just repeat what you said because there was a slight lag in the audio, you are available on LinkedIn to connect with Amanda Perry, and wearevitality.com is your website, and wearevitality, are also your social media handles on Instagram, and Facebook.

Amanda 40:53
Correct, yes. So, you can find us there, and we’ll be happy to chat to you and find out what it is that you want to do with your business.

Warsha 41:02
This is amazing. Thank you. And we will be posting all these links all the social media platforms, and the website URL on the show notes and so keep an eye on that to get in touch with Amanda for those questions when you need that inspiration, because this is one lady who continues to inspire everybody around her, every single day. And I know for a fact that Amanda has been a source of my inspiration as well as so many times. It has been an personal honor personal pleasure to have Amanda as a guest on our show. Thank you once again Amanda.

Amanda 41:39
Thank you both. It’s been an absolute pleasure.

Warsha 41:44
Hey hey hey, thanks for joining us and listening, right till the end.

Evan 41.49
Get on over to daretoscale.fm to subscribe and access show notes and transcriptions.

Warsha 41:55
Oh also, did you know that we have a Facebook page for our podcast listeners. Come join the conversations at daretoscale.fm/facebook.

Evan 42:07
Absolutely, oh and also remember to give us a five-star review so other entrepreneurs can find this podcast like you, and get value to scale forward their business.

Warsha 42:15
Fabulous, we will see you at our next show. Bye for now.

Evan 42:19
Bye.