Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
Cake On Tuesday Podcast. Host Elizabeth Bieniek interview with a pinball collector CEO Richard Blank
Cake On Tuesday celebrates innovative leadership that balances growth, grit, and the power of play! We share disruptive innovation tactics sourced from Elizabeth Bieniek's book, "Cake On Tuesday: 25 Lessons to Unlock Corporate Innovation", and elevate the untold stories of everyday disruptors across the business world through the "Cake On Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint" podcast.
Cake on Tuesday explores leadership, innovation, and personal growth through Bieniek’s journey leading a stealth startup inside big tech. An inspiring narrative beyond technology, it weaves practical tips with real-world experiences to reveal the heart and stories behind groundbreaking advancements.
In Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, we explore the journeys of ambitious entrepreneurs and C-suite executives balancing growth, innovation, and resilience. As leaders in medium-sized, tech-forward organizations (50-500 employees), they are navigating the complexities of scaling without losing sight of their core vision. If you're someone who works hard, plays hard, and is hungry for actionable wisdom on driving innovation through disruption, join us for Cake on Tuesday.
From Pinball to Productivity: Revolutionizing Communication in Business
The "Cake on Tuesday" podcast featuring Richard Blank is titled "Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint". In this episode, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, discusses how he leveraged his passion for vintage arcade games into a thriving business. He emphasizes that restoring old games is similar to bringing new energy to a business by making the right adjustments. The podcast also explores themes of team empowerment, communication, and building a strong culture.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification. He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
Turning Passion into Business:
Richard Blank transformed his love for vintage arcade games into a successful business venture.
Leadership through Empowerment:
The podcast highlights how Richard empowers his team to overcome fears and achieve success by focusing on confidence-building and positive communication.
Importance of Culture:
The episode also touches upon the significance of a strong and performance-driven culture in business, as exemplified by Jon Morris, CEO of Fiscal Advocate.
In this episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Elizabeth Bieniek interviews the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his innovative approach to telemarketing, emphasizing authentic communication, phonetic microexpressions, and the power of workplace gamification.
He discusses building a positive company culture through play, his passion for vintage pinball machines, and the importance of personal connections. Richard also offers practical advice on self-reflection, leadership, and patience in communication, drawing from his experiences in Costa Rica.
In the latest episode of Cake on Tuesday: The Leadership Blueprint, Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, shares how promoting from within is a strategy that not only fosters trust but also keeps attrition lowCEO Richard Blank talks about overcoming fear in the call center environment. By shifting language and fostering confidence, Richard shows how leaders can create a fresh start and transform their team’s mindset.
Richard shared a truly unique perspective on business and leadership—how restoring 40-year-old arcade machines teaches valuable lessons in innovation and adaptation.
"You open up these dusty, old machines, and with the right parts, you can bring them back to life. It's the same as what we do in business—injecting new energy into old systems." – Richard Blank
By establishing a fresh approach and guiding his team through positive escalations, Richard shows how any leader can inspire and motivate their team to success.
Pro tip: "Fear is just morbid anticipation." Learn how Richard's unique leadership style is changing the game in call center management.
How Pinball Machines Power Workplace Joy
Of course, the first rule that I know is you never ask a lady their age. And so I'm going to refer to myself. I'm a Generation X. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s. And one of the coolest places in the world was the arcade, especially Flynn's in the movie Tron. But when you're a little kid, five bucks has to last you a full day. And those pinball machines were 50 cents and expensive and fast. And they were beautiful. So what happens? Fast forward, and here I am in Costa Rica. I got the space. I got the cash. And a lot of these places were going out of business. So I'd say, yo, Elizabeth, let's get Tommy, Joey, and Billy, and let's grab some money, get the truck, and drive the Perez Zeledon about three hours away. We'll meet with Don Jose, open up the bodega, and he's got these beautiful machines that are sitting there that are just dusty. These machines are 40 years old. What happens? There's corrosion because of the Central America humidity. It's not finished. All you do is replace certain parts behind the marquee, order it from Markle Specialties for $500. All of a sudden your machine's working again. And so I knew the value and I started collecting and one turned into three to five and now it's 11 machines. But I tell you what, the air hockey table, the Pac-Man, the pinball, It's a beautiful, happy medium for people to let off steam, recharge batteries. It's running in place at the light compared to icing a kicker at a football game. It's momentum. You're not stopping. And so instead of in the lunchroom, you're on your phone looking at Japanese anime or having that fifth cigarette. Come hang out in the game room with me and Elizabeth. Let's go play some air hockey.
Shattering Fear with Empowerment on Day One
The first time is I got to let them know that fear is that morbid anticipation. So I initially established myself by saying, hey, have you ever met a CEO of a call center? Maybe two out of 10 raised their hand. I'm like, okay, maybe you see that I'm giving you a clean slate like myself. Let's start strong. Don't blame me on what happened on your last job. So they start looking at me. And secondly, we talk about, you know, since English is my first language, let me give them a gift. Let's remove words like help and put in assist guide and lend a hand. Instead of saying, excuse me, I'm sorry, why don't we change it with for my clarification? I'll teach them the military alphabet that day. I will share with them how to do positive escalations.
Solving Problems with Communication Mastery
I think a lot of the world's problems can be solved by communication. I wasn't going to go here first, but now I'm curious, this phonetic micro-expression reading, can we go into this a little bit? What is this and how did this become a topic that you are an expert on? I appreciate this. Expert is time, 10,000 hours, as they say. And so for me, I didn't walk into this being an expert. I've never written a book like yourself, which are amazing. And there are people that have been published or their words are quoted. And so for me, I'm just looking at a controlled environment, almost like a focus group. And after 10,000 phone calls, you may see a pattern. And so I believe, in fact, I Cherish, the genius communicator Helen Keller that was able to create a language and was able to connect with people through multiple mediums.
Why Zig and Zag: Be Uniquely Yourself
The greatest thing to do is to zig and zag, loosey-goosey. And remember that there's 10% wildcard in this world. A lot of people write you to get on your podcast. but there must have been one or two or hopefully three anchors that I shared with you about myself that separated me from others, that got your interest and enabled me to be here today. And so if you think you're gonna be somebody else, fine, wear your suit, drive your fancy car and be in your penthouse place. But just like in Rocky, he had a better training in Rocky III when he was in that old gym with Apollo
https://youtu.be/J-pknDhO-xk
https://youtu.be/bx8ZmfSWmts
https://youtu.be/-MDYmaPAb9k
https://youtu.be/2_HtYqkEBxY
https://youtu.be/qyP0OeK-c6o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Elizabeth Bieniek, Cake On Tuesday, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Who This Podcast is For:
Leaders in Action: Entrepreneurs and executives from mid-sized organizations, especially in the tech space, seeking to branch out and innovate without jeopardizing their existing base.
Growth-Oriented Professionals: Mid-career leaders tackling the challenges of scaling while managing high-stakes disagreements, hiring innovators, and avoiding burnout.
Strivers for Sustainable Success: Those seeking practical strategies and frameworks to recharge, protect their teams, and foster joy in leadership while navigating chaos.
Each episode of Cake on Tuesday is designed to equip you with the tools, strategies, and mindsets needed for lifelong growth. From building resilient teams, to embracing constructive disagreement, to protecting your people and yourself, this podcast delivers battle-tested lessons on how to lead with grit, creativity, and the ability to find joy in it all.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last.
Named Toptal’s 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, Tech Times and Women in Business.
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#ElizabethBieniek #CakeOnTuesday #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
50 Tastes of Gray Podcast. Host and Chef Matthew Gray interview with Richard Blank. A Journey abroad
Welcome to 50 Tastes of Gray—where food gets flirty, stories simmer, and conversations are always served with a side of mischief. Aloha friends, I’m Matthew Gray. Tune in for a taste of something intelligent, warm, funny, intriguing, and always satisfying—because life is way too short and way too delicious to miss out on this ChatCast…
In this episode of 50 Tastes Of Gray, I sat down with Richard Blank, a dreamer from Northeast Philly who took a one-in-a-million shot and moved to Costa Rica. Richard shares his incredible journey of finding love and starting a business in a new country. From his first encounter with the girl of his dreams to the challenges and triumphs of building a life together in Central America, Richard’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and the beauty of embracing new cultures. Richard is smart, very sharp, articulate, old school and new school, a man I admire greatly.Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain.
Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain.
Growth, Motivation, and Mastery in Training
It's like the gym. How many plates do you want to put on? And are you willing to learn different exercises? Or are you just going to sit on the flying machine and camp out there? Come on, give me a break. And I see people's wasted potential. And then I also see people that come to me saying that they read something, heard something, or they, I got this one kid that writes 15 vocabulary words a day and it's all across the board. Like bewildered. I'm like, that's a good one. You know, he's like parallel. Okay. Where'd you find that one? And so they're excited. They're collecting. They're growing. I can't hit the ball and drag Johnny. It's just not going to work that way. Can I show them my three back flips while biting an apple? I can do that too, but that doesn't do any good either. And so the best thing to do is to give them levels to hit or some sort of positive reinforcement on something. And I have the luxury of recorded phone calls. My industry is linguistic, and so they can hear themselves. They can taste their own food. They'll know if it's good. And it's up to them. I just make the face like, you know, you did too much salt, you burnt it. And for me, I love rhetoric. I think a really good delivery hits. Most people are so concerned about a body and a conclusion of a call, but if you don't land an introduction, you have no spark, no fire, nothing.
How I Won My Wife's Heart Old-School Style
Tell me about the girl of your dreams first. Now, being from Northeast Philly, you always think of Gilligan's Island. So when I got off the plane here in August of 2000, the women in Costa Rica are absolutely beautiful. They're Central American, exotic, tropical. They have a nice flair and Pura Vida in their heart. And in the first couple of months, I met my current wife, Grace Bourbon. She was working at my friend's restaurant. And so I was playing it smooth. Matthew, I'd call up and I'd order a double cheeseburger. And then I'd say, hey, send Gracie, let me go see her. So she would show up and I would write her some poems in Spanish and draw cartoons. And I tried to court her the old school way compared to the 99 other guys trying to ask her out for drinks. And little did I know that this very old school, old fashioned conservative young lady would find me interesting. And we've been together forever and we started a business together. And so I was very fortunate to combine two different worlds where everything is fresh and new. She's my Spanish tutor, I'm her English tutor. You know, that's kind of fun. But when you meet somebody and marry somebody that is completely, not saying the opposite, but the way they were raised in certain traditions and cultures, It's true love. It's not like you're hanging out with the people you grew up with, or you go to church with, or your families know everybody. You found this person in the middle of nowhere, yonder. And you guys found something in common that has such a strong foundation, it's still lasting to this day. And so I believe in things that need to be done organically and naturally. Plus between me and you, I definitely was looking for a wife when I came to Costa Rica. Okay, so you were in the hunt, so to speak, when you got there.
Surviving High Turnover: A Trench Warfare Analogy
What about the high turnover in your industry of the people who are seated doing the work that you're providing them with? Because that's got to be difficult. What are you doing to handle that? Well, how do you feel after you spend an hour cooking something and someone hates it? I spent an hour or two with soft skills training. I listened to your phone calls, Billy motivated you. And all of a sudden you see you quit and that's okay. You just can't take a personal why, because I know I did, but everybody loves peaches, right? I'm sorry. Not everybody might not like the three piece Philly. What are you going to do? But with honorable intentions and good faith, I can live with myself and I know the percentages. But how about this, my friend? Let me give you some constructive arguments on this. My industry has a 300% attrition rate. So it's like the trenches. We're one with machine guns. You blow that whistle and they're out there and they're not lasting. So you still have to invest in them because you never know. It could be a surprise.
When Calling Was an Adventure
Well, look how you and I were raised, my man. Television was good on Saturdays for cartoons or things like that, but we would read the books or we'd just be outside climbing trees playing. Exactly. Exactly. Riding our bikes, just like be home by six for dinner. That was it. See ya. How about this? Remember having to call someone's house and asking for somebody? That's right. Can Richie come out and play? People, they don't go to other people's houses and knock on doors. They don't call them anymore. See, that's what's so odd about what you do, for my mind, is because people don't call each other anymore. I grew up, I'm older than you, and we used to call each other all the time. Now you've got a text to ask for permission to call. It makes no sense to me either. And guess what? I'll call anyway. And leave your voice message. Yeah, of course. Because no one's picking up their phone. Come on, Matthew. I know you're there. Pick up. Oh, the machines are a whole different. That's another world away. And I'll say, Matthew, I got really good news for you, but I'm not going to tell you unless you call back.
https://youtu.be/iyLOzskBil8
https://youtu.be/Pb176YJ40fQ
https://youtu.be/75gP2iknXQs
https://youtu.be/BVvWv_LA8uk
https://youtu.be/hz23QlYSn5o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Matthew Gray, 50 Tastes Of Gray, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
I’m Matthew Gray—chef, storyteller, and professional pot-stirrer. As a seasoned voice in the kitchen and behind the mic, I stir curiosity, comedy, and a pinch of chaos into every episode.
I don’t just tickle taste buds—I awaken appetites, ignite ideas, and reveal my guests with a perfect dash of irreverence. I aim for the funny bone, not the jugular (unless the moment calls for a well-placed carving knife).
This chat-cast is as rich as a 12-hour braised short rib and as satisfying as finding the last fry at the bottom of the bag. You’ll laugh. You’ll learn. And you’ll finally understand why life doesn’t come with a side of aioli.
My goal? To leave you entertained, inspired, and craving more—whether that means charging into life with unfiltered gusto or surrendering to a well-earned nap.
Either way, you’re in deliciously capable hands. Wanna taste?
Radio/Podcast Host | Chef | Entrepreneurial Advisor | Interview Consultant | Chef | Author | Journalist | Food Tour Creator | | Menu Developer | Idea Generator | Passion Strategist |
I’ve worn many hats (and aprons) in my life, each one tied to a passion for creativity, connection, and innovation. Here’s a taste of my journey:
Rock 'n' Roll Beginnings: Straight out of high school, I hit the road with the Eagles on their Hotel California tour, followed by stints with Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd. It was a backstage pass to life’s possibilities.
Chef to the Stars: I became a chef, cooking for Hollywood’s elite before launching Chef Matthew’s Fine Foods, a line of sexy finger foods for Trader Joe’s and similar establishments.
Creative Ventures: My greeting card company, Sublime Craftwork, turned exposed film into groovy, abstract art. A happy accident led to a process that was as unique as the designs themselves.
Pamper and Dine: This one-of-a-kind business combined massage and fine dining in clients’ homes. Featured in People Magazine, CNN, and The New York Times, it became a global sensation. Fun fact: I saw half of Hollywood naked—odd, considering I was the chef, not the masseuse.
Talk Radio Pioneer: In the golden age of terrestrial radio, I hosted shows blending food, relationships, and travel. Later, I founded Love Life Radio Network and Hawaii Chat Universe, earning a spot among PC Magazine’s “Top 1000 Websites in the World.”
Food Journalism: As a food writer and restaurant critic for Hawaii’s largest daily newspaper, I called it like I tasted it—sometimes to the chagrin of the advertising department. My honesty may have ruffled feathers, but my taste buds never lied.
Hawaii Food Tours: In 2004, I launched one of the first food tour companies in the U.S., a “social experiment” to feed, educate, and entertain travelers. It was a dream come true until March 2020 put it on pause.
Where I Am Now My journey has brought me to a place where I can share my experiences to help others achieve their goals, embrace creativity, and find joy in every day. Whether it’s consulting, coaching, or collaborating, I’m here to pay it forward.
Master The Art Of Captivating Introductions Using Rhetoric offers you the power of a well-crafted introduction in making a lasting impression. Our discussion emphasizes the importance of focusing on the introduction rather than just the body and conclusion of a call. We delve into the nuances of rhetoric, the art of zigging and zagging in conversations, and how small details, like noticing a dog barking, can create meaningful connections. Learn how to anchor your audience’s attention from the very beginning and master the art of captivating introductions.
Go Above And Beyond: Empathy And Excellence To Unlock Customer Satisfaction discusses the importance of going above and beyond in customer service. Our conversation highlights how empathy, patience, and dedication can lead to first-call resolution and exceptional customer satisfaction. We explore the advanced thinking required to achieve these results and the appreciation customers feel when they receive that extra touch of care. Join us as we uncover the keys to unlocking customer satisfaction through empathy and excellence.
Mastering Cold Calls: Slam Dunk The Deal! Let's dive into the evolving landscape of cold calling in the B2B world. Richard Blank discusses the impact of AI on prospecting, the shift in communication preferences post-COVID, and how personalized emails and voicemails can enhance your sales strategy. Learn how to turn your cold calls into quality conversations with targeted research and due diligence. Whether you’re a seasoned sales professional or just starting out, these insights will help you master the art of cold calling and slam dunk the deal!
Entrepreneur Warning: Do Not Skip Meals! offers advice for hungry entrepreneurs. In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we discuss the importance of maintaining a balanced diet for entrepreneurs and busy professionals. Go for the protein baby! Richard Blank emphasizes the need for proper nutrition to sustain energy levels and prevent burnout. While indulging in favorite snacks like pizza and Pringles is tempting, it’s crucial to prioritize healthy options like chicken, veggies, and plenty of water. Tune in to learn how to fuel your body for success and stay on top of your game without compromising your health.
Vintage Juke Boxes And Pinball Games is a quick topic in this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray." We take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with Richard Blank, who shares his passion for collecting antique juke boxes, pinball machines and retro arcade games. From a 1970 Bally’s Camelot pinball machine to a mid-90s Last Action Hero game, discover the charm and history behind these vintage treasures. Learn how gamification and classic arcade games can create a fun and engaging environment, fostering connections and even sparking romance. Whether you’re a collector or just a fan of retro games, this episode is sure to delight and inspire.
I've Got Cash - In this lively and humorous segment, we discuss the excitement of having cash on hand and the importance of playing it cool when making purchases. With references to iconic bands like Led Zeppelin, INXS, and Crosby, Stills & Nash, this conversation is both entertaining and nostalgic. Tune in to hear more about the host’s unique perspective on shopping and music.
My CEO Office Celebrates Success is a refreshing and upbeat segment. We share the unique approach to leadership and office culture. Unlike the typical cold and intimidating CEO office, this space is warm and welcoming, complete with candy and coffee. It’s a place to celebrate success and enjoy a positive atmosphere. Tune in to hear more about how this CEO creates a fun and supportive environment for their team.
Hear it from the Employer's side. Remote Work From The Boss's Perspective is an insightful segment that discusses the challenges and benefits of managing a team of 150 full-time agents, most of whom work from home. The conversation touches on the unpredictable hours of a performer, the impact of COVID-19 on remote work, and the balance between financial benefits and the loss of in-person synergy. Tune in to hear more about the host’s unique perspective on leadership, remote work, and maintaining team connection.
How To Handle Employees: A New Approach In this "Short" from “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we explore a compassionate and effective approach to managing employees in a call center environment. Richard Blank shares his philosophy on leadership, emphasizing the importance of accountability without humiliation. Learn how to use metrics to guide performance, maintain morale, and handle unexpected absences with a solid game plan. Discover strategies to bend but not break your team, fostering a supportive and productive workplace.
52 and Thriving: Secrets of Discipline and Success is a tasty nugget of my guest on 50 Tastes Of Gray, Richard Blank. sharing his journey of maintaining structure and discipline throughout his life. From hitting the gym six days a week since the age of 17 to being the first to arrive and the last to leave at work, he reveals the secrets that contribute to his success. Tune in to discover how consistency and dedication can lead to a thriving life at any age.
The Grind - The Grit - Don't you Ever Turn Away Business shows my guest Richard Blank emphasizing the importance of going the extra mile in both personal and professional life. He shares anecdotes about staying late at work, keeping the kitchen open for a late customer, and always welcoming good vibes and energy. Tune in to learn how a mindset of perseverance and openness can lead to lasting success and unforgettable moments.
Is AI a Threat or a Tool For Humanity? delves into the debate surrounding artificial intelligence. We discuss the potential threats and benefits of AI, comparing it to historical technological advancements like the steam engine. The conversation highlights the irreplaceable value of human empathy, friendship, and interpersonal connections in achieving true success. Tune in to explore the balance between technology and humanity.
How To Improve Customer Service Training For Outsourced Teams addresses common challenges faced with outsourced customer care lines, particularly in the Philippines and India. Issues such as inadequate product knowledge and language barriers, strategies for training teams to better understand a company’s products, protocols, and services. Tune in to learn effective methods for enhancing customer service and ensuring clear communication with consumers.
Stop Apologizing: Embrace Venting Without Guilt discusses the importance of allowing people to vent without feeling guilty. Emphasize the need to stop apologizing unnecessarily and provide a safe space for expressing emotions, even if it includes profanity. Tune in to learn how to create an environment where venting is accepted and understood as a natural part of emotional release.
Why Live Interaction Beats Working from Home shows Matthew and his colleague Richard Blank exploring the significant impact of in-person collaboration on productivity. They highlight how working side-by-side, sharing high-fives, and fostering a team spirit can boost productivity by at least 20%. The conversation draws vivid comparisons between in-person and remote work, likening it to the difference between a movie and live theater or a microwave meal and a homemade dish. Tune in to discover why in-person collaboration is essential for getting the best out of your team.
Exploring Costa Rican Cuisine: Gallo Pinto and Seafood Delights embarks on a culinary journey through Costa Rica, sharing insights into the vibrant and flavorful world of Costa Rican cuisine. From the traditional breakfast dish, gallo pinto, to the fresh and delectable seafood, discover the unique ingredients and cooking techniques that make Costa Rican food so special. Whether you’re a food enthusiast or just curious about new flavors, this episode will tantalize your taste buds and inspire your next culinary adventure.
Mastering Positive Escalation In Customer Support deep dives into the concept of positive escalation in customer support and prospecting. Learn how recognizing and praising exceptional service can build stronger relationships and enhance your customer pipeline. Discover practical tips for effectively communicating with supervisors and colleagues to ensure your feedback makes a lasting impact.
Expert Customer Care Advanced Training Techniques Revealed suggests sophisticated skill sets required for top-tier customer service. Our discussion covers the differences between prospectors and customer care representatives, the application of neuro-linguistic programming in training, and the importance of a well-structured onboarding process. We also draw parallels between training in customer care and working out at the gym, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and adaptability.
In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we dive into the world of unlocking success in telemarketing with Richard Blank, an expert in international business and marketing. Tune in for an engaging conversation that blends food, life, and business, providing a perfect taste treat for you.
From Northeast Philly to Costa Rica My Inspiring Journey is this snippet where we dive into the incredible journey of a dreamer (Richard Blank) from Northeast Philly who made his way to Costa Rica. Overcoming parental guilt and seizing a one-in-a-million opportunity, he married the girl of his dreams, started a successful business, and now shares his heartfelt story of happiness and humility. Tune in to hear about his adventures and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
How I Met My Dream Girl in Costa Rica is a heartwarming passage from “50 Tastes Of Gray,” where Richard Blank shares a romantic tale of how a dreamer from Northeast Philly met his dream girl in Costa Rica. Arriving in August 2000, he was captivated by the beauty and charm of the women in Costa Rica. Among them was Grace Borbon, who worked at his friend’s restaurant. With a smooth approach, he courted her the old-school way, writing poems in Spanish and drawing cartoons, standing out from the crowd. Tune in to hear this enchanting love story and the journey that followed.
We delve into the dynamics of relationships and the age-old question: Do opposites really attract? Richard Blank shares his experience of building a strong foundation with his dream girl, Grace Borbon, based on mutual interests, respect, and treating each other with kindness. He emphasizes the importance of being proud to be by her side and the power of comfortable silence in strengthening their bond. Tune in to explore the nuances of relationships and discover what truly makes them work.
Guest Richard Blank discusses his unique experience of a city slicker from the United States navigating life in Costa Rica. Richard, a gringo in formal business attire, shares his humorous and insightful journey of adapting to a new culture. He reflects on the changes he’s undergone, including a light-hearted mention of his hair loss, and the support of his beautiful bride. Tune in to hear about the challenges and joys of living in Costa Rica as an expat.
Stylish Travel Tips: Dress Smart Wherever You Go is about always looking good. Our mothers always told us to "wear clean underwear because you never know."
In this episode of 50 Tastes Of Gray, I sat down with Richard Blank, a dreamer from Northeast Philly who took a one-in-a-million shot and moved to Costa Rica. Richard shares his incredible journey of finding love and starting a business in a new country. From his first encounter with the girl of his dreams to the challenges and triumphs of building a life together in Central America, Richard’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and the beauty of embracing new cultures. Richard is smart, very sharp, articulate, old school and new school, a man I admire greatly.
Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain. #loveandbusiness #costaricalife
#inspiringjourneys
In this episode of 50 Tastes Of Gray, I sat down with Richard Blank, a dreamer from Northeast Philly who took a one-in-a-million shot and moved to Costa Rica. Richard shares his incredible journey of finding love and starting a business in a new country. From his first encounter with the girl of his dreams to the challenges and triumphs of building a life together in Central America, Richard’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and the beauty of embracing new cultures. Richard is smart, very sharp, articulate, old school and new school, a man I admire greatly.
Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain. #loveandbusiness #costaricalife
#inspiringjourneys
Why Nobody Calls Anymore: The Lost Art Of Communication - In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we dive into the nostalgic and thought-provoking topic of why nobody calls anymore. Remember the days of calling someone’s house and asking if they could come out to play? Those days are long gone. Join us as we explore the lost art of communication, the shift from phone calls to texts, and the impact it has on our relationships. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion that will make you rethink how we connect with each other in the digital age.
This Voice Message Always Gets Callbacks shows Matthew and Richard sharing foolproof methods to ensure your voice messages always get callbacks. Discover the secret behind leaving an irresistible message that compels the recipient to return your call. Join us as we discuss the psychology behind this technique, the art of leaving engaging voice messages, and why sometimes even telemarketers can be entertaining. Tune in for practical tips and a fun conversation that will change the way you think about voicemail.
Phone Porn Man vs Food Porn Man explores the humorous and quirky idea of combining phone and food obsessions. Imagine a competition where participants munch on delicious food while trying to make phone calls and be understood at the same time. Join us for a fun and lighthearted discussion about the challenges of multitasking, the art of chewing gum while talking, and the hilarity that ensues when food and phone calls collide. Tune in for a unique and entertaining episode that will leave you laughing and craving more. #MultitaskingMadness #FoodVsPhone #ComedyPodcast #PhoneAndFoodChallenge #FoodPorn #PhoneObsession #Humor #ChewingAndChatting #HilarityEnsues #podcastfun
Embrace Vulnerability: Key Entrepreneurial Insights delves into the importance of embracing vulnerability as an entrepreneur. Join us for an insightful conversation about the value of self-compassion, shedding unnecessary burdens, and the courage to face criticism. Richard Blank shares key entrepreneurial insights and parting thoughts that will inspire you to be kinder to yourself and make the most of your journey. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion that encourages you to embrace vulnerability and live life to the fullest.
Just Say Matthew Sent You - In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we offer a special bonus for our listeners. If you ever wanted to pick the brain of our guest, Richard, now is your chance! Just mention that you heard him on Matthew’s show, and you’ll get a free consulting session. Join us for an engaging conversation and take advantage of this exclusive opportunity to run your ideas by Richard. Tune in and become one of our bonus babies!
Oh My! No Politics Allowed . In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we discuss the importance of respecting leadership, regardless of political affiliation. We emphasize the value of loyalty to one’s team and the significant contributions of military veterans. We also touch on the negative impact of deliberate provocations and traps in social interactions.
Apparently, according to my guest Richard Blank, I am Coolest Cat In Hawaii - Except For Don Ho. Quite a compliment! We share a delightful conversation filled with aloha spirit as Richard bids us adieu. We discuss the joy of podcasting, the art of bringing out the best in people, and pay tribute to the legendary Don Ho, a true Hall of Famer in Hawaii.
In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we wrap up with a heartfelt and enthusiastic farewell from our guest Richard Blank. He shares a lighthearted moment, praising Matthew’s humor with the phrase, “So Funny, Matthew’s My Boy!” Join us for a delightful episode filled with laughter and camaraderie.
Mastering Fluency: The Journey Of A Language Learner is a journey to mastering fluency. We discuss the challenges of having an accent and how it can make you stand out, but also highlight the strengths of their grammar, vocabulary, and expressiveness. The conversation emphasizes that learning a second language requires discipline and structure, but it is also a valuable gift that can be enjoyed anywhere without the need for technology. Tune in to hear about the commitment and rewards of becoming fluent in a new language.
Meeting My Heroes: Fueling My Passion For Success shows Richard Blank sharing the exhilarating experience of meeting his heroes and receiving their validation. He reflects on how hearing “you got something, kid” from industry icons serves as a powerful checkpoint, far more impactful than praise from family and friends. This recognition fuels his passion and determination to keep pushing forward, proving that the market sees his potential. Tune in to hear how meeting his heroes has motivated Richard to go the extra mile in his journey to success.
Grateful Reflections: The Power Of True Friendship is heartfelt. Richard Blank reflects on the power of true friendship and the importance of gratitude. He shares how the unwavering support, confidence, and love from his friends have shaped his journey. Despite his success, returning home reminds him that he is still the same person his friends knew back in 1987. The bonds formed through shared experiences, laughter, and tears have created a beautiful story of growth and loyalty. Tune in to hear his touching tribute to the friends who have always been there for him.
Winter Wonderland Getaway: Rockies vs Alps Adventure is where I, Matthew Gray, ask Richard where he'd like to travel. He replied with something quite different than Costa Rica where he's living. He reminisces about his ideal winter getaway, contrasting the Rockies and the Alps and describes the charm of a mountain village during wintertime, with the comforting smell of wood burning in fireplaces, warm stores filled with the scent of cinnamon, and the joy of sledding and ice skating. The conversation explores the allure of both the Rockies and the Alps, ultimately leaning towards the Rockies due to personal connections. Tune in to experience the magic of a winter wonderland adventure and the nostalgic memories it brings.
Be Home By Six... See Ya! is a short clip reflecting on how technology and social media have changed childhood nurturing. We discuss the importance of balancing screen time with real-life experiences and the value of those precious moments spent outdoors and with family. Join us as we reminisce about the good old days when being home by six for dinner was the norm.
Why Live Interaction Beats Working from Home shows Matthew and his colleague Richard Blank exploring the significant impact of in-person collaboration on productivity. They highlight how working side-by-side, sharing high-fives, and fostering a team spirit can boost productivity by at least 20%. The conversation draws vivid comparisons between in-person and remote work, likening it to the difference between a movie and live theater or a microwave meal and a homemade dish. Tune in to discover why in-person collaboration is essential for getting the best out of your team.
What if your voicemails actually made people want to call you back? In this Short, Matthew and Richard reveal a proven method for leaving voice messages that trigger curiosity and response. Learn the subtle psychology behind tone, timing, and delivery — and why even telemarketers could teach you something about charm. It’s fast, fun, and guaranteed to level up your phone game.
Mastering a second language is more than just memorizing words — it's a journey of structure, discipline, and self-discovery. In this conversation, Richard Blank shares how accents can be both a challenge and a unique strength, and why fluency is a rewarding gift that needs no tech to enjoy. Tune in for insight, humor, and motivation for anyone nav
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#MatthewGray #50TastesOfGray #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
50 Tastes of Gray Podcast. Host and Chef Matthew Gray interview with Richard Blank. A Journey abroad
Welcome to 50 Tastes of Gray—where food gets flirty, stories simmer, and conversations are always served with a side of mischief. Aloha friends, I’m Matthew Gray. Tune in for a taste of something intelligent, warm, funny, intriguing, and always satisfying—because life is way too short and way too delicious to miss out on this ChatCast…
In this episode of 50 Tastes Of Gray, I sat down with Richard Blank, a dreamer from Northeast Philly who took a one-in-a-million shot and moved to Costa Rica. Richard shares his incredible journey of finding love and starting a business in a new country. From his first encounter with the girl of his dreams to the challenges and triumphs of building a life together in Central America, Richard’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and the beauty of embracing new cultures. Richard is smart, very sharp, articulate, old school and new school, a man I admire greatly.Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain.
Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain.
Growth, Motivation, and Mastery in Training
It's like the gym. How many plates do you want to put on? And are you willing to learn different exercises? Or are you just going to sit on the flying machine and camp out there? Come on, give me a break. And I see people's wasted potential. And then I also see people that come to me saying that they read something, heard something, or they, I got this one kid that writes 15 vocabulary words a day and it's all across the board. Like bewildered. I'm like, that's a good one. You know, he's like parallel. Okay. Where'd you find that one? And so they're excited. They're collecting. They're growing. I can't hit the ball and drag Johnny. It's just not going to work that way. Can I show them my three back flips while biting an apple? I can do that too, but that doesn't do any good either. And so the best thing to do is to give them levels to hit or some sort of positive reinforcement on something. And I have the luxury of recorded phone calls. My industry is linguistic, and so they can hear themselves. They can taste their own food. They'll know if it's good. And it's up to them. I just make the face like, you know, you did too much salt, you burnt it. And for me, I love rhetoric. I think a really good delivery hits. Most people are so concerned about a body and a conclusion of a call, but if you don't land an introduction, you have no spark, no fire, nothing.
How I Won My Wife's Heart Old-School Style
Tell me about the girl of your dreams first. Now, being from Northeast Philly, you always think of Gilligan's Island. So when I got off the plane here in August of 2000, the women in Costa Rica are absolutely beautiful. They're Central American, exotic, tropical. They have a nice flair and Pura Vida in their heart. And in the first couple of months, I met my current wife, Grace Bourbon. She was working at my friend's restaurant. And so I was playing it smooth. Matthew, I'd call up and I'd order a double cheeseburger. And then I'd say, hey, send Gracie, let me go see her. So she would show up and I would write her some poems in Spanish and draw cartoons. And I tried to court her the old school way compared to the 99 other guys trying to ask her out for drinks. And little did I know that this very old school, old fashioned conservative young lady would find me interesting. And we've been together forever and we started a business together. And so I was very fortunate to combine two different worlds where everything is fresh and new. She's my Spanish tutor, I'm her English tutor. You know, that's kind of fun. But when you meet somebody and marry somebody that is completely, not saying the opposite, but the way they were raised in certain traditions and cultures, It's true love. It's not like you're hanging out with the people you grew up with, or you go to church with, or your families know everybody. You found this person in the middle of nowhere, yonder. And you guys found something in common that has such a strong foundation, it's still lasting to this day. And so I believe in things that need to be done organically and naturally. Plus between me and you, I definitely was looking for a wife when I came to Costa Rica. Okay, so you were in the hunt, so to speak, when you got there.
Surviving High Turnover: A Trench Warfare Analogy
What about the high turnover in your industry of the people who are seated doing the work that you're providing them with? Because that's got to be difficult. What are you doing to handle that? Well, how do you feel after you spend an hour cooking something and someone hates it? I spent an hour or two with soft skills training. I listened to your phone calls, Billy motivated you. And all of a sudden you see you quit and that's okay. You just can't take a personal why, because I know I did, but everybody loves peaches, right? I'm sorry. Not everybody might not like the three piece Philly. What are you going to do? But with honorable intentions and good faith, I can live with myself and I know the percentages. But how about this, my friend? Let me give you some constructive arguments on this. My industry has a 300% attrition rate. So it's like the trenches. We're one with machine guns. You blow that whistle and they're out there and they're not lasting. So you still have to invest in them because you never know. It could be a surprise.
When Calling Was an Adventure
Well, look how you and I were raised, my man. Television was good on Saturdays for cartoons or things like that, but we would read the books or we'd just be outside climbing trees playing. Exactly. Exactly. Riding our bikes, just like be home by six for dinner. That was it. See ya. How about this? Remember having to call someone's house and asking for somebody? That's right. Can Richie come out and play? People, they don't go to other people's houses and knock on doors. They don't call them anymore. See, that's what's so odd about what you do, for my mind, is because people don't call each other anymore. I grew up, I'm older than you, and we used to call each other all the time. Now you've got a text to ask for permission to call. It makes no sense to me either. And guess what? I'll call anyway. And leave your voice message. Yeah, of course. Because no one's picking up their phone. Come on, Matthew. I know you're there. Pick up. Oh, the machines are a whole different. That's another world away. And I'll say, Matthew, I got really good news for you, but I'm not going to tell you unless you call back.
https://youtu.be/iyLOzskBil8
https://youtu.be/Pb176YJ40fQ
https://youtu.be/75gP2iknXQs
https://youtu.be/BVvWv_LA8uk
https://youtu.be/hz23QlYSn5o
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Matthew Gray, 50 Tastes Of Gray, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
I’m Matthew Gray—chef, storyteller, and professional pot-stirrer. As a seasoned voice in the kitchen and behind the mic, I stir curiosity, comedy, and a pinch of chaos into every episode.
I don’t just tickle taste buds—I awaken appetites, ignite ideas, and reveal my guests with a perfect dash of irreverence. I aim for the funny bone, not the jugular (unless the moment calls for a well-placed carving knife).
This chat-cast is as rich as a 12-hour braised short rib and as satisfying as finding the last fry at the bottom of the bag. You’ll laugh. You’ll learn. And you’ll finally understand why life doesn’t come with a side of aioli.
My goal? To leave you entertained, inspired, and craving more—whether that means charging into life with unfiltered gusto or surrendering to a well-earned nap.
Either way, you’re in deliciously capable hands. Wanna taste?
Radio/Podcast Host | Chef | Entrepreneurial Advisor | Interview Consultant | Chef | Author | Journalist | Food Tour Creator | | Menu Developer | Idea Generator | Passion Strategist |
I’ve worn many hats (and aprons) in my life, each one tied to a passion for creativity, connection, and innovation. Here’s a taste of my journey:
Rock 'n' Roll Beginnings: Straight out of high school, I hit the road with the Eagles on their Hotel California tour, followed by stints with Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd. It was a backstage pass to life’s possibilities.
Chef to the Stars: I became a chef, cooking for Hollywood’s elite before launching Chef Matthew’s Fine Foods, a line of sexy finger foods for Trader Joe’s and similar establishments.
Creative Ventures: My greeting card company, Sublime Craftwork, turned exposed film into groovy, abstract art. A happy accident led to a process that was as unique as the designs themselves.
Pamper and Dine: This one-of-a-kind business combined massage and fine dining in clients’ homes. Featured in People Magazine, CNN, and The New York Times, it became a global sensation. Fun fact: I saw half of Hollywood naked—odd, considering I was the chef, not the masseuse.
Talk Radio Pioneer: In the golden age of terrestrial radio, I hosted shows blending food, relationships, and travel. Later, I founded Love Life Radio Network and Hawaii Chat Universe, earning a spot among PC Magazine’s “Top 1000 Websites in the World.”
Food Journalism: As a food writer and restaurant critic for Hawaii’s largest daily newspaper, I called it like I tasted it—sometimes to the chagrin of the advertising department. My honesty may have ruffled feathers, but my taste buds never lied.
Hawaii Food Tours: In 2004, I launched one of the first food tour companies in the U.S., a “social experiment” to feed, educate, and entertain travelers. It was a dream come true until March 2020 put it on pause.
Where I Am Now My journey has brought me to a place where I can share my experiences to help others achieve their goals, embrace creativity, and find joy in every day. Whether it’s consulting, coaching, or collaborating, I’m here to pay it forward.
Master The Art Of Captivating Introductions Using Rhetoric offers you the power of a well-crafted introduction in making a lasting impression. Our discussion emphasizes the importance of focusing on the introduction rather than just the body and conclusion of a call. We delve into the nuances of rhetoric, the art of zigging and zagging in conversations, and how small details, like noticing a dog barking, can create meaningful connections. Learn how to anchor your audience’s attention from the very beginning and master the art of captivating introductions.
Go Above And Beyond: Empathy And Excellence To Unlock Customer Satisfaction discusses the importance of going above and beyond in customer service. Our conversation highlights how empathy, patience, and dedication can lead to first-call resolution and exceptional customer satisfaction. We explore the advanced thinking required to achieve these results and the appreciation customers feel when they receive that extra touch of care. Join us as we uncover the keys to unlocking customer satisfaction through empathy and excellence.
Mastering Cold Calls: Slam Dunk The Deal! Let's dive into the evolving landscape of cold calling in the B2B world. Richard Blank discusses the impact of AI on prospecting, the shift in communication preferences post-COVID, and how personalized emails and voicemails can enhance your sales strategy. Learn how to turn your cold calls into quality conversations with targeted research and due diligence. Whether you’re a seasoned sales professional or just starting out, these insights will help you master the art of cold calling and slam dunk the deal!
Entrepreneur Warning: Do Not Skip Meals! offers advice for hungry entrepreneurs. In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we discuss the importance of maintaining a balanced diet for entrepreneurs and busy professionals. Go for the protein baby! Richard Blank emphasizes the need for proper nutrition to sustain energy levels and prevent burnout. While indulging in favorite snacks like pizza and Pringles is tempting, it’s crucial to prioritize healthy options like chicken, veggies, and plenty of water. Tune in to learn how to fuel your body for success and stay on top of your game without compromising your health.
Vintage Juke Boxes And Pinball Games is a quick topic in this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray." We take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with Richard Blank, who shares his passion for collecting antique juke boxes, pinball machines and retro arcade games. From a 1970 Bally’s Camelot pinball machine to a mid-90s Last Action Hero game, discover the charm and history behind these vintage treasures. Learn how gamification and classic arcade games can create a fun and engaging environment, fostering connections and even sparking romance. Whether you’re a collector or just a fan of retro games, this episode is sure to delight and inspire.
I've Got Cash - In this lively and humorous segment, we discuss the excitement of having cash on hand and the importance of playing it cool when making purchases. With references to iconic bands like Led Zeppelin, INXS, and Crosby, Stills & Nash, this conversation is both entertaining and nostalgic. Tune in to hear more about the host’s unique perspective on shopping and music.
My CEO Office Celebrates Success is a refreshing and upbeat segment. We share the unique approach to leadership and office culture. Unlike the typical cold and intimidating CEO office, this space is warm and welcoming, complete with candy and coffee. It’s a place to celebrate success and enjoy a positive atmosphere. Tune in to hear more about how this CEO creates a fun and supportive environment for their team.
Hear it from the Employer's side. Remote Work From The Boss's Perspective is an insightful segment that discusses the challenges and benefits of managing a team of 150 full-time agents, most of whom work from home. The conversation touches on the unpredictable hours of a performer, the impact of COVID-19 on remote work, and the balance between financial benefits and the loss of in-person synergy. Tune in to hear more about the host’s unique perspective on leadership, remote work, and maintaining team connection.
How To Handle Employees: A New Approach In this "Short" from “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we explore a compassionate and effective approach to managing employees in a call center environment. Richard Blank shares his philosophy on leadership, emphasizing the importance of accountability without humiliation. Learn how to use metrics to guide performance, maintain morale, and handle unexpected absences with a solid game plan. Discover strategies to bend but not break your team, fostering a supportive and productive workplace.
52 and Thriving: Secrets of Discipline and Success is a tasty nugget of my guest on 50 Tastes Of Gray, Richard Blank. sharing his journey of maintaining structure and discipline throughout his life. From hitting the gym six days a week since the age of 17 to being the first to arrive and the last to leave at work, he reveals the secrets that contribute to his success. Tune in to discover how consistency and dedication can lead to a thriving life at any age.
The Grind - The Grit - Don't you Ever Turn Away Business shows my guest Richard Blank emphasizing the importance of going the extra mile in both personal and professional life. He shares anecdotes about staying late at work, keeping the kitchen open for a late customer, and always welcoming good vibes and energy. Tune in to learn how a mindset of perseverance and openness can lead to lasting success and unforgettable moments.
Is AI a Threat or a Tool For Humanity? delves into the debate surrounding artificial intelligence. We discuss the potential threats and benefits of AI, comparing it to historical technological advancements like the steam engine. The conversation highlights the irreplaceable value of human empathy, friendship, and interpersonal connections in achieving true success. Tune in to explore the balance between technology and humanity.
How To Improve Customer Service Training For Outsourced Teams addresses common challenges faced with outsourced customer care lines, particularly in the Philippines and India. Issues such as inadequate product knowledge and language barriers, strategies for training teams to better understand a company’s products, protocols, and services. Tune in to learn effective methods for enhancing customer service and ensuring clear communication with consumers.
Stop Apologizing: Embrace Venting Without Guilt discusses the importance of allowing people to vent without feeling guilty. Emphasize the need to stop apologizing unnecessarily and provide a safe space for expressing emotions, even if it includes profanity. Tune in to learn how to create an environment where venting is accepted and understood as a natural part of emotional release.
Why Live Interaction Beats Working from Home shows Matthew and his colleague Richard Blank exploring the significant impact of in-person collaboration on productivity. They highlight how working side-by-side, sharing high-fives, and fostering a team spirit can boost productivity by at least 20%. The conversation draws vivid comparisons between in-person and remote work, likening it to the difference between a movie and live theater or a microwave meal and a homemade dish. Tune in to discover why in-person collaboration is essential for getting the best out of your team.
Exploring Costa Rican Cuisine: Gallo Pinto and Seafood Delights embarks on a culinary journey through Costa Rica, sharing insights into the vibrant and flavorful world of Costa Rican cuisine. From the traditional breakfast dish, gallo pinto, to the fresh and delectable seafood, discover the unique ingredients and cooking techniques that make Costa Rican food so special. Whether you’re a food enthusiast or just curious about new flavors, this episode will tantalize your taste buds and inspire your next culinary adventure.
Mastering Positive Escalation In Customer Support deep dives into the concept of positive escalation in customer support and prospecting. Learn how recognizing and praising exceptional service can build stronger relationships and enhance your customer pipeline. Discover practical tips for effectively communicating with supervisors and colleagues to ensure your feedback makes a lasting impact.
Expert Customer Care Advanced Training Techniques Revealed suggests sophisticated skill sets required for top-tier customer service. Our discussion covers the differences between prospectors and customer care representatives, the application of neuro-linguistic programming in training, and the importance of a well-structured onboarding process. We also draw parallels between training in customer care and working out at the gym, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and adaptability.
In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we dive into the world of unlocking success in telemarketing with Richard Blank, an expert in international business and marketing. Tune in for an engaging conversation that blends food, life, and business, providing a perfect taste treat for you.
From Northeast Philly to Costa Rica My Inspiring Journey is this snippet where we dive into the incredible journey of a dreamer (Richard Blank) from Northeast Philly who made his way to Costa Rica. Overcoming parental guilt and seizing a one-in-a-million opportunity, he married the girl of his dreams, started a successful business, and now shares his heartfelt story of happiness and humility. Tune in to hear about his adventures and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
How I Met My Dream Girl in Costa Rica is a heartwarming passage from “50 Tastes Of Gray,” where Richard Blank shares a romantic tale of how a dreamer from Northeast Philly met his dream girl in Costa Rica. Arriving in August 2000, he was captivated by the beauty and charm of the women in Costa Rica. Among them was Grace Borbon, who worked at his friend’s restaurant. With a smooth approach, he courted her the old-school way, writing poems in Spanish and drawing cartoons, standing out from the crowd. Tune in to hear this enchanting love story and the journey that followed.
We delve into the dynamics of relationships and the age-old question: Do opposites really attract? Richard Blank shares his experience of building a strong foundation with his dream girl, Grace Borbon, based on mutual interests, respect, and treating each other with kindness. He emphasizes the importance of being proud to be by her side and the power of comfortable silence in strengthening their bond. Tune in to explore the nuances of relationships and discover what truly makes them work.
Guest Richard Blank discusses his unique experience of a city slicker from the United States navigating life in Costa Rica. Richard, a gringo in formal business attire, shares his humorous and insightful journey of adapting to a new culture. He reflects on the changes he’s undergone, including a light-hearted mention of his hair loss, and the support of his beautiful bride. Tune in to hear about the challenges and joys of living in Costa Rica as an expat.
Stylish Travel Tips: Dress Smart Wherever You Go is about always looking good. Our mothers always told us to "wear clean underwear because you never know."
In this episode of 50 Tastes Of Gray, I sat down with Richard Blank, a dreamer from Northeast Philly who took a one-in-a-million shot and moved to Costa Rica. Richard shares his incredible journey of finding love and starting a business in a new country. From his first encounter with the girl of his dreams to the challenges and triumphs of building a life together in Central America, Richard’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and the beauty of embracing new cultures. Richard is smart, very sharp, articulate, old school and new school, a man I admire greatly.
Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain. #loveandbusiness #costaricalife
#inspiringjourneys
In this episode of 50 Tastes Of Gray, I sat down with Richard Blank, a dreamer from Northeast Philly who took a one-in-a-million shot and moved to Costa Rica. Richard shares his incredible journey of finding love and starting a business in a new country. From his first encounter with the girl of his dreams to the challenges and triumphs of building a life together in Central America, Richard’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and the beauty of embracing new cultures. Richard is smart, very sharp, articulate, old school and new school, a man I admire greatly.
Tune in to hear about Richard's experiences in international business, marketing, and the vibrant life in Costa Rica running Costa Rica's Call Center. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply curious about life in Costa Rica, this episode is sure to inspire and entertain. #loveandbusiness #costaricalife
#inspiringjourneys
Why Nobody Calls Anymore: The Lost Art Of Communication - In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we dive into the nostalgic and thought-provoking topic of why nobody calls anymore. Remember the days of calling someone’s house and asking if they could come out to play? Those days are long gone. Join us as we explore the lost art of communication, the shift from phone calls to texts, and the impact it has on our relationships. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion that will make you rethink how we connect with each other in the digital age.
This Voice Message Always Gets Callbacks shows Matthew and Richard sharing foolproof methods to ensure your voice messages always get callbacks. Discover the secret behind leaving an irresistible message that compels the recipient to return your call. Join us as we discuss the psychology behind this technique, the art of leaving engaging voice messages, and why sometimes even telemarketers can be entertaining. Tune in for practical tips and a fun conversation that will change the way you think about voicemail.
Phone Porn Man vs Food Porn Man explores the humorous and quirky idea of combining phone and food obsessions. Imagine a competition where participants munch on delicious food while trying to make phone calls and be understood at the same time. Join us for a fun and lighthearted discussion about the challenges of multitasking, the art of chewing gum while talking, and the hilarity that ensues when food and phone calls collide. Tune in for a unique and entertaining episode that will leave you laughing and craving more. #MultitaskingMadness #FoodVsPhone #ComedyPodcast #PhoneAndFoodChallenge #FoodPorn #PhoneObsession #Humor #ChewingAndChatting #HilarityEnsues #podcastfun
Embrace Vulnerability: Key Entrepreneurial Insights delves into the importance of embracing vulnerability as an entrepreneur. Join us for an insightful conversation about the value of self-compassion, shedding unnecessary burdens, and the courage to face criticism. Richard Blank shares key entrepreneurial insights and parting thoughts that will inspire you to be kinder to yourself and make the most of your journey. Tune in for a heartfelt discussion that encourages you to embrace vulnerability and live life to the fullest.
Just Say Matthew Sent You - In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we offer a special bonus for our listeners. If you ever wanted to pick the brain of our guest, Richard, now is your chance! Just mention that you heard him on Matthew’s show, and you’ll get a free consulting session. Join us for an engaging conversation and take advantage of this exclusive opportunity to run your ideas by Richard. Tune in and become one of our bonus babies!
Oh My! No Politics Allowed . In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we discuss the importance of respecting leadership, regardless of political affiliation. We emphasize the value of loyalty to one’s team and the significant contributions of military veterans. We also touch on the negative impact of deliberate provocations and traps in social interactions.
Apparently, according to my guest Richard Blank, I am Coolest Cat In Hawaii - Except For Don Ho. Quite a compliment! We share a delightful conversation filled with aloha spirit as Richard bids us adieu. We discuss the joy of podcasting, the art of bringing out the best in people, and pay tribute to the legendary Don Ho, a true Hall of Famer in Hawaii.
In this episode of “50 Tastes Of Gray,” we wrap up with a heartfelt and enthusiastic farewell from our guest Richard Blank. He shares a lighthearted moment, praising Matthew’s humor with the phrase, “So Funny, Matthew’s My Boy!” Join us for a delightful episode filled with laughter and camaraderie.
Mastering Fluency: The Journey Of A Language Learner is a journey to mastering fluency. We discuss the challenges of having an accent and how it can make you stand out, but also highlight the strengths of their grammar, vocabulary, and expressiveness. The conversation emphasizes that learning a second language requires discipline and structure, but it is also a valuable gift that can be enjoyed anywhere without the need for technology. Tune in to hear about the commitment and rewards of becoming fluent in a new language.
Meeting My Heroes: Fueling My Passion For Success shows Richard Blank sharing the exhilarating experience of meeting his heroes and receiving their validation. He reflects on how hearing “you got something, kid” from industry icons serves as a powerful checkpoint, far more impactful than praise from family and friends. This recognition fuels his passion and determination to keep pushing forward, proving that the market sees his potential. Tune in to hear how meeting his heroes has motivated Richard to go the extra mile in his journey to success.
Grateful Reflections: The Power Of True Friendship is heartfelt. Richard Blank reflects on the power of true friendship and the importance of gratitude. He shares how the unwavering support, confidence, and love from his friends have shaped his journey. Despite his success, returning home reminds him that he is still the same person his friends knew back in 1987. The bonds formed through shared experiences, laughter, and tears have created a beautiful story of growth and loyalty. Tune in to hear his touching tribute to the friends who have always been there for him.
Winter Wonderland Getaway: Rockies vs Alps Adventure is where I, Matthew Gray, ask Richard where he'd like to travel. He replied with something quite different than Costa Rica where he's living. He reminisces about his ideal winter getaway, contrasting the Rockies and the Alps and describes the charm of a mountain village during wintertime, with the comforting smell of wood burning in fireplaces, warm stores filled with the scent of cinnamon, and the joy of sledding and ice skating. The conversation explores the allure of both the Rockies and the Alps, ultimately leaning towards the Rockies due to personal connections. Tune in to experience the magic of a winter wonderland adventure and the nostalgic memories it brings.
Be Home By Six... See Ya! is a short clip reflecting on how technology and social media have changed childhood nurturing. We discuss the importance of balancing screen time with real-life experiences and the value of those precious moments spent outdoors and with family. Join us as we reminisce about the good old days when being home by six for dinner was the norm.
Why Live Interaction Beats Working from Home shows Matthew and his colleague Richard Blank exploring the significant impact of in-person collaboration on productivity. They highlight how working side-by-side, sharing high-fives, and fostering a team spirit can boost productivity by at least 20%. The conversation draws vivid comparisons between in-person and remote work, likening it to the difference between a movie and live theater or a microwave meal and a homemade dish. Tune in to discover why in-person collaboration is essential for getting the best out of your team.
What if your voicemails actually made people want to call you back? In this Short, Matthew and Richard reveal a proven method for leaving voice messages that trigger curiosity and response. Learn the subtle psychology behind tone, timing, and delivery — and why even telemarketers could teach you something about charm. It’s fast, fun, and guaranteed to level up your phone game.
Mastering a second language is more than just memorizing words — it's a journey of structure, discipline, and self-discovery. In this conversation, Richard Blank shares how accents can be both a challenge and a unique strength, and why fluency is a rewarding gift that needs no tech to enjoy. Tune in for insight, humor, and motivation for anyone nav
Richard's journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, he shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica s Call Center since 2008.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#MatthewGray #50TastesOfGray #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest.#CostaRicaCallCenter #LifeReinvention #SalesLeadership #PinballCEO #TelemarketingMastery #PodcastEpisode
"I'm Not in Love" (Serious Version) by 10cc is based on the The Message Version of:
Isaiah 22:1-3
A Country of Cowards
22 1-3 A Message concerning the Valley of Vision:
What’s going on here anyway? All this partying and noisemaking,
Shouting and cheering in the streets, the city noisy with celebrations!
You have no brave soldiers to honor, no combat heroes to be proud of.
Your leaders were all cowards, captured without even lifting a sword,
A country of cowards captured escaping the battle.
Jeremiah 4:30-31
30-31 And you, what do you think you’re up to?
Dressing up in party clothes,
Decking yourselves out in jewelry, putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara!
Your primping goes for nothing. You’re not going to seduce anyone. They’re out to kill you!
And what’s that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor, the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn. It’s the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath, reaching out for help:
“Help, oh help me! I’m dying!
The killers are on me!”
Genesis 31:37
36-37 Now it was Jacob’s turn to get angry. He lit into Laban: “So what’s my crime, what wrong have I done you that you badger me like this? You’ve ransacked the place. Have you turned up a single thing that’s yours? Let’s see it—display the evidence. Our two families can be the jury and decide between us.
1 Kings 3:18-21
16-21 The very next thing, two prostitutes showed up before the king. The one woman said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. While we were living together, I had a baby. Three days after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone—there wasn’t anyone else in the house except for the two of us. The infant son of this woman died one night when she rolled over on him in her sleep. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son—I was sound asleep, mind you!—and put him at her breast and put her dead son at my breast. When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, here was this dead baby! But when I looked at him in the morning light, I saw immediately that he wasn’t my baby.”
Ezekiel 36:37-38
37-38 “‘Message of God, the Master: Yet again I’m going to do what Israel asks. I’ll increase their population as with a flock of sheep. Like the milling flocks of sheep brought for sacrifices in Jerusalem during the appointed feasts, the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. And they’ll realize that I am God.’”
Here's an analysis of the 10cc song "I'm Not in Love" and its connection to biblical themes, specifically focusing on the "Message Version" and its lyrical interpretations.
The song "I'm Not in Love" by 10cc is a complex exploration of denial and emotional vulnerability. The "Message Version" appears to connect the song's themes to biblical passages. This version likely reinterprets the song's lyrics through a lens of heartbreak, separation, and spiritual reflection, drawing parallels to specific verses from the Bible. The core theme of the song, as suggested by the provided context, revolves around the pain of separation and the struggle to admit feelings of love and loss.
The "Message Version" of "I'm Not in Love" seems to use biblical verses to deepen the emotional impact of the song, transforming it into a commentary on heartbreak and spiritual struggle. The specific verses mentioned in the prompt – Isaiah 22:1, Jeremiah 4:30, Genesis 31:37, 1 Kings 3:18, and Ezekiel 36:37 – provide a framework for understanding the song's message. These verses touch upon themes of lament, deception, loss, and the search for divine intervention.
Isaiah 22:1: This verse speaks of a "valley of vision," likely referring to Jerusalem, and the sorrow and distress within it. This could be interpreted as the singer's internal emotional landscape, a place of pain and suffering.
Jeremiah 4:30: This verse describes a woman adorning herself in vain, suggesting a futile attempt to attract love or attention. This could reflect the singer's feelings of rejection and the emptiness of superficial efforts.
Genesis 31:37: This verse relates to Jacob's complaint to Laban, highlighting accusations of deception and betrayal. This could be connected to the singer's feelings of being wronged or betrayed in a relationship.
1 Kings 3:18: This verse describes a situation where two women claim the same baby, and Solomon's wisdom is used to determine the true mother. This could be a metaphor for the singer's struggle to discern truth and justice in a relationship.
Ezekiel 36:37: This verse speaks of God's promise to restore Israel. This could be interpreted as a glimmer of hope or a plea for divine intervention in the singer's suffering.
The "Message Version" likely uses these verses to create a narrative of heartbreak, denial, and a search for solace, possibly through faith. The lyrics of the song, when interpreted through these biblical lenses, become a lament for lost love, a reflection on the pain of separation, and a plea for spiritual healing. The specific way these verses are incorporated into the song's lyrics would require a close examination of the "Message Version" itself. The use of these biblical references adds a layer of depth and spiritual significance to the song, transforming it from a simple love song into a more profound exploration of human suffering and the search for meaning.
Jason Schmitt's Firewatch Business. The Secret to Closing More Deals with special B2B guest Richard Blank.
Firewatch Business - Entrepreneurial Insights
I’ll help you break free from the 9-5 and build a life of independence and freedom on your own terms.—so you have the money to seize opportunities, support your family, and create the safety and stability you need. You’ll also gain the tools to take control of your time, so you never miss family events and can decide when and how you work, instead of letting a boss dictate your life. My channel is here to
I am a CPA and serial entrepreneur. I am made money and lost money and want to share my insights in how I did both.
Want to close more deals and master the art of persuasion? In this exclusive interview, Richard Blank, owner of Costa Rica Call Center, reveals a powerful yet overlooked sales secret-active listening. It's not just about getting the script; it's about tuning into every detail, from a prospect's tone to background noises (yes, even a barking dog matters!).
Richard also shares insights on building real human connections, why AI can't replace empathy, and how his love for vintage pinball machines ties into his sales philosophy. Don't miss out-this could be the game-changer for your sales strategy!
Selling With Integrity: Open Cage Birds Always Return
He liked you so much that when we were playing golf, he mentioned you. You made that impression. You spoke to him for how long we've been on? 59 minutes and 36 seconds. And you still didn't force him to sign the contract like they do in Glengarry Glen Ross. He spent an hour with you? Yeah, tons of advice and this and that and stories. Really? Didn't hard sell you? No. No, it's the open cage bird that will always come back.
Using Language and Tone to Improve Customer Interactions
I'll give a good example for you. This will assist. People need to really use the thesaurus. because not saying their vocabulary is not expansive, but I mean, there are certain times you just clash and it's just not the right thing to wear. So people use the word help all the time and that's all right, but it evokes an ego, an ego defense. It's not that closing your eyes, you think of yourself in quicksand saying, Jason, help me. And so we just don't want that. Depending on the stage of the relationship, you start off with assisting somebody. In the middle, you're guiding them. And then at the end, you lend a hand. I'm just, I'm readjusting tones is all I'm doing. And so secondly, instead of saying, excuse me, which a lot of people do, or I'm sorry, there's certain things you do in chess. You can sacrifice pawns. And so I'd say, Jason, for my clarification, was it ABC or one, two, three? It's your dog that's barking. It's your bad self-connection. We know that, but instead of putting you on the spot, it's me on the spot on something like that.
Why Humans Will Still Matter in an AI-Driven World
When you go to the town square and you see the person playing the violin or the one drawing in charcoal people's profiles, they're going to be rock stars because AI is just going to do 99% of our heavy lifting. But that 1% is that hug, is that handshake, is that look that humans do with each other that make us best friends. and want us to continue. And so am I concerned? No, because I'm going to take advantage of it. Like everybody, there's luxuries to it. Will it affect my industry? Absolutely. Buggy whip all the way. It's going to replace the majority of the people at this call center, but there will be individuals. I'll be willing to pay money to actually speak to somebody to suppress that zero. They'll spend the extra dollar and they'll know it's not AI. because of the way that we respond,
Coaching Cold Callers with Empathy
Do you ever get calls, sales calls to you and you go, and do you ever coach the guy who's calling you if he's poor when he calls you? A thousand percent. Sometimes they don't have the time. They have to go because Billy's yelling at them in the background, but I will speak with some people and I will QA them. I'll quality control them. Oh, why not? Why not? If they have the guts and, Off record between me and you, don't tell anybody. Most of them hate what they're doing. They're making calls kind of like, give the image of someone whose shoulders are slugged and they're walking in the rain with a wetsuit, getting splashed on and laughed at. That's how they feel. And that's what you can sense from them. And my heart goes out to them.
https://youtu.be/ixQ0n6W2Xiw
https://youtu.be/ONV2EftwTj4
https://youtu.be/S85b0iVInZ4
https://youtu.be/LXGxd30OxBo
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Firewatch Business, Jason Schmitt, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Hi, I’m Jason — CPA and your accountability partner.
With 20+ years as a CPA, wedding DJ, and full-time coach, I help entrepreneurs turn goals into reality. Whether you want more freedom, income, or family time, I provide the clarity and strategy to make it happen. Let’s turn your “someday” into “this year” and build the life you want.
But I’m also a wedding DJ, a business coach, and a guy who’s built a side hustle that paid for two trips to Italy last year… and my wife’s facelift.
You’re not lazy. You’re just stuck.
Starting a side hustle sounds exciting—until you’re tired after a long day, juggling kids, and doubting every step.
I’ve been there. That’s why I created Firewatch Business: to give you a clear path, a boost, and a partner who won’t let you quit.
The Firewatch Framework
Clarity
We uncover your best-fit hustle and set a specific financial goal.
Action
We break that goal into weekly milestones you can actually do
Accountability
I follow up with you. We track progress. We adjust the plan.
Results
Your hustle earns income. You gain freedom. And you don’t burn out doing it.
Sound crazy? It’s not. It’s just what happens when you stop waiting and start working your plan.
HOW THE DJ BUSINESS STARTED
For years, I tailgated at Alabama football games — good food, cold drinks, and music blasting. One night during a Bama vs. LSU game, we had 400 people doing the Cupid Shuffle in the parking lot. That same year, I went to six weddings. Five DJs were awful. One was decent. I kept thinking, I could do way better than this. So I did. I invested $800 in equipment and launched my DJ side hustle. That business is still growing in 2025 — and it helped fund some pretty amazing memories.
WHY I STARTED FIREWATCH BUSINESS
I know what it’s like to be stuck. I wanted more income, more freedom, and more options for my family.
But I didn’t want more fluff.
When I looked for help starting a side hustle, all I found were vague YouTube gurus and books full of buzzwords, not steps. So I wrote the book I needed:
-How to Find Your Side Hustle — a practical guide that’s now got over 80 five-star reviews.
-Firewatch Business grew from that same place — a mission to help people like you find a real, doable side hustle and create a way out of your 9 to 5.
WHO I HELP (AND HOW)
I work with guys who are mid-career and mid-burnout — guys who are tired of trading time for money with nothing left at the end of the month.
You want something that works. Something that pays. Something that gets you closer to freedom.
I won’t just cheer you on. I’ll hold you accountable. I’ll help you build a step-by-step plan and push you to follow through — because action is what creates results.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#FirewatchBusiness #JasonSchmitt #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Jason Schmitt's Firewatch Business. The Secret to Closing More Deals with special B2B guest Richard Blank.
Firewatch Business - Entrepreneurial Insights
I’ll help you break free from the 9-5 and build a life of independence and freedom on your own terms.—so you have the money to seize opportunities, support your family, and create the safety and stability you need. You’ll also gain the tools to take control of your time, so you never miss family events and can decide when and how you work, instead of letting a boss dictate your life. My channel is here to
I am a CPA and serial entrepreneur. I am made money and lost money and want to share my insights in how I did both.
Want to close more deals and master the art of persuasion? In this exclusive interview, Richard Blank, owner of Costa Rica Call Center, reveals a powerful yet overlooked sales secret-active listening. It's not just about getting the script; it's about tuning into every detail, from a prospect's tone to background noises (yes, even a barking dog matters!).
Richard also shares insights on building real human connections, why AI can't replace empathy, and how his love for vintage pinball machines ties into his sales philosophy. Don't miss out-this could be the game-changer for your sales strategy!
Selling With Integrity: Open Cage Birds Always Return
He liked you so much that when we were playing golf, he mentioned you. You made that impression. You spoke to him for how long we've been on? 59 minutes and 36 seconds. And you still didn't force him to sign the contract like they do in Glengarry Glen Ross. He spent an hour with you? Yeah, tons of advice and this and that and stories. Really? Didn't hard sell you? No. No, it's the open cage bird that will always come back.
Using Language and Tone to Improve Customer Interactions
I'll give a good example for you. This will assist. People need to really use the thesaurus. because not saying their vocabulary is not expansive, but I mean, there are certain times you just clash and it's just not the right thing to wear. So people use the word help all the time and that's all right, but it evokes an ego, an ego defense. It's not that closing your eyes, you think of yourself in quicksand saying, Jason, help me. And so we just don't want that. Depending on the stage of the relationship, you start off with assisting somebody. In the middle, you're guiding them. And then at the end, you lend a hand. I'm just, I'm readjusting tones is all I'm doing. And so secondly, instead of saying, excuse me, which a lot of people do, or I'm sorry, there's certain things you do in chess. You can sacrifice pawns. And so I'd say, Jason, for my clarification, was it ABC or one, two, three? It's your dog that's barking. It's your bad self-connection. We know that, but instead of putting you on the spot, it's me on the spot on something like that.
Why Humans Will Still Matter in an AI-Driven World
When you go to the town square and you see the person playing the violin or the one drawing in charcoal people's profiles, they're going to be rock stars because AI is just going to do 99% of our heavy lifting. But that 1% is that hug, is that handshake, is that look that humans do with each other that make us best friends. and want us to continue. And so am I concerned? No, because I'm going to take advantage of it. Like everybody, there's luxuries to it. Will it affect my industry? Absolutely. Buggy whip all the way. It's going to replace the majority of the people at this call center, but there will be individuals. I'll be willing to pay money to actually speak to somebody to suppress that zero. They'll spend the extra dollar and they'll know it's not AI. because of the way that we respond,
Coaching Cold Callers with Empathy
Do you ever get calls, sales calls to you and you go, and do you ever coach the guy who's calling you if he's poor when he calls you? A thousand percent. Sometimes they don't have the time. They have to go because Billy's yelling at them in the background, but I will speak with some people and I will QA them. I'll quality control them. Oh, why not? Why not? If they have the guts and, Off record between me and you, don't tell anybody. Most of them hate what they're doing. They're making calls kind of like, give the image of someone whose shoulders are slugged and they're walking in the rain with a wetsuit, getting splashed on and laughed at. That's how they feel. And that's what you can sense from them. And my heart goes out to them.
https://youtu.be/ixQ0n6W2Xiw
https://youtu.be/ONV2EftwTj4
https://youtu.be/S85b0iVInZ4
https://youtu.be/LXGxd30OxBo
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Firewatch Business, Jason Schmitt, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Hi, I’m Jason — CPA and your accountability partner.
With 20+ years as a CPA, wedding DJ, and full-time coach, I help entrepreneurs turn goals into reality. Whether you want more freedom, income, or family time, I provide the clarity and strategy to make it happen. Let’s turn your “someday” into “this year” and build the life you want.
But I’m also a wedding DJ, a business coach, and a guy who’s built a side hustle that paid for two trips to Italy last year… and my wife’s facelift.
You’re not lazy. You’re just stuck.
Starting a side hustle sounds exciting—until you’re tired after a long day, juggling kids, and doubting every step.
I’ve been there. That’s why I created Firewatch Business: to give you a clear path, a boost, and a partner who won’t let you quit.
The Firewatch Framework
Clarity
We uncover your best-fit hustle and set a specific financial goal.
Action
We break that goal into weekly milestones you can actually do
Accountability
I follow up with you. We track progress. We adjust the plan.
Results
Your hustle earns income. You gain freedom. And you don’t burn out doing it.
Sound crazy? It’s not. It’s just what happens when you stop waiting and start working your plan.
HOW THE DJ BUSINESS STARTED
For years, I tailgated at Alabama football games — good food, cold drinks, and music blasting. One night during a Bama vs. LSU game, we had 400 people doing the Cupid Shuffle in the parking lot. That same year, I went to six weddings. Five DJs were awful. One was decent. I kept thinking, I could do way better than this. So I did. I invested $800 in equipment and launched my DJ side hustle. That business is still growing in 2025 — and it helped fund some pretty amazing memories.
WHY I STARTED FIREWATCH BUSINESS
I know what it’s like to be stuck. I wanted more income, more freedom, and more options for my family.
But I didn’t want more fluff.
When I looked for help starting a side hustle, all I found were vague YouTube gurus and books full of buzzwords, not steps. So I wrote the book I needed:
-How to Find Your Side Hustle — a practical guide that’s now got over 80 five-star reviews.
-Firewatch Business grew from that same place — a mission to help people like you find a real, doable side hustle and create a way out of your 9 to 5.
WHO I HELP (AND HOW)
I work with guys who are mid-career and mid-burnout — guys who are tired of trading time for money with nothing left at the end of the month.
You want something that works. Something that pays. Something that gets you closer to freedom.
I won’t just cheer you on. I’ll hold you accountable. I’ll help you build a step-by-step plan and push you to follow through — because action is what creates results.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#FirewatchBusiness #JasonSchmitt #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Jason Schmitt's Firewatch Business. The Secret to Closing More Deals with special B2B guest Richard Blank.
Firewatch Business - Entrepreneurial Insights
I’ll help you break free from the 9-5 and build a life of independence and freedom on your own terms.—so you have the money to seize opportunities, support your family, and create the safety and stability you need. You’ll also gain the tools to take control of your time, so you never miss family events and can decide when and how you work, instead of letting a boss dictate your life. My channel is here to
I am a CPA and serial entrepreneur. I am made money and lost money and want to share my insights in how I did both.
Want to close more deals and master the art of persuasion? In this exclusive interview, Richard Blank, owner of Costa Rica Call Center, reveals a powerful yet overlooked sales secret-active listening. It's not just about getting the script; it's about tuning into every detail, from a prospect's tone to background noises (yes, even a barking dog matters!).
Richard also shares insights on building real human connections, why AI can't replace empathy, and how his love for vintage pinball machines ties into his sales philosophy. Don't miss out-this could be the game-changer for your sales strategy!
Selling With Integrity: Open Cage Birds Always Return
He liked you so much that when we were playing golf, he mentioned you. You made that impression. You spoke to him for how long we've been on? 59 minutes and 36 seconds. And you still didn't force him to sign the contract like they do in Glengarry Glen Ross. He spent an hour with you? Yeah, tons of advice and this and that and stories. Really? Didn't hard sell you? No. No, it's the open cage bird that will always come back.
Using Language and Tone to Improve Customer Interactions
I'll give a good example for you. This will assist. People need to really use the thesaurus. because not saying their vocabulary is not expansive, but I mean, there are certain times you just clash and it's just not the right thing to wear. So people use the word help all the time and that's all right, but it evokes an ego, an ego defense. It's not that closing your eyes, you think of yourself in quicksand saying, Jason, help me. And so we just don't want that. Depending on the stage of the relationship, you start off with assisting somebody. In the middle, you're guiding them. And then at the end, you lend a hand. I'm just, I'm readjusting tones is all I'm doing. And so secondly, instead of saying, excuse me, which a lot of people do, or I'm sorry, there's certain things you do in chess. You can sacrifice pawns. And so I'd say, Jason, for my clarification, was it ABC or one, two, three? It's your dog that's barking. It's your bad self-connection. We know that, but instead of putting you on the spot, it's me on the spot on something like that.
Why Humans Will Still Matter in an AI-Driven World
When you go to the town square and you see the person playing the violin or the one drawing in charcoal people's profiles, they're going to be rock stars because AI is just going to do 99% of our heavy lifting. But that 1% is that hug, is that handshake, is that look that humans do with each other that make us best friends. and want us to continue. And so am I concerned? No, because I'm going to take advantage of it. Like everybody, there's luxuries to it. Will it affect my industry? Absolutely. Buggy whip all the way. It's going to replace the majority of the people at this call center, but there will be individuals. I'll be willing to pay money to actually speak to somebody to suppress that zero. They'll spend the extra dollar and they'll know it's not AI. because of the way that we respond,
Coaching Cold Callers with Empathy
Do you ever get calls, sales calls to you and you go, and do you ever coach the guy who's calling you if he's poor when he calls you? A thousand percent. Sometimes they don't have the time. They have to go because Billy's yelling at them in the background, but I will speak with some people and I will QA them. I'll quality control them. Oh, why not? Why not? If they have the guts and, Off record between me and you, don't tell anybody. Most of them hate what they're doing. They're making calls kind of like, give the image of someone whose shoulders are slugged and they're walking in the rain with a wetsuit, getting splashed on and laughed at. That's how they feel. And that's what you can sense from them. And my heart goes out to them.
https://youtu.be/ixQ0n6W2Xiw
https://youtu.be/ONV2EftwTj4
https://youtu.be/S85b0iVInZ4
https://youtu.be/LXGxd30OxBo
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Firewatch Business, Jason Schmitt, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Hi, I’m Jason — CPA and your accountability partner.
With 20+ years as a CPA, wedding DJ, and full-time coach, I help entrepreneurs turn goals into reality. Whether you want more freedom, income, or family time, I provide the clarity and strategy to make it happen. Let’s turn your “someday” into “this year” and build the life you want.
But I’m also a wedding DJ, a business coach, and a guy who’s built a side hustle that paid for two trips to Italy last year… and my wife’s facelift.
You’re not lazy. You’re just stuck.
Starting a side hustle sounds exciting—until you’re tired after a long day, juggling kids, and doubting every step.
I’ve been there. That’s why I created Firewatch Business: to give you a clear path, a boost, and a partner who won’t let you quit.
The Firewatch Framework
Clarity
We uncover your best-fit hustle and set a specific financial goal.
Action
We break that goal into weekly milestones you can actually do
Accountability
I follow up with you. We track progress. We adjust the plan.
Results
Your hustle earns income. You gain freedom. And you don’t burn out doing it.
Sound crazy? It’s not. It’s just what happens when you stop waiting and start working your plan.
HOW THE DJ BUSINESS STARTED
For years, I tailgated at Alabama football games — good food, cold drinks, and music blasting. One night during a Bama vs. LSU game, we had 400 people doing the Cupid Shuffle in the parking lot. That same year, I went to six weddings. Five DJs were awful. One was decent. I kept thinking, I could do way better than this. So I did. I invested $800 in equipment and launched my DJ side hustle. That business is still growing in 2025 — and it helped fund some pretty amazing memories.
WHY I STARTED FIREWATCH BUSINESS
I know what it’s like to be stuck. I wanted more income, more freedom, and more options for my family.
But I didn’t want more fluff.
When I looked for help starting a side hustle, all I found were vague YouTube gurus and books full of buzzwords, not steps. So I wrote the book I needed:
-How to Find Your Side Hustle — a practical guide that’s now got over 80 five-star reviews.
-Firewatch Business grew from that same place — a mission to help people like you find a real, doable side hustle and create a way out of your 9 to 5.
WHO I HELP (AND HOW)
I work with guys who are mid-career and mid-burnout — guys who are tired of trading time for money with nothing left at the end of the month.
You want something that works. Something that pays. Something that gets you closer to freedom.
I won’t just cheer you on. I’ll hold you accountable. I’ll help you build a step-by-step plan and push you to follow through — because action is what creates results.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#FirewatchBusiness #JasonSchmitt #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
Jason Schmitt's Firewatch Business. The Secret to Closing More Deals with special B2B guest Richard Blank.
Firewatch Business - Entrepreneurial Insights
I’ll help you break free from the 9-5 and build a life of independence and freedom on your own terms.—so you have the money to seize opportunities, support your family, and create the safety and stability you need. You’ll also gain the tools to take control of your time, so you never miss family events and can decide when and how you work, instead of letting a boss dictate your life. My channel is here to
I am a CPA and serial entrepreneur. I am made money and lost money and want to share my insights in how I did both.
Want to close more deals and master the art of persuasion? In this exclusive interview, Richard Blank, owner of Costa Rica Call Center, reveals a powerful yet overlooked sales secret-active listening. It's not just about getting the script; it's about tuning into every detail, from a prospect's tone to background noises (yes, even a barking dog matters!).
Richard also shares insights on building real human connections, why AI can't replace empathy, and how his love for vintage pinball machines ties into his sales philosophy. Don't miss out-this could be the game-changer for your sales strategy!
Selling With Integrity: Open Cage Birds Always Return
He liked you so much that when we were playing golf, he mentioned you. You made that impression. You spoke to him for how long we've been on? 59 minutes and 36 seconds. And you still didn't force him to sign the contract like they do in Glengarry Glen Ross. He spent an hour with you? Yeah, tons of advice and this and that and stories. Really? Didn't hard sell you? No. No, it's the open cage bird that will always come back.
Using Language and Tone to Improve Customer Interactions
I'll give a good example for you. This will assist. People need to really use the thesaurus. because not saying their vocabulary is not expansive, but I mean, there are certain times you just clash and it's just not the right thing to wear. So people use the word help all the time and that's all right, but it evokes an ego, an ego defense. It's not that closing your eyes, you think of yourself in quicksand saying, Jason, help me. And so we just don't want that. Depending on the stage of the relationship, you start off with assisting somebody. In the middle, you're guiding them. And then at the end, you lend a hand. I'm just, I'm readjusting tones is all I'm doing. And so secondly, instead of saying, excuse me, which a lot of people do, or I'm sorry, there's certain things you do in chess. You can sacrifice pawns. And so I'd say, Jason, for my clarification, was it ABC or one, two, three? It's your dog that's barking. It's your bad self-connection. We know that, but instead of putting you on the spot, it's me on the spot on something like that.
Why Humans Will Still Matter in an AI-Driven World
When you go to the town square and you see the person playing the violin or the one drawing in charcoal people's profiles, they're going to be rock stars because AI is just going to do 99% of our heavy lifting. But that 1% is that hug, is that handshake, is that look that humans do with each other that make us best friends. and want us to continue. And so am I concerned? No, because I'm going to take advantage of it. Like everybody, there's luxuries to it. Will it affect my industry? Absolutely. Buggy whip all the way. It's going to replace the majority of the people at this call center, but there will be individuals. I'll be willing to pay money to actually speak to somebody to suppress that zero. They'll spend the extra dollar and they'll know it's not AI. because of the way that we respond,
Coaching Cold Callers with Empathy
Do you ever get calls, sales calls to you and you go, and do you ever coach the guy who's calling you if he's poor when he calls you? A thousand percent. Sometimes they don't have the time. They have to go because Billy's yelling at them in the background, but I will speak with some people and I will QA them. I'll quality control them. Oh, why not? Why not? If they have the guts and, Off record between me and you, don't tell anybody. Most of them hate what they're doing. They're making calls kind of like, give the image of someone whose shoulders are slugged and they're walking in the rain with a wetsuit, getting splashed on and laughed at. That's how they feel. And that's what you can sense from them. And my heart goes out to them.
https://youtu.be/ixQ0n6W2Xiw
https://youtu.be/ONV2EftwTj4
https://youtu.be/S85b0iVInZ4
https://youtu.be/LXGxd30OxBo
Richard Blank hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ
Firewatch Business, Jason Schmitt, Richard Blank,Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing Call Centre, BPO, Nearshore Contact Center, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business, Podcast, Gamification,Leadership, Marketing, CX, Guest, Money, B2C education, BPO trainer,call centre, contact centre, contact center
Hi, I’m Jason — CPA and your accountability partner.
With 20+ years as a CPA, wedding DJ, and full-time coach, I help entrepreneurs turn goals into reality. Whether you want more freedom, income, or family time, I provide the clarity and strategy to make it happen. Let’s turn your “someday” into “this year” and build the life you want.
But I’m also a wedding DJ, a business coach, and a guy who’s built a side hustle that paid for two trips to Italy last year… and my wife’s facelift.
You’re not lazy. You’re just stuck.
Starting a side hustle sounds exciting—until you’re tired after a long day, juggling kids, and doubting every step.
I’ve been there. That’s why I created Firewatch Business: to give you a clear path, a boost, and a partner who won’t let you quit.
The Firewatch Framework
Clarity
We uncover your best-fit hustle and set a specific financial goal.
Action
We break that goal into weekly milestones you can actually do
Accountability
I follow up with you. We track progress. We adjust the plan.
Results
Your hustle earns income. You gain freedom. And you don’t burn out doing it.
Sound crazy? It’s not. It’s just what happens when you stop waiting and start working your plan.
HOW THE DJ BUSINESS STARTED
For years, I tailgated at Alabama football games — good food, cold drinks, and music blasting. One night during a Bama vs. LSU game, we had 400 people doing the Cupid Shuffle in the parking lot. That same year, I went to six weddings. Five DJs were awful. One was decent. I kept thinking, I could do way better than this. So I did. I invested $800 in equipment and launched my DJ side hustle. That business is still growing in 2025 — and it helped fund some pretty amazing memories.
WHY I STARTED FIREWATCH BUSINESS
I know what it’s like to be stuck. I wanted more income, more freedom, and more options for my family.
But I didn’t want more fluff.
When I looked for help starting a side hustle, all I found were vague YouTube gurus and books full of buzzwords, not steps. So I wrote the book I needed:
-How to Find Your Side Hustle — a practical guide that’s now got over 80 five-star reviews.
-Firewatch Business grew from that same place — a mission to help people like you find a real, doable side hustle and create a way out of your 9 to 5.
WHO I HELP (AND HOW)
I work with guys who are mid-career and mid-burnout — guys who are tired of trading time for money with nothing left at the end of the month.
You want something that works. Something that pays. Something that gets you closer to freedom.
I won’t just cheer you on. I’ll hold you accountable. I’ll help you build a step-by-step plan and push you to follow through — because action is what creates results.
Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#FirewatchBusiness #JasonSchmitt #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending #listennow #subscribe #podcastclip #podcastvideo #videopodcasting #podcastguest
This video, part of The American Mercury’s centennial series, examines Reuben R. Arnold’s defense arguments in the 1913 Leo Frank trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan at the National Pencil Company in Atlanta. Arnold, alongside Luther Rosser, claimed antisemitism tainted the trial. Drawing from the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, the video focuses on Arnold’s closing arguments on August 22–23, 1913, where he challenged the forensic evidence—blood and hair in the factory—as circumstantial and attacked Jim Conley’s testimony, alleging Conley was the murderer. Arnold argued the trial was prejudiced in the Jim Crow South, where Conley, a Black janitor, was believed over Frank, a white Jewish man, due to societal biases. He defended Frank’s character, calling the case a “frame-up.” Frank was convicted, lynched in 1915 after a commutation, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded. As of May 23, 2025, the case remains debated, with the Georgia Innocence Project seeking exoneration, opposed by Phagan’s family, who cite the trial record. X debates reflect this divide, with some referencing Alonzo Mann’s 1982 affidavit implicating Conley, while others affirm the verdict. The video frames Arnold’s defense as a critical examination of justice and prejudice.
This video from The American Mercury’s centennial series highlights the significant role of prosecutor Frank Arthur Hooper in the 1913 Leo Frank trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan at the National Pencil Company in Atlanta. Drawing from the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, it focuses on Hooper’s closing arguments on August 21, 1913, where he addressed the jury, emphasizing the pursuit of truth and justice. Hooper portrayed Frank as a “Dr. Jekyll” figure, suggesting a dual nature that hid predatory behavior toward young female employees like Phagan, supported by forensic evidence such as her blood and hair found in the factory. The episode examines Hooper’s low-key yet powerful delivery, which complemented lead prosecutor Hugh Dorsey’s efforts, leading to Frank’s conviction.
Part of The American Mercury’s series on the 1913 Leo Frank trial, this video examines the latter part of the fourth week (August 18–24, 1913), following Leo Frank’s testimony, as the defense continued its case in the murder trial of 13-year-old Mary Phagan at the National Pencil Company. Drawing from the trial’s Brief of Evidence, it highlights the defense’s efforts to present character witnesses, including factory workers who testified to Frank’s professionalism, and their attempts to shift blame to Jim Conley by questioning his credibility. The episode also covers the prosecution’s closing arguments, which reinforced forensic evidence and Conley’s testimony, resulting in Frank’s conviction on August 25, 1913. Amidst antisemitism allegations and societal tension, the trial led to Frank’s 1915 lynching and the establishment of the Anti-Defamation League, a landmark event in American history still debated today.
This video from The American Mercury’s centennial coverage explores the fourth week (August 18–24, 1913) of the Leo Frank trial, when Leo Frank took the stand to testify in his defense against charges of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan at the National Pencil Company. Drawing from the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, it recounts Frank’s unsworn statement, where he denied involvement, claiming he was working in his office and had no interaction with Phagan beyond her wage payment. The episode highlights the prosecution’s cross-examination, which exposed discrepancies in his timeline, and the defense’s challenge against Jim Conley’s testimony and forensic evidence. Amidst antisemitism allegations and societal unrest, Frank’s testimony did not prevent his conviction, 1915 lynching, and the subsequent founding of the Anti-Defamation League, a legacy that continues to resonate in historical narratives.
This video, part of The American Mercury’s centennial series commemorating the 1913 Leo Frank trial, offers a meticulous breakdown of the second week (August 4–10, 1913) of the high-stakes legal proceedings in Atlanta, Georgia, following the **** and murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan. Drawing from the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence and court records, it highlights pivotal moments, including the testimony of Monteen Stover, who found Leo Frank’s office empty at the time of the crime, and Dr. Henry F.
This video, drawing from The American Mercury’s 2013 article by Bradford L. Huie, lists 100 reasons asserting Leo Frank’s guilt in the 1913 **** and murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta. It recounts the trial, where Frank, the Jewish superintendent of the National Pencil Company, was convicted based on forensic evidence—blood and hair in the factory—and Jim Conley’s testimony, alleging Frank’s involvement. The video, narrated by Vanessa Neubauer, highlights the Leo Frank Trial Brief of Evidence, which upheld Frank’s guilt through multiple appeals, rejecting defense claims of antisemitism by Luther Rosser and Reuben Arnold. It critiques the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) efforts since 1913 to exonerate Frank, alleging they used hoaxes like the “bite mark” theory to distort history.
【Summary】
Today, we're going to the a massive Fireworks Festival!
It's one of Tokyo's top three fireworks festivals, drawing 90,000 people and featuring 14,000 fireworks!
So, guys, let’s dive into this massive summer event!
【Contents】
00:00 Intro
00:21 Heading to the Venue
02:12 Waiting for the Show
02:55 Fireworks!
05:30 Chill Time
06:32 The Finale!
09:27 Outro
【5 Best Videos from YOUR Life Tokyo】
・【Enoshima Tour】Let’s Make A Day Trip From Tokyo to Enoshima Island in Kanagawa, Japan!
https://youtu.be/uFHn7eybTCk
・【Manga Cafe in Tokyo】Let’s Relax & Enjoy Spending a Night at a Manga Cafe!
https://youtu.be/dJ5ODCGz_c8
・【Shizuoka City | Japan】6 Fun Tourist Spots near Shizuoka Station!
https://youtu.be/v3HZeg9bySg
・【Tokyo Ramen Theme Park】Let's Try 6 Popular Restaurants at Odaiba’s Ramen Heaven! - Ramen Kokugikan
https://youtu.be/2AW_2MB_0_0
・【Capsule Hotel | Tokyo, Japan】A Capsule Hotel Tour with A Japanese!
https://youtu.be/J7CmKLpg3sQ
【Hashtags】
#EdogawaFireworks #TokyoHanabi #JapaneseFestival #TokyoSummer #JapanFireworksFestival
10cc - I'm Not In Love
Major 70s UK (founded in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England) pop/artrock band. The original line-up of Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and Graham Gouldman had composed together and been in the band Hotlegs (Gouldman only briefly) before forming 10cc in 1972 and signing with Jonathan King's UK Records after being turned down by Apple Records. The band's music is a blend of pop, artrock often drawing on other genres, on the debut album especially the 50s.
The original line-up lasted four years, reaching worldwide success in 1975 with the ballad "I'm Not In Love." In 1976 Godley and Creme left to form the more arty Godley & Creme while Stewart and Gouldman continued as 10cc. The first album by the new 10cc, the 1977 "Deceptive Bends" maintained the pop appeal of the group, but after 1978 hit "Dreadlock Holiday" from "Bloody Tourists" and Stewart's crisis following a car crash the band never returned to the major pop league.
【Summary】
Today we're going to the biggest anime shop in Japan! We will explore the popular shop and jump into anime world!
So, guys let’s get started!
＊This video was filmed on June, 2023.
【Contents】
00:00 Intro
00:14 Basic Info about Animate
00:57 Animate Ikebukuro
01:50 Animate Theater, B2
02:08 Character Merch Section & Gratte (Café), 1F
03:14 Manga & Drawing Instruments Section, 2F-3F
04:53 Anime Song Live Performance
06:35 Character Merch Section, 4F-5F
09:10 CD, DVD/Blu-ray, & Game Section, 6F
09:49 Animate ONLY SHOP (Character Merch & Display Section), 7F
09:58 Space Galleria (Exhibition Venue), 8F
10:15 Animate Hall (Event Venue), 9F
10:28 Shopping!
11:16 Outro
11:53 Bonus
【Websites】
▽Animate Official Website (English)
https://www.animate.co.jp/en/
【5 Best Videos from YOUR Life Tokyo】
・【Enoshima Tour】Let’s Make A Day Trip From Tokyo to Enoshima Island in Kanagawa, Japan!
https://youtu.be/uFHn7eybTCk
・【Manga Cafe in Tokyo】Let’s Relax & Enjoy Spending a Night at a Manga Cafe!
https://youtu.be/dJ5ODCGz_c8
・【Japanese Sake District】Sake Tour in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan!
https://youtu.be/njuGBbUwnm4
・【Tokyo Ramen Theme Park】Let's Try 6 Popular Restaurants at Odaiba’s Ramen Heaven! - Ramen Kokugikan
https://youtu.be/2AW_2MB_0_0
・【Capsule Hotel | Tokyo, Japan】A Capsule Hotel Tour with A Japanese!
https://youtu.be/J7CmKLpg3sQ
【Hashtags】
#animate #animateikebukuro #animeshop #tokyo #japan
【Summary】
Today, we're going to teamlab planets tokyo! We will see their impressive fantastic art, and hope you'll feel like actually visiting the digital art museum and experiencing their attractions.
So, guys let’s get started!
【Contents】
00:00 Intro
00:19 Basic Info & Universe of Fire Particles
01:24 The Guide & Preparation
02:59 Waterfall of Light Particles
04:31 The Infinite Crystal Universe
06:23 Drawing on the Water Surface
07:28 Expanding 3-Dimensional Existence
08:43 Floating in the Falling Universe of Flowers
10:02 Moss Garden of Resonating Microcosms
11:28 Floating Flower Garden
12:25 Outro
【Websites】
・The Official Website
https://planets.teamlab.art/tokyo/
【5 Best Videos from YOUR Life Tokyo】
・【Shizuoka City | Japan】6 Fun Tourist Spots near Shizuoka Station!
https://youtu.be/v3HZeg9bySg
・【Izakaya in Japan】Let's Go to My Friend's New Izakaya in Tokyo!
https://youtu.be/hrQuPhmt8-0
・【Japanese Ramen Restaurant │ Ichiran】Let's Go To Eat Popular Ramen in Tokyo!
https://youtu.be/F-OohMfKFTE
・【Japan | New Year | Vlog】This Is How A Japanese ACTUALLY Spend New Year's Eve!
https://youtu.be/S6zefet9Qls
・【Japanese Sake District】Sake Tour in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan!
https://youtu.be/njuGBbUwnm4
【Hashtags】
#teamlab #teamlabplanets #tokyo #japan #digitalarttokyo
In this video, Jake Seal Black Hangar Studios shares his thoughts on how film festivals significantly impact the world of cinema. Drawing on his vast industry experience, Jake explores how these events help shape the future of filmmaking. From providing a platform for independent filmmakers to showcasing emerging talent, festivals are key to developing new voices in the industry.
Jake also highlights how festivals promote cultural exchange by bringing films from all over the world, allowing filmmakers to connect with international audiences. This global exchange helps promote diverse stories and enriches the cinematic landscape.
Furthermore, Jake discusses how film festivals set trends and push the boundaries of traditional storytelling, encouraging innovation in filmmaking techniques. Finally, he delves into how the recognition and awards given at these festivals can boost careers and elevate the visibility of films.
#FilmFestivals #JakeSeal #BlackHangarStudios #IndependentFilmmakers #FilmIndustry #CulturalExchange #EmergingTalent #FilmmakingInnovation #FilmAwards #CinemaImpact #DiverseStories
Scott Biffin is truly redefining Australian cuisine. As the "Flavor Architect," he crafts dishes that are not just meals but immersive experiences. Take his reimagined Caesar salad or the stunning “Ocean’s Palette,” which looks like an underwater seascape—each plate is a work of art. Biffin’s mastery of molecular gastronomy transforms simple ingredients using techniques like sous-vide and liquid nitrogen, creating flavors that surprise and delight.
Sustainability is at the heart of his culinary philosophy. He champions local, ethically sourced ingredients and practices root-to-stem cooking to minimize waste. By celebrating Australia’s rich produce, he inspires both diners and fellow chefs to embrace environmentally conscious practices.
Drawing from Australia’s diverse landscapes, Biffin incorporates native flavors like wattleseed and finger lime, honoring tradition while pushing culinary boundaries. His accolades, including the Rising Star Chef of the Year award, showcase his growing influence in the culinary world.
Beyond the kitchen, he mentors aspiring chefs, emphasizing that food is a powerful way to connect and create. With a second restaurant on the horizon and his cookbook, The Flavor Architect, coming soon, Scott Biffin is not just a chef to watch in 2025—he’s a visionary shaping the future of food.
Women Flix presents The Entrepreneur Talks by Yola Bastos. A Lesson in passion with Richard Blank.
Entrepreneur Talks podcast covers conversations with start-up founders, innovators, and thought leaders from around the world who are disrupting the status quo, expanding their businesses, and bringing innovative ideas to life.
Yola's conversational tone is focused on the tough questions about journeys and details the ways of thinking and acting that have led these entrepreneurs to success. Entrepreneurship, leadership, mental health, finances, and other issues are covered. This episode she speaks with CEO Richard Blank.
https://youtu.be/Je4mvW3UBXA
Season 14 Episode 6 :Entrepreneur Talks with Yola Bastos. Gamifying Success: Lessons in Business & Passion for Restoration
"You are not defined by your mistakes or difficulties. Right now, you have the power to shape your day and your future." - Yola Bastos
I'm Yola Bastos, a Portuguese national with over two decades of residency in London, England. As a versatile professional, I wear multiple hats as a Mindset Coach, Financial Adviser, Business Problem Solver, Digital Marketer, and Podcast Host.
Dynamic and passionate, I excel in delivering engaging presentations and adopting a professional approach to my work. Over the last decade, I have honed my skills in communication, coaching, management, and supporting businesses, with a particular focus on empowering women-led enterprises.
As a co-founder of Women Flix Ltd and CEO of Beautifly Digital Studio, I am dedicated to driving positive change in the lives of women and businesses globally.
a Portuguese national who has been residing in vibrant London, England, for the past 20 years.
With unwavering dedication, my mission is to empower individuals to overcome challenges and enhance their lives and businesses while cultivating a positive mindset.
As a versatile professional, I wear multiple hats—I am a Mindset Coach, a Mentor, a Digital Marketing Expert, a podcast host, and a dynamic speaker. What's more, I am fluent in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish!
I am thrilled to share my expertise and insights with you, drawing from my diverse background and experiences. Together, we can unlock your potential and achieve remarkable growth.
*At Women Flix Ltd*, I help young women gain financial independence by providing them with the necessary tools and resources. My approach focuses on personalized coaching, guiding them through budgeting, saving, and investing wisely. I offer workshops on building credit, managing debt, and exploring diverse income streams. Additionally, I connect them with a network of like-minded peers and mentors who offer support and motivation. My goal is to empower young women to take control of their financial futures, create sustainable wealth, and achieve their dreams with confidence. Visit our website at https://womenflix.org/ to learn more.
*At Beautifly Digital Agency*, I help medium-sized businesses improve their profits by developing and implementing effective social media strategies. My process begins with a thorough analysis of their current social media presence and target audience. I then craft tailored strategies aimed at enhancing engagement, increasing brand visibility, and driving conversions. This includes content creation, scheduling, and targeted ad campaigns. I continuously monitor performance metrics and adjust tactics as needed to ensure optimal results. My ultimate goal is to boost their online presence, foster meaningful interactions with their audience, and significantly enhance their bottom line. Explore the possibilities at https://beautiflydigital.uk/.
At Women Flix, we take pride in our mission to empower women worldwide to achieve financial freedom through accessible financial knowledge, tools, and support. Our vision is to create a world where every woman has the opportunity to expand her financial potential and use money wisely with strategies that educate, inspire, and drive her towards success. We value women-focus, accountability, integrity, equality, social community, teamwork, innovation, leadership, and most importantly, passion for women. Join us on our journey to change the mindset of women towards money and unlock their full potential.
*At Women Flix Ltd*, we help young women gain financial independence by providing them with the necessary tools and resources. Our approach focuses on personalised coaching, guiding them through budgeting, saving, and investing wisely.
We offer workshops on building credit, managing debt, and exploring diverse income streams. Additionally, we connect them with a network of like-minded peers and mentors who offer support and motivation.
1. Interpersonal Communication Conflict Management Strategy
2. Phonetic Micro Expression reading for mastering verbal tell signs.
3. The Famous Buffer-Boomerang Technique
Advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal soft skills, customer support, rhetoric, gamification, pinball machines, employee motivation and phonetic micro expression reading.
Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. At 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain.
A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, entered into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business along side other famous alumni. Paying it forward to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#EntrepreneurTalksPodcast #WomenFlix #YolaBastos #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow
Entrepreneur Talks Podcast, Women Flix, Yola Bastos, Richard Blank, Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer,
Women Flix presents The Entrepreneur Talks by Yola Bastos. A Lesson in passion with contact centre ceo Richard Blank.
https://youtu.be/Je4mvW3UBXA
Women Flix presents The Entrepreneur Talks by Yola Bastos. A Lesson in passion with Richard Blank.
Entrepreneur Talks podcast covers conversations with start-up founders, innovators, and thought leaders from around the world who are disrupting the status quo, expanding their businesses, and bringing innovative ideas to life.
Yola's conversational tone is focused on the tough questions about journeys and details the ways of thinking and acting that have led these entrepreneurs to success. Entrepreneurship, leadership, mental health, finances, and other issues are covered. This episode she speaks with CEO Richard Blank.
https://youtu.be/Je4mvW3UBXA
Season 14 Episode 6 :Entrepreneur Talks with Yola Bastos. Gamifying Success: Lessons in Business & Passion for Restoration
"You are not defined by your mistakes or difficulties. Right now, you have the power to shape your day and your future." - Yola Bastos
I'm Yola Bastos, a Portuguese national with over two decades of residency in London, England. As a versatile professional, I wear multiple hats as a Mindset Coach, Financial Adviser, Business Problem Solver, Digital Marketer, and Podcast Host.
Dynamic and passionate, I excel in delivering engaging presentations and adopting a professional approach to my work. Over the last decade, I have honed my skills in communication, coaching, management, and supporting businesses, with a particular focus on empowering women-led enterprises.
As a co-founder of Women Flix Ltd and CEO of Beautifly Digital Studio, I am dedicated to driving positive change in the lives of women and businesses globally.
a Portuguese national who has been residing in vibrant London, England, for the past 20 years.
With unwavering dedication, my mission is to empower individuals to overcome challenges and enhance their lives and businesses while cultivating a positive mindset.
As a versatile professional, I wear multiple hats—I am a Mindset Coach, a Mentor, a Digital Marketing Expert, a podcast host, and a dynamic speaker. What's more, I am fluent in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish!
I am thrilled to share my expertise and insights with you, drawing from my diverse background and experiences. Together, we can unlock your potential and achieve remarkable growth.
*At Women Flix Ltd*, I help young women gain financial independence by providing them with the necessary tools and resources. My approach focuses on personalized coaching, guiding them through budgeting, saving, and investing wisely. I offer workshops on building credit, managing debt, and exploring diverse income streams. Additionally, I connect them with a network of like-minded peers and mentors who offer support and motivation. My goal is to empower young women to take control of their financial futures, create sustainable wealth, and achieve their dreams with confidence. Visit our website at https://womenflix.org/ to learn more.
*At Beautifly Digital Agency*, I help medium-sized businesses improve their profits by developing and implementing effective social media strategies. My process begins with a thorough analysis of their current social media presence and target audience. I then craft tailored strategies aimed at enhancing engagement, increasing brand visibility, and driving conversions. This includes content creation, scheduling, and targeted ad campaigns. I continuously monitor performance metrics and adjust tactics as needed to ensure optimal results. My ultimate goal is to boost their online presence, foster meaningful interactions with their audience, and significantly enhance their bottom line. Explore the possibilities at https://beautiflydigital.uk/.
At Women Flix, we take pride in our mission to empower women worldwide to achieve financial freedom through accessible financial knowledge, tools, and support. Our vision is to create a world where every woman has the opportunity to expand her financial potential and use money wisely with strategies that educate, inspire, and drive her towards success. We value women-focus, accountability, integrity, equality, social community, teamwork, innovation, leadership, and most importantly, passion for women. Join us on our journey to change the mindset of women towards money and unlock their full potential.
*At Women Flix Ltd*, we help young women gain financial independence by providing them with the necessary tools and resources. Our approach focuses on personalised coaching, guiding them through budgeting, saving, and investing wisely.
We offer workshops on building credit, managing debt, and exploring diverse income streams. Additionally, we connect them with a network of like-minded peers and mentors who offer support and motivation.
1. Interpersonal Communication Conflict Management Strategy
2. Phonetic Micro Expression reading for mastering verbal tell signs.
3. The Famous Buffer-Boomerang Technique
Advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal soft skills, customer support, rhetoric, gamification, pinball machines, employee motivation and phonetic micro expression reading.
Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. At 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain.
A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, entered into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business along side other famous alumni. Paying it forward to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#EntrepreneurTalksPodcast #WomenFlix #YolaBastos #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow
Entrepreneur Talks Podcast, Women Flix, Yola Bastos, Richard Blank, Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer,
Women Flix presents The Entrepreneur Talks by Yola Bastos. A Lesson in passion with contact centre ceo Richard Blank.
https://youtu.be/Je4mvW3UBXA
Women Flix presents The Entrepreneur Talks by Yola Bastos. A Lesson in passion with Richard Blank.
Entrepreneur Talks podcast covers conversations with start-up founders, innovators, and thought leaders from around the world who are disrupting the status quo, expanding their businesses, and bringing innovative ideas to life.
Yola's conversational tone is focused on the tough questions about journeys and details the ways of thinking and acting that have led these entrepreneurs to success. Entrepreneurship, leadership, mental health, finances, and other issues are covered. This episode she speaks with CEO Richard Blank.
https://youtu.be/Je4mvW3UBXA
Season 14 Episode 6 :Entrepreneur Talks with Yola Bastos. Gamifying Success: Lessons in Business & Passion for Restoration
"You are not defined by your mistakes or difficulties. Right now, you have the power to shape your day and your future." - Yola Bastos
I'm Yola Bastos, a Portuguese national with over two decades of residency in London, England. As a versatile professional, I wear multiple hats as a Mindset Coach, Financial Adviser, Business Problem Solver, Digital Marketer, and Podcast Host.
Dynamic and passionate, I excel in delivering engaging presentations and adopting a professional approach to my work. Over the last decade, I have honed my skills in communication, coaching, management, and supporting businesses, with a particular focus on empowering women-led enterprises.
As a co-founder of Women Flix Ltd and CEO of Beautifly Digital Studio, I am dedicated to driving positive change in the lives of women and businesses globally.
a Portuguese national who has been residing in vibrant London, England, for the past 20 years.
With unwavering dedication, my mission is to empower individuals to overcome challenges and enhance their lives and businesses while cultivating a positive mindset.
As a versatile professional, I wear multiple hats—I am a Mindset Coach, a Mentor, a Digital Marketing Expert, a podcast host, and a dynamic speaker. What's more, I am fluent in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish!
I am thrilled to share my expertise and insights with you, drawing from my diverse background and experiences. Together, we can unlock your potential and achieve remarkable growth.
*At Women Flix Ltd*, I help young women gain financial independence by providing them with the necessary tools and resources. My approach focuses on personalized coaching, guiding them through budgeting, saving, and investing wisely. I offer workshops on building credit, managing debt, and exploring diverse income streams. Additionally, I connect them with a network of like-minded peers and mentors who offer support and motivation. My goal is to empower young women to take control of their financial futures, create sustainable wealth, and achieve their dreams with confidence. Visit our website at https://womenflix.org/ to learn more.
*At Beautifly Digital Agency*, I help medium-sized businesses improve their profits by developing and implementing effective social media strategies. My process begins with a thorough analysis of their current social media presence and target audience. I then craft tailored strategies aimed at enhancing engagement, increasing brand visibility, and driving conversions. This includes content creation, scheduling, and targeted ad campaigns. I continuously monitor performance metrics and adjust tactics as needed to ensure optimal results. My ultimate goal is to boost their online presence, foster meaningful interactions with their audience, and significantly enhance their bottom line. Explore the possibilities at https://beautiflydigital.uk/.
At Women Flix, we take pride in our mission to empower women worldwide to achieve financial freedom through accessible financial knowledge, tools, and support. Our vision is to create a world where every woman has the opportunity to expand her financial potential and use money wisely with strategies that educate, inspire, and drive her towards success. We value women-focus, accountability, integrity, equality, social community, teamwork, innovation, leadership, and most importantly, passion for women. Join us on our journey to change the mindset of women towards money and unlock their full potential.
*At Women Flix Ltd*, we help young women gain financial independence by providing them with the necessary tools and resources. Our approach focuses on personalised coaching, guiding them through budgeting, saving, and investing wisely.
We offer workshops on building credit, managing debt, and exploring diverse income streams. Additionally, we connect them with a network of like-minded peers and mentors who offer support and motivation.
1. Interpersonal Communication Conflict Management Strategy
2. Phonetic Micro Expression reading for mastering verbal tell signs.
3. The Famous Buffer-Boomerang Technique
Advanced telemarketing strategy, conflict management, interpersonal soft skills, customer support, rhetoric, gamification, pinball machines, employee motivation and phonetic micro expression reading.
Richard’s vision quest journey is filled with twists and turns. At 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers over two decades.
Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America making gamification a strong part of CCC culture.Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.
Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain.
A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, entered into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business along side other famous alumni. Paying it forward to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.
Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies.
https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/
#EntrepreneurTalksPodcast #WomenFlix #YolaBastos #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #learnpodcasting #podcastepisode #podcastguest #podcasting #podcastinterview #podcastplaylist #podcasts #podcastskills #podcastshow
Entrepreneur Talks Podcast, Women Flix, Yola Bastos, Richard Blank, Costa Rica's Call Center, Outsourcing, Telemarketing, BPO, Nearshore, Sales, Entrepreneur, B2B, Business,Podcast,Gamification,Leadership,Marketing, Radio, Guest, Money, education, trainer,
Women Flix presents The Entrepreneur Talks by Yola Bastos. A Lesson in passion with contact centre ceo Richard Blank.
https://youtu.be/Je4mvW3UBXA
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