I met Alain Romero virtually sometime in the last three years through a friend of a friend via LinkedIn. Although we had mutual friends and colleagues in common, we mostly kept in touch via his various online updates.
That is how I learned about his quest to create -yet another- Latino networking organization in Los Angeles when we reconnected on Facebook in early 2010.
That organization was the Society of Latino Professionals (or SOL Professionals as it's widely recognized as).
"Our Mission is to propel the success of Latino Professionals through networking events and
by facilitating and encouraging a culture of mentorship." Alain Romero
But it wasn't until mid 2011, when I was in the midst of planning the first Latina Lifestyle Blogger Collective conference in Las Vegas, that his name was brought-up on several occasions and by different individuals.
"He," one colleague stated, "Is someone that you have to bring to your conference to give your attendees tips and tools about the ins-and-outs of business."Not entirely convinced, I started keeping a closer eye at SOL events, who the attendees where, what the attendees had to say about the event, and his reaction.
Still unfamiliar with Sol Professionals, I was surprised to learn that the overall feedback I gathered about Sol Events was positive. It was then that I reached out to him to schedule our first meeting at a local cafe.
Alain was professional and attentive from the moment we shook hands. But it wasn't until we sat down to talk shop that the persona everyone was raving about came to be: Passionate, driven and business savvy.
Alain exuded all the qualities a strong leader evokes.
He shared that through his career, careful study and over time, he began to "understand the way the world works. But most importantly, "what elements are encompassed in success:"
"The first of these elements is having a clear purpose, and a second element I think goes hand in hand with mentorship is going the extra mile," Alain shared.I came to realize that those are the same qualities that drove him to establish the foundation for SOL Professionals, "a vehicle of transformation and change."
Not your typical Latino networking organization -as I had wrongly pegged it as- Alain shared that "Sol Professionals vision is to create an environment for Latino Professionals that inspires, enriches intellectually, and serves society." I have since had the opportunity to learn from Alain when he lead the "Business of Blogging" workshop at the #vllblog conference; and also met with him on other occasions to establish the foundation for a working collaboration between SOL Professionals and #llblog.
It was through these later interactions that we began to discuss the overall business environment and what he, through SOL Professionals, is doing to help "advance the Latino community by empowering the 'professional' segment."
Driven by a very unique finding that Alain made me aware of: "There is no word or translation for 'mentorship' in the Spanish language," Alain encourages a mentorship environment in all aspects of SOL Professionals, to "fill a void in the Latino business environment."
"When we mentor another individual, we are contributing to one another with the most powerful capital investment any one person can make to another," He added.Akin to my personal guiding values, Alain believes that you must "Help others in order to help yourself," and "Teach before you are truly able to learn."
"I feel that this concept is best exemplified in the concept of collaboration."Collaboration?
Yes. Collaboration.
"A practice, that as much as it may seem counter intuitive, is rewarding," Alain shared.Unfamiliar to the old sharks that, professionals that collaborate work together with complimentary businesses to help one another grow.
"That has been the key to my growth as an individual and in business: My ability to collaborate with others while maintaining their best interest at hand," he exclaimed.In today's current business environment, both entrepreneurs and professionals, "are at the edge of their seat trying to hold on to any bit of business they have - or get," I shared with him.
I then posed the question: How can we prove that collaboration is the smart way of doing business?
I'll continue my conversation with Alain in my next blog post. and share tools and tips that will help you make "collaboration a more pleasant and rewarding experience."
Here's to continued success!
