Amal Osagie

It's a journey for me - I wouldn't exactly say I've arrived, because success is relative, but I would say it's still a journey. I'm always learning, I'm always willing to grow, I'm always humble. I just always want people to feel their best. I always want to connect with people. I see beyond the products I'm trying to sell, and sometimes I end up striking conversations beyond the products, because when you're selling to someone, you have to understand how that product would fit into their lifestyle. I would say my empathy is also an important part, and I'll say God. I'll just call it God's grace. God's grace, I mean, you know, just that willingness to learn and see people beyond what you want to get from them.

The best career advice I've received is to learn before you earn. Sometimes you have to learn before you earn - learning in the sense of learning about the products, learning about the industry. I mean, we all want to make more money, don't we? We all want to reach a pinnacle, but seeking knowledge first before seeking money. I think the money will come when you're good at what you do, when you're consistent, when you have an excellent work ethic, when you keep putting in your work. You would eventually earn, but I would say just seeking knowledge. So, probably learn before you earn.

I would say just be focused, because there's a lot of distraction in the world today. People think the world is made to seem like there are ways to get rich quick, or there are other more glamorous ways to make money. It might not be glamorous, right? It might not be ideal, but once you're focused, and you're willing to put in your work, and you're hardworking, and you're reliable, the sky is literally your stepping stone. Once people can see that this person is in pursuit of knowledge, this person is helpful, this person can speak to people, this person will show up, I can vouch for this person - we're just in a society where people are always looking for people they can actually trust. I think a lot of business owners, once they have those people that they can actually trust, people that follow through - I mean, we all have our personal challenges, but you can tell when someone is making an effort. So I would just say be focused, have an incredible work ethic, and eventually, your hard work will speak for itself, and people will begin to notice, because people are watching.

I think Americans have a certain distrust of packaged foods, but yet they seem to be unable to do without it, because it's just too convenient. The challenge is dealing with products that do not meet certain health standards. So many people are dealing with different illnesses, they're trying to watch their sodium levels, their sugar levels, so when you're trying to market a product to them and the sodium is too high or the sugar is too high, but you also have a quota to reach, it's kind of like being factual about it while still creating value. We've seen a shift with consumers wanting to be more health-conscious. The challenge is that we do not get to directly influence what goes into these packages and products and boxes - we just have to market it. I would say the challenge is just more awareness to the consumers about foods that may not be great for their health. If more manufacturers pay more attention to health, it makes it easier to sell these products, because the products that are going the extra length are the ones that are getting all the clients. For example, if you have a healthy product or an organic product but you're using seed oils instead of extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, it's kind of like why are you making all the effort to go organic if you're not going to use a healthy oil? Those are challenges we face - trying to market those products that may not meet the current standards as consumers would want to see from a health point of view.

I'll say empathy is pretty much overlooked, and for some people, I said trust. Even in a society where bad stuff happens, good stuff also happens. So as a person, I'm a very positive person. I always focus on the good, and I always try to put myself in people's shoes. If I'm trying to sell something to a consumer and they have concerns, I just try to step away from that sales mindset and relate person to person, which makes it super easy for me, because once they see you see them, it's pretty easy. People want to be seen. That's also what I would relate to the people I work with, and I think that's what people know me as - I'm very personable, very empathetic. I would say hard work - having a crazy work ethic. I'll also say balance, because your life outside work is what enables you to live a good life within your work environment. So if you don't have balance outside work, it's gonna be very hard for you to put in that 100% in a healthy way that you don't eventually crash out or burn out. So I'll say also having those avenues of expression. I'll say creativity, I'll say empathy, and I'll say hard work.