Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone - 31 October 2019 :: Balancing Money And Meaning: Social Entrepreneur Ryan Letada Rebrands Migration

[Bulls n' Bears]

I get a lot of questions about how to balance the pursuit of money and meaning – i.e., how to make a good living and simultaneously find fulfillment on the job. There are multiple ways to have a fulfilling and financially rewarding career, and surrounding yourself with success stories is an easy first step to give you the ideas and inspiration to move in a new direction. Ryan Letada, CEO and Founder of NextDayBetter is one such success story, marrying his non-profit and media experience to tell immigrant stories and provide technology-enabled pathways for collective action.

Letada started his career at other non-profits, including Catchafire and eKindling, an affiliate of One Laptop Per Child. He is a Fulbright Fellow, Posse Foundation Scholar, and Google NextGen Policy Fellow and serves on the Board of Trustees of Wheaton College Massachusetts. His latest project is Intersections, a collaboration with The Filipino Channel. Intersections is a series featuring diverse immigrant stories, including a sex education teacher, surf board shaper and DJ/ entrepreneur.

Here are three insights on putting your passion front-and-center in your career from my interview with Ryan Letada:

1 - Marry your motivation with the market opportunity

There are more than 244 million migrants around the world. But why does it seem like we are losing the global PR battle around what it means to be an immigrant, migrant or refugee? As a Filipino American immigrant, born in Kuwait, nurtured in the Philippines and raised in the Bronx, I am deeply motivated to win this global PR battle. I couldn’t find a media platform that acknowledges our humanity as members of migrant communities. I launched NextDayBetter Media and Studios (our agency arm) to fill this gap....to rebrand migration as a benefit to humanity.

Ryan Letada

Letada had a personal interest in the migrant story because of his upbringing. At the same time, there was a market opportunity based on the size of the migrant community (244 million!), the dearth of a PR solution and corporate interest in finding a solution (NextDayBetter clients include AARP, Mailchimp, and Doctors Without Borders). Combining mission and market need, Letada has worked with brands to launch campaigns that engage multicultural, immigrant communities. Together, they have told migrant stories related to veterans’ caregiving, LGBT rights, inclusive entrepreneurship, shame-free sex education, affordable healthcare, and more.

What is the intersection of what you are interested in that the market (other people, other companies) also needs?

2 - Land customers on results, not just the mission

Paying customers will be attracted to your vision. But they will say yes to your undeniable results

Ryan Letada

Letada won a collaboration with The Filipino Channel (TFC) and ABS-CBN on the vision of authentic stories of Filipino Millennials and Generation-Z and the value of reaching two groups that make up more than 50% of TFC’s market outside the Philippines. One of the episodes focuses on migrant Filipino teachers filling a teacher shortage in Montana – a topic with a worthy vision and the value of appealing to multiple groups, including rural Americans and educators.

How can you appeal to both vision and value? How can your mission-driven work grow a market or make money for others?

3 - Pay yourself first – take care of your personal needs

Do not set yourself on fire to keep others warm….hard work and intellectual growth are not enough. Leading a company can take a mental and emotional toll, so you need every resource to build emotional fortitude. Go to therapy!... You will not be an effective leader if your emotional, financial, and physical tank is empty.

Ryan Letada

Letada spoke candidly about taking time for morning workouts, time with family and bi-weekly therapy sessions. I appreciated his candor about not going it alone and specifically getting therapy as needed. There is a mental health crisis in entrepreneurship with 49%, almost one half, of entrepreneurs suffering from a mental health condition in their lifetimes.

Do you take care of yourself, not just your company and customers?

My personal favorite takeaway from interviewing Ryan Letada was how much he thought Both, rather than Either/Or. He balanced personal and professional – mission with market need, vision with results, self-care with caring for his company and customers. His schedule is divided between storytelling and account management/ strategy. Even his life is split halftime between Manila and New York.

Too many professionals feel like they have to choose between fulfillment and financial reward, creative or business, work or lifestyle. Letada is one example of how to integrate multiple priorities into a thriving career. You can see Intersections, his latest project with TFC/ ABS-CBN online and follow NextDayBetter on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.-Forbes.com 

 



Ryan Letada, CEO and Founder of NextDayBetter, balances money and meaning 

RYAN LETADA

 

 

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears

 

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