Daniel Edwards is the CEO of Total One-Eighty Image Consulting, a business initiative and service tailored for the motivated, modern male professionals, which Mr. Edwards created to productively combine his three (3) passions – personal development, psychology and fashion. A trained public speaker and presenter, Mr. Edwards recently launched his series of Total One-Eighty workshops, the first being through corporate client Sagicor Life Insurance Jamaica Limited to further his holistic approach to image consultancy and personal development. With over two decades of successful experience in the sales industry, Mr. Edwards is also currently a Senior Sales Executive at Caribbean Assurance Brokers Limited. Prior to this, he was a Financial Advisor at Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited where among other things his achievements included being seated at the international acclaimed, “Million Dollar Round Table.” During his time at Sagicor, Mr. Edwards also created, ran and marketed his High Street Clothing brand. An experienced performer and lover of nature, Mr. Edwards is also a proponent and practitioner of meditation and diverse self-improvement practices.
Question
- Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey
- In terms of customer experience, how has that been for you since you started business and what is your view on customer experience as a business owner?
- What are some of the challenges you believe young men face why it is that you are compelled in this business?
- Do you think it’s because of our culture why you think the men are challenged in such a way, outside of the parenting aspect predominantly being exposed to female influence, does the Caribbean culture impact that as well?
- Can you tell us a little bit about why you think image is so important and how does that impact customer service?
- Getting somebody to attire themselves in a particular way and have a particular image, how long those that take and is it just the physical or is it like a mind set change as well in terms of how they feel about themselves?
- Who are some of the role models you would use to drive inspiration in the persons you’re trying to transform?
- How do you stay motivated every day?
- Do you think it’s important as a businessperson to really be passionate about what you’re doing in order to be successful?
- What is the one online resource, website, tool or app that you absolutely cannot live without in your business?
- What are some of the books that have had the biggest impact on you?
- If you where sitting across the table from another business owner and they said to you that they feel they have great products and services but they lack the constantly motivated human capital, what’s the one piece of advice would you give them to have a successful business, specifically as it relates to constantly motivated human capital?
- What is one thing in your life right now that you are really excited about – something that you are working on to develop yourself or people?
- Where can our listeners find your information online?
- What is one quote or saying that you live by or that inspires you in times of adversity?
Highlights
- Daniel Edwards shared he is a Financial Advisor, he sells primarily insurance and investment products with Caribbean Assurance Brokers but he’s very passionate about his new venture which is Total One-Eighty Image Consulting and he feels that it is an initiative that is very necessary right now in Jamaica where men are really falling behind in a number of areas, he feels compelled to push this mission to reinvigorate the males.
- Daniel Edwards shared that he always believes in under promising and over delivering, he tries to extend that to his venture and that’s what it is about and focusing more about being of service and adding value than about money because if you do that first, then the money will follow.
- Daniel Edwards stated that a significant percentage of males in Jamaica today are raised without fathers and as a result, there are a lot of men being raised by women so they don’t get those little extra tips and instructions that a man should give another man. The daughters are okay because their mothers can teach them how to dress and how to put themselves together as women but they fall short with the men. Such example include seeing men attending a graduation in sneakers or going to a job interview like they are going to a dance, they don’t have a male figure to show them how to really put themselves together.
- Daniel shared that he doesn’t think that our culture had an impact on the way our Jamaican men dress. He stated that our parents’ generational practices that but it’s a recent departure.
- Daniel Edwards stated that it’s not just about the image, it’s about the image plus communication skills but everything begins with the visual and our impressions are formed within seconds of seeing someone and often times these impressions are set in stones within seconds and barring you doing something exceptional, they don’t change. So the first impression is the only one that matters but beyond that we have to have the communication skills and the service to solidify that reputation and really give the client a great experience. So they have to be all rounders, they have to have the look and the package.
- Daniel shared that his ultimate goal is to have a holistic approach but you have to start somewhere, so he started off by creating a workshop on dressing for success. In this workshop, they look at the psychology of the first impression, the psychology of color, they look at how suits should fit, the power of a suit, the psychology behind wearing a suit, how you think different and feel different wearing one and people treat you differently. They go into accessories, they show you what colors to wear as in suits, what suits to wear and not to wear, accessories because male fashion is all about details. He stated that he wants to get into other areas such as public speaking and all of the components that are required to make you successful and make a bold impact when you step into a room.
- Daniel Edwards stated that for inspiration, Steve Harvey is a good example, also P. Diddy and Michael Lee Chin. He stated that he’s a fan of all of the self made black Millionaires.
Yanique added that you want them to connect with someone who looks like them so that they can see that this possibility exists.
- Daniel Edwards shared that by staying motivated, he uses “Operant Conditioning”, he stated that we all do things to gain pleasure or avoid pain, so operant conditioning is where you try to avoid pain and pain for him would be living a life of judgery, getting old, getting sick and then dying. Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences. Key concepts in operant conditioning are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. He wants to live a purpose driven life on his terms and have an amazing life, and he can only do that by running his enterprise and perusing his dreams and his passions.
- Daniel stated that he doesn’t know anybody who is hugely successful whose purpose isn’t aligned with their passion, those are prerequisites. There are millions of businesses ventures out there that can garner money but every entrepreneurial enterprise requires grit and determination and preservation in the early years to turn a profit, so if it’s just about making money, they are not going to put in those extra hours and deal with all those disappointments and the failures and near misses unless you are passionate about it.
- Daniel stated that he likes Pinterest a lot as well as Instagram but he doesn’t think that there’s anything he could live without, as he’ll find a way regardless. He stated that they are extremely helpful for example if he’s doing a wedding for someone, as he does weddings on what to wear, he can go on Pinterest and get an outfit together, he has an internet platter of ideas he can find.
- Daniel Edwards stated that he is an avid reader and believes you should try to read a new book every month, the last book that really made a big impact on him was “The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desires by David Deida” it talks about how men should deal with women, it’s about the masculine and feminine and how they should dance together and not wrestle. He also mention “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Miguel Ruiz”, Toltec were like the ancient Indians in Mexico. Daniel mentioned one more book called, “Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts – Becoming the Person You Want to Be by Marshall Goldsmith”, he is a high level Psychologist and he is a trainer for CEOs, he’ll go into Forbes and train the CEO, he’s showing that a lot of our behavior that is inexplicable or destructive is really based on triggers to prior events, so when similar situations occurs, it triggers it. Once you’re able to decipher what these triggers are then you can make permanent changes in your life without being confused or beating yourself up wondering why this happen.
- Daniel shared that the advice he would give another business owner is that you must incentivize your workers, they need to feel like they have a vested interest and they need to know if they put in a little more effort, they can dictate their paycheck. If the guy comes in and he’s getting a flat salary, he’s very aware that he’s building your empire for you, why is he going to stay there for 12 hours or why is he going to go above and beyond, as soon as 5:00 pm comes he wants to go home, that’s it, he’ out. They have to feel that they have a vested interest and that they are apart of the enterprise, they need to know that they put in a little extra, they will get some money.
Yanique asked Daniel if he believes that most or all employees based on his experience are motivated financially, does motivation comes from something else as well?
Daniel Edwards shared that it is a combination; feeling like you have a vested interest doesn’t necessarily only translate to more money. Apart of the business, you’re invaluable and that your input will leave an indelible mark in the company. And if you have a system where your staff is rewarded base on merit, then they will work a little harder too, so one person is a superstar and one person is just slumming it and everybody is getting the same paycheck, after awhile the guy who is the superstar is going to take it down a few notches because there is no incentive for working so hard. There’s a motivational speaker called Max Moyan who said, “If you’re doing just enough not to loose your job, your boss is going to pay you just enough to keep it.” Also, empower your employees, put them on a plan immediately, and create a situation where they are aware of this is where they are beginning but 5 years where they should be, you should be empowering them to be on a trajectory towards success and you get a next set, it’s not a static situation.
- Daniel shared that what’s exciting for him right now is the business blossoming, he did the Caribbean Speakers International recently and it was a mind blowing experience because he has never done something like that before. He has done talks before but he has never spoken without a script so he felt like he grew 5 years in one day.
- Daniel shared that listeners can find him at –
totaloneeighty – Instagram
Total One Eighty Image Consulting – Facebook
Total one Eighty – Twitter
- Daniel Edwards shared that he had some slumpy years in his career so now that things have turned around for him, when he’s about to make major steps, he resorts to the bad memories and then he starts to have the limiting self talks where he says, “Three years ago this wasn’t working, what makes you think this is going to work now?” Les Brown who is one of has one of favorites quotes, “Operate using your imagination not your memory.” Once you go back to your failures, it’s crippling to you.
Links
- The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desires by David Deida
- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book by Don Miguel Ruiz
- Triggers: Creating Behaviors That Lasts – Becoming the Person You Want to Be by Marshall Goldsmith
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