Exploring and Living in Costa Rica: Insights and Advice #entrepreneur #b...

Frankly Francisco Podcast. "Beyond Borders in Costa Rica" The Richard Blank Hero's Journey. We are a Society & Culture Podcast with a open platform, we interview people from all walks of life & I do solo pods on subjects I am passionate about. “I can hold a conversation with anyone and use logic over emotion on many subjects whether we agree or not it will be a fun listen” I am in the financial world by trade but everyone has a purpose mine is to speak and inspire others. I give a platform to those who want to be heard thru my podcast show. I also have a production company I am trying to build and my podcast is part of the media side. I am working on a Novel and trying to expand my network I want to create something people all backgrounds want to be a part of. I found my motivation what is yours be great at what makes you happy. In this captivating episode, we explore the dynamic journey of Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC), renowned for his transformative leadership in the BPO industry. From his pioneering move to Costa Rica at 27, where he trained over 10,000 bilingual telemarketers with his motivational speaking style, to his innovative integration of gamification into CCC’s culture, Richard’s vision and dedication shine through. With a solid educational background in Communication and Spanish, coupled with his commitment to giving back, exemplified by his scholarship endowment for language students, Richard emerges not just as a business leader but as a beacon of inspiration, embodying the power of visionary leadership and community engagement. This episode encapsulates Richard Blank’s remarkable career trajectory, from his impactful training initiatives in Costa Rica to his philanthropic endeavors, underscoring his profound influence in both business and education. Through his expertise in gamification and his commitment to nurturing future talent through scholarships, Richard’s journey epitomizes the transformative potential of visionary leadership, leaving a lasting legacy of empowerment and innovation in the BPO landscape and beyond. Building a Business: Lessons from the Ground Up That was an excellent question. Let's just consider the four years that I spent at my friend's call center, more of a graduate school for me. So instead of learning the business at sea level, Francisco, I was doing it more from the inside out, which my opinion, you get more respect, those with whom you work. And so I got to see the happy and the sad, and I got to hear the gripes, but also the good moments. I learned retention, customer support, onboarding, human resources, training, search engine optimization, amazing skills. And so when it was time for me to start my own company in my mid-30s, I did have a little bit of capital, but I had the knowledge. I had the knowledge to a certain point. I realized I needed specialists. So I decided to expand. My wife joined the company. She became the director of human resources. And so I might be the owner. She's the boss. But I did need attorneys and accountants and a chief technical officer because I wasn't in Cisco school. And so by delegating, besides my own roots, I could have branches now and expand and promote others. Thankfully, the majority of my decisions were correct, but I never batted 1,000. Costa Rica's Unique Approach to Society and Education Costa Rica is the only democratic society in Central America, and they have no standing army. So they put all their money back into education with a 95% literacy rate. I compete against Amazon, HP, Intel, and Oracle for this labor pool. We're known for the best infrastructure. Ecotourism, Francisco. Exploring and Living in Costa Rica: Insights and Advice I do appreciate that, Francisco. They can buy a plane ticket and come visit me in Costa Rica. That's number one. I have a very large Facebook fan page of 130,000 local Costa Rican Ticos. So when this goes live, you'll have tons of new fans here. And just real quick for your audience, we are north of Panama, south of Nicaragua. Costa Rica is the only democratic society in Central America, and they have no standing army. So they put all their money back into education with a 95% literacy rate. I compete against Amazon, HP, Intel, and Oracle for this labor pool. We're known for the best infrastructure. Ecotourism, Francisco. We got some of the best surfing in the world in Malpais and Hermosa. We have hot springs. People do zip lining and quadriciclos and exploring. But I tell you, my man, if you ever go out into those rainforests, it really is a painting. I mean, it's just gorgeous out there in regards to the plants and the animals and the birds. But Be careful. My suggestion is don't go, you know, trucking around with flip flops on drinking your whiskey. It's kind of dangerous out there. You got to be careful. But it's been a good 23 years. https://youtu.be/nV7SHzqc_3g https://youtu.be/Mn50Zo_HGwg https://youtube.com/shorts/vhPDPtT455Y https://youtube.com/shorts/p0V0Whbro0Q

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, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. 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. Hired bassist Garry Gary Beers of INXS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGjN5H4xPQ 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/ #FranklyFranciscoPodcast #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO #trend #trending short clip 1 I like the way you you break it down where you want them to you know before they get start drinking from the fire holes essentially you want to be able to make sure they can handle that when when it comes to it because when I got in my when I got in this industry it was like drinking through a fire hose but I was raised I was born and raised in New York City I was raised different so you know my my mentality was listen I'm gonna I'm gonna go 100% in whatever I have to do to get where I need to go um and and I understand that but for you are you the type of boss that I know you have a system in I know you have your managers but do you ever walk the floor yourself just you know hearing these conversations with these uh with your people on the phone do you ever you know go up to them and say Hey listen you might want to critique this you might want to critique that has do you do that on a regular basis I take it a step further that's why you're from New York and I'm from Philly I play Pinball with my agents Pac-Man and air hockey New York call centers don't have those things no I'm only kidding but um of course I walk the rad I praise in public I don't critique in private what we do is since we have a quality control department they get to hear their own calls kind of like us with our beards you need the mirror and they get to listen themselves and the greatest way for self-improvement is self-analysis and they will know Francisco if they're interrupting or cross talking they're too loud too soft they didn't use the military alphabet when confirming email addresses not using using transitional sentences or tie down questions making sure things make sense or sounds good and and remembering to ask open-ended questions you know what type of ice cream do you like Meet Richard Blank_ From Philly to CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center Shall we begin? All right, everybody, welcome back to a brand new episode of the Frankly Francisco podcast. Today's guest, his name is Richard Blank. He, man, he is amazing from everything that I've gathered from him. He holds a bachelor's degree in communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona, and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. So Richard, introduce yourself to my audience. So happy to be here today, Francisco. Really, I love your show. I'm one of your audience. I decided to reach out and just let you know, hey, I want to pay it forward and be a guest. But yeah, I'm the proud CEO of Costa Rica's call center. We're originally from Northeast Philly. Decided when I graduated the proud Abington High School to double down on my favorite class, which was Spanish. So I was a Spanish major at the University of Arizona. In college, I interned for Telemundo post-grad. The importers of Corona got a job. And so I had momentum. And when I was 27 years old, I was given a one-a-million opportunity to move to Costa Rica. And I took it. Fell in love with the girl of my dreams. Started business 16 years ago. And here we are today, my friend. A tale of twists and turns. Pushing Beyond Limits Do you know why, Francisco? Because they never really had the real coach, teacher, parent, no offense, or best friend that got them to do the extra 20% and really got them to do the distance. You know, when your legs are given out, but you still go. Hmm? I don't know how the hell you made it that night, but you did it. And those are the sort of moments you think about for the rest of your life. And I want to see if I can get these people so when they stop working with me and I'm the last boss they have, they're so self-confident, self-reliant that they might earn more money. Come on, man. We're supposed to have them graduate third grade and be better. And that's what I'm trying to do. Innovative Employee Engagement I take it a step further. That's why you're from New York and I'm from Philly. I play pinball with my agents, Pac-Man and air hockey. New York call centers don't have those things. No, I'm only kidding. But of course I walk the roads. I praise in public. I don't critique in private. What we do is since we have a quality control department, they get to hear their own calls. Kind of like us with our beards. You need the mirror. And they get to listen to themselves. And the greatest way for self-improvement is self-analysis. Right Bus, Right Seat: Finding Fit in Business From time to time, I was disappointed more than I was angry. I believe Francisco in right bus, right seat. You might be doing a forced fit or someone might be over-prepared, under-prepared, or just not in the right frame of mind for it. But that's just how it goes in business. It's like a chessboard. But financially, no, I'm sorry. Go ahead. Oh, no, no. I was going to say, I mean, you have to fail sometimes to be able to find your rhythm. You have to dig through different agendas and different people to find that right mix of people for the company. And it seems like you were able to do that. It took some lessons, but you finally got there. My dear brother, there is a big difference between me trying to hustle and lose my money in a scam and But if I invest time and effort as a payroll and infrastructure in somebody and they weren't prepared to meet me halfway, they didn't have the structure and discipline. I'm from Philadelphia. That's on you. I did this. And so is it a failure? No, it was faith in an individual. The Impact of Educational Opportunities and Language Learning I think it's inspiring people. I think what you're doing is inspiring people because by giving somebody an opportunity to earn a scholarship, to learn a second language, especially if they're trying to be as proficient as they want to be in it, seeing what you've done, seeing what you've been able to do, I thank you for that because... Kids out here struggle. These kids, a lot of kids can't get these kind of opportunities. And the fact that you're willing to come out of your own pocket to be able to get these kids essentially a second education from, you know, in language, because it's not easy. You know, Spanish is a tough... And they say it's easy, but it's not. Spanish is a tough language because you have... You have proper Spanish and then you have dialects that you have to learn how to pick up on because every culture, every Spanish culture has a different dialect. And people don't understand when I tell them that. It's a different dialect. You can go to Colombia and one word that means something in Costa Rica means something completely different in Colombia. But I appreciate what you do, and I appreciate what you stand for, and just the type of person that you are, it brings a sense to people that they can accomplish anything.