Founder/CEO Anas Andy Shallal shares his most valuable lessons learned as an artist and social entrepreneur who “didn’t have a pro forma, business plan, excel sheets, or big decks,” yet managed to launch and successfully scale Busboys and Poets, a group of culturally conscious restaurants that also function as bars, bookstores, coffee shops and event spaces in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. With refreshing candor, Andy opens up about hard decisions and growing pains, how to learn from mistakes, and let go of preconceived notions on leadership or success.  He tells us why it’s so hard, yet so crucial, for founders to be able to allow space for people with differing opinions. Finally, he offers perspective on finding the balance as a founder and lifelong activist: that we don’t have to lead a “double life” - our work and personal beliefs can be intertwined.

Accessible American Sign Language (ASL) Video Version: For an Accessible Video Version of #BeTheBossNow Podcast with ASL Interpreter and Captions, please go to BeTheBossNow.com/podcast

Accessibility services coordinated by a Deaf coordinator melissa kelley colibri and ASL Interpretation by darryn rousseau hollifield and Stephanie Chao.

Executive Producer: Vanessa Shiliwala of Thrive Spice Media.

Check out the #BeTheBossNow book, this podcast, and other resources available for those of you current or aspiring bosses at BeTheBossNow.com.  Be sure to follow Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting and Gregory Allan Datu Cendana on all major social media platforms: @CSWSconsulting and @gregorycendana. #CSWSConsulting

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Gregory Allan Datu Cendana

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About Andy:
Anas Andy Shallal is an artist and social entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Busboys and Poets, a group of restaurants in the Washington Metropolitan area where art, culture, and politics intentionally collide over mindfully sourced, food, drinks, and programming that feeds the mind, body and soul.
With nine locations in and around D.C., including the latest locations and Anacostia and Columbia, Maryland Busboys and Poets has become home for progressives, artists and intellectuals, including such notables as the late Howard Zinn, Cornell West, Alice Walker, and Nikki Giovanni. Busboys and Poets is a member of the Restaurant Opportunities Center, focusing on the system on sustainable business and employment practices. Busboys and Poets has also been at the forefront of environmental stewardship, being one of the first businesses in Washington, D.C., to be 100% wind powered and are at the cutting edge of the local and sustainable food movement, winning many awards locally and nationally for its innovative conscious cuisine.
Shallal has received numerous awards, including the Mayor's Art Award, Employee of the Year from the Employment Justice Center, the Mayor's Environmental Award, Washingtonian of the year from Washingtonian magazine, and the D.C. Hall of Fame.  He holds an MBA from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland Colle

Founder, CEO and Social Impact Entrepreneur Jotaka Eaddy shares her thoughts on what needs to change to create a more inclusive, equitable world in tech and politics for Black women and people of color.  She shares how failure and imperfections can actually set us up for success, and how her roots as a community organizer and connector have served as the foundation for her to continue to widen the doors for representation for Black women and marginalized people everywhere. Finally, she talks about overcoming imposter syndrome by speaking truth to power, raising the uncomfortable questions, and creating the “space and grace” to love ourselves as perfectly imperfect leaders. 
 
Accessible American Sign Language (ASL) Video Version: For an Accessible Video Version of #BeTheBossNow Podcast with ASL Interpreter and Captions, please go to BeTheBossNow.com/podcast

Accessibility services coordinated by a Deaf coordinator melissa kelley colibri and ASL Interpretation by darryn rousseau hollifield and Stephanie Chao.

Executive Producer: Vanessa Shiliwala of Thrive Spice Media.

Check out the #BeTheBossNow book, this podcast, and other resources available for those of you current or aspiring bosses at BeTheBossNow.com.  Be sure to follow Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting and Gregory Allan Datu Cendana on all major social media platforms: @CSWSconsulting and @gregorycendana. #CSWSConsulting

Can't Stop! Won't Stop! Consulting

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Gregory Allan Datu Cendana

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Jotaka L Eaddy
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About Jotaka:
Jotaka L Eaddy is the founder and CEO of Full Circle Strategies LLC., a social impact consulting firm committed to advancing transformative change and global impact. Described as the "Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley" by Forbes Magazine, Jotaka is a dedicated and seasoned strategist with more than 20 years of experience in policy advocacy and movement building. Within her current practice, Jotaka works with clients, including corporate, nonprofit foundations, technology, and government organizations seeking to advance policy ideas and change. Jotaka has led regulatory, legislative and social impact initiatives at the federal and state level for leading nonprofits and within the C-suite of leading technology companies, helping to bridge the gap between Washington D.C. and Silicon Valley.  Jotaka has served at the forefront of efforts that have created lasting change. In 2020, she founded the movement #winwithblackwomen, an intergenerational intersectional group of Black women leaders representing business, sports, movement, politics, entertainment, and beyond.

Activist Alice Wong talks to Gregory about disabled culture and queer communities, why failure is essential, and how she got the confidence to boldly “make the world a brighter, sassier, and more colorful place.” She unpacks “crip” as a form of kinship, reclaiming disabled wisdom, and community organizing in political spaces. Finally, they bond over both being born in the Year of the Tiger and celebrate Alice’s debut memoir, Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life.

About Alice:  Alice Wong (She/Her) is a disabled activist writer, media maker, author, and consultant. She is the Founder and Director of the Disability Visibility project, an online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture, created in 2014.  Alice is the editor of Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From The 21st Century, an anthology of essays by disabled people, and Disability Visibility: 17 First-Person Stories for Today, an adapted version for young adults. Her debut memoir, Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life, will be available on September 6th, 2022 from Vintage Books. You can find her on Twitter @sfdirewolf.

Accessible American Sign Language (ASL) Video Version: For an Accessible Video Version of #BeTheBossNow Podcast with ASL Interpreter and Captions, please go to BeTheBossNow.com/podcast

Accessibility services coordinated by a Deaf coordinator melissa kelley colibri and ASL Interpretation by darryn rousseau hollifield and Stephanie Chao.

Executive Producer: Vanessa Shiliwala of Thrive Spice Media.

Can't Stop! Won't Stop! Consulting

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Gregory Allan Datu Cendana

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