This interview is part of the “Ecosystem Builders” series. More information about the ESHIP Communities program can be found here.
Q: What is your deeper “why” behind your commitment and work to support inclusive entrepreneurship in Kansas City?
Q: What is your deeper “why” behind your commitment and work to support inclusive entrepreneurship in Kansas City? A: The fact that teaching others how to fish secures their future in an independent way. The fact that enabling others to produce on their own and generate their own richness will strengthen their foundation, increase their equity and create a quality of life that is real and secure.
Q: What is a challenge you’ve faced in your life that has led you to this work?
A: I have been very successful in life, and yet I was not happy. I became bankrupt and had to find myself again. I found ‘me’ in the community and discovered that I could invest all my knowledge and abilities into helping the quality of life of the people. I discovered that I was my own worst enemy, I had to humble myself and understand my new reality. Challenging myself to give more, and not just take, led to me generating balance in my life, my family, and my community.
Q: What is a challenge you’ve faced in your life that has led you to this work?
A: I have been very successful in life, and yet I was not happy. I became bankrupt and had to find myself again. I found ‘me’ in the community and discovered that I could invest all my knowledge and abilities into helping the quality of life of the people. I discovered that I was my own worst enemy, I had to humble myself and understand my new reality. Challenging myself to give more, and not just take, led to me generating balance in my life, my family, and my community.
Q: What is the choice that you’ve made or action that you’ve taken that came out of that challenge related to this work?
A: I found myself in the community, found my own identity and purpose and decided to put all my energy into building the foundation of the community I serve.
"I hope to see a system that enables the members of our community to grow, promotes their well being and supports those who experience challenging realities..."
Edgar Galicia, Ecosystem Builder
Q: What is the change you are seeing or hope to see as a result of your choice or action?
A: I hope to see the complete integration of the under-resourced members of our community, the understanding of their reality by those who are well resourced and the creation and establishment of systems that are more humanistic, versatile and inclusive. I hope to see a system that enables the members of our community to grow, promotes their well being and supports those who experience challenging realities.
Q: What about your life or work would you like other’s to know about you?
A: I have always had the ability to define paths to obtain goals and achieve results. I learned since I was 9 years old that visualizing and planning for road maps gets you to your goal with the most certainty.
Q: What advice would you give for someone who is wanting to help build greater equity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem/community here in Kansas City?
A: Take people as they come, help them build from their own foundation up, and show people the way to their own greatness.
Q: Do you have an example of how you or others have benefitted from ecosystem building?
A: Several stay at home mothers have generated their own businesses, created a way to make a living and develop their emotional well being and spirituality at the same.
Q: What do you consider to be your life’s work?
A: I am an enabler, I see myself as one Flight Deck Shooter helping organize the chaos of the everyday lives of our community members and showing them the timing and opportunity to take off!
Q: What are you most proud of that’s come from the entrepreneurial community work in Kansas City that you’ve been a part of? How has that impacted the community?
A: When the mentees or entrepreneurs are able to give and pay it forward because of their own gains.
Q: What is your ultimate goal or vision for this work?
A: To generate the ability in people to be able to make more than ends meet and conquer their own goals!
