We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Hodge a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Danielle, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
My optimism comes from my work experience and a gift of always seeing the bigger picture. When things get tough, I reflect on those who have paved the way before me and I really hone on how whatever I’m working on, will create an impact in the world. I’ve been blessed with a gift of self awareness I learned at an early age.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a cereal entrepreneur and an advocate for diversity in aquatics. Alma Ocean is a pool accessory business I launched in 2020 that focuses on the joy swimming with a splash of culture. Alma Swim Foundation is my non profit that offers swim scholarships and water safety education to help lower drowning statistics, specifically in the black community. It’s important to focus on the trauma that comes with the black community and how we can overcome it too have the ability to save our lives. We are still the highest demographic drowning and If I can help lower that statistic, I’ve done my job. I’m also hopping over into an a new lane as an author while I focus on writing a book. It will be a memoir on how your full circle moment might be your niche idea. I look forward to sharing my story with the world of how I overcame obstacles and came out living in my passion.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities that have been most impactful on my journey have been focus, taking time to reflect and being myself. All three of those things really allowed me to succeed at my own pace. Instead of racing against someone else, I focused on how I can bring something different to the table that others would love.
Advice I have on those early in their journey is try to find your place of focus. Meaning, find what inspires you to get in work mode to complete task’s that need to be done. That might mean having a clean area to work from. It could mean carving out time in your calendar and putting your phone on “do not disturb”. That a might also look like you just knowing in order for you to get to the next level for you to scale, you just need to get work done, so just do it.
You have to always look at the bigger picture and ask yourself if you want to be in the same place next year or do you want to have growth on your journey. Find your focus and tap in.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I Love a good collaboration! One I’m super proud of is a collaboration with Kymbriell Finch and her organization called Courageous Leap based out of Tampa, Fl. We joined together and received. a proclimation for our own day from the Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando. We now celebrate April POOLS Day, drowning is not a joke! It’s our annual event focused on water safety education and drowning prevention. Partnerships like this create a huge impact in our community. Collaborating with people who align with your vision is one of the most powerful moves to create goo noice around what you’re doing. I’m always looking for influencers who might like to work with my product and also people who can help on the non profit side by being an advocate and help us fundraise towards our causee for drowning prevention.
Contact Info:
- Website: Almaocean.co, Almaswim.org
- Instagram: @_AlmaOcean, @AlmaSwimFoundation
- Facebook: Alma Ocean, Alma Swim Foundation
- Linkedin: Alma Ocean , Alma Swim Foundation
- Twitter: @_AlmaOcean
- Youtube: Alma Ocean
Image Credits
@Remivision & Danielle Hodge
