Lynare Robbins With Global Chamber Miami

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in South Florida. It’s time for South Florida Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:14] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of South Florida Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor. Diaz Trade Law, your customs expert today on South Florida Business Radio, we have Lynare Robbins with Global Chamber Miami. Welcome, Lynare.

Lynare Robbins: [00:00:35] Hi. Thank you so much for having me today.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:37] I am so excited to learn about your organization. Tell us a little bit about Global Chamber Miami. How are you serving folks?

Lynare Robbins: [00:00:45] So the Global Chamber of Miami is a chapter. It is part of the Global Chamber Network. We are a thriving community of professionals, mentors and innovative companies taking on the world of global business. We provide information, connections and mentoring for leaders to capture global business opportunities. And we operate across 525 metros within 195 countries.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:12] So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Lynare Robbins: [00:01:17] So my backstory, I’ve actually worn a lot of hats. I’ve got a pretty diverse background. I’m a Navy veteran. My background is in international affairs and conflict resolution. I’ve done a lot of work volunteering with several organizations. Really getting to know also the consular corps community in Miami and of course, experience in business. So I found this great opportunity and now this is what I’m doing.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:52] Now for the the people out there. What’s kind of the the most compelling benefit you think of of being part of the global chamber for a member?

Lynare Robbins: [00:02:04] So one major value would be the fact that this is a network based organization and again, it is 525 metros within 195 countries. So basically the value means that you have access to leaders who are directly in their own communities. So if I have a member in Miami that wishes to connect with someone in India, we have a chapter actually several in India. I can go to those directors of those chapters and help my members connect with them. And these are people serving within their own communities that understand the business landscape in those communities. They’ve been cultivating their own local relationships for a long time, as well as global relationships. So I don’t have to try to reinvent the wheel and think that I know what is happening in India. When I can work with a colleague who’s based there and our members greatly benefit from that.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:08] Now, as the leader of the organization, is part of your role, maybe not an individual by individual basis, but maybe the spirit of what you’re trying to do and with your team is to kind of foster that level of collaboration where people are able to open doors for each other and maybe explore relationships in a way that is very organic rather than very transactional.

Lynare Robbins: [00:03:34] Yes, although some people are seeking a transaction. What ends up happening is they get an organic experience out of it because of the network being so people to people driven and we’re collaborating all the time. In fact, I think that collaboration is so important involving business. There’s a larger pool of talent to assist with supporting any endeavor that our clients might have and our members might have. And so that can often lead to opportunities that expand beyond what they anticipated. And they end up finding perhaps more opportunities and different resources and definitely connections.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:24] Now, when a person is thinking about joining this or there’s obviously so many organizations that person can invest their time into. Do you find that a lot of folks aren’t thinking globally when it comes to their business, when there would be opportunity, if they open their mind to that, but maybe they get kind of bogged down or think it’s too complex or too difficult to even consider that maybe their operation could serve a global market.

Lynare Robbins: [00:04:53] Um, that that could be true. Although some people are working globally and doing very well, there are those that feel like maybe that is too big of a goal for them. Maybe they they don’t understand that wherever you go, people essentially are looking for the same things. You know, they’re looking for opportunity, success. They’re looking for ways to provide for their families, for their communities. And so sometimes maybe people get intimidated by cultural barriers. But again, if you have a network like the Global Chamber, where we have people in all of these chapters that are from those communities, that that really helps to, I think, tackle any cultural or language barriers that one might feel that they have.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:50] Now, can you share a story that maybe illustrates that, where maybe somebody did reach out to somebody in the network and were able to maybe get their business or take it to a new level? You obviously don’t have to name the name of the company, but if you could share maybe the problem solution, that would be illustrative.

Lynare Robbins: [00:06:11] So I can give you a great example. During the pandemic, you know, we our operations never stopped because we were set up virtually to begin with. A lot of the activities are virtual, hybrid, in-person. We’ve been successful to carry on with operations, to keep connecting people to actually if you go on the global chamber calendar, you know, the for the past couple of years, there’s been something happening almost every day. We have one collective calendar and it’s really every chapter is on that calendar. Once you’re a member of Miami, you’re a member of every chapter, pretty much you can attend those events. It’s beneficial that it’s it’s virtual. You get to meet people on these virtual opportunities. So that’s a great example that we we have just we’ve always been working together. And so I think that although the pandemic has had its repercussions, I think that we’ve done a good job to keep moving forward.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:29] Now, is there an opportunity for young people to get involved with the chamber as well, or is this mainly for kind of seasoned veteran business people?

Lynare Robbins: [00:07:39] No, it is actually for all ages. In fact, we have several programs where we enlist young leaders. Our CEO, Doug Brunk, he operates out of the Phenix office. He actually drives a lot of the Young Leaders Fellowships, and he works with young leaders from African countries. We have that webinar that we’ve done several years in a row. So it’s quite impressive that we’ve we have something for everyone. All demographics, age groups and definitely all of us think that involving young leaders is very important.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:24] Now, is there do you divide it by kind of special interest groups as well? So like by industry. So if I’m in health care, then I can kind of network with health care folks around the world.

Lynare Robbins: [00:08:36] So all of the chapters are well, first they assess what their their members need with their community needs, but all of them seem to be taking on such a diverse background of different topics. So I’ve seen a lot of webinars on agriculture, for example, and that could be here in the United States and rural areas. It could be in Ghana, it could be talking about farming in India. So it’s really interesting that you’ll see all kinds of topics. We we did something for the Global Chamber of Miami not too long ago, about a year ago on immigration, but it was for athletes. So we have a specialist that’s a member and her whole focus is on immigration for athletes. So that was very interesting as well. And what that looked like, especially at the height of the pandemic when some of the borders were closed.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:41] Now, in your line of work nowadays, are you getting to use that conflict resolution hat?

Lynare Robbins: [00:09:50] So yes. And I’m glad. You asked this question because I actually feel that business is is really an ideal area to combat conflict in the world. I think that there’s so many benefits to business and I think that business is a conflict resolution driver. And I’ve written a great deal about this topic. I did my graduate studies in international relations and conflict resolution on what kind of tools a society could use or business or community. And so what I found is when you have a country or a community where resources and access to opportunity may not be available across the board, then it could lead to polarization and sometimes social conflict. And in my research, I looked back to the 19th century in Victorian England where there was an imbalance of resources across the land, and it led to the term two nations that was coined by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. And it basically meant that citizens in the country at that time did not have a shared experience. And so it felt like they were living in two different countries depending on where they were living. I got interested in this topic because I went to high school in a small little town called Proctor Ville, Ohio, and it was on the border of West Virginia and Kentucky. So it’s in that Appalachian region. And I can tell you from experience that my reality then is very different than it is now living in Miami. And I say that in terms of the resources that are available. And so a lot of my work writing about this and conflict resolution is what can we do to make sure that there’s equal access to opportunity across the land, whether it’s this country we’re referring to or another country, and how can business help to provide those opportunities? So it’s it’s really a fascinating topic to dive into.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:14] Now, do you have any advice from your learning about this so that people in other areas, whether they be other communities in the United States or globally, can learn from that. And I would imagine we’re trying to avoid this two nation paradigm.

Lynare Robbins: [00:12:33] Yes, exactly. Well, so the advice would be to always seek common ground, try to find things that unify people. And lots of times and as I said before, the business community, I think, is in an ideal position to to try and be that unifier to to try to find the common ground. Because what is it that everyone needs in this country and other countries? Well, they need food. They need water. You know, they need basic necessities. You know, that’s I think that’s the core right there. People need other things as well. But this is something that’s very universal. And so there’s a great deal of talk about strategies to combat food insecurity these days. And so that’s another opportunity for the business community to really find solutions and bring people together to work on these ideas and strategies. And that could be nationally as well as globally.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:43] So now Miami is, I guess, Global City, a global gateway. Is there things that we could be doing to help you in your mission to serve kind of Miami and the Globe? What do you need more of? How can we help?

Lynare Robbins: [00:14:00] Oh, and thank you for asking that. So, Miami, it’s very interesting. We’re definitely a gateway into Latin America, but we’re also a global gateway. As more and more people realize that we have close to 100 foreign consulates, we have economic offices, major institutions for for economic driving, our economics here in Miami, Miami International Airport, the Port of Miami. And I would say that just more opportunities to to partner on projects, more opportunities to collaborate and to be at the table with more people. They need something to approach us in our community and I think working together. It’s interesting because I was not too long ago speaking to a recruiter from the State Department who their job here at the Miami office is to find the next generation of leaders, to do a lot of information sessions with the schools and and try to build the Foreign Service Corps. And what they said was that here in Miami, so many people are bilingual or multilingual. Right. There is an asset. And so there are a lot of strengths here in Miami. And I would say that, you know, if people need help or ideas, there’s somebody here with those ideas and potentially solutions.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:49] Now, right now, do you need are you looking to grow your membership? Are you looking to grow your sponsors? What what can the folks out here listening do to, you know, get more involved?

Lynare Robbins: [00:16:02] I would say yes. On on both accounts, growing our membership would be great. I would love an opportunity to speak to more people about how we can help them find out what they’re looking for, who they would like to connect with across the country and in the world. And then sponsorships as well. I think that companies would find that our our mission and our goals are are really positive. And in assessing what would a good way forward is in the business sense to really help communities.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:43] Now, what is the size of a company that should get involved with your organization? Is it a, you know, a small business, you know, under five, ten employees? Or is this kind of the mega enterprise or is it both?

Lynare Robbins: [00:16:57] It’s actually both. Different chapters have sponsors that are very large. If it’s been a chapter that’s been operating for a long time or in a very big city such as New York, and then there’s new chapters that have just opened. And so they’ve started out with the smaller companies. And I think in terms of Miami, that we’re actually balancing both.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:27] This must be such a rewarding work for somebody with your background that has been of service for so many years and so many different organizations to really you must really see an impact almost on a day by day basis. You’re probably high five in your team all the time.

Lynare Robbins: [00:17:43] Well, thank you. You know, and that that’s really a great keyword team because I think that none of this happens with just one person doing the work. It always involves a team effort and just the creative minds that come together. So yeah, so I’m really happy and proud of all the people that that come together and, and donate their insights and creativity.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:14] Now, if somebody is interested in joining, is there a way to kind of go to a meeting or sample it, or is it something you have to join in order to see the benefits?

Lynare Robbins: [00:18:26] So a lot of our our online opportunities are are free. And what we usually do is we say prospective member, because we do want to give people the opportunity to see us in action, so to speak. So there are those opportunities and one can just go to the calendar and see what’s open. And then other things are for members only when it when it comes to their benefits and getting access to things that we reserve for paid membership.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:02] But if they wanted to maybe have a more substantive conversation with you where somebody on your team, is there a website?

Lynare Robbins: [00:19:08] Yes, there is. So they can go to the WW W Global Chamber dot org and then they’ll see a map of the world. And Miami is right there and my information is there as well. Email address. And I’m happy to hear from anyone that has questions once information wants to get involved.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:35] Good stuff. Well, there. Thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Lynare Robbins: [00:19:41] Oh, thank you so much. And again, thank you for having me. This has been a great conversation.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:46] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on South Florida Business Radio. He.