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LWP Crossover - Dive Into Purpose: Miami’s B Corp Ocaquatics Swim School Making an Impact
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- [00:03]
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- [00:48]
Logistics with Purpose Host 1
Welcome to Logistics with Purpose, presented by Vector Global Logistics in partnership with Supply Chain. Now we spotlight and celebrate organizations who are dedicated to creating a positive impact. Join us for this behind the scenes glimpse of the origin stories, change, making progress and future plans of organizations who are actively making a difference. Our goal isn't just to entertain you, but to inspire you to go out.
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Miran Oka
And change the world.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 1
And now, here's today's episode of Logistics with Purpose.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Hey and happy 2025. It's a pleasure to be back. My name is Enrique Alvarez. I'm the host of Logistics With Purpose and we have an amazing show today, Christy. We're starting the year very strong, aren't we?
- [01:32]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
We are. This is somebody we've been wanting to have on for a while and we've had, you know, always obstacles with some of our more popular guests, but we always find out that it's worth the wait. So I'm excited to have Miran Oka join us today. The founder of B Corp Certified Okaquatic Swim School and she's also a board member of Florida for Good Miami and the founder of Ripple's Impact. And so she's got a few things on her plate of which we're going to talk all about and learn about her love for water and how that has developed such a purpose in her life and in many other lives as well. So, Mirren, we're so glad to finally have you and we've been having behind the scenes conversations for a long time. You and Enrique were on a panel together, so this is highly anticipated for us and we're delighted to have you here. So welcome.
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Miran Oka
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm really excited.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Yes. And before we get into all of the many activities that you've got going on to get us started, I just want to ask you some quick questions, respond with the first thing that comes to mind. So this always brings up some interesting answers for people. So, favorite movie, Shawshank Redemption, a quote that inspires you.
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Miran Oka
I really like Oscar Wilde. He Says, you know, be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
One item on your bucket list.
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Miran Oka
Oh. The Camino de Santiago in Spain. The walk.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Your most productive time of day.
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Miran Oka
Morning, definitely.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Okay. And swim in the pool or at sea?
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Miran Oka
Well, I do own five swim schools, but I prefer to be in the sea. So, yes, you can't have it all. I know. So even though I have indoor pools, I really like the sea.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Of course, yes.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 2
You can't beat the sea. But thank you very much, Mirin. It's a pleasure to have you here. As Christy was saying, and before we kind of like move on to your career and all the amazing things you've done, not only with your company, but for your company and for the community where you live, tell us a little bit more about yourself, your background. Who was Mirren when you were younger?
- [03:31]
Miran Oka
Actually, I live in Miami now, but I grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and my parents were immigrants. My father was from Spain, my mom was from Cuba, and they moved to the US and they ended up in Louisiana, and they owned restaurants. And so it was a really interesting childhood. You know, we grew up in the restaurant business. Restaurant business is a pretty hard life. There were many a night that my brother and sister and I, we slept at the restaurant at night while the parents were working, you know, so it was a really fun time. But it was also, we got to see what hard work really looked like. So. And I was determined not to join the restaurant business because I saw how hard they worked. And my parents had really amazing food, but they were not the strongest business owners. So I did see all the struggles, and I saw the taxes, and I saw the employee challenges, and I saw everything. And I thought, oh, I never want to be a business owner. And so I decided to go to Tulane University in New Orleans, and I got my. I wanted to get my degree in biochemistry, and I wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon. I wanted to go to med school and become a surgeon. That's incredible. It's very different from where I am today, but there's a reason for that. And it's because at the age of 19, I was in college. Everything was wonderful. I had a four year full paid academic scholarship. Everything was really great. And I got pregnant in college. And so I wish I could say I was really happy and grateful that day that I found out I was pregnant, but I wasn't. I was really overwhelmed and scared and financially strapped, But I did know that I was going to make the best of the situation. And so I moved to Miami because My mom and my sister had recently relocated to Miami and I got a job, you know, selling women's clothing in the mall. And I eventually went back to school. I got my degree, but I thought, I can't go to med school just yet. And so I decided to. When My son was 1 years old, 1 year old, I opened my business.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Before we go into all that, I wanted to bring out like the restaurant, because you're right, it's a very hard industry. And I just wanted to ask you a follow up question on that. What kind of food did you guys.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
I was going to ask same.
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Miran Oka
Yeah, my dad was from Spain, so he had, it was very European cuisine. He was the chef in a lot of the different restaurants in New Orleans. We had, they had two restaurants. One was very fancy and formal and really nice. Cuisine, cuisine. And then one was like a deli, a fast paced deli. Oh, time spent in those restaurants.
- [05:57]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Yes. And evidently the entrepreneurial bug did rub off either. It must have been unconsciously at that point, since you wanted to go in a different direction. But I'm curious, is there a story or something that stood out to you later, kind of reflecting on it from that entrepreneurial journey and kind of how you've carried that through to today?
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Miran Oka
Well, I think I jumped into the deep end of entrepreneurial, you know, life because I had to make a living and I had a one year old and, and I needed to. I knew I couldn't go to med school just then and I didn't love working, you know, in the mall, what I was doing before. So I just jumped in and I didn't know a lot about business, so I wanted to learn about it. And so my son and I spent a lot of time in bookstores and libraries and we read, you know, he read his books, I read mine, and I just still have a lot of books behind me because I really do learn a lot from reading, from listening to audiobooks, from listening to podcasts. But that was really important was I needed to start this business and kind of grow the business and learn. I was in my early 20s. You know, I was maturing as a person, as I was maturing as a leader. And then now I had to start hiring people and doing all of those. So.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Wow.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
That Enrique and I are also big readers and I get by on audiobooks as my steady diet. So do you have a few recommendations?
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Miran Oka
Oh, okay. So I love Simon Sinek and I love the Infinite Game. That's one of my all time favorites. I try to read that every year. I love James Clear Atomic Habits. Great book. I read that every year. I love Henry Cloud. He has a book called Integrity. That's really great. So there are so many, I mean, and it just, anytime someone asks, you know, what kind of book should I read? It just totally depends on where you are, on your path of leadership or what you're trying to learn. There's so much.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Those are three good ones.
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Miran Oka
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Well, and I interrupted you before, but so you were telling us a little bit about after you were working at the mall and then you actually decided to go back to school. And I know you have bachelor's in biology from the University of Miami. Two questions there. So why biology? And then after that, how did this academic experience influence your professional and personal career?
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Miran Oka
Well, why biology? I really liked science. You know, I was a high school student. I was in the medical explorers group and I was in the, like, I loved all of everything that had to do with science. So I thought that that would be really great. I was getting my degree in biochemistry and when I went to, um, I realized I could finish a semester early if I just did biology instead of biochemistry. So I actually saved on the tuition and just graduated with biology degree. But, you know, I really thought that I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to go to med school, but I really didn't think I could do it with a toddler. So, you know, my plan when I started the business was this was going to be temporary. This was going to be short and sweet and just make some money to get by and then I'll go to med school later. And instead it's, you know, we're celebrating our 30 year anniversary in a couple of weeks. And my son almost, you know, he's 32 years old. So it's, it's so funny how life 31 years is.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
I mean, few people reached that milestone. So congratulations. That is a lot to be celebrated right there. So Oak Aquatics, tell us, where did this inspiration come from? It's definitely a departure from biochem to opening a swim school. So where was the idea and how did you get started?
- [09:17]
Miran Oka
Sure. Well, I mean, honestly, it was one of the only things I knew how to do that I could make money. You know, I really, I taught swimming lessons through high school and college. Okay. And I had always, always done that. And I love swimming. I was a swimmer. I was a competitive swimmer. And so when I started teaching lessons, it was, you know, my passion was really, I really loved working with children and families. I really love being in the water. So that was kind of an easy fix, you know, it was just an easy, okay, this will be fun to do. I didn't really know a lot about business when I started, except what I had seen with my parents. But when I started learning and I started reading and I started actually hiring some people and then working on leadership development because I needed to develop myself too, I really started to like it. And it was like, oh, this is cool, you know. And so I think that my passion was teaching children to swim, but I think eventually my passion became teaching teachers and teaching team members, you know, growing the people who came to work with us. And so, you know, we've had book clubs on our staff and we've done all sorts of things to develop people both personally and professionally while they work with us. And that became so fun for me. And that's why I think we were able to sustain this business and grow it over time and never go to med school, you know. So, yeah, I bet you have a.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Lot of staff loyalty in organizational setting that is not prone to that at all. Usually, you know, lifeguards and people like that are kind of summer jobs or on break. It's not meant to be something you stick with. But I bet the environment you've created there has created a lot of loyalty and longevity for people.
- [10:47]
Miran Oka
Yeah, you know, it's been for 15 years. We operated outside, so we were in private schools, YMCAs, country clubs, hotel pools. We were in 17 different pools in Miami over 15 years. And it was hard because the weather challenges and the cold. You know, we had rain every summer, you know, all the time in the afternoons, but we also had these cold days, you know, when it drops to 65 degrees here, Miami bring out, it's cold for sure. So that's when I decided I wanted to continue to do this business. I needed to go indoors. And so 15 years ago, now, 16 years ago, I built a location. I found a warehouse in 2007. It took me about 18 months to finally get it. We built a pool INDOORS and from 2009 to 2019 we opened five year round indoor warm water purpose built locations. So, you know, people look at it now and it's kind of that expression, overnight success takes a very long time. And everybody looks at it and says, whoa, this is so cool. But it took a long time. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 2
What was one of those things that you mentioned a lot? And as an entrepreneur, you started very early and you're very successful now. What are some of those things that you feel like, well, this is something I really learned after doing this the hard way, after kind of raising the capital, teaching everyone, hiring people. What are some of those top three, let's say, learning lessons that you can share with us?
- [12:14]
Miran Oka
I probably have the top 23. You know, it's hard to narrow it down. You know, I think I learned a lot about leadership. Leadership is a team sport. I really did think I had to be the expert and I had to know how to do everything and I had to be the smartest person in the room. And now over time, I've realized that, you know, just growing people and developing them and having them really contribute to the team is really important for us and for them as well. I think I've learned so much through construction. I mean, I've been through construction in Miami. It was really a challenge. It was really interesting. We were some of the first purpose built indoor pools in Miami. You know, most of the pools here are outdoors. Yeah. So it was a lot of really deciding the equipment. And I really had a lot to do with everything that we wanted to do. And now we really have beautiful facilities. We really do. I think the other things that I've learned have been things that, you know, now we have all these manager and training workshops and this leadership development program. And usually if we have a program like, you know, one that's coming up in a couple of weeks is having difficult conversations, it's because I struggled with that and I had to learn about it and develop a program and then teach others. So, you know, we have a lot of those things where we're such a people heavy industry. You know, we work with a lot of team members. We have 165 employees. In summer, in the high season, we teach 6,500 swimming lessons a week. That's a lot of people coming through our building. So with a lot of people, you have people issues, and you have wonderful, amazing people issues, but then you also have days when it's tough. So we've learned a lot about empathy and difficult conversations and working on our listening skills and. And we've done this as we're growing, but we've also done this with our team. We hire 16 to 25 year olds, you know, so we really do a lot of education with them as well.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 3
So you've talked about leadership several times, and I want to talk about that a little bit more because again, I feel like you probably have deviated from your competitors in this aspect as well, because that's probably not a topic that people would just lean into. And you said you recognized it in yourself. So I'm curious, one, how did you recognize that you needed to grow in that area? And two, why focus on it? As you talked about for 16 to 25 year olds, I could see, you know, the upper management or things, which is I think, where people usually say, let's train these guys to be leaders. But you're looking across the board at leadership, no matter the position or level. So I want to ask about that as well. So kind of the two part question.
- [14:52]
Miran Oka
Sure. So leadership's always been important to me because it was really hard, like growing the business. You can't grow the business if you don't grow people. Right. So as we started, you know, I mentioned earlier, from 2009 to 2019, we opened 5 you around indoor warm water locations. And we needed leaders, we needed managers, we needed people to help run the business. And we couldn't just hire off the street. We very, very rarely hire someone that has taught swimming lessons before. Usually we're hiring people with really great character and that have really great attitudes and they're positive and they're happy and they just, you know, they are team players. We hire based on our core values and that's one of our core values. And then we teach them how to swim if we need to. You know, we're really good at teaching people how to swim. We're not really good at teaching people how to be happy and positive and you know, team players, that's really hard to do. So we hire character, we hire people with those great values and then we train skill. So that's been really important to us all along. And so we do, we have sometimes these groups of team members coming in, brand new team members. We have to work on our swim skills. You know, I mean, that's a reality. But they're usually super positive, super willing to learn, super excited about it and it really makes it fun. You know, we are in a fun, fun industry. You know, it's rewarding. We have fun in the pool, we play with children, we play with each other. Like we have a really good work environment. But the work that we do is super, super important. You know, it's this tremendous responsibility because unfortunately, you know, the statistics are terrible in the state of Florida. And drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1 to 5 in the state of Florida. And so the National Institute of Health has done research and they've reported that children who participate in formal swimming lessons are 80% less likely to be involved in an aquatic incident. So you know, we're nearing 3 million swimming lessons taught now. That's a big milestone for us and that's a great number and we love it. But it also represents lives saved because people have taken swimming lessons. So we think that we do really important work. And so we talk to our team a lot about they could be teaching art, they could be teaching, you know, all sorts of different things. But at Oak Aquatics, they're teaching a life saving skill that's really, really important. And it, you know, it goes with them forever. And I know Enrique is a huge swimmer, a huge fan of swimming. So I know that, you know, he understands how important swimming is.
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Logistics with Purpose Host 2
So that's for my dad, that's for sure. And yes, it's definitely a life skill and it's something that's very relaxing. And I would say even from all this mental issues that we're having, I'm pretty sure that swimming actually helps a lot with that. But you mentioned, and you keep mentioning, since I actually met you for the first time, purpose for you is very, very important. So let me read the purpose and mission of your owned company. And it says, our purpose is to make a positive difference for our team, families, community and planet. And so why purpose? Right? Because we understand everything you've said and it's very inspiring. And by the way, it's unbelievable that you're teaching 6,000 plus people per week. Where does purpose come from?
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Miran Oka
So, I mean, purpose is everything. Purpose is the why. Purpose is why we do what we do. This is how we've engaged our team. It's how we, we get them, you know, to really understand that the work that they do matters. And I think that we have really great retention compared to industry standards across the United States. We have great retention. And I think it's because we focus on purpose and we talk to them about the difference they're making and it's, they're making a difference across each other, you know, with the other team members, but also with our children and also with our community and the planet. We are environmentalists. You know, we do talk a lot about these things. So under our purpose, we have a twofold mission statement. And that one part of our mission is to our families and we want to teach them to love swimming and we want them to become more comfortable and more responsible around the water. And that's super important. You know, we want to make everybody safer around the water. Nobody's ever safe, but they're safer. But then the second part of our mission is to our team and our team we want to grow them under this framework of environmental and social responsibility so that we can grow the business in a more sustainable way and we can make a bigger impact in the world. So most of the team members who come to work with us, the 16 to 25 year olds, they buy in, they're purpose driven, they see that and they feel like this is something I can get behind, this is something I can grow here. But I also believe in the work, the work matters to them. So they're saving lives, but they're also growing themselves under this framework of environmental and social responsibility. And that's how we've become a certified B corporation and that's how we've done all the other things that we've done.
- [19:24]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
I was just going to ask you about that. Since you jumped in. You have a lot of different certifications and of course they're very important to you for the reasons that you just gave us. You are a B Corp, you're 1% for the planet. You're at top workplaces and I think you've been for many, many years in a row. Why were these certifications important? And of course you can tell us a little more about the process and how this certifications now are shaping or have shaped the values and culture that you have and that your team has.
- [19:51]
Miran Oka
Absolutely. So, you know, I think that again, the team that we work with, they want to make their debt in the universe. They want to feel like they're contributing and the work that we do matters, we're teaching life saving skills. But then they're also really contributing to the community and they're contributing to the planet. So, you know, we'd always worked on Habitat for Humanity homes and we'd always done different projects. But when we found the B Corp certification, it gave us a way to measure our impact and to really see how we were doing, you know. And honestly, when we first did it, we did not score very highly. We were not as sweet as we thought we would be. Yes, it's very, very tough. But going through the B impact assessment as you have done as well, going through that assessment, you learn ways that you can actually be a better company. And so that was what was really exciting for us. It gave us tools and it gave us ideas of how to even get better. And so when we finally got B Corp certified, we were super excited and really, really happy. And there are very few B Corps in Miami. They're probably five. You know, other than the big nationals, you know, there are very few. And so it's really important to us, to I would say 0% of our team members who come to work with us know what a certified B corporation is.
- [21:09]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Right.
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Miran Oka
But when they get to us, they learn about it and then they send me pictures of the tea they're drinking or the coffee or the thing, the shampoo they're buying. And it all has a certified bee on it. And so they're looking for it. And so we're kind of helping them be more aware of making better choices and choosing products with their dollars. Right. We hope that one day people will choose Oak Aquatics because we're a certified B corporation. But we're not there yet because not enough people in our community know about it. But we're early adopters and we're trying to get this going and we will, we'll keep going until it becomes where now it's. Everybody knows about it.
- [21:45]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Yes. You're certainly well on your way for sure. Well, besides us both being B Corps, we're also both proud members of the conscious capitalism community. For you and Okaquatic, what efforts have, I guess along the lines of what you were just talking about, what do you feel like has stood out most to the community and drawing people or employees to your purpose?
- [22:06]
Miran Oka
Okay, so we are part of conscious capitalism and I love that community because I mean, I think that's how we got connected in the first place, you know. Yeah. And really when you go to those events, you are with like minded business owners and like minded mission driven community. And I think that sometimes being in a place, you know, that we're in that is not there yet, we don't have a very active, we're trying, we're really trying to increase the community here. It's kind of lonely, you know, and you can only give to your team when you're getting inspiration from somewhere else. So that was my attempt to get inspired so that I could bring it back and keep inspiring my team. So yes, the community, the conscious capitalism community has been tremendous for that and meeting different people, trading ideas and just, you know, experience sharing. And then now that we talk to our team members about it, now they know the tenets of conscious capitalism and now they know, well, oh my gosh, other people are doing this too. It's not just Oak Aquatics, so that's been really exciting is to help them understand that there are good companies out there and it's worth looking for them. It's worth buying clothing from a responsible company. It's worth, you know, choosing products. It might cost a little bit more, but it's Worth it because you know that they are paying living wages and taking care of their community and you know, they have a more responsible supply chain. So hopefully we're able to educate our team members more on that. And that just, it ripples out. That's why I had this nonprofit called Ripples of Impact. That's we're all about ripples. That's really important to us, the ripples we're creating.
- [23:42]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Well, along those lines, Viktor Frankl, another great author, obviously famously said, the meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. So for us, of course, at Vector, we use logistics to make a positive impact in the world. You've talked a little about this for Oak Aquatics in communicating all this to your employees. What are some of the things that they've said as a result? How have they interpreted this mission in their own lives or how have you seen that show up?
- [24:09]
Miran Oka
Well, I think, you know, the work that we do, it's really easy to feel that purpose because we are saving lives. You know, we have our parents tell us on a regular basis, like, oh my goodness, we feel so much more comfortable now that our children can swim across the pool. We remind them even though they can do that, you still can't leave them alone. You know, children need constant adult supervision around the water, but we really, they get those stories and they hear when, you know, you see a child that comes in crying and they're scared, they're fearful of the water. And our team create moments of magic and really play with them and help them overcome that fear and then help them learn these life saving skills. That's really huge. It's a really satisfying and fulfilling moment. So they get that. They really do. But I think it's really important too, because they also get the second part of their mission. One example that is, it's kind of small, but it's not, is we don't use single use plastic at work. So, you know, when I'm doing a new staff orientation, you know, everybody in the room has their plastic water bottle on the table. And when I talk about it, you see them all like, ooh, let me hide. But we give them all reusable things with their name on it and we try to really help them understand these small shifts can really make a big difference. You know, these little hinges swing big doors. So we talk about it all the time. We believe in constant gentle pressure and we talk about the same things over and over and over again. You know, we just went through election season and we do give PTO for our team members to vote. And we actually have a huge presidential campaign. In our swim school. We have two mascots and they run for school president at the same time as the presidential campaign. And we keep it positive and happy and just a very different campaign. But we sell campaign signs. Oh, my goodness. Like the same signs you see in yards. We sell campaign signs. We donate the money to different organizations. And, you know, when we announce the winner. We announced the winner. I was on social media, but then the other candidate hugs, you know, the one who won and says, I'm here to support whatever you need, you know, because we really want to teach children that this is important. So we do a lot of this social, environmental, responsibility stuff throughout everything that we do. So I love that.
- [26:28]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
And who won the Okaquatic selection?
- [26:30]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Yeah, who was. Who were the candidates, please?
- [26:32]
Miran Oka
We have Sunny and Sol. So we have two mascots and actually Sol won. We have little voting booths and the kids vote and they get a vote. I voted sticker and the whole thing and Soul Run. So, yeah, yeah, I love that.
- [26:46]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Were they different characters or.
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Miran Oka
It's two dolphins. They both had little mantra, you know, little campaign signs that they would. But it's like the things that make me different are the things that make me special. And another one, you know, they're just things like that. So very, very positive.
- [27:00]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Was it a tight race or Sonny took it?
- [27:03]
Miran Oka
It was pretty tight. Pretty tight race. It was a pretty tight race. But Seoul has won the last couple years. I don't know why.
- [27:09]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Oh, he's starting to sound like addicting to beat.
- [27:13]
Miran Oka
But it's just, it's really fun. We have a lot of fun with it while we're teaching the children and while hopefully we're teaching some of the parents too, that we need to keep this positive, you know, we really do.
- [27:25]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Well, that's really inspiring and fun. And it sounds again that you have an amazing team, an amazing company. And so my next question and what we want to talk about next is so important and also very admirable from you because, and I'll say this a couple of times, Okaquatics is 100% employee owned now. And so again, I'll say it again, it's 100% employee owned. So first, what does that actually mean? What is that? And then, well, what advice would you give other companies looking to implement something like this and tell us a little bit more about this amazing kind of transformation that, you know, that you've been working on for a while now.
- [28:02]
Miran Oka
Thank you. It's my new favorite topic, so I love talking about it. So we are 100% employee owned through an employee ownership trust model. And the employee ownership trust model. It's a trust much like an esop, if anybody is familiar with an employee stock ownership plan. And I actually researched, you know, I was probably at my 25 year anniversary and I started to think, what's next? What's going to happen to this business? And so I started, you know, really looking at all the different options. I went to my son and he did not want it. He was like, this is your baby, this is your project. And he loves the work that we do and he loves especially the B corp and all the environmental and social responsibility initiatives we have. But he did not want to run a swim school. So then I took a course at Stanford for a semester on what happens, can you let people buy in and how does that work? And stock appreciation rights and phantom stock and all sorts of different things. And then I found a co op, you know, and I started looking at co ops and I thought, well, that's interesting, but not exactly what I wanted. And then I found esop. And when I found an employee stock ownership plan, I thought, that's it. I actually we did evaluation, we hired an attorney, we did feasibility studies. And in the middle of that process I found EOTs. When we transacted, there were only 50 in the United States. So it's not very common, but it is the primary source of ownership in the United Kingdom. So when I learned about that, it checked all the boxes, it was perfect. And my number one concern with succession planning and with my transaction was I didn't really want it to go to private equity. And the reason was I saw some of my friends that were selling to private equity and I saw how it shifted the culture and it changed. And I was really worried about our B corpiness and our conscious capitalism and all of that stuff that we do that I think adds value, but I'm not sure if it would have survived a transaction like that. So I really wanted an instrument that would not be able to be sold. And then I found out ESOPs could be sold to private equity. So that's when I really decided to go with an eot and an eot, it's a trust. I could write in whatever I wanted into that trust. And so some of the things that are written into the trust is that we're going to strive to maintain our B corp certification. We're going to continue to do some of the benefits that we do for our team members, we're going to continue doing those things. It defined who's an owner. So team members who hit 2,500 hours are owners at Oak Aquatics. They don't have to buy in. They don't buy in with money. They buy in with their dedication and with their time. So that means a part time team member who's worked here for 10 years working 15 hours a week could be an owner or a full timer working, you know, 15 months could become a full, you know, a co owner. We call them co owners because we don't use the word employee at Oak Aquatic. So we defined all these different things and you know, we just had our first profit share payout which is great. And everyone made about 4% of their salary under ownership. So which is a nice little bump. It was something. But what we did is when we announced this, we told them the first couple of years, you're going to make $17. That's what we told them, like don't plan on anything because we have to. There is a seller note. The trust is still buying the company from me. There is a note and they're at the beginning, it's, you know, you gotta keep this going. But it actually turned out to be much more than 17 and everybody was quite happy. But we wanted to set their expectations that it's long term thinking, you know, give it a few years, this'll really pay off, especially as that note is paid down. And it is one of those things that I think is the best kept secret of succession planning and especially of employee ownership because it is very, very flexible. And it's flexible in a good way and it's flexible in a tough way. You have to make a lot of decisions, you know, about what do I want this company to look. So I'm really, really excited with the structure and so far our team members are very excited with the structure.
- [31:59]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
So congratulations. This is amazing.
- [32:02]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
I have so many questions. I'm sure being in the class and then around kind of, you've probably now met some of these other 50. That's amazing that there are only 50 in the US considering how many businesses there are. And you've probably also gotten a lot of questions and maybe even some pushback from other business owners. So I'm curious if you can, I guess we'll kind of use this as a form to maybe discuss, dispel some myths or objections or concerns. What do you hear an argument against from other business owners and how would you counter that?
- [32:29]
Miran Oka
I think that some people are afraid to Let go. You know, and really there are a couple of things. Is one, I had a really great culture at Oak Aquatics and we have an own IT culture. We talk about own IT and ownership for years before we actually did this transaction. So one of the things is you can't sell your company to a trust or become an employee owned company and overnight everybody thinks like an owner. That's not how it works. We've had open book management for two years and so we had to do a lot of training. You know, we did a lot of training on financial literacy, personal financial literacy and professional, you know, the business concepts and everything. So I think that a lot of people think, oh, if you do this, everybody will think like an owner and poof, it's like magic. And it's not. You really do need to do the homework. You have to put in that work ahead of time. I also think that some people think you don't get a fair valuation. And you do. I have a completely fair valuation. We actually valued the company three different ways, three different times. And I feel very, very good. So I got a good exit and the team members got to enjoy, you know, the exit as well. Now I didn't exit completely. I stayed on as CEO and I'm going to stay here a few years. I'm not sure how long I'll be here, but right now I'd to like to stay. But Miami is a very, very expensive community and we had a lot of frontline team members who even though we paid living wages, you know, they had eight people living in a two bedroom apartment paying $3,500 in rent. And this is an opportunity for them to build wealth. This is an opportunity for them to have a stake in a company that they are dedicated to and it will help them. What we chose to do in our trust is all of the profit at the end of the year, whenever it's distributed, they get half in a check, the other half goes in their 401k. So again, we're always really focused on long term thinking. We do a lot of education, on investing and on 401k and on, you know, thinking about your future. Because again, we have a lot of young people. So those are the things that really have stood out with an eot. You know, it changes the governance structure and you can have committees that are, you know, trust stewardship committees. You have a board of directors, you can have involvement from your team, you can have elections to see who's on those groups. There are all sorts of different things that you can do to make sure that the decisions that are being made are in the best interest of the company. But there are a lot of different, really amazing, wonderful opportunities for the team who really are dedicated to it.
- [35:01]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
This is amazing. Yeah. Well, no, I just wanted to congratulate you again and all the employees for actually going through something like this. The co owners, not employees. My mistake. Yes, my mistake. That. But no, congratulations. I think you're once again, you're leading by example and once again you're actually putting yourself and your company and your passion and your culture ahead of everything else. And I just wanted to say that it's refreshing and it's inspiring and it's admirable, especially now with everything that's going on in the world. So thank you.
- [35:31]
Miran Oka
Thank you. Well, I appreciate that. I really do.
- [35:34]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
You're also a board member of Florida for Good in Miami. Tell us about Florida for Good, what you do there, your role, the future, planning for that as well.
- [35:45]
Miran Oka
So Florida for Good, the bigger entity was started in I believe the Orlando area and now there's a St. Pete and there's a Miami chapter and it serves as like our B local. So as a certified B corporation, most communities have a B local, which is the community of all the B corps in that area. We had very few and you know, there are conscious capitalism chapters all over and I believe Atlanta has a really pretty active conscious capitalism chapter. Miami, not so. So we created Florida for Good Miami to be kind of the catch all. It's all the B corps, all the conscious capitalism members, all the 1% for the planet partners. Anyone who's B curious, you know, you want to B corp curious, come on in. We're going to help you, you know, get on this path. So it's a community and it helps everyone get better and it helps us have a place to again experience, share but also learn from each other, trade ideas. They're all values aligned, mission driven businesses and it's great. I mean we have been doing some really nice events, some good gatherings, had guest speakers. So if anybody's ever in Miami and is interested, let us know and we'll put you on the slate to speak or come to an event.
- [36:52]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Fantastic.
- [36:53]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
We would definitely, definitely do that.
- [36:55]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Have you seen the growth? I love that you've combined all of those because we do show up at one event and often see people from the other communities as well. We're kind of all interested. But I'm curious if you've seen, you know, we've, Enrique and I have talked a lot about you Know the explosive growth of B Corp. Same with, you know, these other 1% and conscious capitalism as well. I'm curious what you're seeing in Florida as kind of takeaways for companies that are interested more in purpose.
- [37:19]
Miran Oka
I think there are companies that are interested in purpose. I'm not sure how they feel about coming out and using that in marketing and branding just yet. You know, Florida is an interesting state. You know, the anti dei, anti ESG state. We've had some pushback every once in a while, but I do think that we keep talking about it again. It's that constant gentle pressure. We're going to keep talking about it and people do come around and we are seeing more, but maybe not as much as other states. I'm always so surprised when I go to a different state and I see their B local or their communities and just there are B corps everywhere. Every you drive down the street and you see the signage everywhere and you see that's why it's nice. It's nice to get out of this area sometimes and see it is happening. It's just going to take a little bit more time in this area.
- [38:04]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
Or you're a trailblazer in that regards as well. And speaking of starting new things, you mentioned before that everything has a ripple effect. Everything has a ripple impact. And you actually founded non for profit called Ripples of Impact. Can you tell us a bit more about this initiative, what it is and what the program actually is trying to accomplish?
- [38:22]
Miran Oka
Sure. So it's funny because I didn't think I would be doing this this quickly. It's gone a lot faster than I thought so. And Ripples of Impact, it's ROI and it's the ROI of using your business for good. You know, so I like talking about the ROI because you know, so many businesses are thinking about ROI and this is the ripples of impact of using your business for good. I think that we have been a more profitable company because of all the good work that we do and some people think that it costs more, but I do think that we have a healthier bottom line because of it. So Ripples of Impact, what we wanted to do is right now we have our twofold mission statement. Make families safer around the water by teaching swimming skills and then also helping our team members grow under this framework of environmental and social responsibility. We want to do the same thing, but in underserved communities. So Ripples, it does the same thing. It has tuition assistance and scholarship funds for people who need assistance for swimming lessons. And we want to get them high quality swimming lessons. But then also we are out in the community doing a lot of work, environmental work. We're going to work with Miami Climate Week and Florida Climate Week, and we do a lot of just showing off our 1% for the planet partners and educating the community about single use plastic. We have a community garden at one of our locations and we're teaching the community about how to plant gardens and how to, you know, just different things, taking care of the environment. And so it's kind of the same thing that we're doing at Oak Aquatics, but just under this umbrella, this nonprofit umbrella. And it's been really fun. I'm really surprised to see all of the attention that we've gotten. And I really do want to talk to businesses about how business. Because I don't think nonprofits can solve all of the world's problems. Absolutely. I think we need business. Business is amazing. I love capitalism, but I do think that sometimes capitalism has gone astray. And I really do think if we can just show people that there's such an amazing benefit to everyone for business being involved in these things. So.
- [40:26]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Absolutely. Well, as we wrap up, I want to ask you another question about the roi. Thank you for pointing that out. That's so clever and I love that. I did not catch that at all. We, you know, have talked About B Corp, 1% for the planet, conscious capitalism, all of these things. And there is still, even in those communities themselves, people who have taken the time to pursue these initiatives. The ROI is still kind of a question mark in a lot of ways. So for those who are be curious or one of the other exploring something like this, maybe even putting together their first CSR team at their company sustainability initiatives. As someone who has been around for 31 years now, what is the business case that you would make to people who are kind of holding out or should we, should we not or should we recertify or, you know, do we step out in Florida and, and make our stance known? What is the business case that you would present to them?
- [41:20]
Miran Oka
Well, I will say, and I'm speaking from our experience, so I will say that everything we've done has really helped engage our team members. And at the very least. So people aren't choosing us yet because we are a bee corp or because we are members of the conscious capitalism, but team members are coming to work with us and they're staying longer because they see a company that cares about their future and about the environment and about the social issues that they care about. So I think that by engaging our team members, we have retained them longer, we have kept them longer. So that means our customers are happier, and then that means our customers are staying longer, and then that means our bottom line is happier and healthier. So I think, again, it's a ripple. We're really focused on our team members. I can't teach the entire Miami community yet. We're trying, but I know I can really focus on the team members who work with us and talk about the difference they make and how they can continue to make a difference in their spending habits and what they do and voting and, you know, the importance of voting and all these different things. I know that they feel fulfilled and satisfied. So they just by them staying longer, it really helps our company. So I really do feel that that in itself is helping our bottom line, but also it's helping humanity. I mean, it really is helping to grow the citizens of tomorrow. You know, we are really helping them in personal development and professional development, but also we just wanna help make them better citizens.
- [42:42]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
I totally agree with you and again, it's been a pleasure having you here. How can our listeners connect with you and of course, learn a little bit more about Oak Aquatics and Ripples of Impact and everything else that you're doing right now?
- [42:53]
Miran Oka
Well, they can follow us on social media. Ocaquatics and ripplesofimpact.org is our website. I'm on Instagram and on LinkedIn. My name is Miranoka and it's pretty easy to find. There aren't a lot of Mirin Okas out there. So, yes, if they want to engage on social media and if anybody ever wants to talk about employee ownership or about anything, I am very willing to connect with people who want to talk more about everything.
- [43:17]
Logistics with Purpose Host 2
And I can attest to that because I've actually stolen you a couple of hours already talking about this. I'll probably have to do it again as we continue to push our company to one of these models. So thank you again.
- [43:29]
Miran Oka
It's been my pleasure. Thank you.
- [43:30]
Logistics with Purpose Host 3
Thank you so much for your time. Mirin, this was wonderful. I can't wait for everybody to hear it and to learn from it. And though you are based in Miami, to put these lessons into their own circumstances and environments as well. So thank you. It's been a joy and a pleasure talking to you and for our audience. Thank you once again for your time and if you'd like to hear other amazing, interesting logistics with purpose conversations, then we'll see you again in a couple of weeks. Don't forget to hit. Subscribe. Bye bye.