Jaci Patrick Helping Caymanians Become Personal Brands - Interviews Personal Branding Expert Qamar Zaman

Hey, listen close to what I gotta say, 'cause you know that there ain't no other way. Coffee with Q is the only way. Y'all ready? Let's go! Yeah, Q makes your website better. Yeah, Q makes your SEO all together. Y'all ready? Let's go! Let's, let's, let's go!

Woo!

Coffee with Q, come on! Coffee with Q, hey! You need to have all the assets congruent. So those are things we're teaching. So it's a free class. So we have a lot of free stuff, value-based. So free is for people that have to put their skin in the game. You're only good as a personal brand if you do something. If they Google you and they don't find you, you may be a great brand, but you are an expensive billboard behind your home, right?

Who wants—

nobody knows about it. So that's why you need to be a famous Good afternoon, Cayman Islands.

This is your host, JC Patrick, on Amplifying Caymanian Brands. So I am the former Miss World Cayman Islands, and I have gotten a chance to work with Qamar Zaman, the director and creator of the platform Coffee with Q. I have the privilege of interviewing him and really getting to know him. in learning more about Coffee with Q, and I am bringing you along as my audience to experience what he's been through, what the company is like, and what Coffee with Q does for Caymanians. So I would love to introduce my guest, Qamar Zaman.

Thank you, JC, for having me. Let's get the show started.

Thank you so much for being here. So Qamar, you have spent years in the Cayman Islands, and I know that you consider it your home. So tell us a little bit more about why Cayman and why you love the island so you can connect with your Caymanian audience.

Yeah, JC, I was 17 going to school at Michigan State, and I happened to come in winter, December, December. So it was really cold in Michigan. So I happened to visit Cayman Islands. My dad used to own a business here, so we visited. As a result, I fell in love with the Cayman Islands. Now, back then, Cayman was not what it is today. It was very simple. I still love kind of like little Cayman.

Yeah.

So I came here and I just fell in love. And then every year I kept on coming back. I went to school, then I first graduated. I wanted to get a job in the Cayman Islands and when I came after my graduation, I graduated in May, uh, and when I graduated, I came back to Grand Cayman.

Yeah.

And I was hoping that if I find a job, you know, uh, I'm going to stay here. Now, I had a degree in computer science, and you have to think about, you know, a person that has a degree in computer science. Cayman was not what it is today. It was very So without my experience, who's going to hire me? But Cayman is so welcoming, you know, it's so welcoming that that I looked for an ad in the paper. Now those ads are mostly done for immigration purposes, as you know. But I happened to be lucky. Even though it was done for immigration purpose, I got to call the company.

Yeah.

My boss Steve Guntrip, he was from England. He called me and he said, I would like to talk to you. And he was an expat. He called me and he said, we are advertising this position. If you don't get a local guy, then we are going to bring somebody from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. And I said, Steve, to be honest, I'm not a local guy. I'm an expat here. And he said, let's do the interview and see. I was interviewed by him, interviewed by another partner, and I was interviewed by 2 people. Mr. Truman Barton, who was a local partner in the firm, and Mr. Heber Arch, another local guy. And they loved me. They said that they're going to give me a try. And that's where my genesis of the Cayman story began. I worked with them for about 3 years and then I went to do my master's. The company was growing. They were sold out. Long story short, but that's how I started. And then I went to do my master's and I kept coming back. Fast forward to 2024 and I'm here. I was gone after Hurricane Ivan.

Yeah.

I established something grand from Grand Cayman because that whole position I wanted to become, you know, I wanted to help the Cayman as because I felt this was my home.

Yeah.

Do I give to my home? I didn't have anything else to give, but I kept that in back of my mind. And there's a saying that if you keep thinking, you'll get it, as long as kosher, you know. So what I was thinking was kosher, and I'm here, and I'm on an interview, and so happy to be with you. Yeah.

Well, Kumar, I mean, you have shown like your dedication to your clients in the Cayman Islands, and You yourself have built a business, a really strong one, and one that, you know, you are now helping Caymanians. And just having this platform, Coffee with Q, you know, you can have companies come on and share their story. So can you tell me a little bit more about Coffee with Q and the platform and really what it offers to Caymanians as a whole?

Coffee with Q is an international platform. Started this in 2019 around the COVID time, December. But because COVID happened, you know, I, I couldn't do much for Cayman, even though it was a Cayman project that I had conceived. So I started doing that, and we have done over 3,000 interviews with different people on different platforms. So, so I kind of put Coffee with Q at the back burner, but I created a similar product But when I finally came here to the Caymans about a year ago, I wanted to bring back what the vision was. I love coffee, but I'm very picky about how I drink coffee. Yes. The coffee is— coffee is comfort. Coffee is energy. So I thought that if somebody can sit with me on my podcast and I can Partake my knowledge on, on the subject matter that I know. I know a lot about technology. I have 3 decades of experience, so why not teach somebody? So that is when Coffee with Q was really created. But it's not just about me. So I want to help the local people in the Cayman Islands, the local brands where they can book a session with me on Coffee with Q, like you're interviewing me. Either you or I will interview them and take their brand and create brand awareness about their brand. So that's what Coffee with Q is. So it's a way for local businesses to get to know internationally. Like, local businesses have a challenge. You have to advertise locally on radio, which is great but expensive. Yeah. You have to advertise in Kemenyan Compass. It's the best newspaper, or Kemenyan Times. But then also that costs money. Coffee with Q is free. So if you have something good to say, obviously we are not political platform. You have to have something good to say and you want to grow your audience, then Coffee with Q is a platform and It's free. As I say, genius is free. So that's one of the things that we can talk about.

Absolutely. And I love that quote, genius is free. I mean, at least for me, there is nothing more important than knowledge and wisdom. And I think learning from other people is a really great way to gain that knowledge and wisdom. And I think that with you kind of offering those classes, And offering this platform, Coffee with Q, it gives local businesses time to expand and grow. And what, like, what success rate have you seen with Coffee with Q, either locally or internationally?

Before we talk about success rate, I want to kind of peel the onion and explain to you this phenomenon, and then I'll tell you the success. So let's say you want to be a doctor, right? Right? So you go to high school, you finish your 12 grades, and then you go to 5 years of— if you go to England, you have to do 5 years of MBBS. So that's 5 years.

Yeah.

And then you have to do your house job, et cetera. And then it takes you 10 years to become a real good doctor. And there's research that I read somewhere, I forget where it was, but it says that if you do something for 1 to 2 hours a day, You do it consistently, you become an expert.

Yeah.

Now you use that approach to medical students. Like there's a medical college here. I mean, I constantly see them studying. They're at coffee shops, they're at Starbucks, they're everywhere. These kids are studying. So that's the concept. So what they become, they become subject matter experts. So a doctor is subject matter expert in something. Now, if you go back to your own background, you wanted to become Miss World Cayman Islands. Now, nobody just gave it to you. You have to look pretty. But looks are not adequate. You have to have 5 other components. So you really worked hard, you worked on your skills, you worked on presentation, you worked on delivery, you worked on a lot of things. You can talk about it more than I did. So you became A subject matter expert.

Yeah.

Somebody comes to you and says, JC, we want to put our 3-year-old daughter to the program. So by the time she's 16, she can be Miss World Cayman Islands. And you can do this better than anyone else because you have drink the Kool-Aid, you know?

Yeah.

You have done that. So now this is the concept that I wanted to, to see what I can do Now the problem is people that have drank the Kool-Aid, that are subject matter experts, they don't know how to market themselves. You know, there's a story about this lady. So I'm gonna tell you a story because I'm a storyteller, so I'll tell you a story. So there's this lady who loves to bake.

Yeah.

Brownies. Okay. She gets up in the morning at 6 o'clock and she's baking these brownies and when she, When it's 8 o'clock, her family is getting up and her kids are loving it.

Yeah.

And says, you know what, honey? Why don't you open a brownie shop? She said, yeah, that's a great idea because I am the best brownie person. So she creates a brownie shop. She goes to create it. Now this, she hates it. She was the best brownie maker because guess what she knew? She knew how to make brownies.

Yeah.

She has to get up in the morning at four. She has to go and do shopping at Foster's at six thirty in the morning. She has to buy the fresh stuff. She has to make the brownies. Once the shop is done and it's closed by one o'clock, brownies are all sold. She has to come back and do accounting, and then she has to find customers. She has to do marketing. We recently interviewed a lady. Won't mention the name. She has created this great product, but she's a great chef, but she doesn't know how to market. So how does she market it? So she's a subject matter expert on brownies or fitness or whatever, but she doesn't know how to market. So now what is she going to do? She's going to pick up the phone, says ring ring, say okay, I am a marketing company. Okay, can you guys meet me? So they meet a marketing company. The marketing company. guy that comes over, he's getting paid.

Yeah.

He's getting a salary, he's getting commission. So he's going to say, yes, I want you to build a website. The cost of the website is 5 grand. Okay.

Yeah.

You need a website. Everybody needs a website. Yeah. Okay. Well, the website bring me marketing or business feet in the ground? Says no, we need to do some marketing. So now she spends 5 grand more On TV, radio, local radio. Okay. Local. Right. And then she needs to create newsletters. So now this lady that was selling brownies has spent $20,000 and still she's not making any progress.

Yeah.

How difficult is this? I call it how rude. Okay. It's how rude you started for what you loved. Right. Yeah. Now you spend $20,000. So now I'm not saying that marketing is not important. I'm not saying that SEO is not important. What I'm saying is, who is going to give this poor chocolate chip brownie lady a breakthrough?

Yeah.

So that's what, as I was dying in the hurricane, I was about to die in the hurricane.

Yeah.

I was thinking, what can I do when I come back? It only took me 20 years to come back. But when I came back, I said, what can I do? So hence, I created Coffee with Q.

Yeah.

I want to interview these people. My target audience is the brownie ladies, the fitness ladies, the swimming instructor, anyone that is new, even the ones that are established law firms, you know, accountants that are struggling to bring new business. So what I do for them, in 1-hour podcast, I am going to show their subject matter expertise. Yeah, my audience through interviewing them. Yeah, through creating a narrative and then amplifying that narrative to a system. I call it the KISS PR ecosystem.

Okay.

What I'm going to do and blast the name out. So after a week of the podcast, If they were to search for their name or what they do in Grand Cayman, they're going to be on the first page of Google, hopefully in 3 to 4—

They've been spoken to. Yes.

So now they know. Okay. And then with the word of mouth, the marketing starts to get viral. It's called grassroots gorilla marketing. So that's what really I'm doing. And going back to the question, genius is free. So genius is free. And yeah, we have different packages that we can help them to go higher, but our marketing is free. There's zero-dollar marketing, and we are invested. This is my giving back. This is how I'm back to to the people of Cayman Islands. Yeah, I hope I answered your question in a long long.

Definitely did. And one thing I did notice, Kumar, is that. your company and who you are. It's a very give-to-give community. So because you knew what it felt like after the hurricane to, you know, lose something and have to build it back. And like you were saying, with, you know, small businesses, they need that exposure. So what you're doing is giving them that global platform. And I think again, with Coffee with Q, just simply having those interviews and The packages that you offer will help to elevate their brand. Coffee with Q, is there any other services that you offer other than the podcast?

We do a lot. One thing that I want to mention in this conversation that the local community relies on foreign travelers. So who's coming to the table? People that live here, they get to know the local market anyway. Because the market is small. You talk to one person and it goes viral and you create Instagram and it creates—

Yeah.

So that's, but that's a small market, right? That, that's not the market that's going to help you thrive. It can help you survive, but not thrive. So the process is that when somebody searches for coming to the Cayman Islands, they are doing a couple of things. Where am I going to eat? Okay. That's everybody thinks about, at least People search for it. Okay.

Yeah.

Am I going to go for water sports? Okay. Where I'm going to stay, it's an Airbnb or rental or hotels. So imagine these were the people that we had interviewed. They're going to get free advertising and then do more. So in terms of the packages, we have packages that you guys can share, but the main thing is the The package is only as good as the value it brings.

Yeah, absolutely.

You can spend a lot of money in marketing. If it doesn't bring value to the people. Yeah, we have customized packages because not one size fits all.

Yeah.

But our basic, basic everything that we are doing for them, especially payment enterprise people, Payment is free, you know, that, that is free. And with free, they get a lot of business. So if they can pay another $500, $600 and get more out of it, why not?

Yeah, no, absolutely. And I think that again, because small businesses, they are trying to thrive in such a small community, I think having the option that's more affordable, I mean, that's how you get business, right? So I think That, Qamar, you're doing exactly what you need to do. And I think that this podcast and the interviews will allow businesses to really, like I said, grow and thrive. And also, with the interviews that you've done, I've watched a couple, and everyone that's been on your podcast always seems so enthusiastic. They always seem so passionate about what they do. And I think Your energy along with theirs, you work well together.

Yeah, we are looking for can-do mindset. Yeah, I have been— I was born with a disability. So my dad, when I was born, I couldn't walk and the doctors had given up on it. So my dad would take me to a doctor and he kept on doing it. So he I guess he told me because I don't remember. He must have told me, you can do it. So the you can do it was subconsciously injected in my head. And then we had an accident.

We—

he had a major accident. I burned my arm. As a result of that, I was able to walk. So subconsciously, I thought I can do everything.

Yeah.

And I've gone to meetings where all the other agencies have said, this is very hard. And this will cost thousands of dollars. And I said, well, let's do it for free. And people think this guy is either nuts or he's just lying and they've seen these results. So I have faith and I think faith is the biggest catalyst in my body that makes sense for me. So that's what— so I'm here. I'm here to give back whatever I can as long as I can.

And I think we see that with how passionate you are. We see that with your clients and also the testimonials that you have. Um, Qamar, the last question that I have for you, so who will this, um, the interviews or the podcasts or any of the like personal branding classes, who will they be offered to?

These, um, podcasts are designed to help anyone who has this And skin in the game. In other words, they may have not gone to the college. So criteria is not that they have to go to college.

Yeah.

The criteria is that they have been in the game for years now. Like a guy we met today, he's been doing 14 years, so now he's ready to embark on a journey and he wanted to do it with us. So these are the people that, that have expertise, like the lady That wants to sell her keto product. Yeah, she has the expertise. Now we need to get her expertise out to create awareness. Yes, we are good at— I always tell my clients, I'm a doctor.

Yeah.

You tell me your problem and I can help you solve the digital problem. You must have a pain and I am not going to give you a vitamin. Because vitamin doesn't solve pain. I'm going to give you a painkiller and it's going to hurt. But, you know, a shot will hurt you, a painkiller will hurt you, but I am going to solve this. The other thing is when you go to a doctor, a good doctor, he doesn't care if you have the money, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

Especially in the Cayman Islands. I've seen in America you have to check in with your insurance and all, but if you go to an ER and if you're dying, Yeah. We are gonna save your life. If your business is dying, it's not striving, it's struggling. I am that doctor that's gonna cure you at no cost. So this is the— this is somebody, you have a product, you have a vision, you have something that's brewing in your head, but you have not been able to get it out there. I can help you get it out there, you know. Yeah, I've helped even— I have people, I've taken my money and given it to people and I said, let's do it. The point is, the only criteria that's there is, are you going to do it? You can't be sleeping.

Do the work.

Yeah, let me do the work. Ain't happening. So that's why you need to get out, you know.

Yeah.

The first thing when I meet a client, if I'm physically in my office, Like the client came to my office in Texas and he said, I'm here. Yeah. He was a new client. He was not paying. And I said, okay, give me 20 pushups. And he was like, what? I can't do 20. I said, well, you could try it.

You can do the work.

You can do the work. So he did 5 and I said, okay, stop before you die on me. So, and I said, I'm gonna do it with you. Yeah. So I did the pushups with him. So he can be motivated. So when we have the office, we're gonna do pushups. So we are gonna have a pushup challenge. We're gonna get ice bucket challenge. We are gonna do everything that is out of the box because we want people in Cayman Islands to really be seen outside of the Cayman Islands. Cayman is known for financial sector.

Yes.

This sector travel. Can it be known for The smart people of the Cayman Islands. I think that's part that's missing, and I'm very passionate about it.

Yeah. And I think touching on what you said, Qamar, I mean, even for me, I went to school and I did journalism, and then, you know, I won Miss World. I entered the international pageant, and pageantry is a very small community here. And even that is something that we need to grow. But like you said, when you're in a different kind of area or you're creative, there's not as many resources in the Cayman Islands, but it's something that you're, you're building up, which I think is absolutely brilliant. And it's something that was actually needed in the Cayman Islands for a long time. You know, growing up, I wish I had a personal brand class that I could learn how to build my brand, learn how to be an entrepreneur. Because for me, it's all about mindset, and I've always had that. So Again, Qamar, I think that your program is brilliant. I think a lot of Caymanians, especially young Caymanians, can benefit from it. And again, it takes the work. It takes the willingness to put, you know, that consistency there to, to do the work, to come to the classes, to do the podcast. But I think with your enthusiasm and your positivity, I think it's a no-brainer for Caymanians to choose you.

Coffee with Q is for people that have a built a small business. They are experts. So I have layers in that. So there are 3 podcasts that we have. One is your podcast, which is a Caymanian brand. Obviously, we're going to talk with the Caymanians about their businesses. The second one is Billionaire Mind. To do anything, you must put a millionaire mind. So I said, you know what, why million? Why not billion mind? Okay. So that is where I'm going to help the young Qamanian change paradigm to switch from a limited mind that is really controlled.

Yes.

Parents, because parents tell us, you know, don't like too much money. Parents tell you, well, you know, too much money is bad, and then you get scared. So we want to change their mindset.

Yeah.

The third is the subject matter expert. The subject matter experts are people There are experts, there are bakers, chefs, restaurant owners, etc., that are struggling, but they don't know how to promote their business. So we have everything. Now, the Personal Brand Podcast or the Personal Brand Class, which is a 3-month class that we're offering 100% for free, is for young Kamanians or any person that is legally on the island can attend this class.

Mm-hmm. Okay.

Through Zoom in our office, we call it the office hours where we're gonna teach them how to become subject matter expert. Now, what subject are we teaching them? Personal branding. So like we are going to help them become the samurai of personal branding. That's the word, samurai. How to use your sword like that. So basically we wanna teach them and then that will make them money.

Yes, absolutely.

And they can do whatever they want. You know, some people are bankers, they go to 9 to 5, but they're bored with their job. They go in the morning, they're tellers, they stand there, they're tired. I talk to people at Smoothie King and says, what can I do to make more money? So you need to become a personal brand. When people search for you, they see everything about you, not about you without a t-shirt. You need to look How you want to present yourself. If you're a fitness coach, yeah, show your abs. But if you're not a fitness coach, you need to have all the assets congruent. So those are things we're teaching. So it's a free class.

Yeah.

So we have a lot of free stuff, value-based. So free is for people that have to put their skin in the game.

And how long will, um, the personal branding class go on?

So it's a lifestyle. So personal branding class is a 3-month program, but it's a change to the lifetime.

Lifetime.

So we are gonna do personal branding, then we're gonna teach them how to take their personal branding. At that point, they have become a subject matter expert.

Yeah.

In area of focus. And after that, we're gonna teach them what they do. So then we're gonna make them, help them grow their personal brand because you are, you are only good as a personal brand if you Do something.

Yeah, right.

If they Google you and don't find you, you may be a great brand, but you're an expensive billboard behind your home, right? Once nobody knows about it. So that's why you need to be a famous personal brand in the Cayman Islands. Yeah, overseas, when people search for you.

Yeah.

You go to Miami and you wait, you're sitting at the airport. And people ask you, what's your name? And says, my name is JC Patrick.

Yeah.

I'm gonna Google you because that's how people are. And if I like, first time you had sent your resume and I Googled you, this can't be right. She didn't say it. I mean, you never said that you were Miss World. So I said, this can't be right. Miss World cannot be looking for talking to me. I was like, wow. You know, so Yeah, brand was there. Now we have to go to the next level.

Yeah. And again, Kamar, I'm excited to grow my personal brand with you. And like you said, you Googled me, you knew who I was. But again, with me, I'm always trying to elevate. So I think that your program allows me, not only just me, but young Caymanians' businesses to elevate their brand, become a personal brand and to really become globally known. And I really wanted to say thank you again for joining me on my podcast and for giving me these insights and really being able to kind of guide Caymanian brands to elevate themselves, to become better versions of themselves. So I just want to say thank you, and I cannot wait to interview you again.

You are closer than you think.

Thank you. I love the enthusiasm.

Thank you.