In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Sophie Blachet, co‑founder of the nonprofit French Arts Associates, which curates cultural and art events for professionals and enthusiasts in Miami. Sophie shares a formative childhood story of gender‑based exclusion on a French playground, which sparked her later study of law and a lifelong commitment to justice. She emphasizes the importance of staying intellectually challenged by engaging with diverse art‑sector peers and pursuing personal passions. Her core business advice centers on networking and openly sharing information. Sophie reflects on the value of multilingualism, noting how learning English and Spanish expanded her cultural reach. She describes happiness as found in simple, nature‑focused moments away from digital distraction. Her favorite book is Émile Zola’s Au Bonheur des Dames, which inspired a love of travel, and her favorite quote is Simone Veil’s warning that destroying the past is the greatest crime. The episode concludes with information on how to find French Arts Associates online via their website and Facebook page.
Chapters
Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
¡Hola!
¿Cómo estás? All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Sophie Blachette with us. She is the co-founder of French Arts Associates, which is a nonprofit that organizes cultural and art events for art professionals and art lovers in Miami. So welcome to the show, Sophie.
Thank you for having me, Tyler Wagner.
Of course, pumped to have you on, and we'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you, Sophie, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Um, okay, uh, as weird as it can sound, when I was 4, um, I was on vacation with my family in the south of France, uh, and I was playing, uh, with other kids in a playground, and I was going up and down from a slide. And there was a little boy of my age approximately. He pushed me and said, "Oh no, no, no, you cannot play with me because you're just a girl." And I said, "Okay, no, that's not fair. I want to play." And he said no and he pushed me again. And so I pushed him back actually. And because it was, I feel it was very unfair actually. This boy said, because I'm a girl, I was not allowed to play and everything. And so he pushed me very hard and I fall from the 7-foot slide on my teeth. And I still have the mark because my front teeth are not the same as the other ones. And I say, okay. And I tell my mother after that, that I was bleeding and everything. I don't remember the pain or anything because I was only 4. But I say to my mother, I say, oh, it's just unfair that everything, He told me it's because I'm just a girl, in fact, and I was shocked because of that. So I think it changed everything and how I view things in my life. That I was— I studied law after that because I want to do something about injustice and everything. So I think it marked me a lot, this little playground thing that happened to me like 35 years ago. And I always remember it because I think it's so unfair and it feels such an injustice. So that's the thing I will remember the most, and it will really change everything, I think.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Um, I think we should always be intellectually challenged, because if we are not, it's not possible to, to to move forward. And by being intellectually challenged, it can be like meet with people from the— for my expertise, from the art industry, like other artists, other curators, museum director, go to an exhibition, I don't know, take photo, whatever people do when they are in the art business. But also, which is also very important, is to meet with people from your— what you like the most, your passion. Because I think, for example, people are very fond of yoga, of, I don't know, of writing or whatever, they will compensate with the work. So I think it's very important to always be an intellectual challenge because it's the only way to evolve actually.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Network. I think that's the best piece of advice I can give. It's always network. Network with people and also to share information. It's not because we will not share information that we have heard that we will not be able to be in or to— we will lose nothing. I think sharing is really important, and so it's the best piece of advice, actually. It's two pieces of advice, actually, to network and to share information.
Hmm.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I think it will be learn another language. I'm French, so it's my native language, but I start learning English when I was 3. So I think it was really interesting because I can meet more people and Spanish at 9. And I think to learn more languages, I will be able to understand more the culture of people. So I think it will be— I think I should have continued to do learning languages.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Just little things, little moments. Just, for example, listening to birds, listening to music, just just watch something very pretty or even a tiny thing because we are too much connected to it. We're always on our phone, we're always on our computer and we do not listen to anything anymore. So I think the happiness right now is to be more connected to nature.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Actually, it's a French book that's called Au Bonheur des Dames. I think it's from Émile Zola, and I think you translate it in English by Ladies' Paradise. So actually, that's my favorite book because I read it when I was 10, and I was living in a fisherman village in north of France in front of the sea. And this book, Au Bonheur des Dames, is about a girl that discovering a new world in Paris. And it fascinated me because I said there's something else that my beautiful view from my bedroom, which is, was, that was the sea, the sun and everything. And that's make me want to travel a lot actually. So that's why I love this book.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is from a woman called Simone Veil. She's a Holocaust survivor, and she said, "The destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes." I think it's very important to remember the past and their history so we can evolve and try to find any solutions Because if we still— if we do not understand what happened before, what was our history, we will always and always make the same mistakes. And it's— I think she's right. Destruction of the past that we— some people want to do right now is the greatest of all the crimes because we will not evolve and we always live in a I don't know, in fear. And it's, I think it's very important to learn from our mistakes of the past.
Yes. And thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for people to find you online?
Okay. So maybe it's our website, which is frenchartsassociates.org, or to go on the Facebook page, which is French Arts Associates, and you will have all information about what we're doing and my Perfect.
Thank you again. We'll talk soon.
Thank you. Bye-bye now.
The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app, free for iOS and Android.
