Mastering Conscious Leadership: Miren Oca's Journey with Ocaquatics Swim School

In this compelling episode of 'The Conscious Capitalists,' hosts Timothy Henry and Raj Soia engage in an inspiring conversation with Miren Oca, the founder of Ocaquatics Swim School. Miren shares her unconventional path to becoming a successful entrepreneur, revealing how she pivoted from a career in medicine to building a thriving swim school business out of necessity. With five locations and 6,500 swim lessons per week, Ocaquatics has flourished by prioritizing leadership development, strong company culture, and employee empowerment. Miren delves into the transformative impact of broad-based employee ownership through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) and discusses practical strategies for creating positive ripples of impact in business. Tune in for an enlightening discussion on how conscious leadership, culture-building, and people-first practices can drive both social and business success.

00:00 The Journey Begins: Med School or Pool?
00:47 Welcome to The Conscious Capitalists
01:30 Introducing Miren Oca: A Leader in Conscious Leadership
03:26 From Immigrant Roots to Business Owner
05:57 Building a Swim School Empire
10:33 The Importance of Culture and Leadership Development
19:22 Employee Ownership: A New Chapter
24:50 Introduction to Employee Ownership Trust
26:13 Emergency Financial Support for Employees
28:54 Impact of Employee Ownership on Business Performance
30:23 Encouraging Employee Ideas and Feedback
33:57 Florida for Good and Conscious Capitalism
36:00 Navigating ESG and DEI in Business
40:33 Advice for Small Business Owners
41:59 Personal Insights and Recommendations
48:54 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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For transcripts and show notes, please go to: https://www.theconsciouscapitalists.com

This show is presented by Conscious Capitalism, Inc. (https://www.consciouscapitalism.org/) and is produced by Rainbow Creative (https://www.rainbowcreative.co/) with Matthew Jones as Executive Producer, Nicholas Peters as Producer, and Nathan Wheatley as Editor.

Thank you for your support!
- Timothy & Raj