Finding a job in today’s economy is challenging. Finding a fulfilling job is even tougher. Now imagine being a refugee, with little to no relevant experience, in a new country and a new language… Near impossible. However, Chris and his project Ampilo have trained and placed thousands of refugees into careers they thrive in. If it can work for them, it can work for you.
Chris Chancey is an advocate for the refugee workforce and the founder of Amplio Recruiting, a staffing agency that helps great companies hire dependable employees from the refugee workforce. Chris and his team have placed over 4000 people who have been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster into employment. These people have been stigmatized in the workforce and in the community but the truth is that they are very dependable, highly motivated, growth orientated and legally able to join the workforce.
Amplio has found that these people want to give back to society, get an education, share their voice, participate in society, vote and pay taxes. Just like many immigrants before them.
In this podcast, Chris talks about Amplio and the techniques he uses to help empower refugees, or anyone looking to start a business.
How to find your big idea
See what is happening around you, just outside your door. As you become more involved with your community you will see the problems people are facing and you might be inspired to provide a solution.
When Chris met his neighbors and people in the area he realized that most conversation’s ended with people asking him if he knew of any job leads. As the relationships with his community developed further he realized that these people were strong and reliable people and this lead to the creation of his Amplio Recruiting.
An exercise that Chris has found helpful was to keep a small piece of paper in his pocket and when he “saw a gap in the way the world worked” and how he felt it could be better he would write down the solution. He then assessed if taking action seemed inspiring and exciting enough to tackle. For one week, open your eyes a little wider and look out for any obstacles that your community is facing and see if you have any creative solutions to these problems.
How to go from an idea into action
“ The risk at failing at this idea is worth the positive impact if it works- if you get to that point where the potential impact is so great it’s worth failing for, then go for it! “
Any effort you make to begin to take notice of the things that are happening around you, you might realize that you are uniquely positioned to actually make it happen.
Start and find your way step by step. It’s impossible to know exactly how this idea is going to take shape. Most people feel they need to know step one hundred before they can take step one. So just take that first step and the rest of the clues will uncover themselves.
Failure is a part of innovation and could possibly be the most important function. We receive feedback from each action we take which enriches our learning experience and sets the stage for future iterations of development. We can also reframe the concept of “failing” into “collecting data” so we keep our minds in a positive flow and effective at problem-solving.
A few mindset hacks along the way
Cultivating the right mindset along your entrepreneurial journey is essential. If we have our warrior mindset qued we will have no problem treading uphill during challenging moments.
Below are three values and keywords that Chris uses with his team to keep everyone in a positive mindset.
Humble + Action = “Humbition”
This world is a reminder to not take yourself to seriously and to try to have fun in this pursuit. Maintaining your commitment and dedication to your project is important but have a sense of humility that you can control the outcomes.
Buoyancy
“Recognizing that the role that you are in is endless- there is always more to do, it’s a neverending pursuit.” Think of that buoy on the waves and no matter how big the wave is, it still comes back upright. Just because you get knocked over by a wave doesnt mean its a sign to stop. The concept of buoyancy is a reminder that you are resilient.
“Only by rising back up can you see what the next opportunities that are coming down the pipe look like.”
Stay true to your values
Every day you will be faced with many choices and each decision may feel existential that will largely affect your business in the long term. What is required is a guiding principle, some greater metric to help you navigate. Communicate what is important to you and represents the ethos of your business. When your values become embedded in your work, they will also become embedded into your brand. These values are your foundation in which your project is built on.
For this week’s Unconventional Life Giveaway, Amplio is giving away a copy of their new book ” The Refugee Workforce” to be entered to win the giveaway, click here. A winner will be selected next week.
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