If You Dream It, You Can Build It
José Azpiri was born in the city of Puebla, Mexico and immigrated to Canada in 2002. During his very successful career with Canada’s top luxury tour operator, José noticed an opportunity to offer first class tours coupled with outstanding service in the Vancouver area. Evergreen Adventures was born! José established his own private sightseeing tour business focused on customer needs. “It was a natural fit, I knew I could bring something to the table that didn’t exist in the city; luxury vehicles, the best tour guides and drivers in the city, proper uniforms and outstanding food made by gourmet Chef Marianne”. José , who is fluent in English and Spanish, loves spending time with his beautiful family; Marianne, an exceptional wife and mother, and his two energetic boys Sebastian and Esteban.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
How José was first introduced to Canada as a boy growing up in Puebla, Mexico
The first impressions José had of Vancouver, BC during Expo 86
The process José and his wife Marianne went through to immigrate to Canada
What companies José found work with and how they shaped his career
How the luxury tourism industry became such a niche for José
How simple everyday interactions, as with a neighbor, can shape your future
Why Martin refers to the journey José took with his career as a flow more than a linear progression and how that is beneficial
What philosophy José maintains in dealing with employees and clients
Why “value in intentionality” matters
What is the secret of the cookies?
In this episode….
José Azpiri grew up in Puebla, Mexico, but the seed of the dream of living in Canada was planted young. His family sent him to learn English by living with a family in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for a summer. That exchange gave him friends and a place for his family to head back to together in 1986. From Prince Albert, Saskatchewan the family drove out to Vancouver, BC for Expo 86 and José told himself that one day he’d return. Years later, he and his wife Marianne started the process of immigrating to Canada, to Vancouver, and the dream came true. They started from nothing: they left family, friends, and work behind in Mexico and José immediately pushed to find a job in his new home.
Within a month after that momentous move, José had his first job interview with Kiwi Collection and that would start him on a long, sometimes winding career in the Vancouver-based tourism industry. José started building on what he learned of the luxury travel business as well as aspects of the other companies he worked for to put in motion what would ultimately become his own luxury tour company. Today, alongside his wife Marianne who is a chef, he owns and operates Evergreen Adventures.
In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and José Azpiri discuss what Martin terms the “flow” of how José built his company from the ground up. José explains how he treats his customers, how each one matters individually, and how he works to make a memorable experience for each customer through special details. He and Martin explore what it means to have a dream and how to put in the patient and steady work to achieve it. José understands how to capitalize on opportunity and lean into personal strengths as well as the value of generous interactions with insightful people.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Sponsor for this episode...
This podcast is brought to you by URGEO, Operational excellence in action through the Are you Ready Program!
Are you READY to free up your time?
Optimize your Organization?
Grow revenue and reduce costs?
Build your leadership team?
Partnering with organizations like yours, we work with you to implement our proven methodology designed to transform your operations, while providing accurate advice and support for real success.
Translating strategy into frontline operations, URGEO helps leaders and the people within their organization excel at safe, on-time, on-budget and on-spec delivery. Let’s touch base so we can learn how we can level up your business. Contact us today.