Asian Business Owners - A.B.O.

Carmen Salameh

I’m Carmen, host of Asian Business Owners (ABO) — a podcast featuring honest conversations with entrepreneurs across Asia. We dive into the real journey of building a business: the wins, the struggles, and everything in between. ⭐ If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review 🎧 Follow @abo.pod on Instagram for behind-the-scenes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. You Sound Different Than You Think: Why Your Voice Shapes Confidence and Leadership [EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION]

    FEB 25

    You Sound Different Than You Think: Why Your Voice Shapes Confidence and Leadership [EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATION]

    You don’t need to say much for people to form an opinion. Your voice does it for you. In this episode of Asian Business Owners, we explore how your voice shapes confidence, credibility and leadership often before your words are fully heard. Together with executive voice coach David Pope, we unpack why many founders and leaders sound less confident than they actually are and how voice, presence and authenticity are deeply connected. We talk about: How people subconsciously judge confidence through voiceWhy leadership presence is often heard before it’s understoodThe difference between sounding confident and sounding authenticCommon voice habits that undermine credibilityHow founders and leaders can find a voice that truly reflects who they are ✅ Get your free day pass at Garage Society! Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Asian Business Owners (00:31) Meet My Guest: David Pope (01:41) Beginnings In the Media London (03:21) Working For the BBC (04:21) Hong Kong for Six Months (07:36) Founding All Voice Talent (09:51) From Producer to Voice Coach (14:12) This or That Quickfire (14:56) Voice Coaching Process (18:40) Confidence Tips and Programmes (20:52) Culture Accent and Intelligibility (23:31) Speak Up to Lead (24:23) High Pitch Voices and Credibility (26:30) Posture Breath and Resonance (27:35) Top Speaking Mistakes (29:37) Three Pillars of Communication (30:42) Record Review and Transcribe (32:13) Storytelling for Recall (33:09) Gender Patterns and Confidence (35:57) Authentic Feedback and Care (39:32) Lessons For Founders (43:13) Closing ✅ Get your free day pass at Garage Society! 👉 To find out more: David on LinkedIn All Voice Talent's website To follow my journey: 💬 abo.pod 📲 Find me on LinkedIn 🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    44 min
  2. 7 Ways I Use ChatGPT as a Founder [AI FOR ENTREPRENEURS]

    FEB 18

    7 Ways I Use ChatGPT as a Founder [AI FOR ENTREPRENEURS]

    ChatGPT won’t run your business for you but used well, it can save you hours and help you think more clearly as a founder. In this episode of Asian Business Owners, I share 7 concrete ways I use ChatGPT in my day-to-day as a founder to reduce mental load, save time and make better decisions. Spoiler alert: there's no magic prompts, no overnight success. I share real use cases from my work. You’ll hear how I use ChatGPT for: generating content ideas with context, not generic promptsorganising my thinking with one thread per topictranslating content accuratelyrefining strategy and turning ideas into next stepspreparing quotations and pricing with more confidenceimproving podcast metadatagetting an external perspective when things feel stuck Timestamps: (00:00) Welcome to Asian Business Owners (00:38) Why founders should use ChatGPT (and what this episode covers) (01:27) 1- Content ideas that actually match your niche (02:53) 2- One ChatGPT thread per topic to keep context (03:35) 3- Translating content (04:10) 4- Refining strategy: challenge assumptions & turn ideas into next steps (05:03) 5- Quotations & pricing: scope checks, benchmarks, confidence (05:53) 6- Podcast metadata, descriptions, thumbnails & SEO (06:43) 7- External perspective: stuck moments, client issues, hard emails (07:34) Wrap-up: ChatGPT doesn’t replace thinking + final piece of advice (08:29) DM me, subscribe and leave a review Follow the journey: 💬 abo.pod 📲 Find me on LinkedIn 🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    9 min
  3. From Burnout to Building a Wellness Company: Jasmine’s Founder Journey [CORPORATE WELLBEING]

    FEB 11

    From Burnout to Building a Wellness Company: Jasmine’s Founder Journey [CORPORATE WELLBEING]

    Burnout almost forced her to stop but it turned out to become the turning point of her life. In this episode of Asian Business Owners, I sit down with Jasmine Liu, a former banker who experienced burnout in 2017 while working in the fast-paced banking world in Hong Kong. What followed was not just a career change but a complete shift in perspective. After a transformative trip to Bhutan, Jasmine began questioning the corporate lifestyle she once embraced. She eventually founded Maestro Wellness, a B2B platform focused on improving corporate wellbeing and launched the Build Well, Live Well Summit to help organisations rethink performance, health and longevity. We talk about: What burnout really feels like behind closed doorsWhy high performers often ignore early warning signsTransitioning from corporate banking to entrepreneurshipBuilding a wellness business from scratchLaunching a B2B platformRedefining ambition and long-term success Get your free day pass at Garage Society! Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction to Asian Business Owners Podcast (00:30) Get a free day pass at Garage Society (00:49) Jasmine's Background (01:48) Experiencing Burnout and Its Impact (06:52) Journey to Bhutan: A Turning Point (09:20) Returning to Hong Kong: A New Perspective (13:59) Transition to FinTech and Learning (15:48) Building a Meaningful Business from Scratch (19:27) Starting an E-Commerce Platform (20:20) Sourcing High-Quality Products (21:06) Managing Logistics and Operations (22:24) Transition to MaestroWellness (22:51) Addressing Corporate Wellbeing (25:10) Building the B2B Wellness Platform (32:26) What Companies Get Wrong about Corporate Wellbeing (33:39) The Build Well, Live Well Summit (36:06) Lessons for Future Founders (37:56) Conclusion and Event Reminder Get your free day pass at Garage Society! 👉 To find out more: Jasmine on LinkedIn Attend the Build Well, Live Well Summit here To follow my journey: 💬 abo.pod 📲 Find me on LinkedIn 🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min

Trailers

About

I’m Carmen, host of Asian Business Owners (ABO) — a podcast featuring honest conversations with entrepreneurs across Asia. We dive into the real journey of building a business: the wins, the struggles, and everything in between. ⭐ If you enjoy the show, subscribe and leave a review 🎧 Follow @abo.pod on Instagram for behind-the-scenes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.