Brenda Anz and Gabriela Cadena

[00:01] BRENDA ANZ: Hi, my name is Brenda Anz Today's date is December 12, 2022. Location is in San Antonio, Texas. Name of the interview partner is Miss Gabriella. She's the CEO of Southside First, a fantastic nonprofit. Love them relationship is colleague.

[00:21] GABRIELA CADENA: My name is Gabriela Cadena. I'm in my forties. Today's date is December 12, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. I'm here with Brenda Ahn, CEO of saving our way. She's one of my colleagues and one of my favorite people in the south side of San Antonio. So, Brenda, I love the fact that you're from the south side, and I always love sharing with everyone. What is the south side? Could you tell people for who haven't been here? How would you describe the south side?

[00:50] BRENDA ANZ: Comfort. Great food, a lot of mexican restaurants. Wonderful people. Seriously, I have been, of course, to every side of town in San Antonio, and I really feel that the south side was my home. So when we were looking for houses, once I got married, of course we could go anywhere. West side, east side, north side, and south side was just our love. And so we decided to stay here and raise our kids on the south side.

[01:26] GABRIELA CADENA: I love it. And you know how you said the first thing that came to your mind was comfort?

[01:30] BRENDA ANZ: Right.

[01:30] GABRIELA CADENA: The first thing that comes to my mind is family, you know, and I guess they go together.

[01:34] BRENDA ANZ: Right.

[01:34] GABRIELA CADENA: You know, because this is where I feel, like, the warmth of, you know, human connection. And one of the reasons I wanted to sit with you today is because I love the fact that you're one of our most ardent supporters. Could you tell us why you chose to, you know, invest your time and energy to help us? And maybe you need to tell people who we are, because I don't think they know who Southeast first is.

[01:56] BRENDA ANZ: Okay, so Southside first is a nonprofit for businesses. Right. You come out in every avenue that I have seen to help the small businesses, but actually, big or small, and really, no matter where the business is, you guys are great to open up your events and your hearts to everyone. But I love that the south side right now is growing and that you guys, to me, are the heart of the south side, helping so many businesses as you do. I am a small business, and I was looking. I would tell. I'll just tell you the truth, Gabriella. I was looking for help, you know, as a small business, where could I go? Where could I get information? How can I meet other business, other businesses, and looking into Southside first? You guys were the golden nugget. So I just. I want to thank you. I'm super proud to be here today with you guys. I feel very passionate about Southside first, because, again, of all that you do for small businesses, and I love the.

[03:01] GABRIELA CADENA: Fact that you come not only to our events to hear our speakers, but you also take part in the next steps implementing that knowledge. So, for example, I told you about an opportunity working with UTSA project Sander. How can we increase and make sure, you know, everything is okay in terms of, like, your cyber defenses, you know, and your cyber hygiene? And you said yes.

[03:21] BRENDA ANZ: Right? And I was not gonna say no. That was definitely the fact that you guys put that out there and in such a big way and to everyone. Right. It's not limited just to one small business. When you guys put things out, you put it out to the community of businesses. So, of course, when I heard about that, I said yes, which I recently just wrapped it up with them just a few days ago, and everything went well. I'm still excited about the last meeting that we had together. I am on social media, and I kind of needed help in that area also, and they were able to help me with that. A lot of great ideas that they gave me and to implement.

[04:04] GABRIELA CADENA: That's wonderful. And, you know, I love the fact that, you know, being a part of them was also about, these are some things you could do better or, you know, this year, what you're doing is great. Keep going.

[04:13] BRENDA ANZ: Right.

[04:13] GABRIELA CADENA: You know, so it was something that I guess wasn't too scary for you.

[04:17] BRENDA ANZ: Right. I got a lot of feedback. I definitely had a lot of questions, of course, for them, and I loved that that particular project, I mean, you were talking to 15 kids, you know, that are at UTSA University. So it seemed like they were really eager, really excited to help me. So that made me feel even better because I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into at that point. I know that I was really nervous, but I had a lot of questions because, you know, cybersecurity is super, super important to anyone's business. You know, definitely, we have to stay on our game, and they were really helpful. They were really able to help me out.

[04:56] GABRIELA CADENA: I'm so thankful that you were part of that, and you were also a part of another opportunity that came to us, which is working with Frostbank for their business series. Can you tell people about that?

[05:06] BRENDA ANZ: Yeah, you know, I'm super excited about that as well, because, you know, we were able to meet other business owners. We were, you know, able to have, you know, different sessions. And within those sessions, it was just a wealth of knowledge and a wealth of knowledge that any small business would need. It really taught me that for me, myself, I was definitely going in the right direction. But they were, I was able to learn so much more that now is already implemented. And I think that was also recently, about probably a month ago. And I was just really excited because at the end, I was just excited to have learned the knowledge, right, this new knowledge that my business needed. But you know what, Gabriella? We all got a laptop in the mail. It was delivered. So I was just like, oh, my goodness, what is this? Oh, it's probably a box of chocolate. I'm so excited for that. And I opened it up and I was like, a box of chocolate? It's more like a laptop. So, of course, any business does need either a computer or a laptop, something like that. And of course, frostbank business series knows that. And that was thrilling that we all got one.

[06:28] GABRIELA CADENA: That's wonderful. Tell us a little bit more about your business, because you mentioned how you first found us by looking for resources for your business. But we want to know, what kind of business is Brenda in?

[06:38] BRENDA ANZ: So what I do is, to me, really exciting, because there's not a whole lot of people that do this. And what I do is I am actually a coupon coach. And what I do is I teach coupon classes around the city of San Antonio. So I am the blogger behind savingaway.com. so I help to put out many deals to help you and everyone else that wants to save, save.

[07:07] GABRIELA CADENA: And it's so important. I know that you've been a speaker for our entrepreneurs because some people say, you know, my costs keep going up, but I still need to buy office supplies. And, you know, I know by implementing some of the tips that you mentioned, which you can find on your blog and on your YouTube channel, we've been able to save money for our office expense.

[07:27] BRENDA ANZ: A lot of businesses don't really think about it, but at the end of the day, most businesses have a restroom in there. So they're going to, they need to supply toilet paper, paper towels in the kitchen, coffee, coffee cups, paper plates, you know, plastic forks and spoons. And it's just before you know it, businesses are spending a ton of money. And definitely throwing down a couple of coupons is going to help save. And I mean big, especially if you just, you know, use these tips just kind of going forward. Like, I've been couponing for 13 years. I don't feel I'll ever go backwards and pay full price. It doesn't make sense. When the stores allow us to use coupons.

[08:08] GABRIELA CADENA: And I love how, you know, there's different ways of doing it. Like, if I have five minutes, this is what I can do. I can open my heb app, you know, and this is one thing I can do. And then I can follow up with fetch, for example, you know, two of your techniques.

[08:20] BRENDA ANZ: So there's money saving apps. That's right, Gabriela.

[08:23] GABRIELA CADENA: And if I have more time, I can do more. But just even that alone has been really helpful. But I love the fact that you always say, like, be prepared, to stay prepared. So, you know, at the beginning of the pandemic, when there was a lack of toilet paper, you didn't have that problem because you already had a dog pile.

[08:37] BRENDA ANZ: Yeah. And there was many people. I have close to 200,000 followers. So that was 200,000 people that actually were prepared. I got, you know, many, many messages, just, you know, thank yous. And, you know, that felt really, really good. You know, especially teaching. I think I've been teaching the classes. It's going to be eight years. So it felt really good to know that I helped so many people, especially at that time. You're right. When no one could find toilet paper, they were able to help their neighbor. They were able to help their extended family. So by them couponing and making, making a stockpile, of course, at the lowest, using coupons, they were able at that time of emergency to help so many other people.

[09:21] GABRIELA CADENA: And it's not just, you know, for your own stockpile. I know right now there's a lot of toy drives and food drives. And so when you have, you know, take advantage of the offerings, the savings, then you can say, yes, it is easy for me to donate and help my neighbor and everything because I already have it at home, you know, because I'm implementing these practices.

[09:38] BRENDA ANZ: Yeah. Nope, that is the honest truth. And, you know, it's so much easier to donate and to give back when you are not breaking the bank to do it. There's so many people that I have talked to that said, you know, I've always wanted to help this nonprofit or this person or my neighbor, you know, or my extended family. I've always wanted to give back a little bit more. But, you know, everyone is tight. But in the world of couponing, you know, you are, the mission is to pay with more coupons and less cash. So all of the sudden, you have the same money, but you are becoming that savvy shopper. You're learning how to maximize your money, and with that, you're able to buy so much more and you're able to help people a little bit more by doing that.

[10:23] GABRIELA CADENA: And I love that. You know, your business talks about and does two of the things that I always try to tell people. Regardless of what business in you're in, you really need to, like, keep up and be able to learn. So you always have to be able to see what are the new changes. The fact that now there's an heb app, because in our neighborhood grocery store, that means that I have to keep on learning. Or the fact that I have to be prepared. That helps me to be resilient when there's suddenly no toilet paper. Hey, I'm already prepared.

[10:53] BRENDA ANZ: Well, you know what? Emergencies are going to happen. I don't wish that upon anybody, but it just does. There was a year that my husband was a police officer for the oil field. And you know what? He got laid off the month of December right before Christmas. So, you know, we did not expect that. He comes home with the yellow slip and he's really worried. And, you know, I'm smiling the whole time because, you know, we're not going to starve. We have, you know, three refrigerators full of food. We have everything we need for the next five years. I have made a stockpile by couponing, so I knew that we were not going to start. We're going to be okay, honey, you know what I mean? But it's good to be prepared for emergencies. And I've talked to so many people that say, I just can't afford to be prepared for an emergency when I'm busy trying to put food on the table. But that was before couponing. Once they start maximizing their money, they're able to spend, you know what, more coupons and less cash at the store, then definitely they're able to build that stockpile for any emergency that could arise. And they did it at the lowest out of pocket they could using coupons.

[12:03] GABRIELA CADENA: Wow, that's so wonderful because especially now, you know, there's, it's inflation, there's supply chain issues. And so when you can, like, you know, save on, let's say, your toilet paper, and then you have more food money to spend on, you know, meat, for example.

[12:17] BRENDA ANZ: Right? That's exactly the way it is. You're going in with a $100, but you're coming out with maybe 100, $5175 because you're, you know, you're throwing down those coupons, maximizing your money. And you're right. What I do is I will go in and I will you know, purchase everything with a coupon. I like to see the savings. Right. So then I'm like, okay, I spent $50 and I saved $40. Okay, great. That was $90 worth of stuff. You know what I mean? And then with the $40, I'm like, okay, well, I have that extra $40 to go buy all of my meat. So feels good that it is, you know, $90 at the belt, spending 50, saving 40, taking that 40, and purchasing stuff that doesn't have a coupon that's maximizing your money.

[13:04] GABRIELA CADENA: Wow, that's great. I love that for your mission. And I love how, you know, you come to our event. One of the events that you came to was our five year anniversary because we're relatively young. But can you tell us about that for those of us that didn't come?

[13:19] BRENDA ANZ: So for those that did, that was not able to make their five year anniversary, it was pretty awesome. I had not met the board members, and of course, that was a big event. So you did have, you know, some of your board members there. You know, your employees are awesome. And that is something that I don't feel, Gabriella, that I tell you enough is that, boy, can you pick them, Gabriella. They are super professional. But you know what? You can also tell they're super caring. They do care about our business. And I have seen that as your employees are talking to different people that are coming in. So, you guys, we definitely felt the love, especially that day. You just had a open arms to everybody that came in. And I loved meeting all the business, the businesses that also came in. So that was really cool. But it doesn't have to be a five year anniversary to get that feeling. Every single event that you guys put out, that's the feeling that you put out, that you care. We could totally feel it in the room, that Southside. 1st, first of all cares. Second of all, there's resources. Third of all, you guys follow up. Like, I took the frostbank business series. I was, you know, in the other program that we spoke about, and I love that you come back and you ask, so how did it go? And, you know, who's gonna do that? You guys are, because you guys go that extra mile. So, yes, that event, you know, your five year anniversary, you know, was pretty amazing. But I feel that people should definitely get to every single, every single event, because I feel that all of the events are amazing.

[15:10] GABRIELA CADENA: Well, that's great. I really agree with you. I mean, and you introduced us, I think, to one of our best employees, which is Rosanna so I can't thank you enough. I get compliments on her all the time. And you're right. I feel so fortunate that we have a rockstar team because for that day, I was feeling sick. You know, I had. It wasn't the flu, but it was something that had knocked me out.

[15:29] BRENDA ANZ: There's been all kinds of things brewing, right. All year long. Oh, my God.

[15:34] GABRIELA CADENA: And that's why I think it's important, you know, regardless of wherever you are, especially business owners, that you be strong and have a strong team, because you never know when the next, you know, right field, you know, like, things happen. Yes. And we don't always know, but yes, you're right. The team is amazing, and I'm so thankful that you were there to celebrate because that is a milestone, regardless of, you know, that's always what we want to do is help the businesses. So tell me, what is, like, something you're looking forward to for your business in 2023?

[16:07] BRENDA ANZ: Well, you know what? I want to go back to where I was a part of the UTSA.

[16:13] GABRIELA CADENA: What exactly was Project Sander?

[16:14] BRENDA ANZ: Yeah, project Sander. Like I said, I learned a lot of from them. It was something like a ten page report in my email by the end of this project. So I'm looking forward to making sure that everything that they have sent to me is implemented. I also learned a lot in the Frostbank business series. I know that we even got a free lesson of QuickBooks. So I'm totally looking forward to taking that class and just kind of going forward with that starting January. So there's a lot of things that I took this year to prepare for next year. So excited about that. And I'm just excited to see Gabriela, what Southside first, you know, has in store for us for 2023, because you better believe I'm going to be there. And you know me, I. I have, you know, what, 200,000 followers. So I get on the microphone and I yell to everybody, if you're a small business, it's just not couponers in there. A lot of those couponers actually are small businesses or big businesses. So I try to let everybody know about Southside first and just, you know, the different events and just. Just the wonderful things that you guys do for so many people.

[17:39] GABRIELA CADENA: Thank you, Brendan. You're right. We work with a lot of partners such as Frost bank and also U two s, a small business development group, and the cybersecurity folks. This past Wednesday, we were at the all day conference for a Bexar county, and we're going to have an event in January. We're going to bring a lot of people in the room. If you want to do business with the city, we're going to have different ways that you can grow your business. In fact, one of our newest classes was with the TikTok influencer, Joe Coronado.

[18:08] BRENDA ANZ: You know, that is wonderful because a lot of businesses that have never been on social media, that is just the end. It's the future. It's now. You know what I mean? Social media. So that was really cool that you did an event on, for Instagram.

[18:27] GABRIELA CADENA: We did one on Instagram also.

[18:28] BRENDA ANZ: And TikTok.

[18:29] GABRIELA CADENA: Yes.

[18:30] BRENDA ANZ: So like I said, I feel that if people don't know about Southside first, we just have to do everything that we can to put the word out about Southside first, because you honestly do have a mixture of things that I feel, again, if you are especially a small business, it's more than just the people that are walking in that happen to find out about your location. It's really about putting it out on social media. I feel that they can get, of course, thousands of more hits, you know, on their business if they are on social media. And you guys went ahead and put that out there. So that was cool.

[19:09] GABRIELA CADENA: Well, thank you so much for always sharing our post. We really appreciate it because, you know, I think it's sometimes easier to get advice on where to get some good copy as opposed to, like, where can I get some, you know, free help? But I wanted to see ask you pick your brain since you are, like, also very active on social media. If someone was, like, new to social media, what advice would you give them?

[19:28] BRENDA ANZ: A. If they were new, I would tell them not to be scared, to take their time, start with one social media at a time. And it just kind of depends where they are, what is their comfort zone. It could be Instagram, it could be Twitter, it could be Facebook. But I would say definitely take your time. And what is the most important thing to put out there? Take a couple of great pictures of your business. And that's totally, you know, what you want to put out there. Pictures of your business, your location, if you do have different handles. And just be honest. Just be honest and you know about your business and you'll get used to it. It's going to take a little bit of time. It's going to be repetitive, just like anything. But once you start doing this on a daily, you'll get better and you'll be more in your comfort zone.

[20:25] GABRIELA CADENA: And you're right. Sometimes it's like these consistent baby steps that get us to where we are, because I'm always struck by your story. I mean, you basically started a business from a hobby or something that you knew you needed to do, and you did it. And now you're all over the place. You're on the San Antonio Express news. Can you tell us a little bit about how that happened?

[20:47] BRENDA ANZ: So my story and how I learned how to coupon is there was a need. So this was like 14, it's going to be 14 years ago. I wanted to stay at home with the children and, you know, take them to their sports and, you know, my husband handed me a paycheck and said, you can stay home if you can take this paycheck and you can pay all of the bills. So if you can pay all of the bills and make sure that we are all fed, then you can stay home. So I knew that he did not make enough to stay home, so I just, I had to put something into place. At that time, there was no couponing information in San Antonio. So I reached out to some people. Thank God for Internet in Chicago, in New York that had groups out there, couponing groups, and they helped me to, you know, they sent me some information, they gave me some really good advice, and I took that advice, and I just, I ran with it. And so I was able to stay home with the kids with money, even leftover at the end of the month. So my husband was with a huge stockpile within maybe four or five months. So definitely I was really excited about that. Of course, I showed, you know, my friends, my family, my neighbors. But then someone told someone that told someone that told someone. And then before you knew it, saving our way just kind of came to be. So, yeah, it worked out. And here I am today, 200,000 followers.

[22:26] GABRIELA CADENA: And now you're doing classes virtually and in person.

[22:29] BRENDA ANZ: That's right. I did reach out to express news because, of course, we were going to need coupons. So if you're going to learn how to coupons, unique coupons. So I worked out something with them, and before you know it, I got fully sponsored by the express news, and they helped me to get into different locations all around town, because what I.

[22:52] GABRIELA CADENA: Hear from your story is I saw a need. You know, I saw some opportunities, and I started connecting the dots.

[22:57] BRENDA ANZ: Right.

[22:58] GABRIELA CADENA: How do you do that? Because that's a magic right here.

[23:00] BRENDA ANZ: Well, sometimes things just fall on your lap, so sometimes if, you know, if it's meant to be, it's just gonna kind of happen. And I feel that that is what happened. But of course, you know, it took me to, you know, go out and to reach out, you know, say, to express news. But you know what? I was pretty confident at what I did, and I just, I wanted to share this with anybody that would hear it, you know? So a lot of my classes I do absolutely free to help our community and people like free. So when they hear free class, they're like, to what? What's the class? What is it? So as soon as we hear free, we want to know all about it. So. But no, before you know it, one person told another person that told another person. And again, you know, I'm at 200,000 followers, and that's that. Not everyone is on social media. I am out in the paper. So, you know, that is a great other way to, you know, get the couponing classes out there that works well.

[24:03] GABRIELA CADENA: Wow. So when you do something like this, how does it impact your family?

[24:08] BRENDA ANZ: Well, my family is very proud. You know, they're super happy. They have learned how to coupon. And, you know, the kids learn at a very early age how to coupons. So to me, that is one of my biggest accomplishments is not to just have, you know, learned the trick of the trade, but that my kids have learned the trick of the trade, and they will take that, you know, forever, if you ask me, you know, I always tell my good friend, her name is Jennifer King. I always tell her, girl, we're going to grow together. We're going to be in wheelchairs, and, you know, we're going to be at the store in our wheelchairs. Like, no matter what, this is forever. You don't, couponing isn't like, okay, just this year, it is forever. I always say, if you have a whole lot of money, keep it in the bank, pay with more coupons. If you don't have a whole lot of money, still, you know, pay with more coupons, and you're still able to do for your family, provide for your family. So it doesn't matter how much money you have or don't have. Couponing is for everyone, and it's for every single age. It's not just for a teenager. It's not just for if you're in your twenties or if you're in your fifties. If you want to save, then you should be able to save no matter what age you are. This is for everyone.

[25:22] GABRIELA CADENA: Yeah. This is, I think, a very life important lesson. I have an eight year old niece, and if I could give her one, the keys to the magic kingdom I would say learn to love learning and including things like how to stretch your dollar, right. Because, you know, there's always, like, so many wants and needs, you know? So that's like magic to me to be able to do that.

[25:43] BRENDA ANZ: That's right. So, like I said, I started couponing because, you know, there was a need in my family. But, you know, what, with today's prices, you know, we're going into 2023. We have had so much happen with the pandemic. Who would have ever thought? But you know what? Thank goodness for couponing, because seriously, you know, people lost their jobs, right? There was people that went from full time to part time. Definitely not a whole lot of money there for a ton of families. But that is when I went really strong on doing free classes. Free classes, free classes. I knew that I could make an impact for our community. I put in more time than I ever have before. Like I said, I've been doing this eight years, but the last couple of years, I've been doing more classes than I ever have. I went virtual because we couldn't meet in person. And it feels really good to hear all of the stories, you know, when people come to me and say, brenda, you've really made an impact. Like, you don't understand. You have definitely helped me to feed my family. You know, I just want to thank you. So, yeah, I left in tears a couple of times, you know, after the coupon classes, but that was the goal to help the community.

[26:58] GABRIELA CADENA: And I have been with you when some of these people approach you, and I love the fact that your listeners, your fans are across all ages, across all income brackets. You know, it's really lovely. And I love always, like, hearing all these surprises, like, you know, men, women, like all sectors of society, right?

[27:14] BRENDA ANZ: It doesn't matter their age or if they're a man. I love when we see the men in the coupon classes. I love that they're taking the lead and they're the ones that brought the wife, you know what I mean? So, yeah, this. This is for couponing is definitely for everyone.

[27:27] GABRIELA CADENA: I mean, this is something I've been doing with my honey, and I love the fact that we're working together, right? So. Right, like, saving money so that we can go on a trip, so we're saving money so we can buy a new car, so we're doing this. And, you know, it has changed the way I approach buying. So now I think of it more strategically, so it's not just waiting until I'm down to my last toilet paper. Sliver.

[27:48] BRENDA ANZ: Right.

[27:48] GABRIELA CADENA: You know, it's, um, when I see a sale, I'll stock up.

[27:51] BRENDA ANZ: Right.

[27:52] GABRIELA CADENA: You know, and maybe I'll buy $20 or $40 worth of toilet paper so that, you know, I'm buying it at half price.

[27:58] BRENDA ANZ: That is so true. Yeah. No, like I said, this definitely is for everyone. And, you know, people could definitely find [email protected]. so if you're listening, subscribe to saving ourway.com. though I am on all social media, and that is including TikTok, Twitter, even YouTube, Facebook. So I'm all over the place just by putting saving our way.

[28:28] GABRIELA CADENA: That's wonderful. And so what advice would you give to someone who is starting a business today, besides coupons, so that you could control your costs?

[28:35] BRENDA ANZ: Starting a business today, definitely be 100%. You know, be 100%. Because especially if you're a small business, if it's just you and you're doing all of the work, you know, it's a morning, day, and night kind of job. But, you know, if you do feel the burning passion, do it. If you feel the burning passion and, you know, 100% that this is where you want to go. I definitely felt the passion, and I let the passion lead me to where I am today. So my advice is, if you have the passion, go for it. Don't let anyone tell you that you cannot or that it's silly or it's a product that may not sell. If you believe in it, you're the only one that needs to believe in it to go forward.

[29:27] GABRIELA CADENA: That's great advice. And so when you think about this past year, 2022, what would you say are some of your best moments that you experienced?

[29:38] BRENDA ANZ: My best moments for saving our way.

[29:40] GABRIELA CADENA: For in general, like, saving your way and in your life. And here on the south side, my best.

[29:45] BRENDA ANZ: There was a lot. I feel there was a lot. There was, you know, a lot of. Especially I was trying to take positivity out of the virus. Where we've been in the last two years was dealing with something that we have never dealt before that was worldwide, like the virus. So, you know, there was a lot of just kind of, like, negative, right? There were so many people, me as well, just, like, having a negative attitude as soon as we woke up, like, oh, my God, I can't believe, you know, this or this is happening. Even masks today, Gabriella and I are still wearing masks. So there's a couple of places that you have to go that you got to wear the mask. So definitely our life has changed in so many ways. I feel that my life isn't the exact same from just two years ago because of the virus. So finding the positive and moving forward is where I personally am at. To find all the positive and acting on that and going forward into my personal life with my family and my business. So I think that going forward, I'm.

[31:03] GABRIELA CADENA: Excited for me, you know, when I think about 2022, I come back to what we were talking about, the identity of the Southside family, and it's these connections. If I'm having a difficulty day or something, I can come to you and I can come to other people and say, what ideas do you have? What have you seen? Yeah.

[31:23] BRENDA ANZ: That's all going forward. Yes. And that. You're right. That is what I love, connection. And definitely I feel that Southside first thought is what you guys are all about. It's like connecting people together, connecting businesses together, even collaboration. Before you know it, we go to one of your events. I know I always leave meeting some fantastic people, and before I know it, I'm in collaboration with someone doing something amazing, you know? So, yeah, definitely going into 2023 again, that's as positive as heck. Right. So that sounds good.

[31:59] GABRIELA CADENA: You know, and I love the fact that you mentioned you, you know, have to show up. You have to be there.

[32:03] BRENDA ANZ: Yep.

[32:03] GABRIELA CADENA: Like, it doesn't happen, you know, just by itself, you know?

[32:06] BRENDA ANZ: Right.

[32:06] GABRIELA CADENA: It's you coming to our events and saying, yes, there's a UTSA, you know, project center opportunity. Yes, I will be a part of it. There's an opportunity with Frostbank. Yes, I will attend, you know, and I will be able to hear. I loved one of their speakers who's going to be speaking to us, the Terry's who started Pete Terry's burger stand. I can't wait. That's going to be in January, so.

[32:26] BRENDA ANZ: Well, definitely. That's what I love, is that we never know, Gabriella, where your next location, where your next event is going to be. And the locations are always really cool locations, and it's a lot of it for me, personally, I've never been before. So that's why I was saying, oh, my God, I can't wait until 2023 because I have no idea where your next events are. But it's always a cool place and there's always wonderful people there.

[32:53] GABRIELA CADENA: But I love that you say yes to these opportunities.

[32:56] BRENDA ANZ: Yes. Can you be that? Yes. How about that? Yes. We're here today because I said yes.

[33:02] GABRIELA CADENA: And I think that's part of the magic, you know, because, you know, I'm relatively new to San Antonio. But I, you know, I love exploring and, you know, I love sharing. And in the south side, it's not six degrees of separation. It's more like one.

[33:16] BRENDA ANZ: Right?

[33:17] GABRIELA CADENA: You know, you've had people here, like, didn't I go to high school with you? Right?

[33:20] BRENDA ANZ: I was like, oh, my God, guy. Really? She knows me. Yes. And, you know, I want to bring up real quick, Techport. I had never been to Techport, and you guys invited all of Southside to, you know, come with you on that location, at that location. So that was really cool. I had never been there, so I'm experiencing so many things that I probably wouldn't have done or even known about if it wasn't for Southside first for your event. So definitely want to thank you for just all that you put out and you being the CEO, I think that you are definitely rocking it. I definitely think that people are bonusing, seriously, that you particularly are the CEO. Whoo. I just want to do cheerleading. You know what I mean? Like, yes, yes, yes. Because I see how hard you work. I see, you know, you going over and above. I definitely see you, you know, putting hours after hours, you know, into any project and every project that you put your hands on and everybody that you meet, even giving me the extra. Like, I could see that. But you do that for everyone. So definitely people should be a part of Southside first in some kind of way. At least, you know, definitely show up to me. You go to one event, that's it. We're hooked. We want to go to all the events. I'm heartbroken when I can't get to an event because I know how much I can take from those events. But I'm not alone. There's thousands of other businesses that I hope and pray take advantage, especially next year, 2023. I know you have a lot of big things going on.

[35:02] GABRIELA CADENA: Well, thank you, Brenda. And I really want to thank you for being one of our biggest supporters. Like, just an example, we started doing door prices, and you donated a lot of the door prizes.

[35:11] BRENDA ANZ: I was like, I happen to have all kinds of wonderful things, but again, I can afford to do that because I'm not paying full price for anything. So it's real easy to give back. So definitely, yeah, I was excited to do that for you guys, but I.

[35:28] GABRIELA CADENA: Love it whenever I have a question. I know you work long hours, too, because if I send an email at midnight, you respond back a minute later, here I am.

[35:35] BRENDA ANZ: I'm awake.

[35:37] GABRIELA CADENA: And that's what makes it so fun being with so many cool people like you. And the fact that you introduced south side first to Rosanna and you're always saying, hey, I saw this, could we share this? Could we bring this person? And as a speaker, I think that it says a lot when you're invested in your community, that you're like, hey, I saw this resource. I want to make more people aware of it. So I really applaud you for that.

[36:04] BRENDA ANZ: Thank you. Thank you so much. And I'm hoping that more and more and more people do that. Now, of course, we are on the south side. It's definitely the up and coming of San Antonio. So I think that with more business coming up, you know what I mean? More business that is opening, I think there 2023 is going to look really, really good again. I feel, yeah, that you are a part of the heart of San Antonio being with Southside first because of, again, all of the new businesses that are coming up. So I'm sure you will get to every one of those businesses, Gabriela, and make Southside first known.

[36:44] GABRIELA CADENA: Well, Brenda, I'm looking forward to meeting all of the businesses with you. And I, if you come by, you'll see a happy, smiling face. It will be their Brenda that you see first. It will be me, but you'll see a smiling, happy face. Or it could be one of our other employees, like Rosanna, Elizabeth, Rolando, Rafa. We have an amazing group.

[37:03] BRENDA ANZ: That's right. Well, thank you for having me here today. I'm excited.

[37:08] GABRIELA CADENA: I'm excited for what 2023 holds. Thank you for 2022. And we'll see where a year from now, you know, finds us.

[37:15] BRENDA ANZ: All right. Sounds amazing. Thanks for having me.