As part of our annual birthday celebration, we give one of our employees the Bandalier Kaizen Award. The award celebrates the person who has best exemplified our company’s commitment to slow, steady improvement through minute changes. This year, our winner was Alex Boucard! We took a little time to catch up with him and talk about how he’s embraced kaizen since starting at Bandalier as an outsourced inside sales rep.

Alex started his career in the hospitality industry. His personability earned him a lot of recommendations to pursue a career in sales, but he rarely saw the opportunity. At the time, Alex felt like he was “living life in the passenger seat,” with little guidance on how he could continue progressing. After a chance meeting on a normal workday, he was referred to Bandalier. He joined our team in July of 2019, and hasn’t stopped striving to improve since then.

After being introduced to the idea of kaizen during his sales training, Alex fully embraced the concept. It became the motto not just for his professional life, but his personal one. He started looking for small improvements that he could make at every turn, from changing his diet and exercise habits to improving his finances.

“I’m always trying to do a little better. Whether it’s making five more calls than I did last week, or testing out a new opener, I’m always doing something to keep improving.”

Even amidst the uncertainty of COVID-19, Alex continued searching for ways to improve himself. He took advantage of his extra time to start a YouTube channel on personal finance, documenting his journey toward financial independence to “create a blueprint for success.” Alex credits his experiences at Bandalier as part of his inspiration to share his journey and passions.

“Bandalier is a great place to go if you have goals but aren’t quite sure how to reach them … the environment sets people up to achieve. You’re given the opportunity to rise to the occasion with the tools you need to achieve your goals. Plus, most folks have a side-hustle or a set of aspirations that they bring along to Bandalier. Being around folks who are ready to compete and improve helps everyone do better. I love the sense of camaraderie we have here.”

We’re delighted to work with driven young entrepreneurs like Alex! If you’d like to see his advice on personal finance, check out his Youtube channel Alex_Hussles. You can also connect with him (and the rest of the Bandalier team!) on LinkedIn.