She asked a near-stranger at a Canadian networking event if she'd had Botox. In Turkey, that question is completely normal. Here, it nearly ended the conversation — and taught her everything she needed to know about the cultural line she'd just crossed.

In this episode of Boosted, I sit down with Gizem Uysal, founder and CEO of Deal Business Design Inc. and Director of Business Development at the Whitby Chamber of Commerce. Gizem is candid, funny, and refreshingly direct about what it actually takes to build a business and a new life in a country you weren't born in, and that directness is exactly what makes this conversation so good.

We talk about the bus ride in Toronto that convinced her, almost instantly, that Canada was where she wanted to build her life, what it was like learning Canadian business etiquette the hard way, and what it means when someone asks, "where are you from?"

We cover:

• The bus ride in Toronto, and the small moments of kindness that convinced her this was home
• Her path from physical therapist, to Turkish Airlines flight attendant flying to 65 countries, to founder of her own marketing business
• The Botox question that taught her where Canadian boundaries actually sit, and what she's learned about trust and honesty in Canadian business since
• Her own experience with the question this series keeps coming back to: how "where are you from?" used to make her anxious, and the moment someone reframed her accent from something to apologize for into an advantage
• The food, hospitality, and directness she wishes showed up more here in Canada

This episode is essential for anyone building a business in a new country, navigating the unwritten rules of Canadian networking, or figuring out how to ask the questions that matter without causing harm. If you've ever wondered whether asking "where are you from?" builds a bridge or a wall, this one is for you.

Part of the Boosted Season 2 guest series on the question we avoid, and how to ask it anyway.

New episodes every other Thursday. Subscribe and discover how intentional presence creates the career differentiator that sets you apart.

Boosted is brought to you by Boost Academy of Excellence. boostacademyofexcellence.com

Visit Boost Academy of Excellence at https://boostacademyofexcellence.com

Connect with Trina on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinaboos/⁠

Follow Boost Academy of Excellence on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/boostacademyofexcellence⁠

Link to my keynote where I spoke in more detail about the etiquette of the question, "Where are you from?" ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UzI6vESpB8⁠

The GRACE Framework: ⁠https://boostacademyofexcellence.com/cibc/#grace-download⁠

Connect with Gizem on Instagram: @dealbusinessdesign

Visit Gizem's website: www.dealbusinessdesign.com

Music by: In the City

He resisted the decision for six and a half years. When he finally said yes, he left a thriving 20-year law career for a warehouse job that broke his body before it rebuilt his faith.

In this episode of Boosted, I sit down with Kayode Akomolafe, a former lawyer in Nigeria who now serves as Human Rights and Equity Advisor at the Durham Catholic District School Board. Kayode is warm, direct, and unflinchingly honest about the parts of this journey that were genuinely hard, and that honesty is what makes this conversation so rich.

We talk about the moment he heard, standing alone in his living room, that it was time to move to Canada, what it actually felt like sorting freight for $1,800 a month after running his own law practice, and what it means when someone asks, "where are you from?"

We cover:

• The living room moment, and the four separate signs that followed it before he finally listened
• Going from running his own law practice with staff of his own, to a warehouse job that nearly broke him physically, and the one question that kept him going
• What practicing his faith looks like day to day in Nigeria, and how that's shifted since moving to Canada
• His own framework for the question this series keeps coming back to: asking "where are you from?" is about context and relationship, not curiosity alone
• The traditions, food, and community he wishes showed up more here in Canada

This episode is essential for anyone rebuilding a career or identity from scratch, leading equity work inside an institution, or figuring out how to ask the questions that matter without causing harm. If you've ever wondered whether asking "where are you from?" builds a bridge or a wall, this one is for you.

Part of the Boosted Season 2 guest series on the question we avoid, and how to ask it anyway.

New episodes every other Thursday. Subscribe and discover how intentional presence creates the career differentiator that sets you apart.

Boosted is brought to you by Boost Academy of Excellence. boostacademyofexcellence.com

Connect with Trina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinaboos/
Follow Boost Academy of Excellence on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boostacademyofexcellence

Link to my keynote where I spoke in more detail about the etiquette of the question, “Where are you from?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UzI6vESpB8
The GRACE Framework: https://boostacademyofexcellence.com/cibc/#grace-download
Connect with Kayode on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayode-akomolafe-12923526/
Follow Kayode on Instagram: @akomsbaba
Music by: In the City

Have you ever stood outside your own event, unable to get in, while colleagues right beside you walked through without question?

In this episode of Boosted, I sit down with Patrice Barnes, a former Ontario MPP who immigrated to Canada from Jamaica and built a career that took her from school trustee to Queen's Park to public affairs. Patrice is candid, reflective, and still working through some of this in real time, and that honesty is what makes this conversation so rich.

We talk about growing up grounded in who she was in Jamaica, the moment identity became something she had to navigate rather than just live, and what it actually means when someone asks, "where are you from?"

We cover:

• Growing up in Jamaica, where class shaped identity far more than race ever did
• A night at a political event when security wouldn't let her in, despite colleagues walking past with the exact same credentials
• The moment she caught herself making the same assumption she's usually on the receiving end of
• The GRACE Framework: a tool for knowing whether to ask "where are you from," how to ask it, and how to receive it gracefully
• What it takes to translate between government and the organizations, and communities, it's meant to serve

This episode is essential for anyone navigating identity in public-facing work, leading with representation in mind, or figuring out what it means to bring your full self into rooms that don't always make space for you. If you've ever wondered whether asking "where are you from?" builds a bridge or a wall, this one is for you.

Part of the Boosted Season 2 guest series on the question we avoid, and how to ask it anyway.

New episodes every other Thursday. Subscribe and discover how intentional presence creates the career differentiator that sets you apart.

Boosted is brought to you by Boost Academy of Excellence. boostacademyofexcellence.com

Watch the keynote I reference in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UzI6vESpB8

The GRACE Framework: https://boostacademyofexcellence.com/cibc/#grace-download

Connect with Patrice on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricebarnes-1/

Connect with Trina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinaboos/

Music by: In the City