Overcoming Obstacles with Zero Regrets on the Road to Success with Denette Buenrostro

Denette: [00:00:00] Take the time in your busy day, whatever it is that you’re doing, and to just be still. Just be still and be thankful for what you have, however little you think it may be. Believe me, there is always somebody out there who has a lot less. And if you’re able to, to give back to your community, it doesn’t have to be monetarily.

It can be picking up groceries for a neighbor or checking in on them or, you know, making sure that they’ve got their medications. Something that little makes such a huge difference in somebody’s life. 

Hope: Do you want to wake up feeling like you are stepping into who you are meant to be? Into the best possible version of you?

What if I told you that the key to your best life, health, and happiness are all around you? You just have to find what works for you. I’m Hope Pedraza and I believe that there isn’t just one way to live a healthy and meaningful life. And that all you need is a little inspiration to make changes that last from the inside out.

Each week I’ll be sharing tangible tips and inspirational interviews to help you on your journey. These are the steps to take to improve your [00:01:00] life and live with purpose. This is hopeful and wholesome. Hey y’all, welcome to this show. On today’s show I have on Denette Buenrostro Ramirez. Denette has a seriously long list of accomplishments in the business world and the healthcare world, which for her kind of one in the same, she is the CEO of multiple companies, including Epic Vascular, epic holdings, and circle of care, as well as the founder of Epic Magazine and Epic tv.

And she is using the challenges that she’s overcome in life to empower others while bringing more positivity to our world by sharing other people’s stories and inspiring other people, especially with this magazine and this TV network that she’s just started. She is doing so much. We had such a great conversation.

We both said afterwards We wish we would have just grabbed a glass of wine and some crackers while we talked So grab you a glass of wine join our conversation and be inspired by the lovely and so very humble and talented Denette Buenrostro Rostromirez [00:02:00] Okay, y’all, let’s get going. I have Denette here with y’all today and I’m super excited to talk to her today and to share her story with y’all.

She is a business woman and she has done a lot. And so I want to share her story and get her to tell you everything about what she’s doing. So thanks for joining Denette. 

Denette: Thank you for having me. I’m really excited about being here with you guys today. 

Hope: Yeah, me too. So, you’re a company, you have a company, and you deal with vascular care, so can you talk a little bit about that, what that means, and then what your company does?

Denette: Sure, absolutely. So the name, one of the names of the companies that we have is called Epic Vascular, and what our nurses do is they place what are called PICC lines. And a PICC line is a catheter that goes in the left or right arm towards the heart and it’s meant for long term antibiotics or for medications that are super, super strong.

So those PICC lines had been mainly done in the hospital or outpatient. Connected to a [00:03:00] hospital or to maybe a surgical center. And so about five years ago We were able to go ahead and bring it out of the hospital arena and Actually place them in the patient’s homes. So that’s what we’ve been doing We still go to the hospital and place them But we also can go do them in patients homes for home health or antibiotics And we also go to nursing homes.

So we’ve been in business now about five years You And about three years into the business, my husband and I decided we had a really good model that could actually change health care and could also give the opportunity to nurses to be able to purchase their own epic vascular franchise. So we started franchising about three years ago, and so we have about 80 locations right now through the U. S. 

Hope: That’s awesome. 

Denette: Yeah, I’m excited for the nurses that bought into, bought into our model and they’re all doing really well and, you know, they’re changing health care out there for these patients. So that’s [00:04:00] what I’m really happy about. 

Hope: Yeah, yeah. 

So they’re all owned by nurses? 

Denette: The majority of them are owned by nurses.

We do have a couple of franchise owners that are, um, non nurses, but their spouse is a nurse. So, it works out really well. 

Hope: Yeah. So how did you get into this line of work? Like, what made you want to start this to begin with? 

Denette: Well, that’s a little bit of a long story, but I’ll give you the cliff note version.

And you know, it’s funny, because my best friend, she, anytime we go out and I have to do some type of public speaking, I always have to give the background to how I got started, and you know, she always tells me, you had to have your Judas, because we all know who Judas is. 

Hope: Yes! 

Denette: So let’s just say, without me having to go into great detail, Let’s just say that a couple years ago.

I was in business with a Judas. 

Hope: Okay, 

Denette: and so After that did not work out well because we know how Judas is [00:05:00] My husband and God convinced me to start all over again And you know, it was the best thing, honestly, because sometimes I feel that if you’re in business with somebody, you really have to be dependent on that person and vice versa.

And they have to be loyal and they have to be honest. And so we were not a good fit. And so my husband and I started all over again and I started out teaching IV classes and PICC line care and maintenance classes. And the word just kind of spread. The nursing facilities and the hospitals really like the idea of doing a hands on class.

For the nurses after the line had been placed and so it just really truly was word of mouth And you know, I truly believe that when you are doing things for the right reason and you have a pure heart in doing them That God has a way of showing you who’s not supposed to be in your life 

Hope: Totally 

Denette: and he will weed them out And I am that [00:06:00] person that, you know, it’s funny to me how, you know, I hear a lot of people say God speaks to them directly.

Well, God never speaks to me directly. He talks to me through other people. And He likes to thump me on my forehead because I don’t listen.

Hope: He’s like, wake up. 

Denette: So He’s like, wake up, Denette. And so it took a big thump on the forehead for me to say, okay, you know what, enough is enough. And I get it now. And I do get it now.

I mean, five years later, six years later now. I’m all the better for it. And we’ve been able to create some incredible, amazing things on our own, away from, from that negativity. So, so I’m really happy about that. 

Hope: Yeah. It always works out the way it’s supposed to. 

Denette: It does. Yeah, it does. We just have to have that faith that it will and that we cannot put our wants ahead of what truly God already has a plan for.

Hope: Yeah. Yeah, totally. I agree. So another company that you have, you’re also the co founder of circle of care. Is that right? 

Denette: Yes, so actually [00:07:00] I’m the, I’m the founder of it but that’s okay. What I saw a lot in home health with these PICC lines, I was seeing that when I was going out to admit the patients on to home health and they came from the hospital with the PICC line that it was already clotted. 

Hope: Mmm

Denette: it was really frustrating because at that time I didn’t have a business yet.

And so I would have to call the director of nursing and tell her the line’s not working and the response was send them to The emergency room and that was frustrating for me because I was like, why do I have to send them there? Why can’t we fix this at home? And so that always stuck it was always stuck in the back of my head and it always bothered me So when this all came about and I restarted the company I decided, you know what, I’ve got to do something about this.

Why do patients have to wait an extra night in the hospital to have this line placed? Why can’t they be discharged home? Why can’t our nurse place it in the home? Why can’t we have mobile x ray come out and check to make sure that the line is where it’s supposed to be? So, I decided, I told my husband, [00:08:00] I said, and he listens to all of my crazy ideas, and I told him, I said, this has to work.

I said, because patients, if they’ve been discharged from the hospital, they deserve to be at home. There’s no need to keep sending them back and forth. So, we decided to do a trial run. And so, with the permission of the home health agency and the family and the patient, we were able to place the line at home, have mobile x ray come out and check it to make sure it was in the right place.

And then we were able to give the first dose of medication and it all happened in about two hours from beginning to end, which is incredible, incredible. So circle of care took off that way. We, you know, we decided that that’s what we were going to do now. Not everybody was happy with me about doing something like that.

A lot of people said, you’re going to kill patients. You don’t know what you’re doing. Okay. Well, that’s fine. I’ll take one for the team. And just so that everybody knows, we did not kill anybody, we’ve been able to keep everybody at home [00:09:00] and especially those patients that sometimes, you know, if any of your, of your viewers out there, your listeners out there know what a PICC line is, or I’ve had a family member that has had one, sometimes they can be pulled out kind of easily sometimes.

And so then the patient would have to go back to the hospital to have it replaced where with our program. We were able to replace it in the home So there wasn’t any disruption in care and the patient didn’t have to leave to go back to the hospital So that’s what the circle of care is about and i’m glad that again through listening to god And you know letting me know.

Hey, there is a better way. Just listen. 

Hope: Yeah Yeah, yeah for sure and you did mention that you recently franchised So what do you see is like what is your kind of long term vision for this for both of these really? 

Denette: Sure, I would love to see this go worldwide. Right now we’re nationwide, but I would love to see it go worldwide.

I think that it’s important for a pickling company not to just go [00:10:00] in and place this line and then leave without educating the nurses that are left in place on how to take care of it, how to troubleshoot it, how to do those dressing changes that are really important. So that there isn’t any disruption in the therapy for the patient.

And so, that is what I foresee happening. I really do. It’s not that we didn’t create anything that should not have already been done. We just saw that there was a need for the education for the nurses. And so that is what we decided to, to focus on because the rest all falls in place after that. 

Hope: And that was, that leads me to my next question, actually, because you are big on the education proponent, right?

Because I read in an article that you talked about empowerment education. And in fact, there’s a mentorship program that you have for nurses, right? So is that separate from the company or is that like as a part of the company? 

Denette: It’s separate from the company. It’s something that I decided to just do on my own.

It’s not a non profit or anything [00:11:00] like that. I call it Empower Mentors. And my heart has always been with nursing students because I’ve been one twice. I’ve been an LVN and I’m an RN now. And so I know in our profession, a lot of nurses love to say that phrase of nurses eat their young. And I hate that because that’s not how it should be.

We should embrace our young nurses. They’re our future and they could be the ones taking care of us, you know, as, as we age. And so my mission has always been, well, for Epic Empowerment Mentors is not that nurses eat their young, but we feed them knowledge. And, you know, I won’t go into detail about what I’ve done for nursing students, cause that’s not, I don’t like to talk about it, but I can just tell you that they are appreciative of the things that I have done for them or that I’ve given to them.

And it’s needed out there. We need more programs like that. So sometime in my busy schedule, I think I may make it a non profit. [00:12:00] Because I think it is important for nursing students to know that we do care and that we do support them and that there are nurses out there that remember what it was like being a student and that’s something that I will never forget and so I encourage all nurses out there that are listening that take on a student nurse under your wing and You know guide them and be their mentor It’s important and I promise you they’ll never forget it and hopefully we can have that domino effect where then they will do the same thing and next thing you know it’ll become a habit for all of our profession.

Hope: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I really do think that, I know my dad passed a couple years ago but he was in the hospital for a really long time. And seeing, like, watching him being in acute care hospitals, and, and I am familiar with the PICC line because of that reason, he had one multiple times. And being in different facilities, I mean, it really is the nurses that you remember the most, you know?

Denette: Sure, absolutely. 

Hope: it’s the nurses that care, and nurture, and they attend to your every [00:13:00] need. So really, I mean, it’s like a crucial part of that healthcare piece. 

Denette: Absolutely. Absolutely. And we need to, we need to encourage them and let them know that what they’re doing every day, especially now with all that’s going on is appreciated.

Absolutely. 

Hope: So you obviously have some really successful businesses and I always like to hear, I like to learn from other people’s lessons. So I’m curious to know if you have any lessons, obviously you’ve had lessons, but what are some of the big lessons that you’ve learned along the way? Like the ones that stick with you?

Like, Hey, I wish I would’ve known that starting out kind of thing. 

Denette: You know, I wish I had known that because what happened with the first business that I had with a partner, I wish that I had known that later on everything was going to really truly be okay, but then I wouldn’t have learned my lesson that I needed to learn.

That’s the only thing that I can truly think about. You know, I’ve learned over these last five years that if there’s a pitfall [00:14:00] in the day, okay. It’s not because it’s a pitfall in the day. It’s because there’s a lesson that I’ve got to learn out of it. And I honestly, truly, honestly, I can tell you, I literally take.

It, moment by moment. Sometimes it’s like second by second, because I’m like, okay, there’s only one other way here, and it has to be up. 

Hope: Right, right. 

Denette: Because this is like really bad. Yeah. So yeah, that’s what I would say. I’m, you know. I wish I could say to you, you know, probably what somebody else might answer.

Well, I wish I’d known that things were going to turn out the way that they would, because then I wouldn’t have done them. But you know what? I would have been cheating myself out of the lesson, and out of the greatness that came out of it, and all of the wonderful people that have been supportive to me along the way.

Hope: Yeah, so I think that’s a hard lesson for, A lot of people, especially, you know, business owners, entrepreneurs, because I know for me, especially during this time, it’s been super hard on my business. And I think it’s one of those where, and [00:15:00] I’m sure it does also comes with age and maturity, but I think the longer you kind of go through your journey, it’s like, you do appreciate like, like, yeah, there’s things right in my head.

I’m like, gosh, I shouldn’t have done that. Or I wish I would’ve done this, but then I think you’re totally right. Like you really miss out on the opportunities. 

Denette: You do. You do. But that’s not to say that the times that I wasn’t down on my knees crying in my closet with the door shut and the light off, I wished I could have avoided that.

Hope: Right? 

Denette: But, you know, I know that it had to happen. Yeah. And I’m part of the military and so is my husband, so I have been trained. To be flexible and take the good in the bad. 

Hope: Right. 

Denette: But I think what I’ve learned in the last five years is not only taking the good with the bad, but also understanding that the bad is really not that bad because there’s a lesson out of it.

Hope: Right. Yeah, totally. 

Denette: I just have to listen and not get bumped on the forehead. 

Hope: Exactly, just listen. It’s true. And then, have you had any, like, guidance, or mentorships, or [00:16:00] anything that have helped you to get where you are? Or has it just kind of been you just kind of learning as you go? 

Denette: Well, I can say that my husband deserves numerous more medals than what he got in the military for being married to me.

Hope: That’s so sweet! 

Denette: He Is my number one fan and he’s always supportive of every crazy idea that I’ve ever had, you know, sometimes he’ll say, you may want to think about that overnight, or maybe you may want to think about that for about a week or two, so then I kind of get it. I’m like, okay, I understand what you’re saying, but.

I would have to say that he has definitely been my number one supporter. And then my best friend Shalae, and I hope she’s listening and will be listening because Shalae Peterson, she’s also a business owner and she’s been through, you know, things as well too in her life and, and how she came into her business as well.

But I can tell you, having a best friend, besides my husband, because my husband is my best friend, but you know, we have to have that girlfriend. 

Hope: [00:17:00] Sure. 

Denette: We have to. 

Hope: Sure. 

Denette: And so, being able to have a real girlfriend, That you don’t compete with that you can bounce off all kinds of craziness off of that you can vent 

Hope: Yeah 

Denette: that you know, you can tell each other i’ve got the shovel Just call me And the duct tape i’ve got the duct tape right, you know, it’s I’m, just kidding.

Well, not really. Not really. Yeah But you know to be able to have a best friend like that She wasn’t there during the time that that happened. I met her, you know, after all of that happened, but it’s been so refreshing to be able to have a friendship with a woman who is going through, you know, business, good days and bad days of business.

And we can relate to each other and we can support one another. And we cry together. We cry so much. We’re big cry babies, but we’re also very supportive. So I would have to say my husband, My [00:18:00] best friend, Shalai, and then the people that I’ve met along the way that, that inspire me on a daily basis. Those are the people also that have been able to, uh, uplift me to keep moving and to keep going and to keep creating.

Hope: Yeah, for sure. And you, speaking of lessons, you recently started a magazine, and this magazine was created to showcase people that have overcome obstacles in their life. So, did you have, and maybe, maybe it’s the obstacle you’ve already talked about with kind of the, the business partner that didn’t work out.

So was there a specific obstacle that you overcame that you thought, this is going to be the catalyst to start this magazine? 

Denette: Yeah, you know, I don’t know that it was so much an obstacle. I think it was more of a frustration. There are several local magazines here in San Antonio, and they’re wonderful.

They all are, and I’ve been in several of them. You know, I was approached by one, I think it was sometime last year, and I was told, you [00:19:00] know, we want to put you on the cover, but it’s gonna cost like, $5,000. 

Hope: Mm-Hmm. . 

Denette: And, you know, to tell my story and I was like, I, okay, first of all, thank you. I’m honored, but I’m not gonna pay $5,000 to tell my story, right.

Of what happened to me. Right. I’m like, I feel like I have, I can go on Facebook and you. And so I was like, no, I’m not gonna do that. So anyway, one of my dear friends, his name is Wally, he’s an excellent photographer Wally Lafayette. 

Hope: I love, Wally, yes. 

Denette: Wally, he said to me, you know, with everything that you’ve got going on and how you promote empowerment and inspiration in people, he said, what do you think about, you know, starting your own magazine?

And I just kind of looked at Wally. I’m like, okay, I’m like, I don’t know anything about starting a magazine and what honestly, what would it be about? And he’s like, well, look at your story, look at what you’ve gone through and look at what you’ve done. He said, what about empowerment and inspiration, those types of stories?

And, you know, [00:20:00] as soon as he said it, I got the chill down my arms and I was like, you know what? That’s confirmation right there. I’ve got to do something with it. I’m like, I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’ve been called to do it. So Wally’s the chief editor. I’m the, I’m the publisher and that is what we’ve done.

We have at no cost, there is no cost to be in Epic magazine at all. The only time somebody would pay to be in Epic magazine would be if they are going to advertise their business. 

Hope: Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. That’s Makes sense. 

Denette: Which makes sense. Yeah. And I truly feel that that’s how it should be. 

Hope: It should be. I totally agree. 

Denette: So the people that are in the magazine, I actually handpicked myself. 

Hope: Yeah. 

Denette: Um, I interview them, you know, by phone or by email or I’ve heard of them and I’ve researched them and I will contact them or Wally will contact them and we will get an interview done. 

Hope: And I agree with you. There are great magazines out there, but I, I really appreciate the magazines that, you know, they’re not so much showcasing the people who are [00:21:00] influential, but the people who have a story to tell.

And I think a lot of times you see, I know for me, I’m guilty of this, a lot of times you see these successful people and like, oh, they have these successful businesses, but all you see is the success. You have no idea what they’ve been through to get to where they are. 

Denette: Exactly. Exactly. And I wanted to make sure that Epic Magazine focused on that.

It wasn’t just, Oh, wow, look where they live or look what they drive. 

Hope: Yeah. 

Denette: How did they get there? 

Hope: Right? Exactly. 

Denette: You know, i’ve had several people approach me and say oh I want to be in the magazine Well, okay, I understand, you know where you live and I and I see what you drive every day because you drive it up and down my street But this is not a magazine about being seen right there are magazines for that Sure, there’s room for everybody in all of this.

There’s rooms for room for everybody in all of this, but You This magazine is not about wanting to be seen and to be, you know, considered a socialite or anything like that. It’s not about that because there [00:22:00] are books and magazines for that. 

Hope: Yes. 

Denette: This is completely different. This is focusing on the journey of how they got to where they are and what they’re doing with that and how they’re giving back to the community.

I’ve also, which I didn’t tell you, but we’re in the process right now of a show called Epic TV. 

Hope: Oh,wow! How exciting! 

Denette: Yes. And we’re going to start filming in the next couple of weeks and it’s going to be an extension of Epic Magazine. 

Hope: That is awesome. 

Denette: So I’m really happy about that because, you know, with all of everything that’s going on in the world right now, even more so, I had thought about this before all of this had happened, but even more so now, I think that we need to see more programs that show Positivity and show empowerment and inspiration and not just all the negative stuff on TV.

The reality TV, you know, is out there. There’s talk shows out there. But again, I want to focus not on the people that want to be seen, but the people that actually have something important to say and that are giving [00:23:00] back to the community. So that’s, so I’m excited about that. We just did the promo shoot. A couple of days ago, it was over the weekend, I think.

And I didn’t realize how much work goes into a TV show. Oh my goodness. But you know what, to me, it’s worth all of that. If it means that I get that positive message out. So that’s what I’m excited about. 

Hope: That is so exciting. I love that. That is so cool. And you, you have such a good mindset around everything that you’re doing.

Do you have anything that you do to help with your mindset? Like how do you stay focused and how do you keep your mind in that positive space? 

Denette: Well, I can tell you a lot of it has to do with my new diet lifestyle that happened in October of last year. So actually in February of last year, I got diagnosed with type two diabetes.

I had no idea. And I’m a nurse. I should have known all of the signs because looking back, I, they were all right there, all there. And so I ended up in the hospital the week of Valentine’s day and got discharged actually on the 14th [00:24:00] of February. I was discharged home with insulin and I was extremely upset and I thought, Oh my gosh, my whole nursing career I’ve taught other people how to take care of themselves with diet, exercise.

And medication and I’m like, all of that’s just gone out the window right now. So I knew in order to get off of insulin, I was going to have to change my way of eating. And I did, but I still included meat and chicken and fish in the diet, but cut out all fried everything. So then in October, one of our close friends came down to visit and he told me he had watched a show called Game Changers.

Hope: Oh my gosh. It’s so good. 

Denette: Yes. Yes. Yes. And so. It was so funny because he had been vegan for about 14 days, but he knew that he, he lives in Las Vegas. His name’s Alex. He was going to come down to visit Thursday through, I think Monday. And so he was excited to come and eat steak because in Texas, that’s what we do.

Hope: Right, right. 

Denette: And so when he told me to watch the show on Thursday night, I did. So Friday, I was like, we’re going to go find vegan. [00:25:00] And he’s like, today? I said, yeah, today. And so my husband’s like, Oh damn, Alex, why’d you do that? So anyway, needless to say, wait, vegan all weekend, that’s, and I’ve not turned back since.

Hope: Wow. That’s crazy. 

Denette: I, my, I have been almost complete. I, well, I was off the insulin a month after I got out of the hospital, but I was on four tablets a day of medication. And now I’m down to half a tablet a day, if I even need it. So, and I truly believe it’s because of getting rid of the meat and the chicken and the dairy that I can think more clearly and I feel better.

I have more energy. I try to meditate. That’s still a work in progress because I’ve read that when you meditate you’re supposed to not focus on anything and Every once in a while these little things come in my head like oh you forgot to get hot sauce from HEB Or you know like those stupid little things 

Hope: Yes, you can’t stop it.

Denette: So that’s still a work in progress But I can tell you that my [00:26:00] mindset to be clear has truly been embracing my my new vegan lifestyle since October And it has Just completely changed my whole way of life that even my husband who has been a meat eater since he was a little boy has now embraced it as well and he’s lost 35 pounds.

Hope: Oh my gosh! That’s crazy! 

Denette: Yes, he’s done incredible. Every once in a while he’ll sneak something when I’m not looking but when he does that, He feels really sick afterwards. He does. He’s like, Oh, I shouldn’t have eaten that little burger. And I’m like, well, yeah, so yeah, I mean, I, you know, I, I’m always encouraging everybody, you know, nobody has to go vegan overnight like I did because I’m that crazy person.

I always jump into stuff. 

Hope: I do too. I jumped in cold turkey the next day. It was it. So I, yeah. 

Denette: Yeah, so, you know, I, I just encourage everybody try at least one plant based meal, maybe a week. 

Hope: Yeah, just cut back. That’s all in it. 

Denette: Cut back. Cut back and see the difference. [00:27:00] One of the ladies that comes and delivers my groceries from shipped.

She comes, you know weekly with all my vegan stuff And so finally she told me today she dropped off some stuff this morning and she’s like, you know what? She’s like you’ve inspired me. She goes I bought some vegan stuff. She goes my husband and my kids love it. 

Hope: Oh my god 

Denette: That made me feel so good. I know so I brought her I brought her to my kitchen I opened up my freezer and I let her also taste out of the fridge, some of the vegan mayonnaise, which she did not like it, but, um, you know, just so that she knows, there’s other stuff out there.

Vegans don’t just eat salad. I just recommend to any of the listeners, try, you know, just cut back or try just one meal and, and support our local vegan restaurants out there because they really are making a difference out there in our community. 

Hope: Yeah, for sure. What inspires you now? Like, what is inspiring you to stay on this path that you’re on and to kind of Go into the future?

Denette: What inspires me honestly, and I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but I guess what inspires me are people [00:28:00] that are doing things the wrong way. And so when I see that, then I’m like, you know what, that’s an opportunity to make things right. There’s another business out there, but we, we’ve launched it, but I really haven’t told anybody that I own it.

So it’s, but it’s going to come out eventually. And maybe you can have me back on the show and we’ll talk about it then. I just can’t stand to see people being taken advantage of in any way. And with all that is going on in our world right now, it’s so easy to say that, that something cleans something and it stays that way for a long period of time.

Let me just say that. 

And being a medical professional and knowing that I know how to clean the right way and how to sanitize. And it’s just important, I just don’t want to see people taken advantage of, so, without going into a whole lot of detail, I guess that’s what I would say, that’s what inspires me is, is that people that are doing things the wrong way and taking advantage of others allows me to be able to be creative and possibly [00:29:00] create a business out of it.

Not so much for the money, because it’s not about that. Anymore at all not that it was in the beginning, but I think you know what I what I mean 

Hope: Absolutely. 

Denette: Things that i’m creating now are not even about income coming in. It’s about doing what’s right, right? 

Hope: Yeah, making a difference. 

Denette: Yeah, exactly making a difference.

And so I think that’s how I I guess does that sound okay? 

Hope: No. Yeah. No

Denette: I didn’t want to say that there’s mean people out there in the world because we all know that there are but You know There’s just certain things that I have a very low tolerance for, and one of those is to see the public being misled, or to be taken advantage of in any way.

Again, like I said, the starting of the magazine, the restarting or the reopening of Epic Vascular, it wasn’t called that initially, but that’s the name I came up with. And, you know, and then the, the TV show as well. I mean, everything that I see myself doing here on out is going to be based on that, is doing, doing whatever I do.

For the betterment of [00:30:00] everybody, you know, the world and my family and my friends. 

Hope: Yeah, I mean, it’s, I think it’s, it’s a great story. I mean, I think it’s a great life. Credo, I mean, you know that you live your life by that. I love that. I think it’s great 

Denette: Well, you know we can also sit back and complain about anything And if we’re not doing something or voicing our opinion or trying to make a change for the better With whatever it is we’re complaining about then we’re just going to be sitting at home being bitter about it So i’d rather use my energy and focus on something positive a positive outcome out of something negative Then you know then to just be sitting at home Being bitter about things 

Hope: And on that note, I do like to, before I ask you this question, where can people find you and more about what you’re doing and all of the things you have your hand in?

Denette: Well, social media. Now, it’s so funny because you wouldn’t think that I am a shy person, but I am. And when I started Epic Vascular, my husband threw me out there. He’s like, you’re going to be the face of the company. And [00:31:00] I was like, I don’t want to. No, I’m saying, I have the same conversation with him. I’m like, what if people don’t like what I have to say?

What if they don’t like me? And he’s like, who cares? Who cares if they don’t like you? He’s like, it’s your message that you’re trying to get across. Yeah, you know, and that’s what that’s what I’ve learned. I’ve learned that it’s not about what you look like or anything like that. It’s the message. So we are on social media under epic vascular and it’s epic spelled with two C’s EPICC vascular.

I’m also listed under Epic Magazine, which is also EPICC Magazine. And then we will be having our Facebook page for the, uh, for Epic TV as well. That’s in, in the works right now. Again, we’re just starting out and we’ll be starting filming next week, or in the next two weeks. And then my plan is to, to show it to a, um, a network.

That’s my goal. Fingers crossed that I can do that because, because I, I want that positive message to get out there to the world and let [00:32:00] everybody know that, you know what? They’re great people out there. And. Maybe just somebody listening for the first time may make it inspired, maybe they’re at their very lowest right then and there and just that, you know, 10 minute or 15 minute interview can change their life.

Hope: Yeah. Absolutely. 

Denette: So that’s, that’s my goal. Yeah. So that’s where we are. We’re on social media. Facebook, for sure. 

Hope: Okay. Okay. And I’ll put links to all of that in the show notes so people can find you. And I’d like to end with the same question every time. What do you think is the most important thing people can do or change they can make to live with purpose?

Denette: I would say to be selfless, to be truly selfless, to look around at everything that you have and realize that there are people out there that may not have that. I took a drive the other day up Dezabala Road, and I saw a church off to the right, and there were parked cars in line. And I didn’t know what was going on, and when I got up a little further, I looked over to the right, and I saw a [00:33:00] sign that said food drive.

And I thought to myself, okay, here I’m thinking in my head, you know, oh dang, I forgot to order, you know, get the bread, or I forgot to do this or that. When not realizing that there are actually people that don’t have anything, and they’re sitting in their parked cars. wrapped around a church to get, you know, some groceries.

And so I would say that take the time in your busy day Whatever it is that you’re doing and to just be still just be still and be thankful for what you have However little you think it may be believe me There is always somebody out there who has a lot less And if you’re able to to give back to your community, it doesn’t have to be monetarily it can be Picking up groceries for a neighbor Or checking in on them or, you know, making sure that they’ve got their medications, something that little makes such a huge difference in somebody’s life.

And, you know, that would be wonderful if everybody could do that. 

Hope: Yeah, I love that. I agree, especially now, especially now. 

Denette: Especially [00:34:00] now. 

Hope: I agree. Thank you so much Denette for this. I’m inspired by you So I know that everybody listening is going to be inspired by you and can take steps in their own life to live with purpose So thank you so much for for sharing Thanks for listening to hopeful and wholesome y’all if you found value in this week’s episode Please subscribe on itunes wherever you get your podcast and leave a review to let me know what you thought I love to know what you find useful in these episodes So I know how I can provide the most value I can to my listeners And if you have topics that you want to know more about i’d love to hear those as well So shoot me a message on Instagram, facebook or linkedin. It’s at the hope pedraza or visit my website hopeful and wholesome. com Thanks, y’all