Exploring Life & Business with Karen Hernandez of Blue Titan Enterprises

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Hernandez.

Hi Karen, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
In 2016 my mother passed away unexpectedly. It made me pause and evaluate my life. Here the being that created me was now gone. She had a 10th-grade education and yet empowered me to have everything but my dissertation completed. I had a great life including a beautiful home, cars, great income, travel, and savings. I was standing still for the first time in a long time pausing to think, What is next for me? I thought mistakenly I had arrived, but that was a lie.

I planned meticulously to leave my little Georgia town and amazing supportive tribe to explore and find my voice. I was single with no plans and no chains to hold me. I set off about three months later to London, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Amsterdam, Barbados, Martinique, and the Dominican Republic. My initial plan was to leave for three months, I left and I started to renew my internal voice. Here I was in my 40s divorced and seemingly had it all, but I found I buried a lot of pain and disappointments. I believed my life was as good as it could get. I often wondered how could such an enigma as my mother raise such a free spirit as myself and questioned again Who was this new version of me that crept in and I adopted as my persona? I do not remember when I changed, I think somehow I just started thinking maybe people were right, I was not serious enough, I was too much at times, so I somehow compartmentalized myself and put “her” away for the comfort of acceptance.

At this point in my life, the 40s can be cruel to a woman. As a result, I took on extra pounds, my persona was more gray than black and white. Honestly, I was tired of proving myself. This woman was tired of over-extending in the name of someone needing help, but I was alone without anyone extending the same. Sure I had certain individuals I could rely on, but the ones who were abusers seemed to know exactly how and when to pounce on my weaknesses. I prided myself on being flexible and caring, but I constantly felt slapped on my wrist or even my face metaphorically speaking. When you are a person without firm boundaries, you become the joke of others, there is no respect. I could not admit it, but I was tired of taking the high road, saving others’ feelings, picking up the pieces, and healing others’ wounds. The exit from America was just what my soul needed to shock it into living again. The fact is, this was the beginning of a journey to internal healing and external exuberance for life again. I was living a silent death, bleeding on the inside, and needed oxygen and medicine to heal me. I sold nearly everything, rented my house, and left to begin a journey to live again.

I lacked knowledge or mastery of the cultures, etiquette, and languages no doubt that I committed many social gaffs along the way. One day I looked in the mirror, cried, and said to myself WHO HAVE YOU BECOME? At that moment, I knew I was starting to see what needed to be done. It was about 45 days into my trip, I knew something inside me was changing. When I was in Georgia used to walk less than 2000 steps a day but easily was surpassing 10,000 steps a day. In all of that physical movement came a psychological shift in thinking, attitude, focus, and in grace.

I looked up and realized I was doing good. I traveled over 20,000 miles by land, air, and sea and made friends along the way. I realized there are many more like me, stuck and unrecognizable. They suffer and wear a smile while silently seething inside because they were trained it is the right thing to do. They want to get unstuck but just do not know how.

Many great moments from dancing with strangers in London, receiving random roses on the street in front of Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary, using a selfie stick at Doges Palace, looking like a real tourist to the little chuckle at the fact they thought my American accent was exciting, imagine that! I also enjoyed random inquiring conversations about racism in America and politics. I was even asked, “Why do they call you Black American?” I said well I am Black and American, but the adjective made it an exception and not inclusive, since that conversation I have changed to just the noun “American”. Many conversations often expressed pride in America’s President Obama and compared First Lady Michelle Obama to the enigmatic Black American women. For many, I was the first Black American woman they ever spoke to. I was often asked questions about why is America so toxic and angry while it has so much power. This was a question I often asked myself. Many people I spoke to found the turn in American politics a refreshing renewal to have a progressive Black President but also compared the retrograde as it was regressive with the next President after Obama. Many conversations were comparing the fact America was engaged in a war with herself, seeking to move forward and lead and yet hold onto the old politics that have long stifled progress.

Soon my three-month trek was six months, nine months, and more. My appetite for the new became insatiable. I took the bus under the English Channel to get to Belgium in the middle of the night and had a Mercedes Benz Uber take me to my Airbnb. I remembered no one was here to help me and I always had to have a plan A, B, and C and to be flexible because plans can change. When I was in France, the air traffic controllers went on strike. I had to get to Italy so I took bought a train ticket and rode through the snow-capped French and Italian Alps. Another time, in London I rode on a public transit double-decker bus just to visit Parliament and Clock Tower. I visited Westminster Abbey and witnessed incredible architecture including Windsor Castle, was a farmhand in Barbados where I learned to feed animals and worked in a nursery. I sat in awe front and center to watch legendary South African pianist Abdulah Ibrahim who once led the Duke Ellington Orchestra perform at the Blue Note Milan. His performance was a tribute to audible ecstasy. I admired priceless and incredible pieces of art in museums all over Europe. I witnessed my favorite Murano glass blown live, visited churches in every country, and lit a candle in gratitude for such an incredible experience.

I made it a point to enjoy the wines of the regions while visiting the countries France, Italy, and Spain where it was easily $2 a bottle for some pretty good stuff. Sipped champagne in France in sidewalk cafes with charcuterie boards. Had fresh pasta made by an Italian chef in Italy, drank incredible beer in the oldest pub in Belgium, enjoyed tapas in Spain, and of course Siesta. Everyone needs a Siesta, I wondered why the USA does not have a Siesta. I was so ignorant, I had no idea why it seemed no one lived in Spain because I did not understand everything was closed for an hour or three in the middle of the day, I learned to love Siesta. I was growing and evolving and became an incorrigible gourmand.

I was a global epicure. Once I stayed in a portside village in Mallorca where I walked over 5 miles through a vineyard to attend a jazz festival in Mallorca featuring Atlantan Violinist Ken Ford. I had seen Ken Ford perform at least 20 times in Georgia, once even in the rain, but to see him on that international stage made me beam with pride, The Mallorca Jazz Festival was unequivocally one of his best performances ever.

I walked the sidewalks in Venice, attended mass at the Vatican, hugged a stranger and had coffee in Amsterdam, and much more. Soon I found my life was being reinvented before my eyes. I did Facebook live streaming in every country I visited and my friends would cash app me money for a cocktail or a good time. They were cheering me on, and somehow I knew I needed that. Somehow my soul felt a healing taking place. Soon my tears of past disappointment became deep gut laughter. Somehow my grimace, my face involuntarily adopted became a smile again. What baffled me the most is no one told me I had changed, Either I hid these feelings way too deep inside, or no one cared to tell me. Maybe they did tell me, but I could not hear them because the words were deafened by my own past trauma and fear hence I could not hear them. I found my voice again. The beauty in the journey is it was worth it.

Happy ending in 2020. I fell in love and married my best friend. We have a beautiful family and life truly is amazing.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not every moment was pleasant, I was given a drug in my drink in Barbados, and as soon as I knew what was happening, I went to the farm and took activated charcoal. It flushed the poison from my system and I slept for about two days. Another time I was locked out of an Airbnb at 9 pm because no one opened the door while I was in Madrid. It was cold and I called Airbnb who graciously put me up in a 5-star hotel and covered all of my meals.

We’ve been impressed with Blue Titan Enterprises, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our Parent company is Blue Titan Enterprises, LLC. We have a community service division Do Good Volunteers Dominican Republic where we assist with literacy programs and food commodities distribution. Our division Dominican Concierge specializes in Dominican Republic Tourism and Real Estate.

Dominican Concierge assists with on-the-ground tourism services including: digital nomad live-work spaces, relocation, film location, general tourism, medical tourism, and real estate.

Do Good Volunteers and Do Good Volunteers Dominican Republic is our community service division. We started over 20 years ago in Atlanta with feeding the homeless, Hot weather, cold drinks and lunches to the Homeless, Purses with a Purpose (purses distributed to displaced women with personal hygiene products), Domestic Violence Victims Clothing drive, Warm Blanket distribution for homeless individuals. As of 2018, we have had a presence in the Dominican Republic for over 5 years. We have taught English classes, Food Commodity Distribution and collaborated with organizations for back-to-school Book Bag distribution.

What’s next?
As you can imagine, over 25 years of using my resources has proven I need to diversify the donations and expand in order to increase out footprint. In 2023, we plan to officially move from using all of my personal resources and out-of-pocket expenses to becoming an official nonprofit.

For our Dominican Concierge brand a major shift is to expand conversations for middle-class Americans who wish to purchase affordable housing in the Dominican Republic. We plan to have several events in Atlanta, Georgia, New York and Texas where people can ask and learn how they can invest in the Dominican Republic.

Pricing:

• Hourly Consultation $50.00
• Relocation Services $300. plus 1% of lease
• Medical Tourism Consult $100.
• Group and Event Planning $250. plus negotiated terms
• Real Estate Consult $50. Deductable after purchase

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Dominican Concierge