It has been almost one year since that dinner and every day is exciting, rewarding, and quite a bit scary. Each day I experience a wide range of emotions, and every day I encounter something new and different.
What makes me want to be an entrepreneur is my curiosity and the constant search for adventure. I’ve been consulting since I was young. I started consulting in the technology arena, working for different consulting firms, and taking on new projects, including a major one in Singapore, and growing, learning new skill sets, and taking many risks with each. I was a consultant with BMS working as a global process validation manager prior to starting Assurea. As a business owner, I want to continue that individual growth and taking on those types of ventures and risks in life, all of which tie in well with what entrepreneurship is.
During the development and start of Assurea, I read a lot of books – two that were particularly helpful were Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi and The E Myth by Michael Gerber – which helped me get into the mindset of an entrepreneur. I talked to many people to see what their challenges were, collected data, and networked constantly to reach industry professionals directly.
To me, entrepreneurship means different things every day. Things are always changing. You must be ready to adjust each day, do things differently, and put yourself out there. Entrepreneurship requires a flexible mindset, be adaptable, and wear many different hats; when you are in a start-up organization, one day you will be doing accounting, the next business development, and the next consulting. With many more roles in between.
Uncertainty is part of an entrepreneur’s life. There are numerous challenges, as well - not everything goes according to plan. You may think you are going in one direction and then you have to switch your whole plan and take an entirely different path. You may think you are offering a type of service to your clients until you talk extensively with them and gather industry data – you may then realize you must make a significant change. You will not always know the answer or where you are going next, but you must make the best decision with the information you have at the moment and be okay not always having that final plan. You must be willing to do lot of experimenting, and it is imperative that you keep a positive mindset.
Assurea will celebrate its first anniversary in June. We already have five clients with and are in discussion with more. We recently hired our first administrative assistant and look forward to continuously increasing our staff. Assurea believes in growing a diverse team, building a culture around partnerships, and changing our mindset about competition. We do not believe in competition – we believe in diversity of thought, learning from people, and creating partnerships.
My partners and I are excited about the future of the company, the collaborations, and partnerships we are creating, and those that we will develop in the future. We are working on becoming an international company to have an impact around the world with emerging technologies. We are planning on leading what is still the unknown. We know we have much to do ahead. The entrepreneurial journey never ends.
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