I have seen it happen again and again - entrepreneurs who embark on a journey to serve others, inspired by their very own reflection. It makes a lot of sense- in order to be successful, a company needs to be intimately familiar with their market. What better way to have this knowledge than by being your own prototypical client or customer?
Even while noting that others were finding their muse in the mirror, I did not expect the same to happen to me. Yet it happened anyway.
When I started SH International, I had a few very large clients. Multi-billion dollar conglomerates and equity funds which were seeking emerging markets investors or investments, respectively. It was really exciting to be a boutique consultancy operating in these grand arenas. It was empowering to see how much we could do, by leveraging special resources, relationships, and strategies. Later, we expanded our services to help companies establish new distribution channels into other countries.
However, over time, the clients that I found the most interesting to work with were those whom I related to the most- entrepreneurs wanting to achieve multinational growth objectives, despite limited resources. I found myself going out of my way to create services that would meet their needs.
Still in denial that I was meant to serve other entrepreneurs, my twitter activity should have offered all the clues that I needed. I would tweet about emerging markets and global business, and on my personal twitter account, add a personal touch by tweeting about personal interests: food, languages, and entrepreneurship.
Next thing I knew, I was tweeting a LOT about entrepreneurship, writing blog posts about it (all for fun and to give "behind the scenes" looks at my business), speaking to groups of entrepreneurs, and even judging international pitching contests.
It took a really long time for the light bulb to go off in my mind- I too, was meant to serve others like myself. Entrepreneurs with bold, multinational aspirations, that needed to leverage limited resources and a lot of faith to make their ventures reality. I particularly enjoyed working with the following entrepreneurs, and eventually, they inspired me to say goodbye to serving large, established corporates and hello to working with multinational entrepreneurs at the helms of fast-growing companies:
Daniela Barajas and Priscilla Makundi, and all of the incredible women of Sote Tunaweza Initiative
Eric Bryant of Text Engine
Umar Ghuman of Moonica Group
Lori Mulligan and Lynne Gerhards of Pure Inventions
Michelle Lewis of Spoonable
The many entrepreneurs that attended one of the Small Business Administration / U.S. Commercial Service / District Export Council sponsored trainings that we offered as community learning events
...and many other amazing multinational entrepreneurs. Thank you for inspiring me to dedicate the future of SH International to serving others like you.
Have you found your muse in the mirror?
Even while noting that others were finding their muse in the mirror, I did not expect the same to happen to me. Yet it happened anyway.
When I started SH International, I had a few very large clients. Multi-billion dollar conglomerates and equity funds which were seeking emerging markets investors or investments, respectively. It was really exciting to be a boutique consultancy operating in these grand arenas. It was empowering to see how much we could do, by leveraging special resources, relationships, and strategies. Later, we expanded our services to help companies establish new distribution channels into other countries.
However, over time, the clients that I found the most interesting to work with were those whom I related to the most- entrepreneurs wanting to achieve multinational growth objectives, despite limited resources. I found myself going out of my way to create services that would meet their needs.
Still in denial that I was meant to serve other entrepreneurs, my twitter activity should have offered all the clues that I needed. I would tweet about emerging markets and global business, and on my personal twitter account, add a personal touch by tweeting about personal interests: food, languages, and entrepreneurship.
Next thing I knew, I was tweeting a LOT about entrepreneurship, writing blog posts about it (all for fun and to give "behind the scenes" looks at my business), speaking to groups of entrepreneurs, and even judging international pitching contests.
It took a really long time for the light bulb to go off in my mind- I too, was meant to serve others like myself. Entrepreneurs with bold, multinational aspirations, that needed to leverage limited resources and a lot of faith to make their ventures reality. I particularly enjoyed working with the following entrepreneurs, and eventually, they inspired me to say goodbye to serving large, established corporates and hello to working with multinational entrepreneurs at the helms of fast-growing companies:
Daniela Barajas and Priscilla Makundi, and all of the incredible women of Sote Tunaweza Initiative
Eric Bryant of Text Engine
Umar Ghuman of Moonica Group
Lori Mulligan and Lynne Gerhards of Pure Inventions
Michelle Lewis of Spoonable
The many entrepreneurs that attended one of the Small Business Administration / U.S. Commercial Service / District Export Council sponsored trainings that we offered as community learning events
...and many other amazing multinational entrepreneurs. Thank you for inspiring me to dedicate the future of SH International to serving others like you.
Have you found your muse in the mirror?
RSS Feed
