SUPPORTING YOUNG LEADERS

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of young entrepreneurs. I shared my journey in entrepreneurship, where I am now, and my marriage's role in how I do business.

I realised that we, established entrepreneurs and business folk, are often so excited by the prospects for new and young entrepreneurs and are eager to see them get something going that we fail to provide a compass or any guardrails to help them on this (at times treacherous) journey. And I don't just mean business mentoring and the promise of office space and funding opportunities but also mental and emotional support.

I love getting business owners to understand the principles of self-discipline and leadership even before they need them. Sharing the insights of my leadership journey, including the highs and lows with brutal honesty, was an important reminder that running a business is not all plain sailing. Life can throw us curve balls. Leaning into your own resilience and the resilience of others can be the only thing that gets you through those tough times.

I look forward to working with this group again in the future and learning what leadership means and looks like to them. I am excited to see how they, in turn, pass those lessons on to entrepreneurs following in their footsteps.