Becoming an entrepreneur

Becoming an entrepreneur

Gaby Planchart

gaby.planchart01@gmail.com

Twitter: @gabyplanchart01

After being an entrepreneur over the last four years, I want to share with my friends some lessons learned about this experience. "Entrepreneur" is the term used in the United States to identify the person who is entrepreneurial or in other words has the ability to develop and consolidate successful businesses. It is an in-fashion word widely used in management jargon. Although some will think of it as fashion, it is here to stay because "Entrepreneurship" is an important part of the universities and business schools’ curricula worldwide. I can tell you that in Seacrest Country Day School, the vanguard independent school where my son attends in Naples, Florida, is part of the senior-year curriculum.

Personally, I believe is not a wave in fashion that comes and goes. The mindset of entrepreneurs is necessary to have substantial growth in our countries. These people have the character, personality and passion for developing businesses and take risks, requiring innovation, perseverance and effort to propel local, regional and global economies. In other words, these are businesses that require employees, suppliers and customers developing relationships through networks of businesses that provide dynamism to the local economy. The direct consequence of this wagon wheel turning around is positive because it creates sustainability in the economy that multiplies in progress, prosperity and wealth of those involved in it. The innovation that originates a new business can be either a new product or outstanding service, and more likely a combination of both.

In July 2009, I left Venezuela to an expatriate assignment in a multinational bank. In January 2011, I made a life changing decision to move to the United States. As part of a globalized and competitive world, I wanted my children to complete their education and develop the skills and experiences needed in accordance to this challenging environment. This change of scene triggered in me the need to learn or adapt new skills in my professional life. Although professionally I could tell I was ready with an electronic engineering degree and an MBA from the most prestigious business school in Venezuela, the IESA; the truth is that you can always learn. Therefore, I enroll in Hodges University Johnson Business School for a master of management to learn the soft competences regarding culture, leadership, and management that are generally accepted in my new country. This is the first lesson: never is too late to update your knowledge and skills, even more if you need to professionally and culturally adapt these skills within a geographical change to a new country. While studying, I worked in four business potential projects: Spanish food distribution, Kelme sports shoes distribution, creating and consolidating a private banking network currently online and conceive a manufacturing and distribution plan for a water technology system. Through these projects, I managed to connect with my current U.S. partners in the ozone water technology business. This business has high leverage potential because of its own characteristics of low-energy purifying technology and economic-capillary conception to improve restaurants water, organic, and healthy conditions. If well managed, its potential could reach throughout the U.S. market. This approach led us to contact potential investors that would help us bring this project to higher dimensions. As you will see, the network of relationships, connections and influence is relevant in developing a new business.

Initially, when you are in a new city, you feel outcast because you do not have your typical support networks. Friends, family, co-workers, and parents of your children's friends conform this network of support. They facilitate achieving your goals of knowledge, work and progress. Here is a second lesson. It is very important to build again the support network to make easier any action in any given situation, whether personal or professional. Now after more than two years living in Naples, my support network has grown considerably with my graduate school friends, school parents of my kid’s friends, Latinos, and Venezuelan friends. Many Venezuelans who were part of my support network in Venezuela have move out from our country for the same reasons of seeking a better future for the family. Now, we are reconnecting over the United States. This network translates into the entrepreneur’s ability to influence at certain time positive impacts within the business ventures surrounding him or her.

Spheres of Influence of the 100 most influential people in the world, Times Magazine (April 29, 2013)

There are two important lessons to be a successful entrepreneur. First, the entrepreneur has to learn and re-learn the new codes of behavior and values ​​of the culture in which he or she is living. Second, the entrepreneur has to build his or her support networks to encourage critical and influentially beneficial relationships for all involved in the progress of any company. Additionally, learn, relearn and build a "networking platform" are behaviors needed in a leader who wants to create great transformations projects. It is not a coincidence because to be an entrepreneur you have to be a leader. This is another great lesson.

The healthy change under stress

The healthy change under stress

gaby.planchart01@gmail.com

Twitter: @gabyplanchart01

            After the next day the Venezuelan Presidential elections occurred on April 14 2013, it was very difficult to write an article about positive change. My intention was to keep writing on the topic of healthy change, as I wanted to discuss about my new eating habits. However, my mind was in another place. I dealt with huge amounts of anxiety. I imagined many of my Venezuelan friends and acquaintances were feeling the same way.

            In these difficult moments where emotions dominate us we must learn to manage them. My way to control anxiety follows different paths. After biting my fingernails or their surrounding skin until it hurts, I gave permission for certain cravings like chocolate and ice cream but the ones with no sugar added and always observing small portions. Finally I focused on my work, exercised, cooked and cleaned the house.

            Right now, Venezuelans are going through all the spectrum of hard emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety and uncertainty. We have to control ourselves to not overflow into actions that we can then repent. For those Venezuelans like me that live in other countries, we have to deal with the urgent need of wanting to be in the center where the events were occurring in order to support whatever it takes to get our country back. My way to channel my frustration at the distance has been actively participating in social networks. As human beings with skills to rationalize, the best that we can do it is to identify these overflowing emotions and channel them to offset any excess that can hurt you.

            I spent all day thinking about how I felt and here are my thoughts:

"To my friend supporting the government: I know you love your country; therefore, we must seek a joint solution to solve the situation that Venezuela is living. Winning like that is not winning! To win properly is by not scaring voters, polling shooting, assisting or forcing to vote for your candidate, disappearing ballot boxes, applying unilateral standards and abusive behaviors. This is embarrassing. The world has noticed it. The situation is critical and affects us all equally. I believe anyone cannot agree with a government limiting your voting rights! "

"Partners and friends of the opposition: We have advanced profoundly if we abstract from all the abuse we live yesterday. We won everything, we have earned an ETHICAL Leader: Henrique Capriles. El Flaco gave and continue to give his whole body and soul to the cause of our country, he has united us, evoked many ruling and I am sure will be able to summon many more to build the project of the country we want and deserve. He is a man of principles and values. We have something to improve and that we should convene, include and discern because a country in two halves that are not in speaking terms is not part of the Venezuela that we deserve. We have the reason and we always seek peace. We need to keep fighting and working to make our dream come true. Our dream is a country of progress and full of opportunities for all Venezuelans to come true. I am sure that our dream will become reality sooner rather than later. "

            Let us follow closely all the developments.  Henrique Capriles’ leadership will take us closer every day to see our dream come true:

·                                A prosperous Venezuela,

·                               A Venezuela following a sustained path for progress and

·                              Venezuela for all Venezuelans.

The healthy change II

            In the previous article, I talked about the first step of how to deal with the healthy change. Within the first step of this transformation management, we need to identify what we must change throughout the logical and illogical motivations. Without thinking too much, my logical motivations are my family and a healthy life. My illogical motivation was the fear of having surgery to achieve a healthier life. All these reasons led me to my second step: The change action in September 2012.

            A good leader uses multiple tools to bring forward change projects. In order to achieve a desired or new state, companies address typically change management projects. A new system, the development of a new product, the reengineering of a process, and sales deepening the relationship with existing customers are examples of change management projects. In order to achieve successful results, leaders require tactics and team building.

            For a chubby person (to soften the term) like me, taking action to stop being obese is almost a lifestyle intervention. The action had to take place in three areas: food, exercise, and habits associated with both. Another important decision was that this change I could not carry it out by myself. I needed help or a consultant. Schein explains the role of this consultant (1995) as the person involved with my change from scratch and share a commitment to helping me to lead a different lifestyle and habits. After finishing my masters in management in August 2012, I decided to apply all the knowledge learned from change management to adapt a healthier lifestyle.

            In September 2012, I enrolled in the program of Dr. Cederquist's Wellness Center in Naples, Florida. After trying several other alternatives with no success, it was a logical reason to participate in this program. I needed to fight my own diet schemes.  I always started a diet every Monday of each week with enthusiasm and commitment but at the end of the week the spellbound was broken. The excuses were the forces of resistance to change; this resistance was so strong enough that it could smash down my personal commitment. I needed to unlearn in order to learn new habits to adapt a healthier lifestyle. I enrolled myself into my health master for the period 2012-2013.

            The Dr. Cederquist team offered me the tools to address this change; among these tools I can mention a day planner; a food diary; a record of my weekly measures such as weight, water, fat mass, among others; a list of personal motivators; and, what I like the most, a visit with my nutritionist to assess weekly progress. Additionally, every 6 weeks, I have a comprehensive medical check up which evaluates physical and laboratory tests showing the positive transformation of my body.

            For keeping me motivated, I need to have a constant monitoring of my positive changes. Definitely, the most important effect is to constantly follow-up.  The feedback arising allows me to make the necessary corrections in the three areas: food, exercise and habits in order to make further progress in reducing weight. Any resemblance to a work plan to increase product sales, traffic and average ticket sales, it is merely a coincidence.

The Healthy Change

The healthy change

Gaby Planchart

gaby.planchart01@gmail.com

            The positive messages and encouragement when you decide to do something new in your life are rewarding. The feedback received from my readers, friends, colleagues and family to the first article posted “Change: A constant in our lives”, gives me enthusiasm to keep writing about this topic. I would love to hear your comments and feedback on this and many other aspects related to our professional and personal lives. So I invite you to write me on my email gaby.planchart01@gmail.com.

            The need to achieve balance motivated this article, where I write about how to face the change in the physical aspect of my life. Health was one of my pending matters within this balance. My son and my mother were my logical motivations. The two decided to be healthy and fight against obesity. My son just took that decision when he was 10 years old. Tired of the typical teasing at his school, he took action on the issue. He began to eat less and exercise more. His will power, advice and feedback have been my inspiration, my support and my conscience, respectively. My mother, in her forties (his modern mathematics applies that the old 50s is the new 30s), began suffering from hyperthyroidism and diabetes type 2. Her love of life made ​​her focus on health. With the help of her endocrinologist and modern medicine, she established a healthy routine of diet and moderate activity; therefore, the results were very specific. Now she is fine and her energy is amazing in her mid-fifties (doing the calculations in modern mathematics is now eighty-odd years). Both got their own inspiration, realized the need for change, triggered to achieve and reached their desired new situation.

            We had talked in the previous article about the three stages of a change process. These stages are identifying the need for change, the change in motion and the new level in the planned change (Lewin / Schein). My process of identifying the need for change was long and quite illogical. For me obesity has been a tool to manage anxiety as a result of a highly challenging working environments and living in an increasingly unsafe and politically complicated Venezuela. Failure to properly manage anxiety has been affecting my health over time. I always boasted of being a happy and healthy fat girl. My emotional management was flawed because I was always using excuses. After I was 40 years old, obesity began to take its toll. My body began to show the typical signs of metabolic syndrome: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, dyspnea, rosacea, neck mini-warts, hyperinsulinism, joints pain, and finally endometriosis at an old age (according to my mom’s modern mathematics I am twenty-nine years old). This latter disease can be eliminated by means of hysterectomy or in other words removing the uterus and ovaries. This event was my great shock as I had to really internalize the need for change and was the plaintiff to manage change. Surgery is not my first option. This is the reason I had never opted for extreme weight-loss options such as bariatric surgery. Now, I was faced to opt for surgery to resolve endometriosis. Again it was not an option, it is a very invasive solution and carrying many risks because of my weight.

            Always the world of action handles different solutions. In my case, one of them was in my hands. If I decided to lose weight to hormonal imbalances that cause the disease, the endometriosis could be controlled. This is where I started a new healthy life since September 2012.