In this ongoing series we share advice, suggestions and observations from real entrepreneurs who fight the business battle every day. (Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Tell us about yourself and your organization.
my name is Liwia Anna Guarnierifounder TROJKA360. I’m an SME (material expert) and proprietary strategic consultant in the OEM (original equipment manufacturing) space. I work with vehicle manufacturers at the corporate level. If an OEM wants to know what forms of service providers are in the market and whether or not they offer viable solutions, I’ll help them find the one that most closely fits their needs.
Alternatively, I can build a boutique solution for them so they are not tied down to something that does not serve them long run. I also help service providers of every type understand how an OEM works internally so they’ll create higher products and services. It’s a very area of interest field, but the need is very real.
What inspired you to start your personal business?
It wasn’t being an entrepreneur that inspired me to create my company. My business was born out of necessity when I felt I had no other alternative. I worked in a well-known company in a forgotten department that had been in the red for a very long time. By building relationships with clients, I could reap the benefits of this department deficit and turn it into a multi-million dollar asset. Looking back, I imagine they brought me on as an worker to build credibility in the department, increase the quote, and then sell it. And that is exactly how it ended. The only problem with the company’s plan is that these customers weren’t their customers; they were my clients. I have long-standing relationships with all of them and these clients have asked me to find an alternative solution.
Some people get an “Aha!” the moment that results in the commencement of business. For me, it was less of an “Aha!” moment and more “Oh shit!” moment. I used to be completely stunned, but I knew I had to do it because it felt prefer it was now or never and I wasn’t going to let my clients down.
What has been the most difficult a part of growing your small business?
One of the most difficult moments was when I had to re-direct my response request to the same people I had approached just a few weeks earlier with the same candidates. It felt like the longest day of my profession. But what I proved that day was, above all, my unique systems, unique methods and knowledge that I had throughout my life. None of these items were in any way related to any other solution available; these were clearly my solutions. So I managed to build a completely boutique system without the support of a larger corporation. However, this also meant that I had to find partners that fit this boutique system. My only requirement was that it provide value to the OEM first, not to the service providers I used to be bringing in.
What is something that you simply think many aspiring entrepreneurs think they need but don’t actually do?
I think a lot of aspiring business owners feel the pressure to get the whole lot right at once. While you need to all the time strike while the iron is hot, doing it just for the sake of doing it won’t help. You don’t need an immediate office, a fully built website, or a brand latest computer. Passion and perseverance are needed. Building a business should feel like something you were born to do. You have to get up every day, look at yourself in the mirror, imagine with all of your heart and say out loud: “It will work, because that’s what I was supposed to do.”
I actually imagine that your belief in yourself makes others imagine in you too. For my business, I had to put it together in a short time, but if I wasn’t truly passionate about doing it for the greater good of the industry fairly than my very own good, I do not think I’d have succeeded. I have also never allowed myself to speak negatively about the universe because the universe all the time listens to me.
Was there a moment when you felt this business would achieve success?
Eventually, when my industry saw that I used to be working on the rising tide and not only my boat, clients began looking for me as a substitute of me looking for them. My business grew on its own because I stayed humble. Even when I achieved things far beyond my expectations, I remained humble and grateful. Instead of basking in the glory, I worked. I imagine this is what it means to be an entrepreneur. Find your area of interest, make sure your work is clearly yours, and be true to yourself, not your ego.
Any advice for entrepreneurs who want to create their very own behind-the-scenes, area of interest business?
The best advice I can provide to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to do this work is that strategy consulting happens quietly, behind the scenes, in the shadows and out of the highlight. When you progress in silence, your competition has no idea you are even in the game, and you should utilize this underestimation to your advantage.