When I decided to go to Uni to study Psychology, I knew I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. After I got my degree, I started working as an organizational psychologist for my city’s council. I was not the psychologist I wanted to be. I did not have time to do a good job, and I had to follow my boss’s ideas, even when I used to think it was not the best option for our clients. After this experience, I felt the need to create my own business. I always wanted to work on my own terms, I wanted to be able to do whatever I felt was right for my clients, and more importantly be fulfilled with my work. I created Expat Infinity because I wanted to combine my experience as an expat and my knowledge in psychology to help fellow expats in this new life experience. I am proud of Expat Infinity and how I am able to support people through it. I work on it every single day including week-ends. I put my heart and soul into it.
What were the biggest initial hurdles to building your business and how did you overcome them?
In Australia it is easy to create a business online, so there were no admin or paper work challenges. I think my biggest hurdle and fear was to jump on this incredible journey as an entrepreneur and believe in myself enough to think that I could do it. It has always been my dream to be my own boss, but a wish without a plan is simply that, a dream. So every single day I work on my business to develop it, to keep growing it, and to share some good content with my clients.
What books are you currently reading? And your recommendation for entrepreneurs to read?
I just finished a book from Emma Isaacs called “winging it”. She is an incredible business woman, and also a wife and mother of 5 children. I enjoyed her book, because she shared her journey authentically, and it was also a good reminder that things don’t need to be perfect in life and when creating your own business and that we just need to start somewhere. I highly recommend this book, especially for women. She exemplifies that saying that when we really want something, everything is possible.
Did you ever deal with contention from your family and friends concerning your entrepreneurial pursuits? How did you handle it? What would you do differently in hindsight?
Contention is not really the word I would use, but it is true that a lot of my friends don’t understand my choices and we do not have much to share anymore. On top of that I have been living here in Australia for over three years now, so the gap is only getting bigger. At the beginning of my journey I used to ask them for their opinions. I know now that it was a bad idea. I met a businesswoman once who gave me this advice and it has changed my life since: only take advice from people who already have what you want in your life. I realised that it was unconscious but my friends where projected on me their own fears and anxiety because they have no clue on this topic. They work in corporate jobs, doing the so called “9 to 5”. Once you start on this journey of entrepreneurship, it is important to network, to meet new people who are in the same boat as you, serving people through a business of their own. Otherwise, it is easy to quickly get overwhelmed by your own doubts and fears and those of others.
What would you say was the single most influential factor in your business success?
I only created Expat Infinity a few months ago, so I still have plenty of things to do, but I would say consistency. Patience is not one of my strengths so I was expecting the business to grow faster than it first did. I used to be disappointed sometimes thinking that all that work I was putting it wasn’t paying off. Regardless I kept sharing on social media and kept creating new content because I knew that one day I would receive a message or email from a potential client saying that they liked what I did, and it did happen. I did eventually get messages and inquiries from people who needed my help. So a lesson I learnt and I am sharing here is that even when you think that no one is noticing you and the work you are putting in, it is not true, people are so just keep going!
What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started as an entrepreneur?
It is an interesting question, I talked about this with a friend of mine recently. Basically when I started I pictured myself working online as a Life Coach/Psychologist (which is what I am now), but I had no clue about what it entailed. It’s things like creating a website, some free valuable content, building an email list, having your own newsletter etc there is a huge amount of work that goes into running your own online business which I wasn’t aware of at first. Being an entrepreneur is an amazing journey and I learn every day how to wing it and how to go with the flow. All this is still new for me, I still have plenty of things to learn.
What advice would you give to an upcoming entrepreneur locally and internationally?
If you feel like building your own business, just do it, do not waste your potential waiting for the perfect time because there is no such thing. Failure is a part of the process so do not be afraid of it. You will learn something out of it anyway. Also, there is nothing worse than having regrets. I am a huge believer in having your own online business, I think it is the future. We now live in a world where it is so easy to connect with the rest of the world and spray our message so get out there.
