Business Tech Africa Editor speaks to Dunja Berger – an experienced business coach, to explore what it takes to be an entrepreneur and the mindset required to not only start your own business, but to persevere and succeed even when the going gets tough.
Key Quotes from Dunja Berger – Business Coach
“I thought if I am going to help people, I’ll need to be a product of my product. And so after I went on that journey for a couple of years, I, three years ago, decided to let go of my corporate marketing job and went back into coaching, but this time not on the health side, but focusing more on business, since I had already had seven years of intrapreneurship experience”. “And now I help people at different stages of their business, help them to scale their business, learn how to work with AI and technology, learn how to work on their mindsets and really expand on their growth goals”.
Dunja on what it takes to Establish a Business:
“A lot of people are also in denial about how much work it actually takes”. “So they don’t put the same amount of love and energy into their business as they do maybe when they were employed”.
“And so it’s a very different ballgame when you have your own business and you’re responsible for your own income and the client relationships you form and that you’re responsible for a team all of a sudden”. “These are all aspects that most people are not aware of when they start out”. “And so it’s a lot of pressure, a lot of responsibility, and you need accountability, and if you don’t have a support structure in place, that’s where you might not push through, and so your resilience is at stake”.
About the Value of Support and Mentors:
“I think ultimately, it’s always good to have mentors around you and a support group around you that back you no matter what is going on in your business. I think that’s something that you should really try and create from the onset”.
About what Resilience is:
“Resilience is also when the hard knocks of life knock you down and you have every reason to quit, you don’t quit and you keep moving forward”. “And that’s a form of resilience that usually only comes when you’ve hit a few roadblocks along the way, and the better you are at going through these challenges and just keep moving into the direction of your dreams and your goals”.
About the Mental Tools Needed to start a Business:
“One thing that I can tell you, is that if you want to build that resilience and you want to be able to have the tools available for you to succeed in future, you need to focus on your mindset, you need to focus on being consistent and you need to focus on being your own best ally”. “And what I mean by that is that any challenges that come your way, you need to be able to navigate uncertainty”. “You need to be able to navigate people not supporting your ideas or concepts and backing yourself regardless”.
To Connect with Dunja on LinkedIn – CLICK HERE
