The 3 People Every Ambitious Woman Needs in Their Circle
My first experience of seizing opportunity happened when a former boss hired me to grow his new company from the ground up. I was the first employee of his new venture and became the delegated person to hire and train every employee who came after me.
Until then, I'd been a Sales Assistant. My days consisted of filling out forms and answering emails. I was in charge of no one, and I had precious little real-life business experience.
Seeing an opportunity to grow and excel, I jumped at the chance despite my lack of experience, guidance, or any mentorship. I started setting up new customers, establishing procedures and processes and identifying the hires we needed to make. I hired and trained others, scouted locations, and negotiated leases. Within three years, I had a team of 10 people, and we were a $12M company.
The experience taught me lessons that I've carried through and used in every business I've launched since (I'm currently undertaking my 4th venture). One of the most critical lessons learned; is that every ambitious woman needs three people in their circle at any given time to achieve success. These people are:
A person who has been where you want to go
A person who believes in you, AND what you're doing more than you do
A person who is at the same place as you in their business (with as big or bigger dreams than you)
Here's why:
A person who has been where you want to go: that's your mentor.
It's great if you can find someone who is in your actual field. A person who has walked the exact path you plan to go-but that's rare and not necessary. Look for someone who has faced the challenges you now face. This person will share their insights, and most importantly, they'll represent the idea that what you want IS POSSIBLE. They'll be your inspiration and give you some great advice along the way.
A person who believes in you and what you're doing: that's your support team.
They must be someone who believes in your dreams. It could be the same person as above, which would be fantastic, but it doesn't have to be. This person is your moral support and reminder to keep going. Keep in mind that it's more beneficial to you if this person is not family. Your family wants to keep you safe. You need someone who will help you make bold decisions and push you to be better at your craft.
A person at the same place as you with a similar drive: that's your friendly competition.
They are the fire under your ass and your accountability. However you look at it, they keep you moving forward. Ambition is lonely. Particularly for women. As you progress on your path and your friends from school progress in their lives, you start to have less and less in common. A person at the same place as you is on a similar path. Because of this, you'll likely have common interests that you won't have with anyone else.
As an ambitious woman, seek out these three people. Start early. They can and will be different as you change and evolve throughout your journey and career. You may even seek out three new people as you undertake a new project or work towards meeting a specific goal. With ambition and drive, and the right people around you, you can do and achieve anything.
About Meredith Garritsen
Meredith is the CEO of Hervana Coworking Collective located in downtown Vancouver, BC. In March of 2020, she launched the Hervana Collective, an online membership for driven and progressive women. They do weekly workshops, networking within the community and curated networking outside the community among other things. In Feb of 2021, she started a Contract COO business. She is also a Business Operations and Development specialist.