“I never thought I would become an entrepreneur. It took me a while to feel comfortable with the title. I just discovered that I loved what I was doing, but that I wanted a change of environment that allowed me to customize my approach and thrive. I defined myself as an entrepreneur afterwards and now I feel that I can own it.”

To celebrate all the women making their mark in the world of business and to help promote women entrepreneurs in these uncertain times: The #GIRLBOSS Project. We are honoured to have had the chance to participate in such a project and to be able to tell the story of Akiri.

“I started my business in 2019, we just celebrated our first year in March. I decided to go for it mainly to have better schedule flexibility, but also to allow me to customize my services. As a mother of two who works full time, being able to work when and where I want is amazing.

We support companies in their digital transformation and in their software selection. Our strength is business analysis; we consider the needs and resources of our customers to adapt their business to be more efficient. So far, our customers have mostly been medium-sized companies in the manufacturing, wholesale distribution or retail industries.

I never thought I would become an entrepreneur. It took me a while to feel comfortable with the title. I just discovered that I loved what I was doing, but that I wanted a change of environment that allowed me to customize my approach and thrive. I defined myself as an entrepreneur afterwards and now I feel that I can own it.

I think women have a slight advantage when it comes to multitasking, which is crucial in entrepreneurship – it’s crazy how many different hats I can wear on the same day! We also have another advantage in terms of listening, empathizing, and networking, which helps in sales. Nevertheless, we live the same challenges as men. As a female entrepreneur in technology, stereotypes are definitely still a reality. Inappropriate comments or blatant discrimination are fortunately isolated and rare occurrences. Unconscious biases are far more common. We still have a long way to go.

Leaving a full-time job to become an entrepreneur without having a second income was a big leap, but my family and friends were there every step of the way. The launch is always the hardest, and they were always present to encourage me, give me confidence and help me stay positive. It took five months to find my first clients, but then things really took off!

The most important thing is to get used to the unknown, always be open to learning new ways and not be afraid of making a mistake. We women are often programmed to question ourselves over and over. Trust yourself! No regrets!”

Link to original publication here.