The pandemic, and now the recession, is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of entrepreneurs, especially during ‘uncertain times’. This information should be unsurprising to those of us who are entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship is a journey full of ups and downs which takes an immense amount of resilience to navigate. The challenges and setbacks that come along the way are inevitable. Resilience lives in our reactions to adversity. Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to pivot, adapt, and innovate -- turning obstacles into opportunities. They are able to stay focused on their vision, maintain their passion, and persevere through difficult times. The resilience of entrepreneurs is not just about bouncing back from failure, but about using setbacks as a source of learning and growth. It is a crucial trait that allows entrepreneurs to weather the storms of uncertainty, overcome obstacles, and ultimately achieve success.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with one entrepreneur who embodies all of those things! Karla Briones is a proud Mexican-Canadian immigrant, who thrives on leveraging her personal experience and empathy to support BIPOC and underrepresented entrepreneurs in the country. An entrepreneur and consultant with an undeniable passion for helping people and scaling a thriving business, Karla has immense wisdom to offer the Self-Made Nation.

Bouncing back from losing almost everything

As many of us know, the pandemic had a devastating impact on businesses in some industries. Karla’s was among them. Karla owns a number of franchises and consulting businesses and is a columnist for the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. The pandemic took away 80% of her sales overnight, leading to a complete loss of control for business owners such as herself. Over time, she worked on building other sources of revenue. And eventually had to make a difficult call to cut some of her losses and move on. This decision was prompted by some serious health scares for Karla, and lovingly encouraged by her mother. Karla says: “I wanted to stop sinking time and money in that business. In 48 hours, I talked to my husband, I talked to my parents, I talked to myself. Things happen for a reason. And I felt that moment was the time to completely pull the trigger. So, I had two weeks to tell my franchisor, tell the landlord, tell the bank, and try to figure out a plan to do it in a way that I was able to lock my doors and do it with as much dignity as possible.”

As a podcaster, I'm in the business of sharing stories of entrepreneurs and celebrating all the great things. And, one of the reasons I wanted to bring Karla’s story to you, the Self-Made Nation, is because when you hear deep lessons from the trenches of the entrepreneurial world, it's not all positive. Toxic positivity around important things is something I want to avoid.

Luckily, Karla’s business is diversified. Besides being a consultant and coach, she also operates a couple stores under the Global Pet Foods franchise.

Turning lived experience into purpose-led work

Today, Karla shares her insights on how entrepreneurs can thrive, with people from diverse backgrounds to help them grow their business with her consulting support. She brings experience in creating systems, building strong teams, and focusing on strategy, marketing, and acquiring large contracts. She takes on entrepreneurs at different stages of business and works one-on-one with them to figure out a plan that suits them best. She also collaborates with institutions to support entrepreneurs by creating and delivering programming that helps them scale up. She's taking her passion for entrepreneurship to new heights by creating an inclusive ecosystem for business owners.

Fun, frank advice from Karla Briones

“I would say don't do it alone. Entrepreneurship is a really lonely journey as it is. Don't do it alone. And don't be afraid to speak up. Don't be afraid to share your journey about what you're going through. Even those struggles. Because if we share the good, the bad, and the ugly, then there will be nothing mystified and we will lower the barrier of entry for entrepreneurship. I find3 that entrepreneurship gets glorified because we only hear about all of these entrepreneurs that are making seven figures, and eight figures. They don't talk about their failures. They don't talk about their struggles. And I guess that if we all share a little bit, we normalize it.”

Enjoy the audio medium? There’s a lot more on my podcast I'm a Millionaire! So Now What? You can listen to my full conversation with Karla here.

https://iamamillionairesonowwhat.libsyn.com/ep265-the-resilience-of-entrepreneurs

TTFN

Colleen