I sat at my desk last week a different person to the one I was just a few months ago. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach and felt like I was tiptoeing on clouds ready to leap off a cliff at the same time.

KK and I have successfully started our own small business. We are officially entrepreneurs!

No one around me noticed the change (or perhaps panic in my face). People are busy and there’s very little time nowadays for anyone to stop and check-in on one another. It’s a pity because I’m not the only one standing at the edge of that cliff.

As I gazed around the desks, it dawned on me that I would not be where I am today had it not been for many of my colleagues. Their support, friendship and lessons over the years has grown me into the person I am today.

Pulling this off would also not have been possible without all the skills I had picked up during my 15 years of service at Standard Bank.

• I’ve learnt the power of networking. Of relationship-building.
• I understand the brand and how important it is to be true to what it is I’m selling.
• I know how to assess the market & be aware of my competitors.
• I’ve picked up key skills such as negotiation and buy-in.
• I guess what excites me the most is the social media and engagement with potential customers.
• I’ve also been taught that while the good times come, so do the bad and that it’s only by putting hard work into something that you see success.
• Most of all, I’ve learnt patience. Things happen when the time is right.
  

  The view from the 4th floor of my office. Development is happening all around me.

As the bank grows, so do I. The courses I go on, the people I interact with. All of it adds to moulding me into a cleverer thinker, to be more strategic and constantly have a business-like mindset to every decision I make.

The more I grow at work, the more my business benefits. And because I’m eager to make a success out of both, the more effort I put in.

It’s a win win situation.