"Nothing will ever be perfect."
Michelle Enjoli Beato is a bilingual international speaker and coach who teaches strategies on how to successfully connect to opportunities for career growth. She was a first-generation college student who landed her dream job in college as a television producer. She has worked and developed content for global brands in television broadcasting and marketing like Univision, Telemundo, ABC, NBC and CBS, Mercedes-Benz USA, and Delta Air Lines.
In 2016, she created the first all-inclusive business resource group at Mercedes-Benz USA to connect leaders and professionals for growth and development. She continued to expand on this work and created her second dream job with the launch of Connect with Michelle Enjoli. She has developed a curriculum focused on networking, personal branding, and self-esteem that helps professionals and leaders learn how to connect for professional growth.
Michelle has an idea worth sharing and will become a speaker at the TEDx event this year. Her journey and work have been featured in Rolling Stone, Entrepreneur, Forbes, glassdoor, and Telemundo among other news outlets. She is featured in the book called “Hispanic Stars Rising. The New Face of Power” and is currently working on her first book.
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us today. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They want to know you, some of the background story to bring some context to your interview.
Michelle Enjoli Beato: I am a career development coach and speaker. I began doing this work because I wanted to help professionals and leaders learn how to connect with themselves and others to develop and grow professionally. I landed my dream job in college and since then have pivoted three times to find meaning and purposeful work.
You are a successful entrepreneur, so we’d like your viewpoint, do you believe entrepreneurs are born or made? Explain.
Michelle Enjoli Beato: Michelle Enjoli Beato: I think they are both born and made. Life is continually evolving and using myself as an example, I didn’t think early on I would be an entrepreneur. I found meaningful work at a young age and thought I would do that for the rest of my life. As my interests and goals changed, I became an entrepreneur to fulfill a need for continuous growth and development.
If you were asked to describe yourself as an entrepreneur in a few words, what would you say?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: I am a storyteller and connector who happens to use her love of coffee to learn and help others.
Tell us about what your company does and how did it change over the years?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: My company was born out of a need to help others navigate through the ups and downs of their careers. It initially started with the intent to help and guide young professionals and those looking to make a career change. Since then, I’ve found that many professionals and leaders are needing guidance as the business environment continues to change and evolve.
Thank you for all that. Now for the main focus of this interview. With close to 11.000 new businesses registered daily in the US, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: They must assume that it is going to be a long, hard, and lonely journey that will require problem-solving and delivering consistently high-quality results and customer service to succeed.
Did you make any wrong assumptions before starting a business that you ended up paying dearly for?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: Not really as I had been doing my research for a while and connecting with others in the business who were open and honest about the process.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what advice would you give yourself and why? Explain
Michelle Enjoli Beato: I wish I would have started earlier and not focused on trying to get everything right or perfect at first. I think that making mistakes while trying to get better is a great process and one that can prevent you from making progress quicker. Nothing will ever be perfect.
What is the worst advice you received regarding running a business and what lesson would you like others to learn from your experience?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: That you need support from those closest to you. As an entrepreneur who might want to do something different from what someone else around you is doing, you will not always get support from those around you. You don’t need it. I recommend building a network of people in your space to help guide and support you.
In your opinion, how has COVID-19 changed what entrepreneurs should assume before starting a business? What hasn’t changed?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: I think COVID-19 highlighted how quickly the world can change and therefore you must be open to it and adapt as necessary. What hasn’t changed is the level of risk you assume as an entrepreneur. That will never change and therefore you must continuously learn and adapt to the changing circumstances.
What is a common myth about entrepreneurship that aspiring entrepreneurs and would-be business owners believe in? What advice would you give them?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: That it is glamorous like the images you see on social media! It is not! Entrepreneurship is a long, hard, and lonely road. I would advise anyone going into entrepreneurship to make sure they are passionate about what they are investing in, willing to work very hard, and have the goal of serving others.
What traits, qualities, and assumptions do you believe are most important to have before starting a business?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: Leadership, communication, adaptability, and resilience are the most important traits and qualities to possess before starting a business.
How can aspiring leaders prepare themselves for the future challenges of entrepreneurship? Are there any books, websites, or even movies to learn from?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: The best way to prepare for the future challenges of entrepreneurship is to connect with other entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey. I found that having honest conversations with others in my field has best prepared me for the challenges I’ve faced.
You have shared quite a bit of your wisdom and our readers thank you for your generosity but would also love to know: If you could choose any job other than being an entrepreneur, what would it be?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: An author! And because of that, I am working on becoming one. 🙂
Thank you so much for your time, I believe I speak for all of our readers when I say that this has been incredibly insightful. We do have one more question: If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore, but not a politician, who would it be; why?
Michelle Enjoli Beato: I don’t believe I can pinpoint one person as I truly believe we all have something powerful and unique to provide to impact the world.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Michelle Enjoli Beato for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Michelle Enjoli Beato or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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