Anna Nordlander: How do you coach female entrepreneurs?
How did you become a coach for the funding program "Entrepreneurs of the Future"?
I met Christian Blum, Corporate Communications Manager at Amazon Germany, a few years ago in Munich at a dealer conference. At that time I was CEO of "The Friendly Swede". We stayed in contact after the event. Last year, Christian contacted me and asked me if I would like to be coach for the "Businesswomen of the Future" in 2018. Since I am absolutely convinced of the idea of supporting start-up companies, I immediately said yes.
Did you have a coach yourself when you became a manager as a young woman?
I did not have a coach as such, but the founder of The Friendly Swede, John Lundqvist, has always been a great support to me. First and foremost, he gave me a terrific opportunity with this job, despite my young age and my lack of experience. He also gave me the space I needed to do the job.
At that time, I took over his CEO post: John went to Asia, put an automatic e-mail response in his mailbox, and referred me as the contact person for any questions. This step was essential for my success in the company. Even if it is really taffious to take over the management from the founder himself. In addition, he was always a good listener and friend when I needed him. In conclusion, although I never had an explicit coach, there was always someone in John who believed in me and supported me. That was a huge win.
What do you like about your job as a coach?
I can use my knowledge to help others succeed and at the same time help them overcome the hurdles and pitfalls of founding that I have experienced myself. At the same time, I am constantly learning new products and business models, which also strengthens my own personal development. I can not stress enough how valuable this job is!
How do you help your founders?
I support my two founders at? Entrepreneurs of the Future ?, Kathi Goldscheider from? Minibag? and Julia Beyer from "Suntribe" by looking at their business with them to find out where they are right now and what they want to do with their business in the years to come. When you start, you are usually so busy with your daily business that you lose sight of the big picture. After setting up a master plan for the future together, I help them break down this overall goal to monthly, weekly, and sometimes even daily tasks.
In addition, I share with them, of course, my knowledge of e-commerce, which I myself have acquired on Amazon: how to present his products, how to improve the customer experience, how to advertise and much more. Still, my input would be useless without the fantastic work of my mentees.
How do you communicate with each other? do you meet, do you phone or do you write e-mails?
We make weekly Skype calls, write emails daily and meet three times as part of the program? There is a kick-off meeting, a mid-program meeting and a self-determined third appointment.
Are you proud of what Kathi and Juliet have achieved?
I could not be more proud of these two wonderful entrepreneurs! They put their heart and soul into this program and achieved fantastic results! They have doubled their sales in 2017 (in just six months!), Implemented a complete relaunch of their online shops, they are now exporting to many countries, developing new products and much more.
Julia and Kathi are unbelievably inspiring women and I can not wait to hear how the two are doing. They'll go a long way, that's for sure.
Thank you for the interview, dear Anna Nordlander.
