‘Who you know’ counts for a lot: Sarah Riegelhuth’s advice to young entrepreneurs
Yes, you really can go your own way – no matter what your age and level of experience. Over the next couple of weeks we’re featuring young female entrepreneurs who’ve either escaped the corporate world, never stepped foot in the corporate world, or are simply doing something on the side of their corporate life.
We ask them everything from what unique traits they think make an entrepreneur, to the turning points that led them to pursue their own business, and the advice they have for other women looking to do their own thing.
Today’s young entrepreneur is 32-year-old finance whiz Sarah Riegelhuth, managing director and co-founder of Wealth Enhancers and passionate advocate for female entrepreneurs in her role with the League of Extraordinary Women. She’s also the author of Get Rich Slow: The Real Way to Build Wealth.
Briefly can you describe what you do? What’s your 30 second elevator pitch?
My two passions are business and finance, and I get my kicks out of empowering people to take control of both (particularly women)! I’m very lucky in that my financial planning business allows me to empower Gen Y financially, and The League enables me to connect, support and encourage young female entrepreneurs to follow their dreams.
What unique traits do you have that have aided your success as an entrepreneur, or that you expect to aid your success?
Probably that I am willing to give most things a shot, I’m generally a positive person, and I love people. Building and maintaining relationships is like breathing for me. I don’t even have to think about it, I just love meeting people and staying in touch with them. I’ve learnt that ‘who you know’ counts for a lot.
How do you retain your energy and keep enthusiastic about your work day to day?
I work out every morning with my girlfriends, we mostly run, and follow it up with coffee. I can’t really imagine a better start to my day and I think it keeps me close with my friends, fit and healthy and gives me energy for what’s ahead.
I also love what I do, which makes running my businesses easy. It’s really just life, rather than work.
What was the turning point or defining moment that inspired you to branch out with your own business?
I worked with my dad running the family business before going out on my own, during that time he got very sick with Ross River Fever and I ran the business while he was away. This gave me enormous confidence that I was capable of far more than I had ever thought. He recently passed away unexpectedly which has been very hard for me. However I’ll always know he taught me almost everything I know about business, and certainly passed on such great skills to me, enabling me to carry on his legacy.
What key personality traits and skills do you believe are required for young women keen on developing their own business idea, or pursuing a career as an entrepreneur?
Resilience, flexibility, and a love of change. Starting a business can be one of the toughest things you’ll ever do (albeit very rewarding), and you will fail! It’s a fact. So being able to bounce back, change direction and continue to improve and innovate will do you well.
And what advice would you have for encouraging such women to stick with the plan?
Focus, focus, focus. I can’t say it enough, and I can’t remind myself of it enough! Most entrepreneurs are ideas people and easily distracted. I am in that bag too. But, being able to stay focused on what you are doing, and what is working, will yield greater results than jumping from one idea to the next… as tempting as it may be. It’s a constant battle for me to stay focused, however creating systems around decision making and putting in place processes to keep me accountable has helped.
Most importantly though, don’t give up. There are so many times when you will be faced with enormous obstacles that make you think ‘it’s just not worth it’, however hang in there. So much of success can be attributed to just hanging in there.