Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Anahita Shahrvini, Founder of Ask Anahita Consulting, located in North Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I'm a trainer, a mentor, and a consultant, helping creative entrepreneurs turn their hobbies into profitable businesses and grow their product-based businesses.
Tell us about yourself
I started a handmade business, GogoBags, with my mom in 2010, making and selling reusable bags that keeps fresh vegetable longer plastic free. By 2020, I grew that product line to be in many stores around Canada and created a 6 figure income. During COVID, I realized how much our new crafters need guidance to sell their products online and in markets, something I learned through mentorship and by making my own set of mistakes. I just started helping a few friends, which turned into a business.
I get motivated by my clients daily how to turn their art and dreams into reality. I just love helping them grow, make more money, and avoid making costly mistakes.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Figuring out how everything works in a handmade business and growing my business to a 6 figure income.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Motivating yourself and foreseeing things when things are not moving in the exact direction that you expected.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Start before you are ready, but with a plan and an exit strategy.
- Don't reinvent the wheel; hire a coach or find someone who is a few steps ahead of you and use their knowledge to move forward and grow faster, and prevent costly mistakes.
- To have a realistic money goal, it's important to have a proper understanding of how much money you need to make to be sustainable and if that is a possibility in the near future. I'm not saying any business should start making money immediately. As I always say, "If your business is not making money, it's just an expensive hobby."
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
One last thing, you don't have a business if you do everything yourself. It's ok to do everything yourself at the beginning but later have a plan in place to hire people at least a few hours a week to do the tasks you are not good at or don't like to do. It's best to spend your time on money-generating activities rather than doing mundane activities that you don't like.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://askanahita.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Askanahita
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/askanahita/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anahitashahrvini/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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