Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mona Lou Cherkaoui, Founder of Mona Lou International, located in Orlando, FL, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Mona Lou International provides training, coaching, and consulting in cultural competency to enable globally diverse corporate work teams and their leaders to function harmoniously with a deep appreciation of the dimension of culture, enhancing productivity and profitability.

We equip leaders and organizations with strategies and solutions to overcome cross-cultural barriers and cultural incompetence preventing them from thriving in the new global business arena.

Tell us about yourself

I am Moroccan by birth, American by choice, and a world citizen by heart. I am a wife and a mother of two. I am a leader, business owner, speaker, consultant, and coach. I am a social entrepreneur who strives to make a difference in the world through my experience, knowledge, and wisdom. I'm someone who is not interested in titles or degrees if your actions do not speak for them. I am someone who places great importance on the content of someone's character, and I strive to lead others to do the same.

First came my desire to create a difference, and in the beginning, I wasn't sure how I could go about doing that. All I knew was that I wanted to help others be better. I wanted to help them go from defeat to triumph. There are many people who have not yet opened their eyes to the world beyond their immediate community, people who remain uneducated about cultures outside of their own.

In addition, I have witnessed and experienced instances of prejudice brought about by both ignorance and purposeful discrimination. It was my desire to have those people reflect on and define their values in an inclusive way to bridge gaps brought on by ignorance or these indifferences. I wanted to help people see what they could not see and believe in what they could not believe in.

After many experiences in the fields of politics, retail, hospitality, corporate sales, and real estate, I created Mona Lou International as a way for me to contribute to conversations about unconscious bias and cultural competence to teach, train, and consult with leaders and companies who were looking to be more inclusive in the growing global economy. I founded the Moroccan American Professional Women Association to empower Moroccan Americans and aspiring immigrant women with the skills necessary to thrive and to assist them in becoming successful entrepreneurs.

I co-founded the American Institute of Global Protocol & Culture to help emerging leaders turn their expertise into a profitable global business. There is a direct correlation between what I have experienced, what I have seen, and the people I have encountered and what motivates me and what I strive to accomplish today. I want to push people to expand their way of thinking and deconstruct the way they see the world in the hope that it not only opens doors for new opportunities but also opens their hearts.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My ability to look at every challenge ahead of me and refuse to give up. Every business has challenges, and every owner must find ways to navigate those to ensure they can pull through, but from the recession in 2008 to the devastation during COVID, I have faced every challenge and persevered. While many businesses in 2008 were closing and many people had to change careers, I grew my business and increased production during those tough times.

While, along with many other business plans, I had many contracts canceled when the world froze during the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I turned my expertise in international relations, sales, and communication into a new virtual company. My biggest accomplishment is keeping my spirit, which has helped me through difficult times.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

There will always be factors that you cannot control. You can build up your experience, expand your expertise, you can forge connections, and can make every right decision, but there will always be factors that you cannot change or account for. The hardest thing about being a business owner is finding ways to adapt and be creative enough to continue being active in the face of these challenges.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. First, I would say you must have a fortified mind. Running a business comes with new challenges every day, and if you cannot adapt or rise to the challenges, it will not last.
  2. This leads me to my second tip: You must be able to adapt and be innovative in your field. You have to know your field and your market and be able to change with it. You have to be fluid and always look ahead to find ways to ensure your goals can and will be met.
  3. Finally, you have to know your reason why. If you are going into a business just to make money, it simply will not last. You have to know why you want to pursue being a business owner. That reason will drive all of your goals and decisions.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.monalou.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monal.cherkaoui
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mona-lou-cherkaoui/

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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