Marielisa Rivero Rotundo

I believe my success comes from the support of my family and friends. For women, it's very important to have a network that lifts you up and makes you believe that everything's possible. I grew up with my grandparents and my mom, and they were pretty supportive. My friends have also been crucial because I always stick around people who actually want to thrive in life and support other people. I know that sometimes we don't have that, we have people who don't believe we can do something because they have this mindset that we have to stick to a certain path, or that it's not doable, that we're just dreamers when we want to go out and do something different. But I think the key is to go find those people who can lift you up and be part of a good community. If you don't have it, you can just go and search for it.

The best career advice I ever received was from my college professor, my professor in strategic planning. She told me to let go of fear of losing or of trying things I wanted to do, to let go of the fear of trying to do something perfect, and to avoid the fear of actually losing. She encouraged me to do things because I want to do them and because I feel like it's right for me and something I want to do in my life. When we let go of all those expectations and think strategically, we set up the project and put our minds into it, and everything falls into place. When we set aside all expectations, especially in business, the ego doesn't get involved. Because when the ego, expectations, and fear get involved, everything is meant to fail. But when we don't have that, we feel more joy and work around it.

I believe young women should be confident, know their skill set, and build on it. Trust that you can make anything happen if you just put in the work. Even though everyone in the world might underestimate you and think everything will be hard, don't be afraid that it's going to be hard. Sometimes we have to work for the things that we want. Sometimes it will be easy because we have the connections, the finances, everything aligns, and it will be pretty surprising how things can work out. But sometimes we have to put a little bit more effort, energy, and time, and that's life. You have to confront that and just go for it. I also think it's important not to postpone the things you want to do. We postpone out of fear when we don't know what we're doing, so seek guidance when that happens to avoid it.

The biggest challenge right now is facing all the misinformation on social media and online. The whole world is connected, and sometimes we see things and think they're easy, or we get a lot of misinformation about them. This is especially hard for entrepreneurs who are just starting something and don't have guidance, or who rely solely on social media advice. You're meant to fail if you're just looking for information online and not following someone with the relevant certifications. Sometimes people say she just has a finance degree, and not everybody believes in degrees right now, because the information is there, and anybody can be a professional. But please always seek a professional. Look for professionals who showcase their certifications and licenses, who are always up to date, and who follow real organizations, not everything built on smoke and fireworks. Real life is not just glamour; it's actually hard work and studying. As for opportunities, everything is in our hands. We have our phones; we can stay connected, and we have to overcome the fear of showing who we are and telling others what we can do for them. If we don't share with the world, we will never get known. Sometimes women feel like we're being cocky or showing off when we start talking about what we do, but we need to let go of that fear and tell everybody what we do and feel proud of it.

Authenticity, responsibility, and confidence.