Focusing on Growth Through Education and Mentoring
“After two amazing years as a Country Manager for MUBI, I decided to invest in my education. I’m taking a couple of months off work to focus solely on getting my expertise to the next level.”
Like many of the women profiled in UNDETERRED: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies, Celeste North, a tenacious entrepreneur in Mexico, is now working to invest in herself and her education to achieve the goals she has for her business.
“We gather so much experience from work that sometimes we forget how important is to continue learning in a more formal process,” Celeste said.
When we first met Celeste four years ago, she told about the challenges of being a tech entrepreneur. It’s cool to see now how Celeste is using her past experience and growing her knowledge and contacts so that she’ll be ready to launch a bigger, international tech startup down the road. She sees each career step as building on the others and recognizes what she’s gained in each position:
“NuFlick was a work of passion and gave me courage, MUBI was a glimpse into how vast the opportunities are. Now is the time to begin a more thought-out plan to build a sustainable career.”
Developing mutually beneficial relationships with mentors has helped Celeste grow professionally. When she finds someone who could mentor her through a professional or business development period, she is very respectful of their time and finds ways to offer benefit to the mentor as well.
“I approach my mentors for guidance when I’m overwhelmed with options and decisions, for inspiration when I’m feeling tired or disappointed, and for advice when I’m facing a tough decision,” Celeste said.
Celeste believes that asserting herself has been critical to her professional success. “I’ve been very lucky to be in rooms with incredible people. But once you are there, it’s up to you to speak for yourself and get what you want. You cannot control the impression you are going to make on someone, but I believe it is better to try than to be unnoticed.”
“You cannot control the impression you are going to make on someone, but I believe it is better to try than to be unnoticed.”
“I believe mentors are all around us, some are formal, some don’t even know they are mentors for us. In particular, for my career, I’ve found mentors in my network by someone making an introduction at an event or even online.”
Follow Celeste on Twitter.
What have been some of the keys to YOUR professional growth? Share what you’ve learned with us at [email protected].
