By: Catalina Jiménez Combariza - Director and Founder, Sentidos Communications
Article published in Forbes
Catalina Jiménez, founder of Sentidos Comunicaciones, reflects on her two decades as an entrepreneur.
I was 23 years old when I decided to make the jump and start my own business; I was very reckless and had the desire to eat up the world, feeling super powerful. Today I understand that the irreverence and conviction of youth are powerful beyond meausre resources an entrepreneur can have. 20 years have passed since then, and looking back, I couldn't be more proud of what I've achieved and how this company has grown, always with the clear goal of showing how great our client's stories are.
There is a lot of talk about finding purpose as human beings and making it our profession, as a way to find happiness and give meaning to life. However, I believe that finding small achievements every day makes a difference and allows us to have amazing days in our everyday lives. In my case, it can be sending a good work plan on time, reading the news and understanding how to land that situation with our brands, or talking with my team about the best way to land a client's strategy in a certain country or region and make it known to their target audiences.
I am convinced that, as entrepreneurs, it is essential to find a purpose for what we want to do, what we want to solve, and, more importantly, how we will do it if we consider ourselves entrepreneurs. My agency is a fully-fledged COMPANY; we serve all of Latin America and connect with a day-to-day life full of richness, by helping and supporting our clients to achieve their visibility goals in the region.
Starting a business at a young age has a valuable advantage: not being afraid of ANYTHING, where EVERYTHING is possible, where irreverence and recklessness can be described as a plus and even advantages. According to a recent study by Confecámaras in Colombia, 66.5% of businesses do not survive more than five years and in other countries in the region, 7 to 8 years is the maximum lifespan for new ventures. As a statistical forecast, in 2009, when we were five years old, the agency began to have problems with the tax department of my country, with some clients and the crisis hit us.
Proper accounting advice is always KEY.
That year five marked the beginning of 16 months in which the agency survived thanks to my beloved parents and my friends, and at that point I decided to get a job as an employee. With that income, I managed not only to get out of debt, sustain the crisis and give continuity to the agency, but I was also able to learn that when you want, you can and that once again conviction and the belief that I was super powerful despite the storm, would be my magic wand to get out of the crisis. Resilience may be a buzzword, but it perfectly explains the situation experienced: it is okay to fall, it is okay to make mistakes, it is okay to not have all the answers, the important thing is to get up and, even more so, how you do it after a difficulty.
It's been 14 years since that crisis and two decades since I first believed in this entrepreneurial version, and I am convinced that a support network is essential, as well as the magic of believing in oneself. I am grateful for each of these failures, which have allowed me to not give up and work even harder to achieve the goals of this agency. I also express my total gratitude to our clients, who have known us for 20 years, ten, five or even less, and who are now our friends, whom I admire eternally both personally and professionally, and to our colleagues in the media, who allow us to fulfill our mission every day.
I believe that what we carry inside always manifests itself in what we do outside; we are the result of our thoughts and our soul. In companies, what we live as the DNA of the organization translates into what we can offer to our clients and allies. So, how do we celebrate these 20 years? Well, by looking inward, taking care of the caregiver and thanking my precious team; looking for tools that fill us with purpose, that give us meaning, routines and happiness in the next decade, and that allow us to reach great goals and enjoy those day-to-day achievements that, for two decades, have kept us afloat, as a brand that takes care of the image and the purposes of others and that goes for the best in the next 20 years of fulfilling dreams.
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