Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chrystal LeWark, Managing Partner of Athena Solutions, located in Beaverton, OR, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We advise companies to invest in the right technologies ensuring their business stays open and relevant now and in the future, even in times of economic uncertainties.
Athena Solutions provides professional consulting services that gives businesses access to top communication technologies. We’re here to help your business to grow, secure your infrastructure and allow your employees to collaborate and work remotely. Our services include:
- Unified Communications as a Service, UCaaS
- Contact Center as a Service, CCaaS
- AI Automation
- SD-WAN
- Cybersecurity
- Cloud
Tell us about yourself
For years I worked directly with software and services companies to select and operationalize technology that addressed business challenges such as streamlining the delivery of services/support to their customers. Helping teams to embrace and leverage these tools to improve customer experience and efficiency is what motivated me to become an independent advisor so that, without bias, I could recommend the best-fit to address that particular company's unique business needs.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I started to build my practice this summer, and the business is already thriving in just six months. I always felt that companies would purchase solutions, but for various reasons such as access to value realization services or lack of internal resources, turnover, and training gaps, they would often only operationalize a fraction of the solution's capabilities and not realize the full return on their investment. So it's exciting to me to provide the support that enables them to get the maximum value from the technology.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
In the beginning, it's wearing multiple hats and managing everything yourself until you grow and can afford to add headcount.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Believe in yourself and your expertise.
- Leverage leverage leverage your network to build the business. Find opportunities.
- Remind yourself daily of the reasons you started your business and reflect on what you can do to improve continuously.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.athenatel.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrystallewark/
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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