Successful entrepreneur Sheila Holt shares 17 Lessons she learned as an entrepreneur building a business

Sapphire Lending Managing Director Sheila Holt is sharing her top tips on building a business during a pandemic. Sheila holds a post-graduate degree in Careers Counselling and an MA in research and education. Sheila revels in being an entrepreneur and sees it as one of the greatest personal development journeys you can go on.

The successful female entrepreneur has developed a checklist for budding entrepreneurs to build a brand and beat the competition in uncertain times.

• Be clear about what you want even if you don’t know how to get it
• Decide on your market, your niche 
• Build a good strong team around you. Allow them to be in their flow 
• Be humble and take advice 
• Become a leading learner  
• Mindset and attitude are key
• Pitch things into existence. Have a concise 30-second pitch so people get what you do and can make a judgement call of yes or no
• Trust and integrity are crucial 
• Know who you are. Build a business brand and a personal brand. Youare more than your business! 
• Work out your purpose (beyond making money) for your business. Your BIG why. Share it 
• Create systems, processes and rhythms in your business 
• Always have your team running projects within the company, that’s how you grow 
• Build assets in the business. They create value 
• Create intellectual property (IP) through products and methodology 
• Have mentors and role models 
• Use your dynamic wealth profile to your advantage. Always be in yourflow 
• Have an exit. Build the business to sell – even if you have no intention of selling it. Create choices for yourself

Sheila Holt recognises she is both an outlier and a disrupter and is fascinated by how people think. Sheila developed a coaching practice utilising NLP; helping her clients reach clarity, focus and success. During this time Sheila was also actively investing in property. The big lesson she learned from building a sizable portfolio was that; in the property industry, money needs to flow.

In 2007 she loaned some of her own money to a property developer and recognising a need in the market, this was the first step to becoming what is now Sapphire Lending. The business has evolved and grown over the years, and she’s in a very fortunate position of having attracted a great team, influential advisors and ethical systems.

Written by Sheila Holt, Managing Director, Sapphire Lending Ltd.