It's no surprise how challenging the journey of entrepreneurship can be. When you add factors like being a woman, a foreigner, and a mother, the path becomes even tougher. The reality of creating and leading a business often means facing corporate hurdles rooted in gender bias. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common scenario.

What nobody tells us is that there are many ways to face this reality. My journey as an immigrant female leader building a global business taught me the pros and cons of different approaches when navigating the corporate world, sustaining the business, and preserving values and culture during tough times. After many ups and downs, I've come to advocate for a simple three-pillar technique for resilience-building: mind, heart, and spirit. Let's dive into the first.

One of the biggest myths about being a founder is the notion of a glamorous lifestyle. This common expectation often leads to frustration and fuels an ecosystem that prioritises status over real impact. There's typically a significant gap between perception and reality, and the shock entrepreneurs experience when facing this truth can negatively impact performance, confidence, and ultimately, resilience.

We quickly learn that the behind-the-scenes of being a founder, CEO, or business owner is tough. It demands a delicate balance between passion and mental strength. You often have to set aside emotions and idealisations to focus on what truly matters and adopt the right tools to strengthen your mind daily. And sometimes, this means not following (only) your heart.

By going through the countless challenges of creating, leading and saving a business abroad, I learned quickly about mind management as the path to mental health. And as with most things in the life of an entrepreneur, this path requires high levels of energy and the right people by your side - believe me, we can't do it alone. 

Firstly, because being an entrepreneur is what I call a roller coaster of love and hate. To navigate it, we need a strong mind, grounded in the vision that started it all and aligned with our true selves. I remember going through the toughest moments of my journey - from growing the business to facing three acquisition processes - and reflecting on how come nobody ever told me that, at some point, self-doubt would creep in. We might be truly affected by different perceptions about our potential and intentions. That’s when we need to ask for help. 

Secondly, to effectively manage the deeper aspects of your business, it’s crucial to have the right advisors and professionals guiding you. I can't stress enough how important this is for making well-informed decisions. Knowledge is power in the truest sense - it provides the confidence needed to set your mindset and fight when necessary.

Last, but certainly not least, surround yourself with people who believe in you. This is a critical aspect of mental strength, and it’s something we should be talking more about. Every entrepreneurial journey is unique, filled with both rewards and challenges, and you might experience great victories followed by the toughest and most valuable lessons. Make sure you’re joined by those who genuinely believe in your vision and potential. In other words: let those who truly want to stay, stay.

Within the mind-heart-spirit technique, the mind is what keeps us rational and in control of our decisions, even amidst the loudest noise. Mind management helps us tune out external distractions and stay focused on what truly matters - our "why", the purpose that speaks with our heart. But this is a topic for the next article.

By Maira Genovese, Founder & CEO, MG Empower