If you had asked me in early 2008 whether I would have my own business later that year, I would have called you crazy. Fourteen years later, I have to say that entrepreneurship has been challenging and rewarding. This month marks a major milestone because Newberry Solutions has been in business for the same amount of time that I worked at Deloitte!
A lot has changed during this timeframe, but our focus on passion and purpose remains constant. And I’m confident those two things will carry us forward as we build the next generation of high-impact, high-performing leaders — especially women.
Coming from an Indian family full of high expectations and overachievers, it’s been a lifelong journey to take time to notice and celebrate accomplishments. If you struggle with celebrating your own successes, it might be a good exercise for you to make a list of them and notice what you’ve learned along the way.
Here are a few bits of advice from my personal experience.
Tap Into the Power of Your Passion
When I founded this company, I knew I loved to develop high performers and that I needed a change. The intensity of the travel and work made it hard for me to show up in my life in the way that I wanted to, especially with my 2-year-old son. So, I decided to pursue my passion in a different way.
Starting Newberry Solutions was a mixed bag of excitement and unexpected twists and turns, such as the Great Recession and Hurricane Ike (I was Houston-based at the time). Reminding myself of the purpose and passion behind my business fueled me then and continues to do so today. In fact, it helped me work through two major challenges in 2020: the pandemic and a breast cancer diagnosis.
Find Ways to Increase Your Impact
In my first few years in business, I underestimated the power of my strengths – which is ironic since I constantly coach leaders on how to tap into theirs. Once you notice what you do well and how you consistently do it, you can leverage your strengths to create a bigger ripple effect.
We’ve figured out what helps us develop strong leaders, and more than 75% of our clients get promoted. Now if that isn’t motivation to have a broader reach, I don’t know what is!
That type of impact has led us down a path I never expected – developing software. In this challenging business environment, we want to provide creative solutions. Coaching is a powerful solution but not easy to scale affordably. But through technology you can scale what makes coaching work. That’s the secret sauce behind New Lens®, our online platform designed to bring the benefits of coaching to more leaders and make leadership development more affordable and accessible to all levels.
We’re on the path to success with several Fortune 500 clients, so please reach out if you want to see if New Lens can help your company.
Be Intentional
At Newberry Solutions, we focus on what gives us positive energy and have used that to guide our evolution. What brings you joy? If you’ve lost sight of it, it may be time to recharge and reflect.
One thing that brings me joy is to make a difference by thinking and playing big. This is reflected in the Fortune 500 and global brands we serve and the platforms like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Fast Company that we use to share leadership strategies and tools.
But our success at Newberry Solutions isn’t all about us. We are all about using our skills and experience to elevate others and give back. As a member of the board and the Orchid Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation, I’m so proud of the POWER Leadership Forum we hosted to develop the next generation of AAPI women and support nonprofits (engaging over 800 women and raising almost $600,000 in grants since 2021). My passion also extends to United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, the Jane Nelson Institute for Women's Leadership at Texas Woman’s University, and the George W. Bush Presidential Center Women’s Initiative Fellowship Program.
Smell the Roses
While I’ve learned from the challenges over the past 14 years, the high points —including the invitation to join the Forbes Coaches Council and multiple awards (from the Stevie Awards for Women in Business and Dallas Business Journal, among others) — continue to motivate me to reach higher because they signal that something is working.
Today, it seems even harder to predict what lies ahead. But I do know this: If we continue to move toward our vision one step at a time, we will see big results. I believe that for my business. And I believe that for you, too.