We caught up with alumna, Prianka Dillon and talked about what being an entrepreneur means to her. We touch on how Prianka discovered her passion for business, making the jump from solicitor to entrepreneur, some of her current endeavours, and the defining traits of a successful businessperson.
By Elena Carruthers. Published 21 September 2022.
I am currently building a business consulting service for small to medium businesses with a specialism in digital media and marketing. As we build proof of concept and expertise in our team, the goal is to offer ‘do it yourself’ training options or one to one consultation services to a handful of businesses every year.
I originally trained as a solicitor but found that this was not fulfilling my desire to create something of my own that I could put my own stamp on. I studied my LPC at The University of Law. The biggest thing I have taken from the course was the power of having an eye for detail and how to systematically break down a large, audacious task. Both of these skills have most definitely given me an edge in business.
Coming from an entrepreneurial family, I was keen to go into business, but I had no training or a bankable idea that I could pursue, so I decided to retire from the law in 2010 once I completed my training contract and joined one of the family businesses in hospitality, which was trying to recover from the recent recession amongst a few other challenges.
Whilst working in the business, it was a trial by fire and it built my in-depth understanding of the biggest challenges facing small businesses, namely the lack of meaningful training and support especially for businesses who were past the start-up stages. This was a surprise for me coming from the world of law where training was so comprehensive. After eight years working in and eventually managing the business and expanding my experience to event planning, I had to take time out to manage some health issues.
With the time out of business and taking the time to heal and recover, I did some self-reflection and came to understand the immense stress I was putting on my body day in and day out. I saw other business professionals around me struggle with the same and by the start of Covid Lockdowns I truly felt the vulnerability that business leaders were facing on the daily. I wanted to do something about this.
So, during lockdown, I began working on my personal skillset in digital marketing and sales with a view to develop resources for other business leaders who may need help in making their business healthy and profitable. This is now becoming the basis of my personal YouTube and TikTok channels and the accompanying business resource businesscircle.io.
A growth mindset is fundamental for succeeding in business. Other than this mindset, I would say grit and an appetite for change are incredibly useful. You will need grit to forge a meaningful path forward and an appetite for change so that you don’t fall into comfort patterns and therefore shy away from doing what the moment may demand from you to meet the changing marketplace in which your business operates.
It was a journey finding my leadership identity and understanding that I was capable of leading and had a choice in the sort of business I built. Once I understood this, I attached less importance to what other people thought about how my business was doing and it was then that I understood business isn’t a race.
A common misconception about pursuing a career in business is that you must know what the end destination or big plan is for your business career. When we watch interviews of the big business honchos, the assumption is that they always knew where they were heading. The truth of the matter is that they have only reached where they are following a long and windy path. The healthiest businesses are built in the moment with a little bit of future trend analysis sprinkled in – those who master this have the most fruitful business career.
Being in business is a lifestyle choice. It will call on your inner reserves as much as it will call upon your studies – be sure to nurture both in preparation for your life in business.
Learn more about pursuing a career in Business and browse the course offering at The University of Law Business School.
