Living Entrepreneurship Blog / Babson Entrepreneurs

Overcoming Challenges

Kimia Sadeghi ’20, founder of Luana Beverages

The following post is from Kimia Sadeghi ’20, founder of Luana Beverages LLC. Luana sells healthy, high-quality, Hawaiian-inspired beverages.

The day of my first production run for my beverage startup Luana was one of the biggest achievements in my life. It was the result of a year and a half of hard work and dedication to turning my idea into a reality. There were definitely times where I felt like giving up, but this day really showed me how pushing through the challenging stuff is truly rewarding at the end. I have faced challenges that have taken me up to six months to overcome. For instance, it took me over a year to finalize the formula for my product because I did not want to settle on a formula that didn’t meet my expectations. The process was long and tiring, so it was difficult to stay patient and persistent because I just wanted to go into production and get my product into the market place. Looking back, I did the right thing by staying patient and persistent because that is what will ultimately contribute to this company’s success in the long run. Even on the day of my production, we ran into challenges. Our labels were difficult to cut and apply, so we were unable to label all of the bottles. But that just goes to show that entrepreneurship is a learning process and there won’t be many days where everything will go exactly perfectly. The key is to be persistent and determined.

If there’s anything that I’ve learned from starting a company, it is that it is all about overcoming challenges. In fact, I believe it is one of the most important components of a successful entrepreneur. As a young entrepreneur, I have definitely realized how important it is to see the long-term vision and big picture in order to overcome day-to-day challenges. Obstacles and challenges can really way you down, but the key is to believe in yourself and your ideas. The best entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of mistakes and failures because they see these things as learning opportunities that will contribute to their long-term success!