I am a medical doctor by profession and an entrepreneur by passion.
I set up the company Medics Abroad which took healthcare professionals to carry out work experience in Africa, but when Covid came along we weren’t able travel so I transitioned into full time entrepreneurship. This year was naturally a very uncertain time for any entrepreneur, but it really made me think about what matters most to me. Since 2014 I’ve had an online presence and learned over the years how to position myself as an authority, building my niche so I leveraged the power of my personal brand to become a content creator and to coach other women in professional careers to build their personal brands and turn them into businesses, as well as expanding my online presence in the family niche alongside my husband, David.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
I have always been around a lot of high achieving, ambitious people so from very early on I started to think about my future. Before I applied to go to medical school, I already knew that I wanted to be a doctor, so I planned to optimise myself to gain admission into medical school. However, I had already set up my digital platform and my company, Medics Abroad on the side, so when it got to a level of confidence and financial security, I transitioned out of medicine to become a full-time entrepreneur.
Have you faced any challenges along the way?
The biggest challenge I’ve faced is pivoting in my career twice at a time when I didn’t think I would! I spent over a decade preparing and working as a doctor, so transitioning into entrepreneurship is something I was going do for another decade, but then 2020 had other plans for everybody! Having to rethink my business model two years after deciding to go full time into it meant leveraging what I already had – my personal brand. I had to balance being a content creator with motherhood and coaching, and be able to make money at the same time, but it’s working for me now so I would say that my biggest challenge has been my biggest blessing.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
My biggest achievement to date is graduating medical school. That feeling on stage when I picked up my certificate and was referred to as a doctor for the first time, that was huge because I knew that the amount of work I put in was directly proportional to the result that came out, and that meant a lot.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
I’m a little bit old school, but the answer is simply ‘hard work’. I think it’s easy to misinterpret comments or quotes relating to working smart or using hacks to achieve success quickly, but for me, it’s simple – if you work hard you have a higher chance of succeeding and getting what you want. You have to be willing to put in the hours and make it happen.
How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?
To me, mentorship is essentially seeking knowledge from somebody who’s further ahead on the path you’re walking. It’s not about age either – your mentor could be younger than you but have experiences they can share relevant to your progression. I’ve mentored a lot of people, from when I was at uni studying biomedicine, and now – coaching entrepreneurs to achieve success in their fields. But in a nutshell, I fully believe in mentoring and value it as a key tool for success.
If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Equality, what would it be?
Compared to 20 or even 10 years ago, we’re seeing more and more women being celebrated in the media, but I think there is more to be done here. Anything we see or hear in the media has the ability to influence us, and I think there’s still a tendency for women to betrayed as the more vulnerable sex, which doesn’t do us any favours when it comes to equality. So I think addressing the language and inflection used in the mainstream media when it comes to women will help people’s overall interpretation of the real progress being made.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?
Just keep going! I have always relied on that piece of advice – it’s simple but it’s effective.
What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?
I started a product-based business in lockdown called The Joon Company, with the modem of empowering families to live with an attitude of gratitude. Our first product is the Joon Journal – a bright and purposeful journal to help bring families closer together through practising gratitude, and I’m so excited to say that it launched this week!
The Joon Journal by Adanna & David Steinacker, £35.00 is available from www.thejooncompany.com
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