People often ask me why I founded my company. Does taking the leap require specific qualities or experience? Throughout my contributions, I will talk to you about my journey, both personal and professional, as a woman and a business owner. But let’s start at the beginning.
I was 22 when I started working in recruiting and I quickly realised I had found my purpose. I boldly worked my way up the corporate ladder. I joined JPMorgan in Geneva, then London, where I spent 3 years.
In 2008, it was time for a major life change. My husband was offered an expat contract in the Middle East. At the time, I was working for a private bank. The timing was ideal: I had a little boy and was expecting my second child. And that’s how we moved to Bahrain. On the one hand, I was happy to be a full-time mother, but on the other hand, I missed taking on professional challenges…
First inputs
So I joined a circle of businesspeople, who saw failure as being normal and part of the adventure. I was really taken by this, and an idea started to form in my mind. After a year and a half, on a whim, my husband and decided to travel around the world for several months with our children. It ended up being a magical breath of fresh air. Those months of travelling enabled me to understand what the concept of freedom was all about. All of a sudden, running my own business made perfect sense. We visited my former colleagues from JPMorgan, who were based in various parts of the world, and I started talking to them about my project. Almost all of them encouraged me to go all out and embark on this new adventure. I returned to Switzerland in 2009, in the middle of the economic crisis, yet bursting with motivation! It was my turn to create my own company: Brodard Executive Search.
Here we go!
I was bursting with energy. But more than that, I was willing to take risks. That’s how I started ploughing my own furrow: with nothing more than a simple PC, a mobile phone and my address book. My conviction that I would succeed, my resilience and my acceptance of possible failures were instrumental.
I’ll tell you about the long an treacherous path, the many blows and the nights spent doubting myself another time. Sometimes, I had to face fear, rejection and other peoples’ judgement. But ten years on, I’m proud to have created a recruitment agency that is well-known in Swiss Romandie, and which now has an office in the Zurich area.
What does the status report look like now?
It’s positive, of course! The market has changed dramatically. Nowadays, I’m backed by a stable and professional team of eight people; I’m no longer a solo player. My level of freedom has changed, I’ve had to learn to manage a team; but my motivation, passion and energy are greater than ever. And that’s what gives me the strength to develop new projects to this day.
