This month, I decided to interview and feature Gina Romeo who is recognised as a mover and shaker in Singapore. If you haven’t heard of her, you should!

1) Tell us about yourself.

I run a number of different communities and initiatives for women, focused on helping women raise their profiles as experts and get more of the right clients. The Athena Network is at the heart of what I do; we offer networking events and training for female executives and entrepreneurs to connect and collaborate for mutual success.

As part of our work with small businesses, startups and pre-startups we also started Connected Women, which runs Women’s Startup Conversations (WSC)  and Powering Women In Business (PWIB). WSC is a platform for women in business and aspiring entrepreneurs to discuss issues related to starting up and growing a business. PWIB is dedicated to driving technology adoption by providing access to the technology training and tools needed to startup and scale a business.

My latest project is ExecutiveLifestyle.sg is an online business and lifestyle directory for local business women to share expertise for both work and life. Our contributors are experts in categories such as leadership, careers, business, finance, entrepreneurship, startup, health, fitness, tech, digital, lifestyle, entertainment, beauty, fashion, family and relationships.

Apart from my work I am a mum of three boys (14, 12 and 4) and I volunteer for the Singapore Council or Women’s Organisations, where I serve on the Executive Board.

2) Why do you do what you do?

Honestly, I love what I do. I feel very strongly about entrepreneurship as a catalyst for social and economic mobility – I am particularly passionate about helping women build and grow successful businesses. Thanks to advancements in technology, there are more opportunities and flexibility available than ever before. We can build a business empire from our kitchen tables while cooking the dinner and helping the kids with their homework. Not all women want to do this, but for those that do it means there is a choice – and being an entrepreneur can be less of a sacrifice.

3) What do you stand for?

I’m just a community builder who loves entrepreneurship. Or an entrepreneur who loves community. I’m also a geeky mum who loves to play games with my kids and drink beer with my husband. I’m a very simple person. I just want to make a difference in whatever way I can and still have enough time at the end of the day to sit down for dinner with my family. That’s important to me, and it takes effort to achieve.

For anyone reading this who is wondering how I do all these things, it’s quite simple – prioritisation, discipline and good time management. Learn to say ‘no’ too. That’s a hard one, but it’s worth it.

4) What are your future plans?

My plan right now is to try not to take anything else on – I have my hands full as it is! One day I want to build a playground in the Philippines in my mum’s hometown in memory of my dad and his love of Rock ‘n’ Roll. I would also like to build a Virtual Assistant (VA) training centre to help disadvantaged women find meaningful work with women-led businesses that need admin support. I’m working on that now, little by little.

5) What advice would you give women, entrepreneur, tech idiots, mothers, wives, daughters?

My best advice is don’t be afraid; one of my favourite movie quotes from ‘Fight Club’ is “I just don’t want to die without a few scars”. We can’t be perfect. We will never be perfect, so don’t be afraid to fail or to at least try. As long as your best intentions are what inspire you actions, live your life as if you will always be forgiven if you don’t succeed. The chances are you will be – by those who matter anyway 🙂

Find out more about Gina’s work here:

The Athena Network http://www.theathenanetwork.com.sg/

Executive Lifestyle http://www.ExecutiveLifestyle.sg

Gina Romero http://www.ginaromero.com/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginaromerolinkedin

Note: I have not vested interest or benefit from interviewing Gina Romero. I am doing so in the pure intention to educate and help more people.

Check out my Passionate Person for Feb and Jan here and here.