Lorena Amarante > www.omlatam.com

Lorena Amarante, Co-Founder, OM Latam

What do you need to be an entrepreneur?

You need a combination of work, decision, commitment, endurance, passion, strategy, vision and innovation.

What did inspire you to start your business?

To do something that didn’t exists in the region. There were few events for professionals that generated a weak networking and were not able to create real synergy. What inspired us was to solve a problem: it wasn’t easy to hire qualified employees for our companies, while, in the other hand it was plenty of enthusiastic people eager to learn. The missing part was the link that could connect these two sides.

How did you finance it?

We finance through personal funds and through our members. It also requires plenty of time and dedication.

Being Hispanic… Does it have any influence on your business?

Probably yes. I think the key is our need to socialize and to find a common Latin American professional ground to share our professional experiences.

In the face of adversity, how do you decide to keep going?

Adverse situations make me stronger. I’m the kind of person that can get the most out of them, in a positive way. I learn the lesson and go on with new fresh air.

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?

It was to take the decision to turn a hobby into a profitable business.

If you could change one thing about your business, what would it be?

I don’t think I would change something. But I would like to consolidate the company as the #1 Latin American marketplace in regards of digital marketing, and to reach more Spanish-speaking professionals.

What was your childhood ambition?

I wanted to stand out; to be better and to transcend myself in every aspect.

Tell us about three entrepreneurs that you admire?

Steve Jobs (Apple).

Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post).

Marcos Galperin (Mercadolibre).

For business meetings: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

I definitively prefer lunch.

What sacrifices on your personal life did you have to make in order to become a business success?

I sacrificed personal spaces and time with my family.

What is your favorite quote?

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Calvin Coolidge, 30th president of US (1872 - 1933)

Is it difficult to be unconventional?

The real question is: What is ‘conventional’? Is easy to be what you truly are, to assume yourself in that way and to develop from that on. Conventional or unconventional, what matters is to know ourselves, our boundaries, our strengths and to build something with all that. The only thing that’s difficult is wishing to be something different than what we are.

Biggest mistake made?

Being afraid of success. I’ve always been frightened not by failure but by success. I was afraid of not having a balance between my personal life and my career. That kept me paralyzed for quite a few years.

Do you consider yourself an innovator? Why?

Yes, basically because creating is a crucial part of every aspect of my life. I enjoy discovering, exploring and testing things, and always having in mind new possibilities. I feel motivated by innovation and, on the contrary, copy makes me bored.

About the company

In 2008, we founded a Professional Community –Online Marketing Latam- in order to facilitate interaction through the use of 2.0 technologies. At that time, we detected the need for relationships and access to relevant information about the industry, in addition to the networking events. So, we created a space for networking and exchange, and we became an industry benchmark for the region.

In 2011, we created OM Latam to help people develop their careers or businesses with digital marketing. Through Om Latam Academy we offer different training options on demand, with traditional attending learning and specially developed for companies. We’ve developed an Executive Program on Digital Marketing and a series of training and specialization courses and webinars.