Jacqui McNeil's potion for success consists of a little faith, quite a bit of risk and a whole lot of passion. McNeil is the owner of Escents, a successful and growing aromatherapy company with 11 stores in Canada, two in Seattle and eight in Taiwan.
McNeil, 35, didn't launch her business with the goal of becoming wealthy or successful. "I started it because I loved it and I could make money at it," she says. "I drove hard at it because I loved it and I was passionate about it and that's just the type of person I am."
She says major constraints come with the responsibility of owning a business. "The myth of being an entrepreneur is that you get all this freedom and tons of money. It's almost the exact opposite, particularly in the beginning. You have no freedom and you have very little money."
McNeil grew up in an entrepreneurial household and focussed her university studies on business and communications. She was driven to overcome - instead of succumb to - early difficulties with math. To achieve her educational goals and enter the business program at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, BC, she studied Grade 12 math at night school. "After two years, I ended up getting into the business program at SFU. That was one of the biggest days of my life," she says.
After graduation, McNeil turned down a great job and launched Escents instead, knowing that if she didn't chase her dream of opening her own business, she would always long to do it. "Some people are just massively driven to own their own businesses and they're probably unemployable, which I think I am at times," she says.
McNeil set clear guidelines that helped her target the ideal business. She wanted to open a retail firm and sell a product she believed in and that would allow her to grow as a person. It was also essential for her to build a business around a product with good profit margins, ensuring success.
Although nothing is for sure in the business world, McNeil says she's certain of at least one thing: "Even if I lost everything tomorrow, I now have more confidence in my ability to create something from nothing."
CP: Do you have any role models?
JM: I have mentors - certainly my parents, because they taught me how to be an entrepreneur. Both of them pushed me for that. I would say, 'I want to be a veterinarian,' and they would say, 'You mean you want to own your own veterinary business.' They always really believed in me.
CP: Is there a secret weakness that nobody knows about you?
JM: I am incredibly impatient.
CP: How do you get around that in your working life?
JM: I sometimes don't. I really have to slow myself down. I have to make a conscious effort to have patience with process. I'm the type of person that will see a goal and then want to be there the next day.
CP: Any advice for young people considering the life of an entrepreneur?
JM: Just make sure you set your parameters about what you want, so that you can find it first. Secondly, make sure you're passionate about it.
