After months of waiting we would finally have an appointment with Peggy Stein. An encounter that would become an important turning point in the process of building our company and in the process of finding ourselves.
We were standing in front of the SOHO house in Amsterdam; Peggy could arrive at any moment. Berber couldn’t believe that I showed up in my recycled yoga outfit and in barefoot shoes..
“Could you not have dressed more business lady like?” She asked me, very irritated. “Of course I could have, but I didn’t cause that’s what I felt like wearing today” I answered, also very irritated. “You do what you want anyways!” She suddenly yelled at me. “I just don’t want to play a role!” I yelled back.
At that point we felt like two little girls that were completely lost in the jungle of the business world. In the short amount of time we’ve been ‘doing business’, we’ve already experienced some painful, very disappointing and frustrating situations in which people we’ve trusted and believed in showed a completely different face when it came to money. We’ve noticed how hard it is for people to stick to their ideals and to be honest. To be real and not to pretend.
Peggy arrived, a little bit too late. How did we greet each other? With a firm handshake or three kisses on the cheek? I don’t remember. The three of us were standing in the elevator that would bring us into the launch of the SOHO House. The energy was tense. Our fight was still in the air. I tried to put on a smile. But I couldn’t. So I told her about the ‘yoga outfit fight’ we’ve just had. And guess what – Peggy bursted out in cheerful laughter. “Girls, let’s go and find a seat” she simply said. And then something amazing happened.
She looked at me and she looked at Berber and it was like she looked straight through us, our struggles and our insecurities. She recognised our potential, understood our ideals, saw our motivation. But she also saw that we needed help. Help to navigate through the intricate maze of the business world without losing ourselves and our ideals.
This first encounter has been the beginning of an amazing working relationship. Peggy has become more than just our business advisor, she became our ‘Business Mama’. She would take time to truly listen. So we would talk. About ourselves and our families, about our deepest fears and highest dreams. ‘Be honest, be real, be yourself. That’s what makes you unique. That’s your highest good. That’s your biggest capital.’
A few hours later we said goodbye with a warm hug. The date for the next meeting was set.
Thank you Peggy for helping us to create our company by helping us to become more and more ourselves!
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