The advantage of being underestimated: Sue Marks

When I started in business thirty years ago, I was completely underestimated. There weren’t many women entrepreneurs and I was just written off; nobody believed that I would be competition. It was fantastic. There was no competitive response to anything that we did, and it was quite remarkable that we could make one competitive move after another and there was no reaction from the market.

I believe that women today are still underestimated. Although I tell my daughters that, ‘you are going to have to be better, smarter and work harder than anyone else, it is a gift.’ It is a gift to be underestimated and take advantage of it. Do not complain about it. Life is not fair, so stop expecting it to be. I had very strong role models in my parents and grandparents, and I knew I was smart, hard working and collaborative. Then, as today, I live following my own rules - I guess that meant I had to be an entrepreneur.

When I reflect on what has made me successful, first it is that I am an extremely hard working person. I can produce an extraordinaryvolume of work.I am good at doing things right and doing the right things. You really need both to be efficient, to be effective and to win in the market.

I think as women, we sometimes create our own obstacles. I am a very optimistic person – the glass is always half full – ‘no’ means ‘not now’. If I cannot get something done today, I will get it done ‘tomorrow’; I just do not look at obstacles as final. They are just hurdles that we need to go over. I do not think much about it. If one looks at failures as learning opportunities or obstacles as opportunities to be more successful, one’s outlook changes. Do not settle. If you love what you do then it is not like work, it is part of you and you are making a difference. Never settle; life is too short.