Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Mary Ritz.
Hi Dr. Ritz, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After working for different corporates for many years, one thing became apparent: I didn’t enjoy working within a “system”, especially one where I felt constrained in being my best self. Though I gained a lot of my experience and appreciated the opportunity, I became aware that I didn’t take pleasure in being assigned a singular role or within a department with the expectation of operating within a set of strict guidelines. I fully recognized the importance of different roles, responsibilities, and departments, but I felt it was inside the restrictive parameters of established systems that hindered fluidity across the organization and restrained true collaboration. This kind of restriction limited how teams functioned and negatively impacted the overall organizational performance. This awareness helped me reckon with the fact that I was not my best-self when working in structured systems, thus my enthusiasm and curiosity about entrepreneurship was quickly sparked. It became obvious that I preferred the independence and creativity of entrepreneurship because they naturally complimented my strengths and career passions. I enjoy trying new things and pushing boundaries without being restricted by rules, especially if they fail to add value.
Following this realization, I considered the industry in which I would participate, the business I would establish, and services to be offered. In direct association, I had to identify target customers and existing industry gaps as well as understand the strengths of the active market players. Deciding on the industry and service offerings wasn’t difficult. You see, as a pre-teen I had been so fascinated by the teaching profession that after school, I would become a “pretend teacher” with “imaginary students” and “teach away” in our home. My siblings even labeled me “The Teacher”. During high school, I became passionate about customer service and looked forward to the time when I could to teach and consult for organizations that I felt weren’t offering excellent service. As an adult, I found that I was most fulfilled in roles where I was providing customer service to clients or educating others on products, services, and processes. Consequently, I knew from the inception that my business had to provide a means of fulfilling my purpose and calling, which is teaching, facilitation, and serving others. And, as I said, I was fortunate enough to know this as a pre-teen. As a result of this understanding – Almenta International was birthed.
Since the industry and offerings were easily identifiable, I knew that I needed to think creatively on how I would differentiate my business from the rest of the market players. The industry was significantly flooded by both large and small corporate trainers, so it was critical to think carefully about my unique value proposition so I could establish a competitive advantage. During this period, the training and professional development market (in South Africa) consisted of many players who were providing programs that took a one-size-fits-all approach. I saw an opportunity to differentiate my business by providing customized products and services according to the client’s needs. In addition, I also leveraged my business as an international brand based on my previous exposure and work experiences at an international level. I was also very aware of the fact that I had limited resources in comparison to the bigger corporate training companies and couldn’t match them head-on. As a result, I positioned my organization as a “boutique” training and consulting company that provided personal service with great flexibility and nimbleness. These three aspects really helped set my business apart.
My final consideration was the initial capital investment because I didn’t want to start a business that required a large amount of upfront cash since I had limited financial resources and was debt averse (was avoiding a business loan). A training and professional development business became the ideal idea for me because all I needed to launch the business was a computer, printer, desk, and chair. Therefore, having limited financial resources wasn’t a barrier to entering the market.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think we all know that entrepreneurship is not a “walk in the park”. Though starting a business is an exciting venture, the reality is that establishing a strong, reputable brand and breaking into any market can be challenging for several reasons. These include stiff competition, the ability to find the right customer, and ensuring that the products and services offered are differentiated. In my case, I started my business in South Africa (as a non-citizen of that country) and after that had to re-establish the business when I moved to the US (again as a non-citizen). I had to break new ground twice so to speak and that’s not easy for any small business. Overcoming these challenges took determination, courage, and a willingness to learn and grow as I dove into new cultures and countries. Though I’ve been quite good at adapting and adjusting to new ways of operating, it hasn’t been effortless. Over the years, I’ve learned that I must keep growing and changing. As a business owner, you can put processes and systems in place that serve the business and customers well, but because we’re working in an ever-changing world, we need to be flexible and adaptive to new ways for achieving success. We must be willing to reinvent our business and challenge our tried and tested processes, products, and ways of working. This means re-learning and exposing ourselves to different aspects of the business by researching, re-training, and watching trendsetters. Although not easy, it’s necessary if you want to remain relevant in the industry of your choice and with your preferred clients.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Almenta International, LLC?
My business, Almenta International, is a training and consulting company based in Atlanta, GA that provides professional development training, coaching and consulting services, speaking engagements, and mastermind programs in three specific areas: Customer Management, Leadership Development, and Workforce Development. The services I provide include, but aren’t limited to, Customer Service, Customer Experience, Customer Centricity, Effective Presentation Skills, Leadership and Management, Employee Engagement, Resilience, and Conflict Management. I’m also a John Maxwell certified teacher, speaker, and coach.
I’ve been in business for 13 years and during this time, my business has grown. I’ve had the good fortune to partner with diverse organizations from North America but have also enjoyed serving clients at an international level, including African nations such as South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to provide corporate training and consulting services.
Almenta International’s value proposition is based on many factors. What makes the organization different is the international perspective, exposure, and experience that I bring. The world is becoming a global village so the experience I’ve gained from working at an international level provides a competitive advantage and helps my clients tremendously. In addition, Almenta International takes a holistic perspective (systemic point of view) when solving problems and this approach helps us provide well thought-out, end-to-end solutions for our clients. Furthermore, due to its size, Almenta is flexible and fluid in its approach, which means I can pivot quickly if my customers need that. Because every client is unique and experiences different challenges, it’s essential that I provide custom-made solutions that are relevant to the client based on the experiential learning approach to training. Developing these solutions first requires getting to know the client and understanding how they work followed by helping them forge the right trajectory for their success. I believe in being client-focused and building long-term relationships by creating unique and superior customer experiences. The lasting partnerships I’ve developed with my clients are based more on relational principles than transactional, and this has served our partners well.
My brand wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t offer any assistance to the community. I came from humble beginnings and didn’t have much growing up, so my desire is to give back to the community in any way I can. One way of giving back that I enjoy is impacting the younger generation and helping them navigate life and their careers by using the content that I provide to my clients. I do this through teaching, mentoring, and coaching young men and women under the age of forty. The teaching also incorporates biblical principles that provide practical tools that this younger generation can apply in their everyday lives. This is such fulfilling work because I’m serving and helping young men and women without expecting any financial return.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I am not sure about good luck or back luck. I believe my life and business is orchestrated by God. I can do all the planning and put in the necessary work and effort, but after all it has been said and done, God pulls everything together and sets it in motion. My responsibility is to ensure I’m living my full purpose, doing my work diligently, and doing my very best with the tools and resources that I have.
Contact Info:
- Email: mary.ritz@almentainternational.net
- Website: https://almentainternational.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Almenta-International-LLC-1683506241894252
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mary_ritz2015
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSR8IzkWpltqak6ud6ygUcQ
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/home/BErMSwApP4zK7Elc4v8Dkw/
