In order to lead and be respected, you have to practice what you preach. If you do not lead by example and set a high standard then how can you possibly expect someone to do the same?
Belinda Antal is the founder of MacKinnon Watches, a Scottish watch company she founded in 2020, at the age of 24. Alongside her own business, she works with several start-ups and is trilingual, in Hungarian, German, and English.
Originally born in Germany, she has lived and worked in the USA, the Netherlands, the UK, and South Korea. Her studies have also taken her to Amsterdam where she received her Bachelors in International Business and to Aberdeen where she completed her Masters in Finance.
Her passion for supporting startups also allows her to work with the likes of ORBIT, a disruptive AI real estate data platform in Cape Town, and FRANSCHA, a company that empowers others to leverage social media and their social network.
Belinda helps get the ball rolling for startups and those thinking of starting their own eCommerce store. Having founded the Scottish watch company MacKinnon Watches, she knows how to overcome the barriers to entry and the hurdles many individuals face in the early stages of operation. From suppliers to collaborations, and price negotiations, Belinda has a passion for helping like-minded entrepreneurs realize their potential.
Let’s learn a little about you and really get to experience what makes us tick – starting at our beginnings. Where did your story begin?
Belinda Antal: As a kid, I used to buy and then sell erasers to the other children at twice the price I had paid. I would get a specific item that everyone wanted from this tiny shop in my neighborhood and sell it to others in a different neighborhood where the item wasn’t available, at a vastly inflated price. I had supply and there was demand. When my eraser scheme was thwarted by an upset mother, I soon began selling newspapers during the week and then selling roses on the weekend at the market in the city of Stuttgart. Even now, I must admit I still do love the hustle.
During my teens I lived as an exchange student for a year in the United States, and so began the start of my passion for traveling. It was the catalyst for me deciding that I wanted to experience different countries and cultures. After high school, I moved to London to be an au pair, before figuring out what I was going to do next with my life. Whilst there I was instantly hooked by the fast pace, the suits and briefcases, and the beauty of the city. Soon after, I went to study International Business in Amsterdam and gain experience working for several startups.
After spending 3 years in the Netherlands and a semester abroad in South Korea, I moved to Scotland where I completed my Masters in Finance at the University of Aberdeen. It was during this time I fell in love with the country and decided to stay after completing my postgraduate.
To utilize my finance degree and have loved my experience as an au pair I made the decision to move to London as a Trader. However, I soon realized I wanted to be my own boss and that my entrepreneurial spirit needed to be satisfied. Alongside working my 9-5 job I set up a company called MacKinnon Watches, during the pandemic. Whilst working from home I felt that I needed to take advantage of the time that was previously spent commuting.
Where am I now? Well, I left my job in London and made the move back up to the north of Scotland where I now run my business and carry out my freelance work from the comfort of my own little cottage, with my puppy Helga.
As you can tell everything that involves entrepreneurship and travel is what makes me tick.
Was there somebody in your life that inspired you to take that specific journey with your business?
Belinda Antal: I’ve always been inspired by friends around me. Lots of them have businesses and so I was inspired to do the same. Visiting and living in so many different countries has allowed me to meet lots of people, all with amazing and innovative ideas they are trying to realize. I am very much a believer of the saying, that you become who you surround yourself with and so whether it is the cause or effect, I work for myself and so do many of my friends.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons you learned from that?
Belinda Antal: This one is easy. As I’m sure many other eCommerce business owners will agree, Black Friday is quite possibly the best and worst day of the year. We were definitely not prepared.
We managed to get business up and running ahead of schedule, meaning that not only would we be able to start the business in time for Christmas but we would also start in time for Black Friday. However, we massively underestimated how crazy Black Friday would be.
Let me say, I will never complain about people choosing to buy one of our watches but I think the poor woman behind the counter at the Post Office might. When I walked through the door 5 minutes before closing looking like Santa with sacks full of watch boxes, the look on her face told me that she wished she’d called in sick that day. Thankfully we will have time to prepare the week in advance rather than the night before this year.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Belinda Antal: Resilience is about fighting the toughest times even when the odds aren’t in your favor. Some things are not easy but with the right mindset, attitude, and belief you give yourself the best chance to come out the other side on top.
For me, I believe that my parents embody resilience. Immigrants that moved to a new country for better opportunities for their children, despite not speaking the language. For this, I will be forever grateful for them moving from their home and somehow managing to raise four girls. You have to be pretty resilient to deal with four girls.
When you think of your company, 5 years from now, what do you see?
Belinda Antal: I see MacKinnon Watches striving to become one of the most recognizable Scottish brands by building on Scottish culture & heritage. We want to become a household name across the globe so that when someone thinks of Scotland they will think of our watches and how we helped tell Scotland’s story. We want to tell the story but take a modern approach in doing so.
A flagship store in Edinburgh is something I can also see in 5 years. Somewhere where locals and tourists can view our watches on display, appreciate their designs and try them on. Edinburgh is such a beautiful, vibrant city that I couldn’t think of anywhere better to showcase our watches.
What do you consider are your strengths when dealing with staff workers, colleagues, senior management, and customers?
Belinda Antal: Good question, I think I am a people person. I like to chat and am genuinely interested in peoples’ backgrounds. Especially when it comes to customers who approach us and tell us about their stories in relation to Scotland. There are so many people that feel a great affiliation to Scotland that have moved abroad and I want to hear every one of their stories. There is so much negativity surrounding social media but I believe that we would not be able to connect and build a community with people from all over the world any other way.
I suppose subsequently I enjoy bringing communities together online, whether it’s a small business appreciation page or a book club with my friends, I enjoy sharing knowledge and communicating with people.
What have you learned about personal branding that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Belinda Antal: If I could go back to the past and give myself some tips, I would start with telling myself how important personal branding is. Especially since I have started carrying out freelance work and running my own business.
I would start by explaining to myself the importance of Linkedin and how endless the possibilities are there. I have recently started taking Linkedin seriously several months ago to improve my personal brand on the platform and already I have seen the results. We have been invited to do presentations at events, talks on Clubhouse and we have connected with many other founders that have a wealth of knowledge they are willing to share.
Personally, I do not like a lot of attention in real life but online, I feel it is less imposing. By making myself visible on social media platforms, sharing my personal stories, and hopefully providing something of value, people will want to network with me. If that person can get an idea of my personality, values, and specialized skills from viewing my online profile or company website this will help improve the presence of my personal brand.
The power of personal branding is not to be underestimated. People do business with people they like, know and trust. People buy from people, not businesses. If people can resonate with my personal brand then they will be more likely to relate to my company’s brand, as it is a reflection of me.
How would you define “leadership”?
Belinda Antal: Without a doubt, my favorite leadership style is leading by example. In order to lead and be respected, you have to practice what you preach. If you do not lead by example and set a high standard then how can you possibly expect someone to do the same? With this also comes taking responsibility for my own mistakes and others’ mistakes, especially if I trained them to carry out their role or I was overseeing their work, the buck stops with me. It is also my duty to defend them when they are treated unfairly.
This leadership style is more preferable for me as it keeps me on my toes and helps build trust which is essential when you are running a small tight-knit business, where everyone needs to be giving their best.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Belinda Antal: To get started you have to start asking questions. You can plan and watch all the youtube self-help videos there are but in the beginning, nobody knows what to do. I cannot stress how valuable it is to reach out to people that have been there and done it before, whether this is starting an eCommerce business or setting yourself up as a freelancer. Message people and ask for help, ask them how they did it, ask them where to start, what’s the worst that could happen? Some people may be less responsive but overall it is in human nature to help and feel the gratification of doing a good deed.
Be inquisitive and don’t be scared to reach out to anyone that is skilled in a field you are not. My business would not be where it is today without leaning on the expertise of my friends and if I had not reached out to people on social media.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Belinda Antal: “If you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it.”
I saw it in a movie once, it just resonated with me and it stuck with me forever. Instead of making excuses, just do it. Life isn’t fair, and not everyone has the same opportunities. But we need to stop focusing on the negative and bad and rather focus on the positive.
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
