Unlocking Potential: Leila Almaeena, Founder, LA Coaching & Consulting In this episode, Leila Almaeena, founder of LA Coaching & Consulting discusses her drive to succeed as an entrepreneur, and her tips to entrepreneurs.

"What drives you to do what you do everyday?" In collaboration with Huawei Arabia, Entrepreneur Middle East posed this question to some of the region's most prominent business personalities to learn how they go about unlocking their full potential at work and life.

In this episode, Leila Almaeena, founder of LA Coaching & Consulting, discusses her drive to succeed as an entrepreneur, which started with her previous career allowing her to witness difficulties people face when trying to expand their personal and professional limits. The insight prompted her to jump into the entrepreneurial world to help people reach their goals, as she considers success to be when one truly lives their purpose. "Now that I'm equipped with all these tools, it's almost like a candy store, where I'm pulling different ways and methodologies to really help enhance other people's lives," says Almaeena. "And knowing that, that's all I need."

As an entrepreneur (as opposed to being part of a large corporate entity), Almaeena notes that you have to learn to be self-reliant and strategic about the steps and processes important for your business in not just at the right time, but also in the right way. Tech plays a significant role in her day to day business, from researching to setting up modules for her personal coaching sessions, and more. Given the integral role it plays, Almaeena shares her impressions of the Huawei Mate 10, noting its battery capabilities and its superb camera quality as essential factors in her business.

For Almaeena, the best part of being an entrepreneur is "knowing that the hard work, the effort and the sleepless nights have really been for myself and for my family to enjoy." Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? Almaeena recounts her father's advice, "your ego is not your amigo." As an entrepreneur, it's inevitable that you'll face setbacks and even rejections, and Almaeena asserts entrepreneurship is not as glamorous as people may think. "Make sure you look into every aspect of the planning phase, and accept the criticism, accept the constructive feedback, you don't know it all, and that's okay." Goal setting as an entrepreneur is important too, says Almaeena, as well as staying focused on your long-term strategy no matter what hurdles you face, using criticism and feedback as tools to improve one self.

Related: Unlocking Potential: Nadeem Khanzadah, Head of Retail, Jumbo Electronics