She’s full of energy and power. Sigrun Gudjonsdottir worked as a CEO of IT companies in Iceland but a series of coincidences led her to Switzerland where she now lives with her Swiss-British husband. Sigrun has become known online for her webinars and her TEDx talk. She originally studied architecture but has never worked as an architect and never designed a house. Sigrun spends her summers in Iceland with her husband and two stepsons.
Red. “We are here all summers, the boys have a five week school holiday and stay the whole time her with us, visit summer courses with Icelandic kids while me and my husband work from home and shuttle the kids from one course to the next”, says Sigrun Gudjonsdottir who has many things on her plate.
Sigrun got interested in computers and the internet when she was finishing her architecture degree in Germany. Her final thesis was a virtual 3D multi-user campus and after that there was no turning back to architecture.
“I found out that I had much more interest in the internet and the possibilities that the internet offers. I decided not to work as an architect and focused on software and websites instead. I worked as CEO in this industry for almost 10 years and finished a degree in computer science and later did an MBA to get a business degree as well.”
Sigrun is ambitious and works hard on all the projects that she takes on. She is very organised and uses her time well. Life is a series of opportunities and the one that can choose between many, has a difficult choice. Sigrun had to choose and this led her to do what she is doing today.
Everything for Love
“I chose love instead of a CEO position. I was offered to become a CEO of Nissan in Sweden. It was a very tempting offer but also a big project, I had run companies with up to 70 employees in Iceland but in Sweden I would have even more employees (and I had no experience from the car industry). What made this decision also so difficult was that I had just found love. I found it in Switzerland, in Zurich. To make a long story short, I chose love, he is my husband today and his name is Martin Uetz. He has two boys and they spend a lot of time with us.”
[Tweet “I chose love instead of CEO position @sigruncom #lovewins #entrepreneur #passion”]
Sigrun worked in the medical industry in Switzerland for a while but because of bad working conditions, she lost her health and was unable to work for 7 months. While she was recovering, she got the business idea for the company she runs today.
“I wanted to be location independent, to be my own boss, and not be tied to the computer all day and being able to take time off whenever I wanted. This was the basic idea that led me to do what I do today. To help women find their passion and turn that passion into a profitable business so that they can have the lifestyle that they want. Everybody has a passion, expertise that they can package. It can be anything from cooking, making clothes, writing a book to teaching. I help people find this expertise in their passion and change it into a product or program that they can sell.”
Shock in a dress makers’ course
Gender equality is one of Sigrun’s passions. She wants to contribute so that women find their passion and let their dreams come true.
“I did a tailoring course when I was sixteen years old, I loved making my own clothes, but what I experienced there put a mark on me for life. At the course were women who were decades older than me and they discussed among themselves about lost opportunities because they got married and had children, this sat with me and I decided never to be like that, to make my dreams come true. I feel huge support for the path I’m on now and look forward to see where this project leads me in the future,” says Sigrun who is then gone on a weekend trip with the family.
[Tweet “I decided to make my dreams come true @sigruncom #dreams #entrepreneur #passion”]