Andrea Belvedere was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women of 2009 (at just 22 years old!) and is currently the VP of Business Development for the Ryerson Entrepreneur Institute. Here’s her advice for starting your own business and becoming a successful entrepreneur.

What sparked your interest in entrepreneurship?

I was always a natural leader, and when I was in high school, I took an entrepreneurship course to try something different. As part of the course we got to run a venture, I took charge of it and long story short, I was the president of my entrepreneurship class for two consecutive years and headed the ventures. That really sparked my interest in entrepreneurship and got me thinking about what I wanted to do later in life. In my first semester of first year, I got involved with SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) Ryerson, and that reinforced my positive thoughts about entrepreneurship. The experiences with SIFE made me realize that I want to run my own business one day; I’m determined to make that happen.

What skill set is required to be an entrepreneur?

I don’t think there’s a specific skill set as much as I think there are certain characteristics. Entrepreneurs are driven by their passion for their idea and doing what they love: you won’t find a successful entrepreneur who wasn’t passionate. Entrepreneurs are incredibly hard workers. They don’t know what a 40 hour work week looks like; they know they need to put in the time it takes to get things done. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers, they see opportunities and issues, and create solutions. Finally, entrepreneurs have to be a mix between confident and humble: confident enough to persevere and sell others on their idea, but humble enough to know when to ask for help.

What advice would you give to someone hoping to start their own business?

Get critical feedback on your idea. Everyone thinks their own ideas are revolutionary – sometimes they are, sometimes we need a wake up call or to be redirected. How do you know if your idea really is a good one if you don’t get feedback on it? How can you build a team if no one knows what you’re doing? Friends and family are great for providing supportive feedback – but find people with relevant experience that will give you objective, candid feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or admit that you don’t know something. It’s OK to make mistakes – the hardest part about experience is that the lesson comes after the test. Asking questions, seeking support and building a team are all important aspects of the development process.

What has been your favourite project to work?

Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) Canada. When the opportunity came up, I wanted to make it happen right away. SAGE was directly in line with what I was doing and it was an opportunity to provide high school students with the same great experience I had while in university. It’s still small and growing slowly, but seeing the positive impact it’s having is so rewarding.

Where do you see yourself (and your career) in 10 years?

I see myself owning my own business. I don’t know what that looks like yet, I do know I’m excited to make it happen.

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Although I won’t be doing hot yoga everyday for the rest of the month, I’m not giving up entirely. I’ll still try to go every other day until the 30th so I get the satisfaction of completing the month.

Developing awareness of my negative inner monologue (and telling it to shut-up!) is one of the first yoga techniques I can apply to my life outside the yoga studio (I’m sure there’s more, I just haven’t encountered them yet).

1. I have way more energy and focus outside the hot yoga room (which was one of the main reasons I started exercising in the first place).

2. I’m slowly getting more flexible, which will definitely make aerial silks easier (and prettier).

3. My skin has never looked better!

4. I can finally fit into a pair of shorts that didn’t even fit me this well when I first bought them (downside: a lot of my clothes are too big now so I need to go shopping. Maybe that’s not such a downside).

5. It feels good to sweat this much and push out toxins that have been building up in my body for awhile.

Susan Chung, my lovely trainer from Booty Camp had this to say:

“That’s great news, Dayna! You are releasing pent up energy (anger, joy, etc). You are releasing and moving toxins in your body. Have you ever heard of some participants crying in a bellydance class or in a yoga class, because they they thought it was so beautiful and “moving”, and they were releasing some unknown emotions? The breathing really helps do that.”

I think this is fascinating, and I found this article on FitSugar to back it up. What do you think about this?

Does anyone know why I feel such odd emotions in certain positions on certain days? I thought yoga was supposed to be peaceful!

Today I feel pretty worn out but at least I know that I can do two classes in a row, and the option is there if I ever need to miss another day (but I’ll try not to if it’s not absolutely necessary).

One concern I had about doing the 30 day Bikram yoga challenge in August was that it’s obviously the hottest month of the year in Canada. But no matter how hot it is outside because there’s a breeze it feels cool (at least for a little while) after hot yoga. I think the summer months may actually be ideal for trying Bikram since you don’t have to pile on layers of clothes afterwards and trek out in the snow (which I’m sure isn’t too great for your immune system to go from hot to cold so quickly).