Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of Entrepreneurial Spirit columns contributed by Council for Entrepreneurial Development members to Local Tech Wire.
_______________________________________________________________________________________Being an entrepreneur is nothing new for Rita Geiger, who dreamed about owning her own company from her days as a child in Greece.

Mary Cantando of WomanBusinesOwner.com recently interviewed Geiger, chief executive officer of InfoStrength, to talk about the challenges and opportunities women face in business today. Geiger’s company provides strategies and software to help life science and service companies comply with FDA “good practices” (GxPs) and Sarbanes Oxley. It is nationally certified as a Woman-Owned Business.

Rita, Sarbanes Oxley is such a hot topic these days, can you tell us exactly how InfoStrength supports companies in addressing this important legislation?

InfoStrength provides regulatory strategies, roadmaps, and software applications to pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices and clinical trial services. Our flagship product the InfoStrength Smart Enterprise Suite (SES) assists life science and service companies address their collaboration, project management, and regulatory compliance challenges such as GxPs and Sarbanes Oxley while creating measurable operational efficiencies.

It sounds like you’re in the right market at the right time. Have you always been entrepreneurial?

Since I was six years old, I dreamed about starting my own business. I carefully planned the starting of InfoStrength after I felt that I had the proper education, discipline and training to launch the company. I wanted to create an environment that enables employees to reach their potential, enjoy what they do, and add tremendous value to the industry.

I know you weren’t born in the U.S., Rita. Tell us about your childhood.

I was born in Athens and spent my childhood in Greece. I was the oldest of four children and was handed a lot of responsibilities at a very young age. I enjoyed school and spent a tremendous amount of time studying, learning new languages, assisting my parents with their businesses and playing a major role in raising my brother and sisters.

As they built their business, my parents involved all four of us. This experience was not only inspiring but engrained in me the value of business and customer service.

So you were an entrepreneur and a “manager” even as a child! What is your educational background?

I’ve got a BS in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science from Polytechnic University, New York and my MBA from Duke University, The Fuqua School of Business.

Also, one of my sisters obtained her BS and MBA in the US and after careful consideration of the pros and cons we decided to work together at InfoStrength. We work extremely well together and we are very sensitive to understanding and separating business from family matters.

How would you characterize your leadership style?

I like to help employees perform their best by allowing them freedom to create, while also helping them understand the boundaries the business requires. I appreciate people that take responsibility for their decisions and who demonstrate that they learn from mistakes by not repeating them. I think the hallmark of a great leader is to be true to yourself and to your employees. I believe in excellence and in being surrounded by talented people who are not afraid of taking chances and learning from their experiences.

What is your biggest challenge in business?

We often find ourselves going well beyond what we have been asked to do for the sake of exceeding our customer’s expectations. The challenge for InfoStrength has been to more cost effectively manage the risks created by exceeding the scope of a contract.

What one thing are you most proud of?

Building our product after extensive market research with over 65 lifescience and service companies instead of building the product first and then finding out whether it is what the industry wants.

What, above all, do you want readers to understand about your company?

InfoStrength cares about our customers and their businesses. We are able to bridge the gap between technology, businesses and regulations while we bring to each customer a practical solution that addresses their needs and adds value to their corporation. I am proud to say that our customers can testify that our team is truly dedicated to customer service and when we get involved in a new project we put our heart and soul into it. Our satisfaction comes from making a difference for our customer’s business.

What advice would you give to a woman considering entrepreneurship?

I always encourage people to listen to their intuition and pursue their dreams. However, I will also encourage them to be prepared for difficult days and make sure that they have enough savings or other resources to help them out during the unexpected downturns of the economy.

I believe the biggest obstacle to growth for women entrepreneurs is lack of confidence. Many women fear that they may not be prepared to address future obstacles. However, obstacles are opportunities turned inside out. Opportunities appear every single day and it is always a matter of recognizing them and taking advantage of them.

What message would you like women to take away from this discussion?

If you can dream it, you can make it happen. As my role model Marie Currie said: “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is to be understood.”
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CED: www.cednc.org

InfoStrength: www.infostrength.com