Mentoring for Entrepreneurs: Stefania’s Story

When Stefania left her stable job in retail management to become a freelance graphic designer, she knew she was taking a leap. What she didn’t yet know was that Digital Boost’s mentoring for entrepreneurs would be the missing piece to take her from uncertainty to growth. Through mentoring, she’s overcome overwhelm, developed confidence, and been inspired to mentor others too.

A Creative Leap

Like many entrepreneurs, Stefania found her passion early in life. She was a budding artist in school and later studied graphic design and marketing. She went on to build a long and successful career in fashion retail. But after discovering yoga, Stefania’s goals began to shift.

Yoga unlocked the courage Stefania needed to leave her stable job and return to her creative roots. She retrained as a graphic designer, started freelancing and started her new chapter as a brand design coach.

Digital Boost’s Mentoring for Entrepreneurs

Although Stefania had the passion and skill, she soon realised that the “business” side of being her own boss was unfamiliar territory. She struggled with pricing, marketing, and self-promotion, and realised she needed a helping hand.

A friend mentioned Digital Boost, a platform that offers free mentoring for entrepreneurs. Stefania had never heard of Digital Boost, but decided to take a chance.

She was hesitant, believing it was too good to be true. But to her delight, there was no cost to Digital Boost’s services! Stefania said: 

“The fact that it was free, was helpful because I was at the stage, […]  of setting up my own business. So having the kind of support and being free, it helped me manage my other expenses as well.”

The perfect match

Stefania sent a mentoring request to Digital Boost’s mentors and was matched in her first week with Martina. 

“I knew from the first call. She was amazing,” Stefania recalls. “It’s so nice to have someone you can bounce ideas off and know they’re going to keep you accountable — but also just be there.”

What began as a single session turned into a long-term mentoring relationship that’s still going today! 

“[Mentoring] helped me get that confidence at the beginning, when I had none,” Stefania explains. “Having access to someone who really knew digital marketing and could just tell me, ‘Right, this is how you can plan your content, here’s how ads work’—that made such a difference.”

Real-life growth

With Martina, Stefania was able to not only build her confidence but make tangible progress with her business too.

In each session, Martina would support Stefania with an action plan.  She’d help Stefania break her big goals into manageable steps. “I’d always come out of those sessions knowing exactly what to do next,” Stefania says. “It wasn’t just emotional support — it was real, practical advice.”

Through this support, Martina guided and challenged Stefania to think differently. She challenged Stefania to think about her pricing, how she marketed herself, how she converted clients. “She told me I could charge more. I didn’t believe her at first,” Stefania laughs. “But she was right. I saw it for myself — clients didn’t push back.”

Stefania had taken courses previously, but mentoring was different. She said: “I think if I’d just done a course, I’d have watched the videos and then forgotten about them. […] with mentoring, it was personalised. It was real-time. I could ask, ‘This client said this — what do I do?’ and get an answer that helped right then.”

Giving Back Through Mentoring

Inspired by her own mentoring experience, Stefania realised she could help others with her design and marketing skills! 

Stefania now volunteers as a Digital Boost volunteer so that she can give back and support others.

“Because I know how much it helped me — especially in those first months — I want to offer that to someone else now,” she says. “Even if it’s just helping someone see that they’re not alone, that they can do it… that’s huge.”

Conclusion

 From listening to her intuition and beginning her entrepreneurial journey, to totally skyrocketing her confidence and her sales, to giving back to the community, Stefania’s story is a tale of inspiration. 

Her story is proof that with the right support, anything is possible. 

“I still message Martina now and again, even if it’s just to say thank you,” Stefania says, smiling. “Because I wouldn’t be where I am without her.”

Inspired by Stefania’s story? Why not try our mentoring and see what’s possible? 

📸 photo credit: Stefania Ruggeri, Brand Design Coach