“Each day brings with it a set of new challenges, new unknowns, and it’s my job to find ways to overcome those obstacles and help my team stay focused.”
Esther Turner
Founder and CEO
ESLENA
Esther unites creativity, critical thinking, and passion to inspire her team and drive successful business. Her brilliance goes beyond creating amazing products, expanding to leadership and growth.
Thinking creatively and maintaining a solution-oriented mindset is critical.
Esther Turner is the Founder and CEO of ESLENA, a lightly flavored enhanced water that unites health, purity, and flavor in one product. Uniquely designed, ESLENA is the only flavored water made with real, recognizable ingredients that also delivers superior hydration by way of full-spectrum trace minerals and electrolytes. Esther’s vision for ‘a better bottled water’ built the foundation of the business and continues to drive strategic goals. Prior to ESLENA, she served as VP of Operations for a custom software development company. It was there that Esther recognized her innate attraction to being involved in all aspects of a business and was propelled pursue her own venture.
New Beverage Showdown – Semifinals 2018
What’s key to running a successful business?
ET: For me, it’s the ability to think creatively and problem solve. Each day brings with it a set of new challenges, new unknowns, and it’s my job to find ways to overcome those obstacles and help my team stay focused. Being bootstrapped adds another layer of complexity to that effort in that hiring outside expertise is not always an option. Here enters creative thinking. In some instances I have learned a new skill to support the business; in other cases, I’ve have made phone calls, knocked on doors or spent hours (or days) researching a topic to gather enough information to navigate effectively. Running a business is difficult, to say the least. Thinking creatively and maintaining a solution-oriented mindset has been a critical part of my journey.
What tips do you have for other women who would like to start their own businesses?
ET: First and foremost, trust your instincts. No one else will believe in your business idea as much as you do – so, seek advice and mentorship, but don’t expect others to validate your idea. Follow your instincts. They’re yours for a reason and will likely lead to something great. Secondly, research your industry. Dig in. Start looking at what makes your product/service different and define why a customer will choose your offering over the competition. I also highly recommend attending an industry event like a conference or tradeshow early on. I didn’t do this and have since realized how helpful the education and networking would have been.
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