Maria Skitzis – Biography
I was on my seventh birthday party when one of my aunts asked me what I wanted to become when I grew up. With no hesitation and lots of enthusiasm I shouted “ a Business Woman”! My mother was fast to correct me: “No, no, no. You’ll grow up and get married and have kids”. Becoming a business woman was since then archived deep in my mind but the virus was always running in my veins.
At the age of nineteen, I relocated to Montreal in order to go to university and study Business Administration. I had the privilege to work alongside and be mentored by one of the best jewellers in Montreal, Mr. B. Serkos. He taught me great lessons in customer service and sales that have resulted in getting the nickname of the Integrity and Quality Queen. With his coaching, I made it to management at the age of twenty-three. Really what happened was that someone needed to fill the position of the store manager for three short months before they closed down. Who else was more fit for this role than a young, enthusiastic and naive expert on jewelry? Well, let me tell you, those three months were enough to change everything. The customer satisfaction was through the roof, sales where up and profits where made to the point that the store was listed as one of the top three stores in Canada.
Not wanting to have my mother’s wish unfulfilled, I did get married, and had kids. For that, a shift in career was made, to accommodate the upbringing of a family. I found myself behind a desk, helping clients with their IT needs. Where so many others came and left, I persevered and learned the industry I had no clue of. In my seven and a half years there, I rose up to be one of the few Corporate Account Executives, won several awards, including the “Entrepreneurial Mind” one.