#BEYOUROWN MEETS TOVE LOVISA BERGKVIST

We meet Tove Lovisa Bergkvist, author, transformational life coach, and consultant. To add to the many strings on her bow, Tove is also the founder of Savvy Females and the director of the Global Woman Club over in Oslo. GWC are a global network for women in business with the vision to unify professional women of the world. 

With a mission is to empower women in business, the network was founded by Mirela Sula in 2016 and there are now a total of 17 clubs in Europe and North America. The club is growing fast and constantly expands over a wider area as the result of a business idea that clearly fills a gap in the market. I truly believe that this is something women around the world have been longing for and the business model is built for long-lasting success. As we have now entered a new era for women, the time has come for women to rise and allow their brilliance to shine over the globe. Savvy Females aim to support you and take you on a wonderful journey to intuitively reach your goals and manifest the life you belong to.

 Hey Tove, can you introduce yourself to us?

I am a Scandinavian woman truly passionate about making a difference and are driven by the potential to make this world a better place. I work as a transformational life coach and consultant, am the founder of Savvy Females and the director of Global Woman Club in Oslo, GWC is a global network club for women in business with the vision to unify professional women of the world. I am also the author of the book Sixth Sense Success – Embrace Your Feminine Intuition In Business, a book about femininity and intuition from a business point of view.

Can you take us through your journey to where you are now?

I was born in Sweden and am since 2003 based in Norway. Seven years ago I had my first experience with women empowerment, through social entrepreneurship and the journey of building up the Norwegian company Sisters In Business, working to integrate immigrant women in the Norwegian society and create opportunities for them to become financially independent. I was at the same time managing a number of lunch restaurants and coffee shops where I had many young female managers that I had the pleasure of coaching into higher positions, I was also actively collaborating with many career development companies to support people who were for one or another reason outside of work life.

The results I have seen from giving people a chance and empower them to recognize their own abilities is absolutely incredible and I guess here is where I connected with my passion to empower individuals to reach their potential and experience the freedom of being who they are from the core of their existence and from there creating the life they truly belong to. 

What is a day in the life of you like?

I start every day with 20 minutes of meditation followed by a pretty set line of morning routines including setting goals and intentions for the day. The rest of the day is generally very busy with meetings, calls, strategic planning and tasks related to the projects I am working on for the moment. Training is also prioritised, can be the gym, yoga, a morning run outside or maybe skiing, depending on where I am in the world. 

What was the concept behind launching Savvy Females?

I have realised that being a woman is a true blessing and directly connected to my mission in life. As mentioned earlier I have been working with women in many different areas and on this journey it came so clear for me, that even if we come from different countries, have different backgrounds and are on different missions in life – the essence of being a woman are the same for all of us.

Savvy Females are built on the premise of this true essence of femininity and my vision is to inspire millions of women to step into their true path and take ownership of their future. 

How are your Savvy Females funded, is it bootstrapped, self-funded ect?

Self-funded.

Can you tell us more about your brand DNA and ethos at Savvy Females?

Savvy Females main mission is to empower women to realise their worth and live out their true potential. Savvy top values are self-respect, purpose-driven, alignment, emotional awareness, transformational and educational. The guidelines for design are based on feminine, elegant, stylish.

The services we provide is for now coaching programs and retreats but new operational areas are under development, so stay tuned. 

I would describe the brand ethos as being transparent, honest and always act out from a loving intention, to attract like-minded individuals with a common goal to empower the world with love.  

Can you give us 3 useful tips for someone wanting to launch a new business into the market?

1. Put effort in creating an attractive profile for your brand.  
2. Use as much time as possible for networking.
3. Have proper calculations on your products and services. 

Who does the team involve behind you at Savvy Females?

Right now I am the only one fully engaged in my company Savvy Females and I use external consultants case by case for all work outside of my competence or prioritised time. I also do collaborations with other amazing women that offer complimentary services. With other words, the team around me are various from the projects I am working on. 

Where can you see yourself within the next 3-5 years?

I love the sight of seeing that the work we have done through Savvy Females have made an important impact on the evolution of the areas we are working within and that we have expanded into a respected world known brand.

What strategies do you have in place when looking at the expansion of Savvy Females?

I am right now working on setting up a board of directors from complementary industries and areas to follow up the business plan I have created. I choose to keep the details of the strategies confidential at this point in the process.

Can you tell us what areas you have struggled in professionally?

I was completely terrified of public speaking when I first started, and that was a huge struggle for me every time I had to make a presentation or in general, speak in front of larger groups of people. 

Have you ever had any other mentor? If so how has this benefitted you to grow?

I am a person that is truly blessed to constantly get connected with amazing individuals, that have thought me so much on my journey through life. Before we have a clear picture in our mind of what we want it is impossible for us to create it, and a mentor for me has been someone who has helped me to clarify that picture and showed me what is possible to achieve in life so that I then have been able to create it for myself. 

What outlets do use to market Savvy Females?

My webshop www.savvy-females.com and also my book is also found on Amazon.com, then my events and retreats are generally up on Eventbrite.

Which methods are you using to build your own support network?

I am blessed to regularly travel around the world to business conferences, workshops, and exhibitions, here is where I have connected with a great and I think the most important part of my support network. I do also run a networking club for women in business that I can warmly promote as a great platform to connect with like-minded people. I believe that just having the right people in your life will naturally give you the support you need and when you need it.

What do you believe are the common misconceptions about women empowerment and how are you using your platform and voice to educate people more?

That women empowerment is about competing with men of who is the best sex. It is not, women and men are different by nature and we both have our strengths in how we lead, make decisions and how we in general influence the world around us. I believe both are just as important and great for the further development of our society. Through Savvy Females, we empower women to rise and together with men co-create equally respected societies.

I like to embrace the uniqueness of our complimentary male and female superpowers and believe that only we together can make the change needed for a better world. Although there is no secret that the top is dominated by men and that we have many countries in the world where women hardly go outside of the house, that is why I choose to focus on women empowerment with the intention to co-create a more balanced society.     

What would you like to see changed for millennials in business?

Millennials or the new generation have a completely new way of thinking, acting and processing information and I believe that they themselves as a generation are game changers when it comes to business. The world is in general shifting into a more conscious perception of the world around us as well as within us – that is something I believe the millennials are bringing into the perception of how we succeed in business as well.  

What is the best piece of business advice you have received to date?

Work on your business and not in your business. 

What is the number 1 critical lesson you have learned in your career so far?

Don’t start too many projects at the same time. As an entrepreneur, you are likely to be a visionary problem solver and inside your head everything is possible and you know exactly how to handle it. When it formalises into reality, it is unfortunately not always as simple as you imagined it to be.  

To succeed with whatever you put your intention to you will need full focus and invest a great amount of time and resources into it. By starting more projects you will most likely have to take exactly focus, time and resources away from what you already started and the risk is that things will unfold more like a mess than a success in all projects.

To avoid doing too many things at the same time, it will help you maintain your integrity to appear as a loyal person who keeps what you promise and it will save you from exhausting yourself.

How do you create an evenly balanced work and personal life?

I don’t know if I am the best person to answer this question, for me the last 8 years has been not so balanced. Anyway, I have been following my intuition on what was right for me at this time of life and felt this was a journey I had to take and go all in for.

To succeed living a busy life and still feeling happy and healthy I try not to compromise on my initial needs such as enough sleep, healthy food, my time, lots of water, regular training and daily meditation.

When you feel good it’s easier for you to know your boundaries and to feel what really gives you value in life. When you manage to see what is important in your life it is easier for you to prioritise your time after what you need to get the very best out of life. I mean when it comes to work there is always a way to work things out so you can release more time for yourself without compromising the growth of your business, you just have to put your mind into it and be open for collaborations.  

The highlight of your career so far?

There is definitely a red thread through everything we do in life where everything you achieved on the path behind you lead you to where you are today. I feel that every time I start a new project it’s a highlight and a celebration for my career and the road ahead. 

What gives you ultimate career satisfaction?

The feeling of making an impact. 

What challenges have you seen to have been presented during the growth of Savvy Females?

Time has definitely been my biggest challenge on this journey so far. There have of course been some lessons learned along the way that eventually have helped me to navigate in the right direction.  

Which other leading entrepreneurs and pioneering game changers do you also admire and why? 

I admire everyone who is making an effort to do great things for the evolution of humanity and for the world we are living in.

What is a good article or book you have read recently?

‘Hunch: Turn Your Everyday Insights Into The Next Big Thing’ by Bernadette Jiwa.

Top 3 go-to Podcast channels?

I didn’t really start with podcasts but are happy to give 3 great-to hear audiobooks available on audible instead. These are all books that have inspired me and gave me truly valuable insights on my path to success.

1. ‘The Big Leap’ by Gay Hendricks.
2. ‘Contagious: Why Things Catch On’ by Jonah Berger.
3. ‘Disrupt you! Master Personal Transformation’ by Jay Samit.

How do you measure your own terms of success?

To measure your own terms of success you will have to look at where you are at right now compared to where you were you were before. I will say that I feel successful every time I achieved a goal in terms of understanding the process well enough to move on to the next level and throw myself out in a new process of something that feels challenging and that I believe will make a difference for me and for the world around me.  

What does #BEYOUROWN mean to you?

• Be the best you.
• Empower y.ourself.
• You are unique.
• Own your potential.
• Unlimited.
• Rise above doubts. 
• Own your path. 
• Winning lifestyle.
• Now is your time.

Lastly, what is next for you?

Many new exciting things are coming up for Savvy Females the next few months so stay tuned and follow us on social media. I am also involved in the new relaunch of the Norwegian cloths brand Dollarosa and will soon release a brand new collection with exclusive and incredibly elegant womenswear with the tag Dollarosa VIP. 

www.beyourown.org