Regine Bonneau, CEO and founder of RB Advisory
Feb 3, 2020, 12:07pm EST
Editor's note: Orlando Business Journal is doing a special online series of stories in celebration of Black History Month in which we asked business leaders in the Central Florida region to share some poignant part of their personal story and the impact it had on the direction of their lives. Here, Regine Bonneau, CEO and founder of RB Advisory LLC, shares part of her story.
I was born in Limbe, Haiti, and lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the first 10 years of my life. I was fortunate enough to have grown up in a loving middle-class family with a great support system.
In August 1989, my mother, brother and I traveled to New York for summer vacation. Due to unforeseen circumstances in Haiti with the coup d’etat, we were not able to return, so I grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1996, I started my senior year in high school, excited about attending college and pursuing my career in engineering. All that came to an abrupt stop when I found out that my dream of obtaining scholarships to attend college would not happen due to lacking a green card.
I found the strength and courage to focus and continue to excel in my last year with the hope that things would change by the time I graduated from high school. Unfortunately, that did not happen, so I spent the summer of 1997 wondering, "What’s next?"
Eventually, I was able to obtain employment working for a company across the street from 26 Federal Plaza (Immigration Office), translating birth certificates for immigrants who were applying for their green cards. I ended up working with an immigration attorney helped me gain my green card. In 2004, I graduated FROM college with my first degree in engineering with no student loans by working during the day and attending class at night.
In 2004, I was presented with a business opportunity and moved to Florida in 2005. This was my first venture without any family support, friends or mentorship. Several of my initial business ventures were unsuccessful due to a lack of knowledge about partnership agreements, business structure, funding and, most importantly, mentorship. So, in 2008, I went back to school and pursued a B.S. degree in business/finance and an MBA.
Along the way, I had to do a reassessment of where I was to learn from my mistakes and find other avenues of financial support. I started attending business events, conferences and social events to expand my network to gain knowledge and wisdom to continue my path as a business owner. I was fortunate to meet some great people who became mentors and helped me shape my business foundation by introducing the importance of proper planning, managing, business strategy, marketing strategy and financial planning.
As a single parent of a 3-year-old son, understanding the many struggles I went through, years of working in corporate America and being told that I have great ideas, I decided once again to start my own company. In 2016, RB Advisory LLC was officially registered as a cyber risk management company to assess and reduce cyber-risks for companies.
As a black woman, an immigrant and a U.S. citizen, a single mother, an engineer and a business owner in an industry that is only 20% women — and only about 3% black men and women — I feel it is my responsibility to continue to show up and be an inspiration to other minority women and young ladies.
When they look at me, I want to be that person who shows them that, yes, they can also do it because I have put in the work to do it.
My lessons learned: Through determination, perseverance, tenacity and vulnerability, we can and will succeed. We just need to know where we are going, what is needed to get there and who you need to help guide the way. You become who you believe you are. Always look for wisdom, and when you find it, humble yourself and heed it.
As Amelia Earhart said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.”