Sara Monte e Freitas is one of nine partners at ERA Group in Portugal. The company has twenty employees who work daily to reduce and optimise costs for clients. In her 20-year career, Sara Monte e Freitas spent a decade in marketing and the last 10 years in logistics, an area where she held management and leadership positions and which she fell in love with.Two decades that gave her a cross-sectional view and distinct experiences in the Portuguese business world. With experience in more than 10 companies, she decided it was time to become an entrepreneur and make all her know-how available to national organizations. As a partner at ERA Group, she now works with large, renowned companies on the daily challenge of reducing and optimising costs. Working with market segments as diverse as food, health, industrial production, beverages, retail and companies providing a wide range of services is what motivates her most.
- 06:30
I wake up and get ready for the day's run. "Do you suffer more when you run or when you don't go out for a run?" The weight on my body on a day without running is greater than running 10 km in the rain or cold. Music in my ears and off I go. In Monsanto Park, I release the tension and mentally plan my day. I started running 14 years ago. I moved to a place further away from the big cities, where there were no gyms or swimming pools. I decided that the only sporting activity I could do was running. Since then, I have run 14 marathons and many other races.
- 8:00 a.m.
I return home. I wake up my daughters, one aged 3 and the other aged 13, get them ready for school, and make pancakes for the family. Oats (fiber), cornflour (iron), flaxseed (omega 3 and vitamins), eggs (protein), almond milk (calcium and magnesium) and cinnamon (the aroma of the gods). and finally, the toppings vary: honey, walnuts, apple, almonds, peanut butter, banana... And we're ready to face the day!
- 09:00
Time to drop the little one off at school and receive the sweetest kisses.
- 09:30
I am one of nine partners at ERA Group in Portugal. In Portugal, we work on projects together, we truly work as a network. Not to mention the international support where we are already more than 800. I can start the day at the office in Sete Rios or go straight to a client in Lisbon or elsewhere. Every day starts differently. On Mondays, I try to start at the office, where we have a follow-up meeting for the week. In a "Kaizen" style, we put the various coloured post-it notes that each person has to deal with on the whiteboard. We assess the week's schedule and set the priorities for each project. As we deal with cost optimisation, we have to be very attentive to market variations and fluctuations. Any movement can change our reference value and that can change everything in a project.
- 1:30 p.m.
Lunch time, usually with the team. Even if I have had meetings with clients in the morning, I do my best to return to "base" at lunchtime. We take advantage of this time for more informal and work-related conversations. It's always a more relaxed moment, when I take the opportunity to recharge my batteries with everyone's positive energy and, sometimes, with the guilty pleasure of a sweet treat at the end of the meal.
- 2:30 p.m.
Back at the office, I try to spend my afternoons writing reports or doing more structured analyzes of ongoing projects. I contact suppliers and evaluate market prices. Reducing costs for clients always requires paying close attention to price fluctuations and opportunities that may arise. I chose this area of business to start my own company because it allows me to combine the knowledge I acquired in my previous professional experiences, manage B2B clients, and reduce costs for companies. I analyze transport, logistics, and promotional materials. In addition, I have always been in contact with clients, which helps me a lot in my daily management with my current clients. Having a macro view of the national market gives us more "world" to understand different visions and areas. Today, I can't see myself doing anything else. I think that says it all. Once we became owners of our own business, with all its ups and downs, there was no turning back.
- 6 p.m.
First attempt to leave the office, which sometimes only happens an hour later. The most critical function of our business is customer management. Our customers expect us to have a senior team that is present, operational, delivers results, and provides them with knowledge and cash flow. For me, the daily and constant learning from customers is the greatest wealth they can give me. With each customer, with each person I meet, I grow, I learn, and I become richer!
- 6:30 p.m.
Time to pick up my youngest daughter from school. At 3 years old, she always demands some kind of activity. Either going shopping or going to the bakery to eat a biscuit or going to the swings, the park or the shopping center. Most of the time, she wins and gets to do her favorite activity of the day. Other times, our eldest daughter, who is 13, joins us after school. And I get to end the day with conversations about each of their days. This is the time of day when I go from being the one who talks the most to the one who listens the most.
- 7:30 p.m.
Baths, dinner and tidying up a typical house with children. We divide the tasks and help each other. While my husband gives the children their bath, our youngest tidies up the dishes and I make dinner.
- 8:30 p.m.
With dinner on the table, we unwind from the day and discuss the news, notable events of the day, and any news each of us has to share.
- 9:15 p.m.
Playing with our youngest. After dinner, she always "demands" to play with Legos, a ball, games or building blocks. And at bedtime, a story is a must.
- 10:00 p.m.
Once on the sofa, I can still turn on my laptop to deal with that pending email, while my husband and I choose a series, film or program to watch.
- 11:30 p.m.
I drag myself, already sleepy, to bed, where I try to catch up on 6 or 7 hours of sleep.
