As an entrepreneur, you are guaranteed to face challenges. The difference between failure and success hinges on how you handle those setbacks. Do you throw in the towel? Or do you innovate past your problems and find a way to prevent them from happening again? Monica Eaton-Cardone is a powerhouse entrepreneur and business leader with expertise in technology, eCommerce, risk relativity and payment-processing solutions. She is the COO of Chargebacks911 and CIO of its parent company, Global Risk Technologies. Eaton-Cardone was a finalist for the 2016 Women in IT International Star of the Year and the 2016 ETA Technology Innovation Star Award, and she was recently named as a finalist for the 2018 Woman in PayTech Award. Today, Eaton-Cardone shares her unconventional path to entrepreneurship, explaining how being forced into computer programming electives as a high school student uncovered her aptitude for technology. She addresses why other countries are making strides we’re not to promote women in finance, engineering and technology—and how we might reposition those careers to stress the design and relationship-building aspects of those fields. Listen in for Eaton-Cardone’s insight on innovating past your setbacks and learn how to develop a shatterproof sense of self-worth!   Key Interview Takeaways To promote more women in fields like tech and finance, a bottom-up approach is most effective. Eaton-Cardone discovered her affinity for computer programming because she switched high schools, and the other electives were already filled. She believes that requiring courses in technology and engineering will help girls discover that they have an aptitude for those disciplines. The skills necessary for software development are very similar to those used in interior design. Eaton-Cardone argues that both involve creating something of artistic value, and if we reposition careers in finance and technology to stress the design and/or communication aspects, more women would show an interest. Innovate past your problems. Eaton-Cardone credits her success to persevering through the difficult times and finding ways to prevent setbacks from happening again. In fact, a product she developed to resolve her own problem as an online merchant has become Chargebacks 911, a thriving company in its own right. No one should be able to shatter your self-worth. Eaton-Cardone defines self-worth as an awareness of your achievements and confidence in your ability to learn. She trusts that there is no problem that can’t be solved, and she doesn’t allow other’s opinions to hold her back. Connect with Monica Eaton-Cardone Monica Eaton-Cardone on LinkedIn Monica Eaton-Cardone on Twitter Monica Eaton-Cardone’s Blog Chargebacks911