Pursuit 365 Day 60: Andrea Lee Szopa

Andrea Lee Szopa, co-founder of Silver Stratus Global and international photographer, is an IT business consultant currently expanding business in the USA and soon entering into the Canadian market. She believes in the power of technology making life simpler for both individuals and business.

This year I am proud to celebrate my milestone 50th birthday! It has been a great adventure getting here. I have lived around the world in seven different countries, launched a business and developed my hobby as a photographer. My business, Silver Stratus Global, is an information technology services company that started out as a MSP trying to help people grow their business by utilizing technology, but has now pivoted into the niche market of custom infrastructure architecture, hardware configuration, testing and support. Since conception we are excited to share that we have grown our business by 75% and started a warehouse location. Photography is a labour of love and gives me the opportunity to share the beauty I have discovered living and traveling around the world. It is a hobby more than a business. I never want it to be in the situation where I had to “get the shot.” I have been featured at several art galleries and had my photos shown around the world.

Q. What is your number one business goal to accomplish this year?

Silver Stratus Global in now focusing on expanding enterprise level service and architecture, IT equipment testing, builds and installs. The last six months have been extremely busy for us as we have added physical logistics and hardware management to our business portfolio. This is a new venture as our original business model was focused on offering virtual and remote business. As with any business it is crucial that you re-evaluate regularly and be ready to embrace new opportunities.

Q. What was your favourite country to live in?

I love to travel and enjoyed each of my experiences for different reasons. As perfection does not exist, there is no perfect place to live. If I had to pick one, I would have to say London, UK for it’s fantastic culture/history and because that’s where I met my husband. Each place offered a new learning opportunity.

Q. What is your favourite thing about what you do in your career and why?

I am at the best version of myself when I am creating. Having the ability to work with people from all over the world and interact with so many different cultures has been a privilege. This opportunity has expanded my perceptions and increased my creative ability to look at new business ideas. This has really helped me to understand different situations and find solutions from several different angles. There is no denying the power of experience as expertise.

Q. Where do you see yourself in five years? How do you envision your future?

One of the goals we are passionate about is to expand Silver Stratus Global into Canada. Within the next five years, we want to be in a position to work in either country giving us the ability to be closer to family. As I am Canadian and my husband is American, we are working on dual citizenship to enables us to live freely throughout North America.

Q. What do you have going on that you’d like to share?

A very interesting dynamic in our life is my husband’s hobby and passion, aeronautics. Many years ago, he chose getting engaged to me over getting is pilot’s license. Finally, he was able to realize the goal and get his pilot’s license 4 years ago changing life’s perspectives yet again. We are currently restoring a 1969 Cessna Turbo 210 so that we will be able to fly around the USA and Canada with ease. We will be so grateful to have the flexibility to travel at a moment’s notice for business and exploring.