Immigration: The MBA You Can’t Buy

Moving countries is often painted as this glamorous adventure, new places, new opportunities, a fresh start.

But let’s be honest: anyone who’s actually gone through the immigration process knows it’s less Eat, Pray, Love and more Survivor: Paperwork Edition.

We joke and call it “fun and games,” but there’s nothing fun about hunting down documents you didn’t even know existed, reprinting passport photos because your ears weren’t visible enough, or refreshing your inbox 327 times a day waiting for that elusive embassy email.

And one of the hardest truths? You feel dumb, a lot. Everything from forms, systems and accents makes you feel like a beginner all over again.

I mean, I still remember the first time I heard the words jandals, togs, or when a school asked me to bring a plate. My brain went: “Shoes? Swimming? Crockery?!” It turns out jandals are flip-flops, togs are swimwear, and bring a plate means bring food to share, not an empty dish. ☺️

But that’s where the gold is. Because the same thing happens when you build a business: you don’t start out knowing it all, you learn as you go.

Immigration (just like entrepreneurship) teaches you humility, patience and how to find your way forward even when you don’t have all the answers.

“Immigration is by definition a gesture of faith in social mobility. It is the expression in action of a positive belief in the possibility of a better life.” — John F. Kennedy

Here are the lessons I carried from immigration straight into business:

1. Resilience is a Muscle, Not a Trait

Immigration forces you to start over, new systems, new accents ...well, new everything. 

At first, it feels like the world is testing how badly you want this. But resilience is built one moment at a time: the moment you try again after rejection, the moment you keep going when the finish line moves (again), the moment you realize crying over paperwork won’t make it disappear.

For us, one of the biggest tests came only 4 months after arriving in New Zealand. Our newborn baby was barely 8 weeks old when the country went into a full COVID lockdown. New country. New baby. No support system. It was surreal, learning to parent while also learning how to survive in a brand-new place, cut off from family and friends. But as hard as it was, it taught us something: resilience doesn’t always mean winning big.

Sometimes, resilience simply looks like getting through the day, one small step at a time.

In business, it’s the same. Resilience isn’t something you’re born with; it’s something you train daily.

2. Communication Isn’t Just Language, It’s Connection

Accents, slang, cultural differences, they all trip you up at first. I’ll never forget ordering something as simple as coffee and getting blank stares. But what I learned is this: communication is less about perfect words and more about genuine connection.

In business too, people won’t always remember your exact phrasing, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.

3. Adaptability Beats Perfection

Immigrants become masters of adaptability. One day you’re filling out forms you don’t understand, the next you’re learning the art of queuing (yes, every country does it differently). You learn fast that perfection doesn’t exist, adaptability does.

In business, clinging to “the way things have always been done” is like insisting your old SIM card will still work in a new country. Spoiler: it won’t. The ability to adapt is what keeps you moving forward.

4. Every Stranger Could Become an Ally

In those early days, strangers made all the difference. A kind neighbor, a friendly teacher, even the coffee shop barista who patiently explained how things work here. You quickly learn that you can’t do it alone.

For us, this was more than theory, it was our lived experience. One neighbor arrived at our door with a still-warm loaf of homemade bread to welcome us. Another gifted baby clothes for our newborn son. New friends even hosted a baby shower for us. Those simple gestures carried more weight than words could ever explain.

And then there was the coffee shop barista, who had the patience of a saint when we admitted we didn’t know the difference between a flat white, a long black or a short macchiato. We laughed at ourselves, but in that moment, it was more than coffee, it was connection.

And beyond the daily quirks, the official admin is a marathon of its own. Navigating two countries’ passports, rules, regulations, medicals, police clearances and interviews is enough to make your head spin. You spend months double-checking paperwork and traveling back and forth for verification appointments, always with the fear that one missing document might derail everything.

But even with these acts of kindness, one of the hardest parts of immigration is knowing your little ones are growing up without those cuddles from grandma and grandpa, the laughter with cousins and that close-knit family network. You feel the ache of what’s missing and it makes the kindness of strangers and new friends matter even more.

The same is true in business. Every conversation, every handshake, every unexpected introduction has the potential to open a door. Some of my most important business lessons didn’t come from boardrooms, they came from people who showed kindness when I needed it most.

5. Your Roots Give You Wings

At first, I tried to blend in, to soften my accent and play down my South African background. But over time, I realized my roots weren’t something to hide, they were my strength.

Coming from South Africa gives you a certain edge. It’s a place that teaches resilience in everyday life, almost a survival of the fittest mentality. Like the wild, you learn to adapt, to think fast and to stand your ground.

Honestly, it’s a bit like living in your own version of The Lion King, except instead of lions on the plains, its traffic, load-shedding and the daily hustle. Hakuna Matata? Not exactly. But it does make you stronger.

In business, it’s the same. It’s your roots, your grit, your story, your “accent”, that make you stand out in the crowd.

6. It’s Okay to Feel Like a Beginner

During the immigration process, you feel dumb quite a lot. Suddenly, even the simplest things turn into brand-new lessons. Grocery shopping feels like a scavenger hunt (different shops, different brands, different ways of doing things). Cars? Forget it, you discover words like “WOF” (Warrant of Fitness) that you’ve never heard in your life.

And then there’s the coffee scene (flat whites, long blacks, short macchiatos, what happened to just order a cappuccino?), and it’s safe to say the learning curve is steep.

Even daily life has hidden rules. One of the first lessons? Shoes off at the door. In South Africa, you’d walk straight in; in New Zealand, you quickly learn that a pile of shoes at the entrance is your cue to follow suit.

And then ...money. Nothing humbles you faster than jumping from the South African rand to the New Zealand dollar. That first grocery bill had me mentally converting back to rand and thinking, “Wait… did I just spend a small fortune on cheese?” The exchange rate alone can give you whiplash.

And the language? That’s a class of its own. “Jandals” (flip-flops), “togs” (swimwear), and the infamous school request to “bring a plate” (which, if you’re new, sounds like you’re expected to turn up with empty crockery). The first time we heard it, we genuinely thought: “Do they not have enough dishes at this school?” Turns out, it just means bring food to share. 😅

Oh, and let’s not forget traffic talk. In South Africa, we call them robots, so you can imagine the laughs we got when we told people, “Turn left at the robot.” Kiwis looked at us like we’d just stepped out of a sci-fi movie, here it is called traffic lights!

And then there are the cultural curveballs you never saw coming. For example, in South Africa kids grow up with the Tooth Mouse. Here? It’s Tooth Fairy territory. Explaining that one to my daughter made for some funny dinner table conversations.

And then, of course, there are the travel war stories. On our flight to New Zealand, my 5-year-old daughter and my husband both got food poisoning. There I was, 33 weeks pregnant, trying to juggle sick bags, aisle traffic and my very swollen ankles, while whispering to myself, “This is fine. This is the dream. New beginnings!” Looking back, it’s hilarious. At the time? Not so much.

At first, it’s overwhelming, but slowly you realize: this “beginner’s stage” is where resilience is born.

The same is true in business. Starting something new often feels clumsy, awkward and overwhelming. But being willing to be a beginner, to laugh at your mistakes, and to learn as you go is exactly what builds competence and confidence over time.

🧠 Science Insight: Immigration Changes the Brain

Neuroscience and psychology research show that major life transitions like immigration increase neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to rewire and adapt. Being thrown into unfamiliar environments forces the brain to build new neural pathways, improving problem-solving, flexibility, and resilience.

Psychologists also note the “immigrant paradox”: while the process is stressful, many immigrants often develop higher-than-average resilience and adaptability, skills that translate directly into business and leadership success.

Closing Thought

Immigration taught me that resilience isn’t about pretending things aren’t hard, it’s about knowing you can survive hard things and still create something beautiful.

So yes, immigration may look like “fun and games” from the outside, but anyone who’s been through it knows it’s really resilience training cleverly disguised as paperwork (and the occasional overpriced block of cheese, or confusion over what exactly to do with your “togs” or the “robot” on the corner).

Business, like immigration, is about courage. It’s about stepping into the unknown with the belief that what you’re building is worth it.

And if you can laugh at yourself along the way, even better.