Do you think you have what it takes to start your own business as a woman? How can you be successful as an entrepreneur despite the many obstacles that you will encounter? And what exactly does it mean for women to be entrepreneurial?
In this section, we'll go into all of that, as well as touch on a wide variety of other issues pertaining to women in business. You will not only learn how to make your vision a reality, but you will also learn how to conquer challenges like the true lioness that you are.
To begin, you're going to need some sort of company...
Being a successful woman in business means having the courage to own who you are, why you are doing what you do and how you can apply your vision to positively impact the world. A successful woman is confidently feminine and eager to learn and grow. She has achieved balance and perspective in all aspects of her life.
If you have a strong ambition to start your own business as a woman, the first step you need to do is to establish the necessary groundwork by determining the kind of the enterprise you intend to launch. It is an essential precondition, but achieving it won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination! Because there are currently more female-oriented business opportunities accessible than there are stars in the Milky Way, you will need to ask yourself a lot of questions before picking which industry and company you want to be a part of in order to find the right fit for you.
When selecting a company, consider the following questions:
What talents do you have?
Whatever it is that you’re good at, you’ll need to be able to apply it with the same level of enthusiasm and concentration for many years to come. Suppose you anticipate that this project would be challenging for you to do. In that case, you should be prepared for the fact that it will be quite a challenge to transform your hobby or area of interest into a profitable business model. If you launch your company in a field in which you have no prior experience or knowledge, you set yourself up for an uphill struggle from the beginning. Don’t make things worse on yourself than they already are!
You’ve probably heard the old adage that says, “If you do what you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life,” and that’s definitely true. If you are fortunate enough to make it happen, you will escape one of the most major obstacles that women entrepreneurs encounter on their road, despite the fact that it may seem like a cheesy way to go about things.
Will your proposition still be valid?
Suppose you want to establish yourself as a successful female entrepreneur who can keep her company operating for an extended period of time. In that case, you will need to devise a business plan that can keep you in operation for the foreseeable future.
Is there a significant opportunity for development in the business sector that you’re considering entering, or does it hardly increase from one year to the next? Will it become more challenging for you to expand the firm in the future as a result of a lack of available labour? Are the primary rivals already so successful in the market that it will be difficult for you to even make a name for yourself?
When it seems as though a certain sector of the economy is undergoing a gold rush, it is simple to get caught up in the euphoria of the moment; nevertheless, we are all aware of what occurs when the influx of wealth inevitably comes to an end. As soon as it seems like the gold rush is coming to an end, the economy will begin to suffer. Do not jump at the opportunity to make a quick buck because, if you play your cards well, you will be around long enough to learn about all of the obstacles experienced by female entrepreneurs and develop answers to those challenges. Therefore, do not jump at the chance to make a quick buck.
Exists a market segment that is viable?
You have determined your skill set and selected a field that will be around for a long time. It would help if you now determined whether or not your product or service is relevant to a target audience that is large enough to allow you to turn a profit from selling it.
Consider the following inquiries for yourself:
Women who are interested in entrepreneurship are aware that filling a specific market need might be challenging, but they also understand that it is vital. This stage on the path to becoming a female entrepreneur is essential to maintain a competitive edge over male entrepreneurs and a competitive advantage over large organisations in general.
If you get off to a good start in a certain market segment, you will be able to sidestep some of the more common challenges that female business owners face.
Can you afford to launch a company?
Despite the fact that it stands at the very end of our list, this is the consideration that should be given the most weight when determining whether or not it is a smart idea for a woman to launch her own firm. It’s likely that you have the most impressive skill set, the most logical business strategy, and the most potentially lucrative niche market in your sights right now. If that’s the case, best of luck! Imagine, though, that you do not at this moment have the financial wherewithal necessary to turn any of this become a reality. What different paths are available to you? In the event that this turns out to be the situation, your innovative idea to enter the sphere of women’s entrepreneurship will stay exactly that: a plan.
Before you start putting the money you have on hand into a nascent firm, you should figure out how much money you’ll need to reach the next level of women’s entrepreneurship and become an established company. Only then should you begin investing the money you have. There are many challenges that women business owners face, but if this particular issue is not addressed first, there is little use in attempting to find answers to the other issues.
It goes without saying that to create money, you need money, and this maxim also holds true for female entrepreneurs.
Now comes the part where things start becoming very intriguing. You have an idea, have done some research on it, and are completely prepared to put it into action right now.
It is quite improbable that one will be successful in the subject of women’s entrepreneurship if they dive headfirst into an unclear understanding of how a company ought to be run. Do you aspire to achieve success in whatever it is that you do? Of course, you do! If you take the time to plan your business with great consideration, you will be able to have a huge impact on the globe.
8 steps to follow before implementing your business plan:
Your goal of achieving success as an entrepreneur as a woman can only be accomplished if there are customers who are interested in purchasing the items or services that you provide. The simple truth is that not everyone will want what it is that you are selling, and that is totally fine with you. You should not take offence at this fact. For example, if you were selling baby clothes and supplies, you generally wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) expect to receive the best results from an audience consisting of adult men in the age range of 18 to 25. This is because men in this age range tend to be more focused on their careers. This is due to the fact that males often spend less money on things like these.
Suppose you want to get off to a good start. In that case, you should focus on targeting more appropriate demographics, such as women between the ages of 20 and 35, rather than trying to attract the attention of young males, even if there are undoubtedly some young men who could be interested. After that, at a later stage, you will be able to broaden the scope of your market to include more geographies, age groups, and other demographics by offering a greater variety of goods and services.
Making a financial plan
The difficulty of obtaining financial support for one’s own small business is unquestionably among the most significant obstacles female business owners confront. Even if you get off to a good start, it is probable that your finances may run out sooner than you planned, even though you may have put up a significant amount of money in preparation for this moment. Because of this, it is extremely important to figure out how you will fund your firm well in advance.
Will you require the use of certain pieces of equipment?
Employ people?
Complete the order?
Are you a renter?
Travel?
There is no denying that in order to get a firm off the ground, a significant amount of financial resources are required. The question that needs to be answered is how you plan to acquire these different resources. If you take some time out of your day to educate yourself about the many different ways that startups can raise money, as well as the typical mistakes that should be avoided along the way, then you will have the answers that you are looking for.
Choosing a name for your company
There is no hidden formula that will be of use to you in this situation. Instead, if you want your company to establish and keep a good reputation, picking the proper name for your company will require imagination, intuition, and study.
Naturally, you’ll want to make sure that the name satisfies a few different requirements. The name of your company ought to include:
Don’t be afraid to look at examples of successful branding strategies that other small businesses have implemented in the past to get some ideas for your own.
Getting licences and permits
Women’s business enterprises can be found in virtually an infinite number of sectors; the vast majority of these fields require the firm’s owner to get particular licences or authorisation. You have an obligation to carry out the necessary study and visit the websites of both your local and state governments in order to obtain information regarding the documentation requirements for legally operating your small business.
A word to the wise: the nature of the enterprise will influence not only the licences and permissions required of it but also the appropriate industry loans for it. Have a look at the many forms of business loans that can be more or less suitable to the line of work that you are in. There are also a variety of business loans and grants available to women, which should be their first consideration.
Location selection
You’ve given some thought to your strategy for women in business, considered opening either an online or a brick-and-mortar store, and come to the conclusion that opening a physical storefront is the way to go. Many of the challenges faced by female business owners can be traced back to their selection of an unsuitable location in which to run their companies. Consider who your ideal customers are and whether or not they can be found in the potential location for your business. It is possible to relocate your business if things aren’t going as planned; nevertheless, for reasons that should be self-evident, it is preferable to give some careful consideration to the matter before deciding to launch operations in any old area.
Assembling a team
Are you capable of tackling all of the obstacles women business owners often confront yourself? Are you thinking about giving it a shot at finding the ideal business partner for your company? Or do you want to reduce some of the difficulties associated with being a female entrepreneur by employing some other hands to help?
If you intend to pay your team members, careful consideration and selection of individuals should be given before hiring anyone. It is essential for a company, regardless of where it is in its lifecycle, to have reliable and hardworking people. It is much more crucial for you to get competent assistance when your company is just starting out.
Creating a marketing plan
Your marketing strategy should include communicating with your target demographic in order to talk to them and give a message that resonates with them on a personal level. Again, it is important to take into account the demographics that define your audience. For instance, what age bracket do the majority of them fall into? Which elicits a more positive response from them: an approach that is more casual or one that has a tone that is more professional? Do these customers make their purchases as private individuals or do they act on behalf of companies?
The sector in which you operate will, of course, have an effect on the marketing approach that you find most suitable for your business. Having said that, you will be doing a poor job of running your company if you do not include marketing through social media as part of your overall plan. You may communicate with any of the millions of individuals spread throughout the main three social media sites, which are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, by just clicking the appropriate button on your computer.
The creation of a pricing plan
How much are you planning on charging your clients when it comes to the goods and services you provide? It takes some work to find the best pricing plan for your company, and that approach may need to be adjusted as time goes on and your company grows. There are pricing methods that put more of an emphasis on the cold, hard figures, and there are pricing strategies that put more of an emphasis on the psychological factor.
No matter the price model you choose to implement, make sure to keep in mind both the demographic of your ideal customers and the amount of money you need to make. If you do not take this precaution, you run the risk of selling your goods or providing your services at rates that are either unaffordable to the people you are trying to attract as consumers or that take too long to generate a profit for you.
Female entrepreneurs frequently encounter the following difficulties:
We know from societal standards that we should expect particular behaviour patterns from men and different behaviour patterns from women. The existence of societal regulations instilled in us these expectations. However, female company owners are fully aware that they must regularly outperform men in the industries in which they compete if they want to succeed in the world of business. This is one of the prerequisites for the success of their businesses. To put it another way, women need to be fiercely competitive and, on times, even very aggressive in order to be successful business owners. These qualities, which are obviously the exact reverse of what traditional norms have attributed to women, namely that they ought to be submissive, kind, and unassuming, are obvious. These qualities, however, are the exact reverse of what gender stereotypes have traditionally assigned to women.
How to get over this difficulty: Have self-assurance, and don’t be afraid to speak up! Do not let other people’s expectations drag you down or prevent you from realising your full potential. Regardless of your gender, having the mental fortitude to succeed in business is essential; thus, you shouldn’t be embarrassed to hold your head high, even when being criticised.
Constructing a network
Regrettably, societal biases have also permeated the fields of financial mentoring and advise providing. More than half of the respondents in a survey of women with assets worth at least $250,000 “said that males got greater attention, better advise, and better terms and bargains,” according to the survey.
Regardless of how one feels about it, the truth is that financial advisors contact men around 200 times more often than they do women.
How to get over these difficulties: Female entrepreneurs who are looking for appropriate financial advice and mentorship should concentrate their search on events and organisations whose primary mission is to assist female entrepreneurs in overcoming the challenges they face until discrimination and inequality are relegated to the dustbin of history. Until this happens, discrimination and inequality will continue to be a problem. Some organisations that fall into this category are the SCORE Association, BizWomen, and the American Business Women’s Association, to name just a few.
Overcoming the failure fear
The challenges that women business owners face can just as readily originate from inside their own minds as they can arise from outside forces. To put it another way, it is not sufficient to just disregard the naysayers (and believe me, there are enough of them!) or even to utilise their criticisms as motivation. Conquering the fear of failing, which is ultimately rooted in self-doubt, is one of the first requirements for any woman who aspires to become an entrepreneur of the greatest calibre.
It is totally natural for company owners to suffer worry and dread in the face of the possibility of failing in their endeavours. However, it is imperative that you do not permit this fear to impair your capacity to be successful.
How to avoid this challenge: Learn important insights from the data that show how many small businesses fail; educate yourself on the most prevalent reasons for failure and the most effective ways to foresee and avoid it. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!” was a phrase once said by the legendary Franklin D. Roosevelt. The solution is not to disregard fear but to identify when there are reasonable grounds for dread and to take the required efforts to overcome the obstacles that have been identified.
Juggling work and family
One of the most common obstacles that female entrepreneurs encounter is figuring out how to fulfil their responsibilities as a mum while also running a business at the same time. It is more challenging for mompreneurs than for other women active in business, and it is unquestionably far more difficult than for their male counterparts.
How to avoid this challenge: Although the chances are not even close to being even, that does not mean that being successful in business is an unachievable aim for women. Don’t believe us? Look at how one great lady could start her business even though the odds were stacked against her before you decide what to do.
Getting funds
Only about 30 percent of women who ask for funding are granted it, which means that a staggering 70 percent of women who are trying to start their own businesses are out of luck. In addition, when it comes to the process of applying for a loan, only ten percent of millennial women believe that they are treated fairly. These figures on women-owned firms should not be disregarded; uneven access to capital continues to be one of the most significant challenges faced by female entrepreneurs. This ripple effect severely restricts the capacity of even the greatest company ideas to be put into practice. All of this may be attributed to gender prejudice.
How to avoid this challenge: Make use of fintech! Even if computerised systems have many flaws, they do eliminate a considerable amount of the human bias that may be seen in the lending process. The many improvements that have been made in financial technology over the past few years have been working very well to level the playing field for female entrepreneurs.
Think about these two details:
When we examine this in light of more conventional approaches to financing, we notice that during this same time period, the number of people applying for loans with banks has decreased. This is something that we notice because the number of people applying for loans with alternative lenders has increased. In addition, the most important reason for small business owners to apply through banks was not the higher possibility of getting funded or the faster speed with which they could acquire financing. Instead, the most essential reason was that they already had a relationship with the institution.
Have you considered contacting a venture capitalist to ask for help financing your goals in the area of women’s entrepreneurship? Unfortunately, the chances are also not very good in this case. Male entrepreneurs had a 60% higher success rate at pitch competitions than female entrepreneurs, according to a study that looked at the relationships between an entrepreneur’s gender and the financing decisions made by investors.
What is an endeavour to change gender norms if not the practise of women starting their own businesses? We have discussed how to select an appropriate company concept, the steps that need to be taken in order to get that business off the ground, and the obstacles that are specific to the journey of a female entrepreneur.
If the knowledge that has been gained is not efficiently put to use, then it is of absolutely no use whatsoever in terms of completing the goals that have been established. Even if reading tips on how to run a business is a great place to begin, doing so alone won’t be enough to get you to the point where you want to be as an entrepreneur. You have to actually do something if you want to have any chance of becoming successful. You need to get out there and put these tips and ideas into action; let’s demonstrate to those other men and ladies what you’re really capable of, shall we?
Many women are deciding to go into business for themselves because it enables them to live their lives exactly how they want to. It gives them the opportunity to break through the glass ceiling.
Forbes predicts that by the year 2018, women will be the founders of more than half of all firms. Therefore, the timing is now more favourable than it has ever been for a woman to start her own business.
It’s possible that certain workplaces still have problems with sexism and gender politics. When you establish your own company, nobody will tell you what you can and can’t do since they don’t want to compete with you. You are at liberty to create your own way forwards.
That may be freeing, but it may also be intimidating. Every new business owner will have to face and overcome obstacles. Learning from one’s own experiences is beneficial, but it is much more beneficial to learn from other people’s experiences. As a result, more and more women are seeking the guidance of their female peers on the management of their companies.
Here are seven business lessons from seven successful female entrepreneurs. They have all created empires worth hundreds of millions of dollars in total, some of which are worth over a billion dollars.
No matter what gender you are, you should consider their suggestions when establishing your own business. If this is the case, you will have a good probability of succeeding where they did.
Sara Blakely is the youngest girl to ever become a millionaire and is the creator of the company Spanx. According to Blakely, one of the primary reasons people fail is because they do not try hard enough. When it comes to developing a successful company, two qualities that are absolutely necessary are unwavering commitment and dogged determination.
Make an effort to push yourself beyond your limits and venture outside of your comfort zone. Challenge yourself each day to do something completely new. Figure out how to feel comfortable even when things don’t go according to plan, and then figure out how to transform that discomfort into an advantage.
According to a well-known proverb, “shoot for the moon. Even if you are unsuccessful, you will find yourself among the stars.
Tory Burch is both the chief executive officer and the founder of the lifestyle business that bears her name. On the winding and difficult path to achievement, she warns that you will encounter a large number of doubters. There are many different factors that contribute to such pessimism:
You may expect to suffer as a result of being around people like them. You can’t put up with being in the company of individuals like that if you want a constructive outlook on the business world.
Therefore, you should follow Tory Burch’s example. Her parents taught her to disregard unfavourable feedback as meaningless “noise.” She made it a point to surround herself with individuals who would push her to be better, and as a result, she saw positive results.
Jessica Alba serves as Chief Executive Officer of The Honest Company. She started this company because she had difficulty locating things that could truly be considered healthy for her child.
That is something that may resonate with any person who has recently become a parent. Therefore, Alba’s message struck a chord with millions of people. That played a role in her firm becoming a multibillion-dollar enterprise.
This is an excellent strategy that other people should try to imitate. Your clients are real people, just like you and me, with genuine lives and real problems. Make an effort to benefit from the experiences you’ve already had. Consider everything that has happened to you in your life. Consider the details of your experience.
A compelling story is an excellent method to raise awareness about your business and ensure it will be recalled in the future. We all enjoy listening to interesting tales, and successful businesspeople are well aware of this fact.
This advise from Arianna Huffington, CEO of the Huffington Post isn’t as surprising as it might initially appear.
Sleep is crucial to success in life. If you skip on sleep, you risk causing major injury to yourself. Studies have indicated that sleep-deprived persons are:
Sleep will have a huge influence on your prospects of success as an entrepreneur. With so many demands on you as a business owner, it may be easy to forget to take care of yourself. But in order to prosper you have to put your needs, and those of your family, first. So get some rest!
Your clients are real people, just like you and me, with genuine lives and real problems. Make an effort to benefit from the experiences you’ve already had.
Forbes magazine’s readers chose Diane von Furstenberg, the creator of DVF, as the most important person in the fashion industry. Furstenberg attributes her continued success to the fact that she maintains strong ties to the community in which she lives. She is always ready to hear what people want and what they want from her.
The term “community” can have a variety of connotations depending on the person using it. It might be a more localised territory, or it could be a more dispersed collection of clients that have an identical interest. But all great enterprises grow from communities.
When companies ignore the needs of the communities in which they operate, they invite trouble upon themselves. Never lose sight of the fact that your company exists to satisfy a demand, and that demand originates from individual customers.
Disregarding your community is the same as ignoring the individuals who were instrumental in your accomplishments. Additionally, it implies you will have less interaction and interaction with your consumers. If this occurs, you run the risk of becoming disconnected from your market, which is harmful to the success of any business.
It is one thing to achieve success, but it is an entirely different challenge to maintain that success, as Diane von Furstenberg is well aware. Maintain an active participation in your community, and its members will assist you in remaining at the top.
Nasty Gal founder Sophie Amoruso built the firm to a valuation of US$350 million without taking on any further debt.
Entrepreneurs don’t always have this choice available to them. There are some predicaments in which it is impossible to avoid the requirement for financial backing. For further information, please refer to our advice on how to go about raising money for your company. However, there are benefits to growing your company in a “organic” manner, including the following:
Investigate the possibility of organically expanding your company if at all possible. Make accurate financial projections by working with a reputable accountant and making use of accounting software. Consider a variety of potential outcomes and growth rates, and determine which is most likely to work in your favour.
According to Amoruso, if you want to be successful, you need to be careful with your finances, keep careful tabs on your spending, and don’t spend more than you earn. This is sound advice for living your life in general, not simply for operating your own business.
The common perception about Tyra Banks is that she is “simply a nice model.” She not only graduated from Harvard Business School, but she is also a successful venture investor. She is more than that.
Because of her job in modelling, Banks finds herself frequently thinking back on professional settings in which she was not taken seriously. She did not keep silent and simply accept this treatment; rather, she spoke her mind and offered her business suggestions whenever she had the chance.
Her enthusiastic participation was a driving force behind the conception of the hit television show America’s Next Top Model. Banks serves as the executive producer for this project. She is also the owner of her own investment company, which has been instrumental in the growth of several businesses.
The lesson that may be learned from Banks is quite significant. Confront those who pass judgement on you based on how they perceive your looks. If you let other people shape your perception of who you are, you will never achieve your goals.
These first seven teachings are only the beginning. When more and more women achieve success as business owners, it becomes simpler for others to follow in their footsteps.
Having a strong network of people to lean on is beneficial. You should look at attending local meeting events, joining social media groups, and enrolling in online programmes. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the contacts you already have in the areas in which you live.
When it comes to establishing one’s own company, gender is becoming an increasingly unimportant factor. Therefore, if you are serious about turning your business into a profitable venture, the time to begin is right now.
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