Since I got some response on this woman entrepreneur topic, I thought to write more on this :-)
The world is witnessing a steady growth of women entrepreneurs and several factors are brought into play ranging from macro-economic, potent stimulus, individual passion or just the need for flexible schedules to balance familial commitments and career. The small business landscape is changing with the women entrepreneurs making their strong presence felt. The question remains - how do they do it?
Here are a few pointers that I have culled from reading some related articles on some really successful women-owned business which give us an idea that one of the key factors to making their business actually work is learning to work smarter, not harder.
??Accept the fact that nothing is perfect Women entrepreneurs have told us they feel a strong attachment towards their business treating them like their baby or their art resulting in strive for perfection always. It can be a real wake up call when things are not perfect– and they won’t always be. Know that sometimes good enough is great! Constantly seeking perfection can slow down the growth of business and someone else may take your place. Accepting the fact that nothing is perfect helps; contending for continuous improvement should be part of your business processes.
??Learn to deal with your entrepreneurial expectations As an entrepreneur you have to understand that the idea of designing a business is completely different from actually running the business. Start-ups often begin on a dime with tiny operating budgets and one or a few people running the business means many unforeseen duties like sales or admin projects. Learning to manage your expectations is crucial keeping the long-term goals in mind. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
??Staffing your business effectively Your people are like gold–valuable and therefore, a good business plan must include plans to get the right mix of people to consummate your plans. Develop an interview process with open-ended questions for candidates to come up with solutions for real problems. Finding partners who can be entrusted with projects using their expertise, working with referrals and conducting due diligence are some of the areas which need attention. You need to plan ahead and adjust as you grow and learn more about your operating needs because hiring and retaining the best talents is a key area.
??Seek mentors to act as a sounding board and make them a constant in your entrepreneurial journey While new ideas drive entrepreneurs to launch businesses, there are many people who have been on that road gaining great experience. Look for experts across different business functions and glean knowledge from them. Networking with friends and family and being part of entrepreneurs’ organizations also help. ?C?onnecting with other women entrepreneurs and organizing events to provide training opportunities can give access to a variety of mentors. Remember that it’s important to ask for advice from both male and female mentors in order to get balanced perspectives on navigating the business environment.
??Identify digital tools to run your business Remember there’s power in the cloud. A lot of tasks can be outsourced which has become easy and super affordable in this digital age. Do you need an office or can staff work remotely? Do you need full-time and part-time staff? There are several online tools which allow entrepreneurs to leverage efficiency and save time and money keeping hassle at bay. Automate back office, redundant tasks like payroll as there are affordable, easy online payroll options that will give you peace of mind and is a big time-saver. Use social networking tools to market the business like LinkedIn, Face book, Twitter, and more. ??Tools are aplenty today, all you need to do is identify the right tools and get your messages across multiple platforms to brand yourself and save precious time with efficiency.? ?
??Planning is imperative to scale and grow your business Outline your ideas and plot your path now with the assumption that it will change. Budding entrepreneurs often dream of the big corporate buyout, but there are always big challenges ahead. Often businesses grow and then plateau. To scale a business, selling your solutions to customers is only a piece of a larger puzzle. Delivering the solutions and meeting growing demand takes strategic planning as the pace of business is constantly changing. Growth strategies are essential like sourcing influxes of capital, developing processes and measurements, and finding resources to help you invest money – when, where, with whom – as these will help to reach long-term growth goals. Finding ways to invest capital into the business to prepare for growth should be a continual affair.
??Capture the attention, listen and learn from your customers Do it consistently! Putting mechanisms in place to get feedback from customers is very much needed as they are always expecting personalized experience. Gain notice of your customers all the time. Don’t lose touch with them and their changing needs while running the business. Otherwise, someone else will listen and provide a new solution as there is no dearth of ambitious entrepreneurs. Listen, learn, evolve or sadly perish.