As a business coach, I am often consulted by wannabe women entrepreneurs and asked, "Should I ask 'so-and-so' to be my partner?" I am never surprised by the question as I know how scary it is to launch a business all alone. Women, more often than men, wonder if having a sidekick will make the journey less frightening. Is it because women are brought up to believe that we need a partner in life and therefore in our business?
First, let me say that there is a big difference between having a business partner and a life partner. Although, even as I write this, I realize that more and more today the two are often indistinguishable. As an entrepreneur married for more than 42 years, I know that what I need in a mate in no way resembles what I might look for in a business partner. For instance, as I have told my husband many times, when I am ranting about business, "I don't want your opinion, I just want you to listen!" The first lesson in business partnership is to respect what each of you bring to the business and be prepared to act on the opinion of the partner best able to handle the situation. Successful partnerships are all about balancing the skills of the partners. For example, if you want to launch a retail business and your expertise is merchandising you probably don't need a partner to handle the details of accounting, real estate, legal or marketing. These are all positions that you can easily contract out and hold on to 100% ownership of the company. However, you may think you want to bring on a partner because of a financial opportunity. I suggest you think long and hard before making that decision. The consequences could be difficult.
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Topics:
small business owner,
startup,
women entrepreneurs,
woman entrepreneur,
partner,
partnership
I say, "Gals, there is no crying in baseball and there are no cutting corners in business!" If you hear someone say that they gained revenues by cutting corners, (s)he isn't telling you the whole story." Cutting corners in business eventually catches up with you and can irrevocably damage a business. Women entrepreneurs too often learn the hard way, just like the boys, that cutting corners in business leads to disaster. Let me tell you why? The first reason a business owner considers cutting corners is to boost the bottom line. As a business coach, I've heard time and time again about why a strategy to cut something is the only way to increase revenues. When I counter with questions on why (s)he doesn't consider a new product, a new channel for distribution, more social media to encourage inbound marketing, or a more focused sales strategy, I am often rebuked with the fear of taking risk. The truth is the biggest risk any business owner can take is to cut corners believing it will expand revenues.
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Topics:
small business owner,
women entrepreneurs,
woman entrepreneur,
women in business
Launching a business is a dream of women entrepreneurs and men entrepreneurs around the world. The goals range from wanting to control one's own destiny to becoming independent from the day to day of working for the "man". Owning one's own business is not for the impulsive, manic businesswoman who's only "MO" (modus operandi) is to operate a business on her own terms. Why? Because, unfortunately, no matter how much business ownership is in your control it will always require the owner to work within the guidelines of others. Let me explain.
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Topics:
small business owner,
entrepreneurship,
women entrepreneurs,
woman entrepreneur,
business owner,
team,
leaership,
leader
Successful entrepreneurs have a plan for their businesses and make sure to execute it daily. However, every business owner knows that even the best plan must be flexible as life happens and a quick pivot may be necessary. Women entrepreneurs know this best.
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Topics:
small business owner,
women entrepreneurs,
entrepreneurs,
entrepeneur
