As a business coach, I work with my clients on exploring risk vs. reward with every decision. As much as I believe that a woman entrepreneur must be fearless in order to build a business: fearless does not mean unintelligent. There will always be risks in business, but a successful entrepreneur knows how to measure the risk vs. the reward. The most important part of the puzzle is that the reward must take you closer to your goal. If you don't have goals for your business than measuring risk vs. reward is just an exercise in futility. Let me explain why.
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Topics:
goals,
women entrepreneurs,
woman entrepreneur,
women in business,
entrepreneur,
risk vs. reward
Women in the United States continue to decide on entrepreneurship over working in corporate America. According to a recent PayPal survey , 55% of "aspiring women entrepreneurs say the single biggest motivator for them is a better work-life balance. As a woman entrepreneur and business coach I say, stop fooling yourself! I promise you that becoming a successful entrepreneur will not give you time to put your feet up on your desk.
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Topics:
work-life balance,
women entrepreneurs,
woman entrepreneur,
women in business,
woman-owned business
As a business and health coach, I hear daily from my clients that they "feel beaten up" from this long winter. Women in business, particularly, bear the brunt of the stress this winter as they are more likely the ones juggling kids, elder parents and cranky associates. (Women are in the majority of middle management positions). The fact is if you don't take care of yourself who will? An unhealthy woman is an unhappy woman and if that describes you read on.
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Topics:
woman in business,
body,
woman entrepreneur,
women in business,
healthy woman,
mind and spirit
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
