While women have always been underrepresented in the world of entrepreneurship, things are starting to change significantly. Ever since the year 2007, the overall number of women entrepreneurs in the United States alone has grown by more than 30% — with women currently owning just over 36% of all businesses (according to the most recent data from the US 2012 Census).
Globally, women are starting to open up their own businesses at an increased rate of 13% as measured by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (research group closely tracking 40 economies worldwide).
If you have been thinking about building your own business as a woman in 2019, we are here to share a couple of tips and tricks to help you gain a competitive advantage, hoping to help you lay down the foundation for your financial future.
Let us dig right in!
Get Comfortable with Discomfort
The most important quality for any serious entrepreneur to possess — male or female alike — is the ability to take on pile upon pile of risk, all kinds of discomfort, and a mountain of uncertainty, and still continue to charge forward to build the kind of business they have dreamed up.
Failure is an inevitable part of success and a lot of entrepreneurs would say that it is a necessary piece of the puzzle. Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable and you will be able to make better business decisions moving forward.
Fall in Love with MVPs
Another key to your success as a female entrepreneur in 2019 is leveraging the power of MVPs or Minimum Viable Products.
Instead of building up an entire business from scratch before you ever sell anything — investing a pile of money into and unproven enterprise — it is important to try and bootstrap and get something outdoor to make sure that you have a market for whatever it is you have to offer.
The very first iPhone was a historic MVP and look what it did to the smartphone industry in just over potential years. Do the same and you will be able to avoid a lot of trouble that entrepreneurs going into business blind will inevitably bump into.
Focus on Your Cash Flow
Cash flow is king when you are running a business and you cannot afford to take your eyes off the prize.
Nothing in business happens until something gets sold and you need to be sure that your register is ringing all the time. You will also want to take advantage of smart business loans for women and Excel Capital Management can help you make that possible. Partnering with the right lender alongside a good business insurance can guarantee that your cash flow stays levels that allow you to build and grow your business without fear of cash drying up anytime soon.
Focus on Your Strengths and Outsource the Rest
Do not miss out on the leverage that outsourcing offers today, but make sure that you are only outsourcing tasks that make your business better, stronger, more efficient, and faster responding to the market.
A lot of entrepreneurs find themselves in trouble when they focus on trying to develop their weaknesses rather than improving their strengths and outsourcing their weaknesses to someone that is quite strong in those areas. Do not fall into the same mistake — delegate, delegate, delegate!
Ask for What You Want
At the end of the day, you are going to be calling all the shots and you have to be ready to ask for everything you want and to ask for it because you know that you deserve it.
This is one of the biggest challenges any entrepreneur faces, never really feeling as though they are completely comfortable being the head honcho and the one in charge. It is not at all uncommon to feel a bit of “Imposter Syndrome” when you first hit the ground running.
But as long as you commit to faking it until you make it — asking for what you want when you want it — you will be able to blaze a trail and build the kind of business you have always wanted to.
