For the last 18 months we have been asking women “What’s your reason for getting into business?” After doing over 160 one-on-one consultations (to help women clarify their business goals and to gauge their readiness for a mentor) here’s what Stella De Zotti found.
What I have noticed is that many women leave the corporate world, or working for someone else, and start their business for similar reasons.
These reason include:
- Freedom to choose your hours and work location
- Working around raising children
- Being your own boss
- Setting your own salary
- Utilising your creativity to create something news
- And of course – Financial freedom
But the road that follows is not easy…
The ultimate sea-change!
Knowing how to do your job, even being the best in your trade is one thing but going from working for someone else (or in an environment with other team members to share the load, and other resources) to working for yourself and running a business are often very different.
But here’s what I found during the consultation has helped women get on a path and some direction.
A business plan!
Whether you have one or not, when did you look at it last? Does it still read true for you, or have you changed direction? Unfortunately most women I’ve spoken to either had no plan, or had one that they never referred to. So, I showed them a way to help them create a new plan that they implement.
Fear of the Unknown
Did I mention fear? Yes, many women were operating out of fear. Fear that they didn’t know what they were doing, that they were going to fail or that they’d meet financial hardship.
Often this fear could be overcome with a plan for develop more business confidence and with the help of a mentor to guide you through rough business terrain.
Isolation
After leaving the ‘safe’ world of being an employee, many found themselves isolated. Even when they had friends and family support, they lacked peers who understood the trials of being a business-owner. They do not have a sounding board, someone to let them know if they were on track.
Being in your own business with no staff and not having someone to bounce ideas off can be a little isolating and also talking to people that actually ‘get’ where you are coming from.
So, I helped them put in place a plan to feel supported, to collaborate, to be mentored.
Lack of the right business skills
When it comes to operating your business even though you may know how to do what you do best e.g. you’re a great writer, hairdresser, designer, physical traininer, gaining the right business knowledge and business skills to grow your business is very important.
Most of the women I spoke to had contacted the Australian Businesswomen’s Network to gain access to training. So, I explained how they could spend the next few months (just a couple of hours a week) honing their marketing, financial, human resource, technology and business planning skills.
We recently asked successful businesswomen what they wished they’d had earlier to help them accelerate their success – all of them included Mentoring in their choices.
Operating your business with assistance from a Mentor who has experience in his/her own business can only be of benefit to you. I can help put you in touch with a mentor through our Mentoring program.
Confidence to go forward
Confidence and belief in yourself can be harder than it sounds, but surrounding yourself with like minded individuals, gaining a network that you can call upon at your fingertips and utilising the services of a Mentor can only add to your success of your business.
If you’d like to clarify your goals and to get support and a clear direction for your business, then contact Stella at stella@abn.org.au for a one-on-one business consultation.
