From the outside looking in, entrepreneurship seems to be a breeze. You are your own boss, you can set your own hours, and can work from anywhere. That sounds so amazing, and it is! However, there are some misconceptions. 1. You’ll Work Less Hours One of the most common phrases I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs that are currently in Corporate America is, “I can’t wait to set … [Read more...]
Top 10 States for Women-Owned Small Businesses
According to the Thumbtack Small Business Friendliness Survey, New Hampshire is the best state for a woman to open a small business. New Hampshire also ranked as the second friendliest state for both male and female entrepreneurs. Texas took the top spot overall and came in second for women-owned businesses. The researchers surveyed 18,000 small business owners across the … [Read more...]
3 Tips to Match Your Message to Your Market
You know that you must stand out in the marketplace, right? You know that the chances are there are innumerable people who sell what you have to offer, so the only way you can get their attention is to stand out boldly. How can you do this? You cannot just claim to be an expert and leave it at that. Lots of people do that, so how can people choose to work with you? Here are … [Read more...]
The Reluctant Entrepreneur
While for many, the career choice of entrepreneurship answers the call of destiny, for others there is no calling, until necessity knocks at their door. Often referred to as the ‘Necessity Entrepreneur’, (a purely descriptive term), those that find themselves on this path do so out of personal or professional circumstances that leave them no option but to work for … [Read more...]
You Cannot Baby Anyone into Being Successful
Sometimes, I speak to people who have dabbled at entrepreneurship and when you ask them why they did not succeed, they start to tell me about all the reasons why someone else is responsible for their failure and I listen in quietly. On the other hand, some days I speak to business owners who are building a team and trying to accelerate the growth of that team and they are … [Read more...]
Entrepreneurship – A Lonely Quest?
Undoubtedly, entrepreneurs are traditionally seen as singular in their role---the founder, the lone-ranger, the decider of all, the solitary leader. That’s a tough place to inhabit and it sounds very lonely! As they say, “It’s tough at the top!” However, in this day and age, there is no excuse to exist in isolation, even if you’re running a one-person entity or small … [Read more...]
Root Causes of Working IN Your Business, Not ON Your Business
One of the most common issues facing my solo-entrepreneur clients is frustration, often followed swiftly by fatigue. Suddenly swamped by so many roles, so many decisions, so many tasks, while trying to conserve expenditure – weariness sets in. What started as a dream business idea, to hone and drive further, has now become a 24/7 job, with no escape route. You realize you’re … [Read more...]
Paperwork Prevents Small Business Growth – 12 Tools to Recoup Time
Did you know that small business owners spend one day per week doing paperwork? In fact, according to research by YourTradeBase, more than one out of two small business owners (51%) believe that paperwork is preventing business growth. Interestingly, women business owners spend the most time on administrative paperwork (32% of women business owners spend more than 10 hours … [Read more...]
Entrepreneurship – Why Gender Is Not an Issue
I am going to be totally frank with you all. I have never entertained the idea that my gender was an issue with regards to how I approached my working life as an entrepreneur---ever. I am using ‘issue’ in the same way I would use ‘matter of contention’ by the way. Similarly, I have never let my nationality, age, height, number of offspring, etc. become an issue in running … [Read more...]
How I Created a Comfortable Work-Life Balance
What do we mean by the phrase, work-life balance? I have found from my years of experience that creating a balance between career obligations and personal responsibilities always seems to be a juggling act. What may seem balanced at one point in life will seem out of kilter at another time. The Early Years In my early years of career development, I was quite willing to … [Read more...]