6 Pivotal Things Women Must Keep In Mind While Becoming An Entrepreneur Women of today are confident and determined to carve their place in the world of business
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Entrepreneurship isn't easy for anyone and it can be even more challenging if you are a woman balancing business and family. Women entrepreneurs are aggressive, focused and they set themselves high standards in business. However, they need to overcome many obstacles in their path to entrepreneurial success. Some of the challenges are fear of risk-taking and failure, the struggles of achieving a work-life balance, the high expectations they set for themselves and the socio-cultural barriers imposed by society that they need to cross.
Women of today are confident and determined to carve their place in the world of business. They have learned to focus on their skills and maximize the opportunities to become powerful business leaders and successful entrepreneurs. According to scientists, women have a better-developed corpus callosum (nerve connections between the left and right hemisphere of the brain) and hence are more skilled at multi-tasking than men. This can be very handy when you are handling the diverse roles & responsibilities of being an entrepreneur, a wife, a mother & a daughter.
Here are 6 things for women to keep in mind while becoming an entrepreneur:
1. The Power of Focus
Stay focussed on one business concept that you are passionate about and have a clear vision to share with everyone. As an entrepreneur, you will face several day-to-day issues, urgent matters, and distractions to take your focus away from your business goals. A single-minded focus on your mission and putting all your efforts and energy in achieving it will ensure business success.
2. Build a Winning Team &Culture
To build a successful business, apart from having a strong vision, you need a very capable team to execute your vision and purpose. It is also essential to build a team that reflects your company's culture. Don't hire just the best but hire people who will embody your company's culture and are just as passionate and committed to the long-term vision of the company.
3. Being Fearless about Risk-taking & Failure
A critical aspect of being an entrepreneur is being fearless about taking risks and also being fearless about accepting failure and rejection. Women are generally averse to taking risks but risk-taking is a key element in entrepreneurship and taking calculated risks is essential. Overcoming the aversion to risk taking and the fear of failure is an important aspect to keep in mind while embarking on an entrepreneurial journey.
4. Embrace Technology
Embrace technology as it can empower you to be smarter, better organized, more efficient & even disruptive. Utilizing technology appropriately in improving both personal productivity and business productivity will help women entrepreneurs in a great way. Technology will help maximize the potential of your business with effective communication, business analytics at your finger tip, and enable entrepreneurs to stay connected to their team virtually from anywhere.
5. Build a Healthy Lifestyle
It's important to first take care of yourself and build a healthy lifestyle to be a successful entrepreneur. A healthy diet, a daily exercise routine, and a solid 8-hour sleep will ensure you have a productive and challenging work day and have the time and energy to come home and cherish your family. Women entrepreneurs must keep in mind that a great work-life balance will go a long way in boosting business productivity, managing stress and creating positive work and home environments. A healthy and balanced lifestyle is vital to business success.
6. Join a Peer-to-Peer Network
Joining a peer-to-peer networking group like Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) will fuel your entrepreneurial zeal, trigger great ideas and out-of-the-box thinking with provocative business learning. Joining and participating in a forum in such a peer-to-peer group with members from diverse industries can help you brainstorm and find innovative solutions to pressing problems in a very safe, confidential and non-judgemental forum.
