Is the business arena too daunting for you as a woman? Maybe it’s your daughter or wife that’s finding it tough to fly her entrepreneurial ideas into a successful enterprise. Perhaps you’ve even imagined the possibility of a woman being the wealthiest person in the world. Well, it is not impossible — and that could be you! Women possess far greater potential than many realize — even in the business arena.
Economists believe that women entrepreneurs possess better intuition for perceiving business opportunities. They have equally been discovered to possess a formidable emotional intelligence that helps obtain the organization’s workforce’s support and cooperation. However, there are several limitations in the business world and a woman’s personal life that caps just how far they can go.
Would you like to scale the barrier to your career as a woman? Read a summary of She Means Business by Carrie Green from the Headway library. Nonetheless, this article will make just the right precourse to your emancipation.
Quintessential challenges faced by women entrepreneurs
“We need awareness in women and men about what is unconscious in gender bias, and which can often be sensationalized and politicized…”
Deborah Streeter
Many studies have surmised that women, of recent, are performing excellently well as organizational leaders. However, the successful trials have not propelled the natural expectation — more career opportunities for women. As Carrie Green suggested in She Means Business, more women are starting to unearth their business potential and delve into entrepreneurship. But there are specific peculiar roadblocks that female business owners tend to encounter.
Demonetization
According to Forbes, women have access to far less investment capital than their male counterparts. It becomes more difficult to obtain venture capital funding when the business proprietor is a woman. Usually, most investors have a subtle and unconscious inability to entrust their resources to a woman’s care.
This challenge leaves many women having great business ideas with the bottleneck of unavailable startup funds. Sometimes, these female entrepreneurs are merely looking for funds to scale up their pilot-scale business endeavors.
Conformation to stereotypes
Women tend to be empathic by nature. And the attributes that come with that quality are sometimes exploited. Hence, when subordinates start taking female leaders for granted, there is often a temptation to mimic the masculine poise or business approach. However, it mostly backfires as it may lead to personal burnout for the woman in question.
Small work cuts
Work responsibilities are meager, Harvard Business Review finds this directly impacts women’s take-home pay. In instances where a female entrepreneur starts her own business, there are usually cases of the CEO’s undermined authority. It’s a serious matter for an organization’s leader not to be taken seriously — outcomes harmful to the organization’s growth are likely to crop up.
Overcoming gender-based limitations in the business world
“If you invested in a company with a woman at the helm, you would have outperformed the market.”
Robert Naess
It would be foolhardy to witch-hunt the leadership capabilities of men. But the business ecosystem has proven itself to function better and generate higher returns when women are given commensurate leadership opportunities. For example, a study that annually surveys the top 400 companies in California discovered that organizations comprising women as a fraction of their board or executive performed better than those with all-male leadership.
Hereafter are some tips to help women up their game in the business arena:
Harness your strengths
Every living individual has a repository of meritorious qualities peculiar to them — these are their strengths. Most women score high on the empathy scale; this is perhaps due to their nurturing role in the family. Women are equally self and socially aware; they are good analysts of situational cues. This attribute makes women good at decision-making.
Besides the peculiar strengths of women, earlier mentioned, it is necessary to play the self-discovery path. Be yourself — avoid the mold cast of having to fill someone else’s career shoes. It’s all right to learn from the all-time greats. But, craft gourmet shoes for yourself and begin the business marathon.
Boldly own your accomplishments
A reserved temperament or dwindling confidence might make it difficult for female leaders to enjoy the accolade of success. Don’t cower when you succeed. Put yourself forward, and enjoy every second of benefit that comes with your career achievements.
“Life is constantly nudging all of us to play bigger, to share our messages, to turn our ideas into reality, to chase our dreams.”
Carrie Green
It needs no saying that you have to acknowledge the team you’ve led towards achieving organizational success. However, your competence should be enough reason to pat yourself on the back. Such self-encouragement will spur you on to achieve more remarkable feats.
Master effective communication
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Carrie Green
Every leader ought to learn practical communication skills, irrespective of gender. A business venture’s order and sanity can quickly degenerate when leadership cannot effectively communicate its goals and hallmarks. Mastering the ability to speak to anyone, and the workforce would succumb to the magic wand of your communication skills.
Build a formidable support network
As an entrepreneur, you always have far more than you can chew on your plate. Therefore, it is crucial to have a team of support staff to efficiently and promptly delegate tasks. Such delegation will relieve you of the burden and grant you enough time to focus on running the actual business enterprise.
Strike a balance between family life and business
Leaders are problem solvers, and the most daring organizational bottlenecks find their way to the leader’s desk. Addressing work-related issues can directly affect female business executives’ family life.
It takes adequate preparations and an understanding spouse to head a Fortune 500 company. Being a single mother does not make the situation any better. Hence, don’t ever strike out family. Take some time off; even male executives do, don’t they? As a female entrepreneur, find work schedules that work best for you and your family. An example is occasionally working from home.
Dare to fail
Failure is an ever-present possibility. Due to the natural presumption that women are not capable leaders, the fear may be pent up than usual. Don’t stand down. See every setback as an opportunity to learn from a new perspective. In the words of Carrie Green: rebound, and actualize!
Despite the fading shadows of discrimination in the foreground, a new vista of possibility unravels for women in the 21st Century. Examples of women who have made a significant impact in business and career are Gwynne Shotwell, president, COO of SpaceX, Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rowling, Lady Gaga, and Kamala Harris, to mention a few.
Carrie Green’s She Means Business contains simple, easy-to-follow tips for female business executives to succeed in the internet age. Your decision to take advantage of the 15 minutes summary of this and similar titles on the Headway app could be your fast lane to achieving career goals. Dream and actualize, as Headway’s simple truths behind extraordinary results help you bring prospects to materialization.
