Taking Your Business to the Next Level

In one of my previous Blog posts I’ve asked you what are you reading this summer and I got wonderful comments (if you haven’t added your list, please go ad add it after reading this blog post…)

One of the recommendations was “The Start-Up Nation”. The book addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel, a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources– produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK?

Being born in Israel I was naturally triggered to read, even though I was having a great time in the midst of Galapagos Islands and the Amazon forests. The first time I had access to an Internet connection I downloaded the Kindle version and could not stop reading the book until my Kindle power went off.

However, this book triggered a more burning question in me.

Where are all the women entrepreneurs?

Women entrepreneurship is on the rise. Although the recent financial crisis has been destroying business owners and there are more business that are being destroyed today than being built, plenty of studies show that women run successful, profitable businesses. This could truly benefit our economy.

However, getting women to engage in entrepreneurship won’t be enough. Here’s why…

While women own almost three in ten American firms, (Unfortunately I only have statistics in the USA market) they only employ 6% of the workforce and account for barely 4% of business revenues.

In short, women aren’t taking their businesses to the next level.

From personal experience, I can say that most likely this is true due to women entrepreneurs struggling with one or more of the following:

An inability to manage other responsibilities in life, including their own health.
Concerns around negatively impacting relationships with family and friends.
Anxiety over how people might react to their aspirations.
Not wanting to fail publicly or let anybody down.
Not having the skills, information and resources to take their companies to a higher level.
Lack of funding.

Can you recognize yourself in any of those challenges?

All those reasons are valid however, the bottom line of all of those reasons is: “I think my small business is just fine the way it is.”

While I don’t expect you to become the CEO of a large company, I do think you should pay more attention in realizing your full potential. Remember – your business will always be as big as YOU are as a person!

 In order to grow my business I had to consciously deal with many of the same issues many women entrepreneurs are challenged with (and still am!). It took time – and a lot of assistance along the way. The following helped me:

  7 Ways Women Entrepreneurs Can Grow their Business

 1. Define precisely your target audience – I started my business in 2000 without a set of colleagues to collaborate with, I knew I wanted to build relationships with women who had the same aspirations as me.

I first had to identify my EXACT target audience. Knowing I want to work with women was not defining my target audience. I started with the target audience I thought I could help the most, due to the fact that I came from it, women in middle management that have the desire to move ahead and become leaders.

However, I found very quickly that I don’t fit anymore with the corporate structure of the organizations that I would need to work in. It felt like as if I would have to work in a straightjacket, rather than enjoy myself.

I struggled for a while until I found the exact audience I wished to work with. My target audience is women entrepreneurs who have a business and wish to grow it. I even defined it more precisely – women solopreneurs who wish to grow their business and make it into a big business.

2. Treat Every Obstacle Like a Research Project – Whenever I hit a major roadblock in my business, I go into research mode.

I’ve always found the answers by talking to people who are experts in their fields and can relate to my challenge. Usually, within five conversations, I’ve got new information and ideas to get me on track. I will be forever grateful to the people in my past (and future) who agreed to have coffee or a call with me. They are my game-changers!

3. Don’t Run Before You Can Walk – Each time my business grows, it comes with a new set of activities that are time-consuming.

When I find myself over-worked and scattered, it’s a signal I need to learn new skills to the point where the situation feels manageable. Several times in the development of my business I’ve turned down opportunities because I knew I wasn’t ready to handle them.

Which leads to the next tip…

4. Business is a Marathon, Not a Sprint – Growing a business doesn’t have to be like what you see in the movies, it takes more than 20 minutes to build a business.

You can take your time, but you shouldn’t stop moving forward either. Like I say in many of my trainings: “In business, if you aren’t growing, you’re dying.”

I’m constantly looking for ways to grow my business – but on my own terms. I’d rather take my time and finish the race than get injured and bow out.

5. Time-Out is Allowed when You Need It – Don’t let tough blows and unexpected issues make you react too strongly or quickly.

There have been plenty of times in my entrepreneurial life when I’ve thought, “I can’t do this!” Those days happen. I’ve come to learn when I’m emotional, I need to step back and let things settle down.

When I give myself time to get the feelings and situation in check, I’m able to make better decisions and take more appropriate actions.

A time-out is a female entrepreneur’s friend!

6. Accept You’ll Make Mistakes – This is so tough for you! You want to be perfect and never let anyone down.

My decision to grow my business came with the acknowledgement I was going make more mistakes. My mantra and is, “Experience = Learn = Grow.” Being too hard on yourself will kill your confidence. Don’t let it!

Business success is directly tied to your ability to believe in yourselves 200%.

7. Failure Does not Exist – The only thing women entrepreneurs fear more than letting people down, is losing everything.

As the business grows, it gets easier to say, “I should be grateful for what I’ve got.” It’s human nature to work harder to keep what we have instead of focusing on how to create even more success on our own terms.

However, this is a business-limiting mindset that can stifle a female entrepreneur’s ability to reach new levels of growth.

Remember – if you don’t grow… you die. Therefore you’ll need to keep on looking for ways to grow your business and with each step you’ll take you might feel the fear of losing, but you’ll need to remind yourself that failure does not exist actually.

Think about failure as an unexpected result. I mean; did you PLAN to fail? Obviously not!

BY the way… if you did PLAN to fail… than you succeeded… that makes you a SUCCESS!

But if you didn’t PLAN to fail than you got a result that is DIFFERENT than what you expected it to be. So, take another action to correct that result and improve it. If you can’t, than see what you could learn from it and move on with your new understanding and learning. This is how you grow!

Now I’m curious…

What would you need to learn in order to grow your business?

Share it with us in the comment box below - your experience and tips in growing your business 

If you find this article inspiring, please SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn or retweet it, by pushing the button on the left, for the right channel, so more women could benefit from it.

Please share this article with your:



- LinkedIn connections
and blog readers...

Have a magical week! Vered

Have a magical life, Vered