3 Questions to Ask If You Want an Accelerated Female Entrepreneur

As you know, March 8 is International Women’s Day. This month also tends to be the month where we all focus on luck, so I’ve been thinking about the status of today’s female leaders, and whether the “luck factor” has any bearing on those who achieve success.

Read more10 Keys That Every Home Based Business Owner Should Implement For Success

Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images

The idea of ​​how luck plays a role in success has been a topic discussed many times over the years. But in seeing my own beginnings as an entrepreneur, when I got up and decided to scale my business to absorb my husband’s income, I realized that luck only took me so far. It’s what I do with luck — the opportunities I take and the relationships I make — that really grows my business.

Even though women-owned businesses are on the rise, female founders still lack the financial resources to start their own businesses. According to MarketWatch, only 2.2 percent of all venture capital in the US goes to companies founded by women only. In addition, companies with all male founders receive funding after their first round almost 35 percent of the time. For companies with female founders, that figure is less than 2 percent. Only 2 percent of women-owned businesses ever generate $1 million in revenue — 3.5 times less than their male counterparts.

For the ladies and gentlemen reading this, instead of listing my suggestions on how we can fix this problem (because that would be an awesome feat), I think it’s better to ask some thought-provoking questions. This is a question I ask myself that I hope will encourage you to be part of the solution. As I want to say to the women I coach: Small changes make big impacts.

How do we expand women’s networks to accommodate all businesswoman?

When I first launched my business, I felt like I was doing everything myself without the support I needed. It was a breath of fresh air when I found a women’s network group. There may be a women-only network or puppeteer community in your local community.

But before spending time, effort and money, I suggest actually doing your homework. Which of these networks will really drive your business? Which network is right for you right now? Which will grow with you as you grow your business?

One of my favorite female business coach partners, Ali Brown, recently covered this topic on her show Gambition Radio. The sad fact is that there is a problem with the women’s network that holds so many of us back. Most entrepreneurial communities for women are designed for part-timers and start-ups. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for those just starting out. In fact, this community is desperately needed. But where does that leave us non-starters who have built seven- to eight-figure businesses? As Brown puts it, “Women who are ready for more are stuck here. They are trapped in the network cycle laterally instead of upwards.”

How can we be a support system for the female business owners in our lives?

As I’ve mentioned, sometimes the smallest actions can have the biggest impact. When I think of my beginnings as an entrepreneur, I think of the two women who gave me the opportunity: Kimberly Wiley and Laura Novack Meyer. They believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself and spread the word about my new business to their network. Without their support, no luck was given to me that would keep my business going.

Supporting someone doesn’t mean a huge commitment on your part. Most people think of a support group as being made up of people you know, but it can also be strangers. Here are four types of support to keep in mind when you feel you can help — big or small.

1. Emotional help: Starting a business comes with many emotions including stress, anxiety, and even loneliness. This kind of support is provided for those who will support the woman and be her shoulder to cry on.

2. Instrumental support: This type of support involves taking care of someone’s immediate and immediate needs. It can be as small as stepping out to grab his lunch, or as big as deciding to invest in his business. Both are equally important.

3. Information support: Provide guidance, advice, or guidance. This support is especially needed from women and men who have “walked the road ahead”, have long-standing businesses and can provide wisdom.

4. Accountability support: I like having an accountability partner, someone other than me who will hold me accountable for my goals and objectives. Can you be that way for someone? Someone to push him forward and find success?

Even if you are not an entrepreneur or your business has nothing to do with the women’s business you support, chances are you can fill a void in one of the types of support above.

If you had the ability to mentor other women, would you consider it?

If you’re waiting for a younger woman to ask you to be her mentor, you’re more likely to keep waiting. A survey by Development Dimensions International found that women are not proactively seeking mentors. As many as 63 percent of women surveyed in the study reported that they had never had a formal mentor.

According to the hundreds of women who answered, the lack of women’s assistance was not because they were not willing to guide, but because they were not asked to. In fact, 54 percent of women reported that they had only been asked to mentor a few times in their career or less, while 20 percent reported that they had never been asked to mentor.

Knowing what we do from this lesson, how can we learn from it? Let’s stop perpetuating the problem by falling victim to the myths surrounding women’s guidance. Ladies in senior management positions, stop waiting for a formal invitation. And for young women who actively need mentors in their careers, speak up!

I love this quote from Madeleine Albright: “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” Let’s all do our part to help change those statistics and help women develop stronger and better businesses.

Find ways to support and encourage other female business owners so we can grow together. My hope is that 10 years from now, we won’t see this gap in the market—and it all started with these three questions.