SYLVIANE NUCCIO

It may seem like the modern business world is predominantly male-oriented. In the past, it was more difficult for women entrepreneurs to land a job or making their voices heard over their masculine counterparts in competition for the same position. 

However, the good news is that entrepreneurship is no longer perceived as just a man’s world. Women entrepreneurs who have decided to try their luck in the business world have reached amazing success.

Just this past decade, female-owned businesses have grown up to five times faster in the U.S. alone, generating a stunning $1.6 trillion in revenue yearly. 

Today, every woman who dreams of making it big in the entrepreneurial world can do it. That being said, though, you need to realize that starting and running a business is no easy task and you will undoubtedly face some challenges on your road to success.

That’s why I’ve assembled a list of inspiring and valuable lessons for every future female entrepreneur to help them out on their business journey and maximize their career potential.

Value your Uniqueness

Every single business in this world started as a simple idea, and yours is no different. But no matter how good that idea, do know that it should be tested before you present it to the world. That’s where thorough research comes into play. If you do things right, you should end up with invaluable data that is going to help you make your future business decisions. To test your ideas properly, you need to understand who your target audience and identify your competitors. 

Additionally, you need to determine the kind of product or service you want to offer to your audience. Determine how well it will be welcomed on the market. If you manage to create a unique product or service it will be the “it factor” that will give you an advantage over your competitors. This means that you should present your audience with something they’ve never had the chance to see before.

Even if your business revolves around something that has already been done, you should give it your personal twist. Adding more value to your offer will also help boost your chances of success. 

Engage in Social Media

No business can thrive unless people know about it, and women entrepreneurs have understood that being fully present on social media. To say it bluntly, your success in business nowaday depends greatly on your active presence on social media.

Social media allows you to present your business to the world and engage with your audience. It also offers platforms where you can not only advertise your business but connect with your audience on a more personal level.

However, keep in mind that building your social media presence will require dedication and work. On social media, content marketing plays a huge role in advertising. Therefore, make sure that the content you present to your audience is authentic, original, and even entertaining. But of course, also valuable and helpful.

The best content is the one that people can actually learn from without being bored. That being said, depending on the platform, make sure you send your message in a clear and concise way. Additionally, avoid making your social media posts too long and elaborate. That’s what your blog is for.

Put Together a Creativity Hub

To take a step back from all the business aspects of running a business and focus more on you, as an individual, we need to mention your workspace. While it is true that everything mentioned earlier is crucial for running a business, we also need to talk about the “behind the scenes” – or the place everything you do is coming from. More often than not, in the early stages of business, many people make the mistake of renting or buying a huge office space they don’t need. At least not in the very beginning.

Not only can that negatively affect your finances but it can actually feel a bit underwhelming. That’s why, in the earliest stages of your business, you should look more into coworking spaces and shared offices. If you rent out a place in a coworking space, you can even spruce it up a bit and create your own little comfortable office setting.

Personalize your working environment with some interesting stationery and add a cute little good luck plant to keep you motivated and focused throughout your workday. Creating a comfortable and inspiring work environment is arguably as important as mastering all the other aspects of running a business.

Establish a meaningful connection with your audience

As mentioned earlier, the thing that lies behind and business’s success is its customers. If nobody is interested in purchasing your products or hiring your services, you won’t be able to make a profit. That’s why you need to realize this sooner rather than later if you hope to reach any type of success. For that reason, you should do your best to try and build a deep and meaningful relationship with your target audience first. Once you manage to do that, your audience will soon become your customer base.

If you manage to build a strong relationship with your customers and audience, you will increase your brand loyalty. And brand loyalty is what will put your business in a competitive advantage as a woman entrepreneur.

It all boils down to this – the more you do for your customers, the more they’ll be willing to do for you. So, make sure you offer your customers excellent customer experience and support and try to listen to what they’re saying. Your business is your baby and it can’t survive without your customers, so take good care of them and they will reward you for that.

You are in Charge

Running and managing a business to make it a success can sometimes boil down to just being able to recognize good opportunities and managing to seize them.

As a woman entrepreneur, you need to be able to identify such opportunities and know when to take action. When you have the opportunity to turn things favorably, just do it now. Things can easily slip through your fingers. Not only that, but favorable opportunities don’t present themselves too often, so take them while you can.

That’s why you need to have an opportunistic mindset when running a business. If an optimist, a pessimist, and a realist are arguing about a glass of water, you waltz in and drink it! Be a true woman entrepreneur in both your demeanor and mindset, and make it clear to everyone that you mean business.

Don’t be afraid to take chances and move in your intended direction without letting anyone put you down. Remember that settling for mediocre results and just complaining about how difficult it is for women in the business world will get you nowhere. Even if you happen to fall, try to get up, acknowledge your mistakes, learn from them, and keep moving forward.

Women entrepreneurs are no longer trying to make their way through the modern business world, they are largely succeeding in this area. So if you are a new woman entrepreneur, the last thing you should do is allow yourself to be discouraged by the competition. Remember, the good things in life are usually worth fighting for.

What this means is that if you believe in yourself, as a female entrepreneur, and you firmly believe in your business, there shouldn’t be a single person in this world who can shake your beliefs. Keep in mind that the road ahead may be challenging, but it is nothing that determination and strong willpower won’t be able to handle and overcome.