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9 Female Entrepreneurs on the Biggest Obstacle They Faced by @mere_wood

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by Meredith Wood 

For many women who start their own business, their venture is everything—according to SCORE, 62% of female entrepreneurs say their business is their primary income. This isn’t a hobby and it’s crucial that they succeed.

From navigating the nature of meetings to the struggle to be taken seriously, female entrepreneurs face obstacles that are sometimes beyond the typical roadblocks to success for business owners.

A major part of overcoming obstacles is knowing what to expect. Here are stories from nine women on the biggest obstacle they faced when starting out.

Note: These responses have been edited for length and clarity.

 

A lack of network within the entrepreneurial community

“When I got the idea for the business in 2016, I had established a fantastic network as a personal assistant as well as in advertising, but I needed mentorship and support in how to grow a tech and service startup.”
—Valerie Donohue, founder of ChatterBoss

 

Setting boundaries for professional meetings

“I view every meeting I have as professional but I have experienced the opposite when interacting with male clients, investors, or potential partners… I learned how important it is to set boundaries. After a while, people will learn what they are and only come with serious offers.”
—Ladan Davia, founder and CEO of Beeya

 

The opinions of friends and family

“Society tells everyone they have to go to school, get a 9-5, work until retirement age, then collect Social Security. If you try to break the mold, people will tell you it is dangerous, risky, not possible, or something that should not even be tried.”
—Stacy Caprio, an online marketer, designer and growth expert

 

Being taken seriously

“I live in a conservative area, and I often felt that other business leaders (typically men) thought it was ‘cute’ that a woman was ‘playing at business.’ I’m stubborn and don’t accept discrimination, for myself or for my employees, so I managed these experiences by excluding them from my business practices and hustling every day to show that I was a serious businesswoman. Several years later, when I hired my female developer as I scaled and received comments from male clients regarding her good looks, I immediately fired them. I am protective of my own boundaries, but am even more so for the employees I spend time and money to train and who trust me to support their careers.”
—Veronica Kirin, author, speaker, and coach to LGBTQ entrepreneurs

 

My confidence

“I was so sure I had something great, but the way I talked about it delegitimized my business. I made it sound like this little side project instead of this thing that I work on day and night and have grown out of nothing. Women are taught to couch their successes and to not act confident. And even though in my head I knew what I had was great, I had the hardest time talking about it and really selling it. I had to change my language, and as soon as I did that everything changed.”
—Julia Nusbaum, creator and curator of HerStry

 

A lack of funding opportunities

“98% of funding goes to male founders, yet incubators and angels continue to court women with the promise of investment but who have a statistically zero chance of getting it. And we play along because we don’t know… Because no one pays attention to the fact that even female founder funds give women-owned companies proportionally less money.”
—Paula Muto, CEO and founder of UBERDOC

 

Not knowing when to take the leap

“My co-founder and I were self funding the beginning of the company and we always struggled with the ‘dance’ between when you need to quit your full time job in ordering to allocate the right amount of time to help your business succeed, while also balancing the fact that we both needed an income to order to live. Because of this struggle, we never fully made the job into quitting our full time jobs and I were speculate that played a part in our lack of success.”
—Hannah Stoppelmann, co-founder of Suit and Sweet.

 

Juggling children and entrepreneurship

“I think a huge obstacle (and blessing) for me was learning how to juggle having one child, and then two, while still getting everything done. Waking up earlier and nap times were my times to hustle. I think time management is huge. I learned that most of my work I get done after I drop them off at school in the mornings. That first hour or two is golden.”
—Karina Michel, owner and producer, Tallulah Films

 

Defining my ideal client

“When I began coaching, I took anyone who would pay me because I felt desperate for the business. But I quickly realized that some clients energize me more than others. I made a decision after the first year to be more selective in choosing who to work with. I now turn down business because I know I am not a good fit… My business doubled once I got clear exactly who I was marketing my services to.”
—Claire Pearson, life coach

 

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Some obstacles are external, some are internal; some are specific to women in business. If you’ve faced anything like the problems above, know that you’re not alone. Overcoming barriers is part of the entrepreneurial journey, especially for women.

 

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Meredith Wood is the Editor-in-Chief at Fundera, an online marketplace for small business financial solutions. Specializing in financial advice for small business owners, Meredith is a current and past contributor to Yahoo!, Amex OPEN Forum, Fox Business, SCORE, AllBusiness and more.

3 Things Women Need to Overcome in Their Journey to Success by @DeniseDamijo

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by Denise Damijo | Featured Contributor 

Starting a business for anyone can be tough and will take a lot of courage and grit to see it thrive. As women, we tend to have a lot more on our plate, especially when we have a family to take care of. The many hats that we wear while keeping our dreams and aspirations alive can feel almost impossible. There is a way for you to make your dreams a reality by learning the 3 things women need to overcome in their journey to success.

1. Doubting Your Strengths

In life and in business, sometimes your only option is to go out on your own and be your own boss in order to make the money that you want and deserve, spend the quality time with your family that you desire, and to fulfill your inate desire of purpose. In those moments, you have to know that you are not alone. Did you know that according to the NAWBO (National Association Of Women Business Owners) as of 2015: 

  • More than 9.4 million firms are owned by women, employing nearly 7.9 million people, and generating $1.5 trillion in sales as of 2015.
  • Women-owned firms (51% or more) account for 31% of all privately held firms and contribute 14% of employment and 12% of revenues.
  • One in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.
  • 4.2% of all women-owned firms have revenues of 1 million or more

Out of all the women building and thrive in the “owning their own business world”, you have got to know that you are not alone and someone is dealing with the exact same situation that you are dealing with while trying to build your business. Connecting with like minded women who are going through and know and understand what you are going through is a huge strength that will help you through out your journey.

2. The Guilt Trip

It is so easy to guilt yourself into believing that you are not being fair to your children or your spouse by building a successful and profitable business. There are two parts to this equation:

  • Legacy is so important. Truly, living life is not getting easier, it is getting more expensive, and more in demand. Having the ability to build a business so that you can eventually have more time with your family and also leave a legacy is more important and needed than ever.
  • Your spouse may love and want to provide for you and your family and that is ok. That being said, we have all been taught in school, at work, and in many other different scenarios that two is better than one. Splitting the load (income, household duties, and the care of the children) in two will help you progress faster and with less stress.

There is no need to feel guilty for wanting more and better for you and your family. Striving to get there is essential and you should never feel guilty for that.

3. The Misconception of What a Female Business Owner Means to YOU

Many times you may think that being a female business owner means more flexibility, or more money, and not giving up on your dreams. Even though that all of that is usually true, these things go deeper. More flexibility for you may mean being able to better coordinate a time with your spouse so you won’t have to have a babysitter or put your children in daycare. Or it may mean that you have more time to spend with a sick or aging family member. More money can mean an extra 5 or 10 thousand dollars a year to pay off some debt that you acquired or it could mean building a multi-million dollar business so that you can travel, invest more, and help others. Not giving up on your dreams may be just as simple as building something that is bigger than yourself or as complex as being the first person in your family to do a particular thing.

Once you have taken what it means to be a female business owner deeper and to the root of what that means specifically for you and your family, you will be able to lose the guilt easier, find your strength, and really become that  Boss Woman that you desire to be.